Subscription or pay-per-session? How to choose your centre's billing model
How you bill families affects more than your takings. It decides how predictable your centre's budget is, how many awkward conversations you have at the end of the month, and how much time you spend on invoices instead of with your team.
There is no single right model for every centre. But there are a few models that come up again and again, each with its own advantages and pitfalls. Here is how to choose.
Three common models
- Pay per session: the family pays a fixed price for each session held.
- Pay per hour: the price depends on the length of the session, useful when sessions are not all the same length.
- Monthly subscription: the family pays a fixed amount each month for an agreed schedule.
Many centres combine them: a subscription for intensive programmes, pay-per-session for speech therapy or for occasional sessions.
Pay per session
This is the easiest model to explain. The family pays for what actually happened, and the invoice reflects the month's calendar exactly.
- Advantage: perceived fairness. No one feels they are paying for something they did not receive.
- Risk: variable income. A month with many absences, for example during cold-and-flu season, shows up directly in the centre's budget, even though salaries stay the same.
Pay per hour
Suited to services with different lengths: a two-hour assessment, a 45-minute session, a 90-minute one. The price of the service is set per hour, and each session is billed according to its actual length.
- Advantage: a single price per service, however varied the sessions are.
- Risk: the family sees amounts on the invoice that differ from one month to the next and needs them explained.
Monthly subscription
The family knows from the outset how much it pays, and the centre knows how much it takes in.
- Advantage: predictable income and a simple invoice, the same every month.
- Risk: the question "what happens to missed sessions?" Without clear rules, the subscription ends up being seen as paying for nothing in a month with illness or holidays.
Absences: the rule that matters most
Whatever the model, absences are the source of most misunderstandings. It is worth distinguishing between two situations:
- An absence reported in good time, for example a day in advance: is not billed, and the session can be made up.
- An unreported absence: is billed, because the therapist was there and the slot could no longer be offered to another child.
Write the rule into the agreement with the family, explain it at the first meeting and apply it the same way for everyone. A rule applied sometimes and not others causes more conflict than a strict rule.
Discounts and special cases
Sibling discounts, special prices for families on low incomes, and pro bono cases are part of life at many centres. To stop them becoming a source of confusion:
- Record them against each child, not in a team member's memory.
- Express the discount as a percentage, so it stays correct when prices change.
- Keep them visible on the invoice, so the family can see what they have been given.
For tax matters, such as the type of document issued or VAT, talk to the centre's accountant.
How to choose
A few questions to help you decide:
- How stable are the children's schedules? A fixed schedule suits a subscription, a variable one suits pay-per-session.
- How much time do you have for admin? A subscription means fewer calculations each month.
- What do families in your area expect? Sometimes the best model is the one families understand straight away.
In closing
Whatever you choose, clarity matters more than the model: written rules, explained from the start, and a monthly invoice that matches what happened in the calendar.
In TempoApp, each child can have their own model: the service's hourly price, a fixed price per session, a percentage discount, a monthly subscription or pro bono. Attendance marked in the calendar decides what gets billed: sessions marked Present and Absent go on the invoice, those marked Excused do not.