Concepts
- Balance due: For an enrollment, the amount still owed = agreed tuition (or offering tuition) minus payments already made (including refunds). It is shown on the student’s enrollment and in the program dashboard.
- Invoice: A bill for a specific amount (e.g. the remaining balance or a portion of it) with a due date. Invoices can be open, partially_paid, paid, overdue, or canceled.
- Payment link: A unique, time-limited URL the student (or sponsor) uses to pay an invoice. You can send the link by email or copy it.
Creating invoices
When invoices are created
- Balance invoices: When a student enrolls with a deposit or no payment, the remaining balance is due later. The platform can create a balance invoice for that amount (or you create one manually). Due date comes from the offering’s payment configuration (e.g. X days before cohort start or end).
- From a cohort invite: Depends on the tuition choice made when the invite was sent. Enroll now, invoice after creates an open invoice the moment the student accepts. Must pay before enrolling collects money first — an invoice is created afterwards only for what is left over (the balance after a deposit). A payment plan gets installment invoices instead of one balance invoice. No tuition owed creates nothing. See Students and invites.
- Manual creation: From the program dashboard, open a student’s enrollment and use Create invoice (or equivalent) to create an invoice for a chosen amount and due date. You can create multiple invoices per enrollment as long as the total does not exceed the enrollment’s balance due.
Create invoice dialog (manual)
When you create an invoice manually you typically set:- Amount: Dollar amount to bill. It cannot exceed the remaining balance for that enrollment (total balance due minus any open/partially paid invoice amounts).
- Due date: When the invoice is due.
- Payer type: Student or sponsor (affects who can pay and who gets reminders).
- Sponsor (if sponsor-paid): Select the sponsor if the invoice is for a sponsor to pay.
Invoices from an invite are never born past due. If the normal due date would already be in the past — for example a class that has already started — the due date is pushed out to at least 7 days from today, so the student still receives the “due soon” and “due today” reminders before it goes overdue. The student is also emailed as soon as the invoice is created, with a working pay link.
Payment links
- Generation: When an invoice is created (or from the invoice actions menu), the system can create a payment link — a URL that includes a secure token.
- Expiration: Links are valid for a limited time (e.g. 90 days) and may have a max number of uses. You can create a new link if one expires.
- Usage: The payer opens the link, enters payment details, and completes payment. Success is recorded and the invoice and enrollment balance are updated.
Invoice statuses and balance
- Open / Partially paid / Overdue: Invoice still has an amount due. Balance due on the enrollment includes these amounts.
- Paid: Invoice is fully paid; it no longer counts as balance due.
- Canceled: Invoice is void and does not count toward balance.
Invoice reminder settings
In Settings → Payments, you can configure Invoice reminder emails so payers get reminded relative to the invoice due date.Reminder types
- Upcoming: Sent X days before the due date (e.g. 7 days before, 14 days before). You can add multiple (e.g. 14, 7, 3 days before).
- On due date: Sent the day the invoice is due (one reminder per invoice).
- Past due: Sent X days after the due date (e.g. 3 days after, 7 days after).
Invoices that start out late
An invoice created after its own due date does not replay the reminders it missed, and it does not go silent either. Two rules apply:- It joins the ladder at the right rung. An invoice that is already 8 days past due sends the “7 days past due” notice next, and every earlier stage is skipped for good.
- It sends at most one reminder every 3 days, so a very late invoice moves forward one notice at a time instead of firing a burst.
Who receives reminders
Reminders are sent to the billing contact (if set on the invoice), otherwise to the sponsor (for sponsor invoices) or the student. The platform resolves the recipient from the invoice and enrollment data.Saving reminder settings
After adding or editing reminders, click Save. Settings apply to all future reminder runs (e.g. a nightly or scheduled job that evaluates due dates and sends emails per your rules).Manual payments and balance adjustments
Recording a manual payment
If a student or sponsor pays outside the platform (check, wire, etc.), you can record a manual payment against the enrollment. This creates a transaction that decreases the balance due and can be attached to an invoice so the invoice status updates (e.g. to paid or partially paid). Manual payments do not go through Stripe; they are for record-keeping only.Balance adjustment
When you need to change the total amount owed (e.g. discount, fee change, or correction):- Open the enrollment in the program dashboard and use Adjust balance (or the balance adjustment dialog).
- Enter the new balance (in dollars). The system computes the difference from the current balance and applies it as an adjustment.
- Optionally add a reason (e.g. “Discount approved” or “Tuition correction”).
- Decreasing balance: Use when giving a discount or reducing what the student owes.
- Increasing balance: Use when adding a fee or correcting an undercharge (use sparingly and with a clear reason).