Use this when... you need to collect money from a parent for issued invoices, outstanding balances, lesson charges, credit top-ups, or other tuition-related fees.

Before you start... confirm the invoice or balance is correct, the parent record has the right payer details, your payment provider is connected, and you understand whether the charge should go to the tuition business owner, tutor, or another configured payout flow.

Use Billing as the starting point for payment collection and reconciliation.

Payments should normally follow a checked invoice or confirmed balance. This keeps the family statement clear and makes it easier to reconcile Stripe, payouts, tutor pay, credits, and aged debt later.

Open Billing or Invoices and find the relevant parent, family, or invoice. Check the invoice status, amount due, due date, lesson lines, credits, and any previous payments.

Check the invoice before collecting payment so you do not charge against stale or incorrect lines.

Expected outcome: you know exactly what the parent owes and which record the payment should settle.

Use the payment action available from the invoice or family balance. Depending on your setup, this may send a payment link, collect from a saved payment method, or record an external payment. Only record an external payment when the money was actually received outside TuitionFlow.

Review the parent or payer name, amount, currency, invoice reference, and payment method. If the parent is paying part of the balance, record the partial amount clearly and leave the remaining balance open.

Expected outcome: the payment request or charge matches the invoice and can be reconciled later.

After sending or taking payment, check the invoice status. A payment may be pending, failed, paid, or partially paid depending on the method and provider response. Do not manually mark invoices paid unless your process explicitly supports a verified external payment.

The payment action is unavailable: check your Stripe or payment integration, organisation billing settings, invoice state, and user permissions.

The payment failed: ask the parent to update the payment method or try the payment link again. Check whether the failure is due to authentication, insufficient funds, an expired card, or provider setup.

The invoice still shows unpaid after payment: wait for provider confirmation, then check webhook or provider status. Do not duplicate-charge the parent while the payment is still pending.

After a payment succeeds, compare the invoice state, family balance, and provider status. These should tell the same story: what was due, what was paid, what remains outstanding, and whether any payout or transfer is still pending. If they do not match, pause before making manual adjustments.

For external payments, record enough detail for another admin to verify the money later, such as payment date, method, amount, and reference. Do not put full card details, bank details, or unnecessary personal financial information into notes.

If a parent asks about a payment, answer from the invoice or balance record rather than from memory. Include the invoice reference, amount, payment status, and next step. For failed payments, keep the wording factual and helpful: explain that the payment did not complete and share the safest way to retry or update the payment method.

If a parent disputes a charge, check attendance, cancellation policy, credits, and lesson notes before replying. This avoids promising a refund or credit before the operational record has been reviewed.

If a parent pays less than the full invoice, leave the remaining balance visible and add a clear note about the agreement. For overpayments, duplicate payments, or payments made against the wrong invoice, follow your credit or refund process rather than hiding the difference with an unrelated adjustment.

After payment is complete, review the family balance, payout status, and any related tutor pay or reconciliation reports. If the payment failed, follow the failed-payment workflow and keep the invoice open until it is resolved.