Your vacation: tell students early
Announce your dates a few weeks ahead, in one message to everyone. Say clearly what happens to prepaid lessons: they aren't lost, they simply move to the lessons after you're back. Parents think about money first, so answer that before they ask.
Don't delete your weekly lessons for the time you're away. You'd have to recreate the whole schedule afterwards, and you'd lose the record of who usually comes when.
A student's break: pause, don't remove
When one student is sick, travelling over March Break or takes the summer off, pause only their lessons for those dates. Their slot stays theirs, unless you agree otherwise. If someone else wants that hour in the meantime, make it clear the slot comes back when the pause ends.
For a long or open-ended break, it's often simpler to end the series and agree on a new time when the student is ready.
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Download on the App StoreWhat happens to prepaid lessons
The fair rule is simple: money paid for lessons that won't take place stays on the student's balance and pays for the next lessons after the break. No refunds to calculate and no lessons to count by hand.
Lessons that fall on your vacation aren't the student's cancellation, so they shouldn't count against them or as lost income for you.
Vacation and pause in Squool
Set a vacation in Settings → Vacation: every lesson in those dates is removed from the schedule automatically, and you don't reschedule anything by hand. To pause one student, open their card and tap “Pause” — only their lessons for those dates disappear.
Money a student paid in advance stays on their balance and goes to their lessons after the break. Lessons removed by a vacation or a pause aren't shown as lost income. When the dates end, the weekly lessons simply continue; you can also end a vacation or pause early.
When a student leaves for good
If a student stops altogether, archive them instead of deleting. Prepaid money for future lessons returns to their balance, and their history stays. If they come back, Squool shows their old weekly days and lets you choose which are still free.
Squool runs on iPhone, iPad and Mac and syncs through your own iCloud; your data stays on your device and in your iCloud. 14 days free, no credit card required.
Questions and answers
What happens to prepaid tutoring lessons when I go on vacation?
They should stay on the student's balance and pay for the lessons after you're back. In Squool this happens automatically when you set a vacation.
How do I pause recurring lessons for one student?
Pause only that student for the dates. In Squool open the student card and tap “Pause”; the rest of your schedule stays as it is.
Do lessons during my vacation count as cancelled or lost income?
No. In Squool lessons removed by a vacation or a pause don't appear as lost income.
Do I have to recreate my schedule after March Break?
No. Weekly lessons continue on their own after the vacation dates.
A student is leaving for the summer — pause or archive?
Pause if they're coming back at the same time in September; archive if the break is long or open-ended. Archiving keeps their history and returns prepaid money to their balance.
Read also
Recurring lessons
How to plan a weekly tutoring schedule: students twice a week at different times, moving one lesson, changing time or price for future lessons, ending a series.
Tracking payments
A simple way for tutors in Canada to track payments: one balance per student, prepaid lessons, e-Transfers, who owes you. On paper, in a sheet or an app.
Missed & cancelled
How to write a fair 24-hour cancellation policy for private lessons, when to charge for a missed lesson, and how to track income lost to cancellations.
Early learning tutors
Early reading, phonics and kindergarten-readiness tutors: short sessions, parent payments, sick-day cancellations and each child's month on iPhone, iPad, Mac.
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