Collecting fees

[DWx]

Thinking about some of the behind the scenes stuff for running a school; how do you organise getting payment from your students? Do you hire an outside company to collect fees and chase payments? Do you collect monies yourself? Do you have students pay per lesson, per month or block book sessions.

On the flip side, if you employ instructors, how do you manage their wages? Do you contract an outside company for this also?

[bassaiguy]

I'm lucky in that people can sign up for my classes through the local Rec program and I get paid quarterly - no book-keeping on my end. For those who want to pay as drop-ins I have a box at the back of the class. For private lessons it's pay as you go. I've lost a few bucks here and there, but I've also been "paid" in barter (traded kids lessons for some backhoe work, e.g.) and once in moose meat from a guy who was down on hs luck, but wouldn't take "charity." Then again, as my wife says, I'm good at a lot of things, but making money isn't one of them.

[Wastelander]

My Sensei and his girlfriend, who co-own the dojo, collect payments themselves, by check, money order, cash, or card. Dues are paid at the beginning of each month, and there are different rates depending on how many classes you plan to attend each week. Instructors fill out timesheets and turn them in to be paid on the 15th of each month. It's a pretty antiquated process, from the perspective of an IT guy (me), but it does work.

[JR 137]

My Sensei and his girlfriend, who co-own the dojo, collect payments themselves, by check, money order, cash, or card. Dues are paid at the beginning of each month, and there are different rates depending on how many classes you plan to attend each week. Instructors fill out timesheets and turn them in to be paid on the 15th of each month. It's a pretty antiquated process, from the perspective of an IT guy (me), but it does work.

Antiquated?

We pay either cash or check. We have a card that gets stamped and initialed every month when we pay. My CI also writes who, when, and how much was paid into a ledger book.

I'd like to pay with a card because I rarely carry more than a few singles, and the monthly amount for my daughter and I isn't a multiple of $20. ATMs only dispense $20s, so I usually have him keep the $10 change and credit my account. I haven't had checks in about 5 years either. I keep telling myself I should order some, but the only thing I'd use them for is the dojo.

I don't blame him for not accepting credit cards. He'd have to pay an annual or monthly fee, a transaction fee, and a percentage. For a dojo with 40 or so students, it's not worth his time. Keep in mind that all 40 students aren't paying individually; there's many families that pay together.

I guess there's some way to set up an auto-pay through my bank that'll mail him a check. I'm too untrustworthy of my bank. They've messed up plenty of things in the past and somehow charge me for it until I go in and argue with them.

A different local dojo does PayPal online. I'd rather something like that over the current method.

[Nidan Melbourne]

Primarily my dojo operates through a direct debit system that is organised by my sensei to collect automatically the required amount that the particular student owes.

Many students who pay for a block of lessons (40 Lessons) or pay in full their amount for x time will then pay when payments are due.

[sensei8]

Thinking about some of the behind the scenes stuff for running a school; how do you organise getting payment from your students?

All dues are due on the 1st of each month!! Have to pay to play!! Don't pay, you don't get to play!!

Do you hire an outside company to collect fees and chase payments?

No!!

Do you collect monies yourself?

Yes and no!! I've employees to collect dues, but if those employees aren't there, than I will collect dues myself.

Do you have students pay per lesson, per month or block book sessions.

No, to the per lesson!! Yes, to the per month/block sessions!!

On the flip side, if you employ instructors, how do you manage their wages?

They clock in and out on a time clock!! Their paid the 1st and the 15th of each month.

Do you contract an outside company for this also?

No!! Business 101 teaches one vital thing when it comes to employees...Don't mess with an employees money. Trust must be earned, and I've, as of yet, found an outside company that I can trust.

I won't speak towards the Hombu in this regard because the Hombu has a department that manages/oversees all of the Hombu's accounts payable and accounts receivable. What I do know is that the Hombu accepts all types of payments and that all dues are due at the 1st-3rd of each month and that they've different receivable accounts structures for students to choose and that all paid instructors are paid on the 1st/15th of each month.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Avoiding unnecessary costs is one of the most important things a new dojo would have to do. Third party management of the student fees is one of those things. The more an instructor has others handle administrative duties, the less resources are leftover for essential things such as dojo rent, utilities or basic training tools and equipment; never-mind any profit.

[ashworth]

Pretty simple for me, my students turn up, pay for that class, and train in it. That is the way I prefer it, everyone else seems happy with it as well.

[JR 137]

Pretty simple for me, my students turn up, pay for that class, and train in it. That is the way I prefer it, everyone else seems happy with it as well.

Curiosity question - how do you collect payment? By that I mean everyone hands you, say, a $10 bill every time they walk in, or can they pay in advance? My former Sensei taught a cardio kickboxing class that was strictly pay as you go. He issued cards that were bought for a certain amount. Every class, he hole punched everyone's card. Once there were no classes left on the card, they bought a new card. A dojo I was looking into before I joined my current one did the same thing as a pay as you go option (you could also pay a monthly membership instead).

[Nidan Melbourne]

Pretty simple for me, my students turn up, pay for that class, and train in it. That is the way I prefer it, everyone else seems happy with it as well.

Do you accept Card or Pre-Payment of x Lessons? Say classes are $10 per pop; students pay $100 so they are covered for 10 sessions.

Avoiding unnecessary costs is one of the most important things a new dojo would have to do. Third party management of the student fees is one of those things. The more an instructor has others handle administrative duties, the less resources are leftover for essential things such as dojo rent, utilities or basic training tools and equipment; never-mind any profit.

I agree, as third parties will charge you just to manage those systems will in turn costs you more money.

I'd rather use that money i could use on that for the more important things like what you said. Also I'd reinvest that money into helping our students.