Prepaid Class Packs for Tuition: Track Sessions and Auto-Renew

Monthly fees suit a batch that meets every week. They suit a one-to-one tutor badly. Lessons get skipped, rescheduled and doubled up, and a flat monthly amount either shortchanges you or annoys the parent.

The old workaround is a pack: "Pay for 10 classes now, we will tell you when they run out." It works, until you are the one counting in a notebook. Which parent used 7? Who is at 9 and has not been told? Who finished the pack three weeks ago and is still attending on goodwill?

This guide explains how a session pack works in TuitionDesk, what counts as a used session, what the parent sees, and where the limits are.

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What a session pack is

A session pack is a fee plan where the parent buys N sessions upfront at a fixed rate per session. You choose the rate and the pack size, and TuitionDesk multiplies them. A pack of 10 at Rs 500 a session is a Rs 5,000 invoice.

When you create a fee plan, the "How do you charge fees?" step offers these kinds:

Fee type	What it means	Best for
Fixed (monthly, quarterly etc.)	Same amount each cycle	Batches that meet on a steady schedule
Per Session	A fixed rate charged for each class session	Pay-as-you-go tutoring
Session Pack	Parent buys N sessions upfront at a set rate	One-to-one and small-group tutors

The plan can be attached to a whole batch or to a single student, so you can sell different packs to different learners.

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What uses up a session

TuitionDesk keeps a ledger for each student's pack. One entry is added each time a session is consumed.

• Attendance. When a student is marked Present for a class, one session is deducted. Absent does not use a session.
• Corrections. If you marked a student present by mistake and change it to Absent, the entry is reversed and the session goes back to the balance.
• No double counting. The same class cannot deduct twice, even if attendance is resubmitted or saved from two tabs.
• Lessons marked Done. For scheduled one-to-one lessons, tapping Done on the lesson uses one session, and changing it away from Done gives it back. If attendance is then marked for that same lesson, it is not counted again.

Two details worth knowing:

1. The deduction needs a class session on the calendar for that batch and day. If none exists, the ledger write is skipped, so schedule the class first.
2. Only Present deducts. Other attendance statuses are not counted as used sessions.

This helps with the awkward conversation. If a parent says "he only came to 8", the history shows each dated entry.

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What the parent sees

The parent portal is available on all plans, including Free. On the child's page, a Session pack balance card shows:

• the number of sessions remaining as the large number ("3 of 10 sessions remaining")
• a progress bar and the count used
• a "Pack depleted" label at zero
• a collapsible session history with the date of each entry

So the parent can check the balance without messaging you, which removes one of the most common admin questions in one-to-one tuition.

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Renewal: the next invoice raises itself at 2 sessions left

When the remaining balance in a pack reaches 2 sessions or fewer, TuitionDesk automatically:

1. creates the next pack's fee (same rate times pack size), due in 7 days
2. generates a payment link for it, where a payment gateway is connected
3. sends the parent a push notification, plus an email and a WhatsApp message
4. sends the owner a push saying the pack invoice was raised

It fires once per pack cycle, so a parent is not billed twice for the same pack. If a notification fails to send, the fee still exists, and the normal overdue reminders pick it up.

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How to price a pack

Pack pricing is your business decision, and TuitionDesk does not set it for you. A few common choices:

• Small discount for the pack. A per-class rate slightly below the single-session price rewards paying upfront. Keep the discount small and the same for everyone.
• Round pack sizes. 5 and 10 are easy for parents to remember. The form accepts any whole number.
• One rate per learner. Use a student-level plan if a senior-class learner pays more than a junior one.
• Write your policy down. Say what happens to unused sessions, how long a pack lasts and what a cancelled class means. This post does not cover pack expiry, so put it in your terms and tell parents when they buy.

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Set it up in five steps

1. Open Fees and create a fee plan for the batch or the student.
2. Under "How do you charge fees?", choose Session Pack.
3. Enter the rate per session and the sessions per pack, and check the total shown.
4. Set the start date. The first pack is due on it.
5. Schedule classes and mark attendance as usual. The ledger takes care of the rest.

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Session pack or monthly fee?

Question	Monthly fee	Session pack
Classes follow a fixed weekly pattern	Fits well	Works, more tracking than needed
Lessons are irregular or often rescheduled	Disputes about missed weeks	Fits well
You want money in advance	Billed per cycle	Paid upfront per pack
Parent wants to see what they paid for	Statement only	Live balance and dated history
UPI Autopay	Available on fixed plans	Not available

UPI Autopay is for fixed recurring plans, so session packs are not part of it. The renewal payment link takes its place. Read the UPI Autopay guide for how autopay works on monthly plans.

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Limits to be aware of

• Packs depend on attendance or a lesson being marked. If staff forget to mark attendance, the balance will be too high.
• The renewal trigger is a balance of 2 sessions or fewer. It is not configurable.
• Packs count sessions you schedule in TuitionDesk. They are not a general credit wallet.
• Payment links need a connected payment gateway. Without one, the parent is sent to the fees page instead.

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Start counting sessions, not messages

If you tutor one-to-one or run small groups with irregular classes, a session pack gives you upfront money, an automatic count and a renewal invoice you did not have to chase. Create your free TuitionDesk account and set up your first pack plan today.

Related reading: How a tutor runs online tuition with TuitionDesk, one-on-one tuition guide, the parent portal, automatic fee reminders and paying tutors per lesson.