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Billing & Payments Module

The Billing & Payments module provides comprehensive invoicing, payment tracking, and financial management for music studios.

Overview

The billing system helps studios:

  • Generate professional invoices
  • Track payments and balances
  • Support multiple payment methods
  • Send payment reminders
  • Generate financial reports
  • Process online payments (via Stripe)

Invoices

Invoice Structure

Each invoice contains:

Header Information: - Unique invoice number (e.g., INV-2025-001) - Issue date and due date - Billing entity (family or band) - Status (draft, sent, paid, overdue, cancelled)

Line Items: - Description - Quantity and unit price - Total price - Optional link to lesson

Financial Summary: - Subtotal, tax, total - Amount paid - Balance due

Invoice Statuses

  • Draft: Being prepared, not yet sent
  • Sent: Emailed to customer
  • Partial: Some payment received
  • Paid: Fully paid
  • Overdue: Past due date
  • Cancelled: Invoice voided

Creating Invoices

Manual Creation: 1. Select billing entity (family/band) 2. Set issue and due dates 3. Add line items (lessons, fees, etc.) 4. Calculate tax if applicable 5. Save or send

Automated Creation: - Monthly recurring invoices - Auto-generate from completed lessons - Template-based invoicing

Payments

Recording Payments

Track all payments against invoices:

  • Payment amount
  • Payment method (cash, check, card, etc.)
  • Transaction ID (if electronic)
  • Payment date
  • Notes

Payment Methods

Supported payment methods:

  1. Cash: In-person payment
  2. Check: Check number recorded
  3. Credit/Debit Card: Via Stripe or manual
  4. Bank Transfer: ACH/wire transfers
  5. Online: PayPal, Venmo, etc.
  6. Stripe: Integrated online payments

Partial Payments

Support multiple payments per invoice: - First payment → "Partial" status - Final payment → "Paid" status

Refunds

Process payment refunds: - Full or partial refunds - Update invoice balance - For Stripe payments, process through API

Stripe Integration

Online Payment Processing

Features: - Secure card processing - Automatic receipt generation - Refund processing - Multiple payment methods supported

Payment Flow: 1. Customer receives invoice with "Pay Online" link 2. Secure payment page 3. Stripe processes payment 4. Payment automatically recorded 5. Customer receives receipt 6. Invoice marked as paid

Billing Reports

Financial Reports

Generate insights:

  1. Revenue Report: Total revenue by period
  2. Outstanding Balances: Unpaid invoices
  3. Payment History: All payments received
  4. Teacher Revenue: Revenue per teacher
  5. Student/Family Billing: Billing history per customer

Export Options

  • PDF reports
  • CSV exports
  • Email delivery

Automation

Recurring Billing

Automate monthly invoicing: - Define billing cycle - Configure invoice template - Auto-send or review before sending

Reminder Automation

Configure automatic payment reminders: - Due date reminders - Overdue reminders - Custom schedule

Integration

Lessons Integration

  • Auto-populate from completed lessons
  • Include teacher, student, date, and rate

Inventory Integration

  • Equipment rental fees
  • Practice room charges
  • Late return fees

Messaging Integration

  • New invoice notifications
  • Payment confirmations
  • Overdue reminders

Best Practices

Invoicing

  1. Send invoices on consistent schedule
  2. Use detailed line item descriptions
  3. Send invoices before due date
  4. Use branded invoice templates

Payment Processing

  1. Accept various payment methods
  2. Enable Stripe for convenience
  3. Record payments promptly
  4. Send payment confirmations

Collections

  1. Communicate payment terms clearly
  2. Use automatic reminder emails
  3. Consider grace period before late fees
  4. Reach out for overdue accounts