Short version: separate what has happened from what hasn’t. Lessons already taught are a real debt, and their invoice stays. A block that hasn’t started yet should be cancelled and its unpaid invoice voided, so the family isn’t chased for lessons that will never happen. The student’s weekly time should go back to the teacher.
The situation
A family messages to say their son is giving up guitar. He is part-way through a paid block, which is fine. His next block’s invoice went out automatically last week and hasn’t been paid. Separately, an older invoice for two lessons he did attend is still outstanding.
Handled loosely, one of two things goes wrong. The studio stops everything, and the two taught lessons are never paid for. Or it forgets the unpaid next-block invoice, and payment reminders keep reaching a family who has already left, which is the kind of message that turns a friendly goodbye into a complaint.
Three different things
| Item | What it is | What should happen |
|---|---|---|
| Lessons already taught, still unpaid | A debt for a service delivered | Keep the invoice open. |
| The current, paid block | Lessons the family has paid for | Up to you and the family, e.g. finish the block, or refund per your policy. |
| The next block, invoiced but not started | A request for lessons that won’t happen | Cancel it, void the invoice, stop reminders. |
How Encore does it
Open the student and choose End enrolment, or Deactivate if they are leaving the studio entirely. Deactivating ends every enrolment the same way and can be undone later.
When an enrolment ends:
- Future lessons leave the calendar. Their places are released, so the student no longer holds that time.
- Blocks that never started are cancelled and their unpaid invoices voided. A block counts as “never started” when it was never paid and no lesson in it has been taught, and nothing else is touched. Voided invoices drop off Billing → Awaiting payment, and automatic reminders stop.
- Invoices for lessons already taught stay open. Encore doesn’t treat a departure as a write-off, so you can still collect what’s owed, and Mark paid when it arrives.
- The teacher gets the time back. For a private lesson, the empty weekly slot is removed from the timetable, and that teacher’s time shows as free again for the next student.
Pause instead of end
If the family isn’t sure, perhaps a break for exams or an injury, use Pause instead. A paused enrolment holds the student’s place and stops lessons and billing until you Resume. Ending is for when they have really left.
What to record
Encore keeps the history either way. A deactivated student stays in the list of inactive students with their past lessons and invoices, which is what you want if the family comes back next year, or if someone later asks what was paid.