There are things tutors hate more than grading homework. One of them is reminding a student (or their parents) about payment.
It shouldn't be a big deal — the person is using a service, they should pay for it. But every time you write "you have an outstanding balance for two lessons," you feel like a debt collector. Especially if the student is a friend of a friend.
Why tutors lose money
The problem isn't that students don't want to pay. Most of the time, they just forget. They've got their own lives, kids, work. And you forget to remind them — because it's awkward.
So the debt piles up. Reminding after a month feels even more awkward. After two months — you've mentally written off that money.
From what I've seen, tutors who don't automate payment tracking lose about 10-15% of their income. Not because students are dishonest — just because nobody reminded them in time.
How it works in TeachersFlow
Student balance
Every student in the system has a balance. When a student pays — you record the payment, balance goes up. When a lesson happens — the balance goes down by the lesson cost. All automatic.
Automatic notifications
When a student’s lesson balance runs out, the bot automatically sends them a message asking to pay. You don’t need to configure anything: the system checks balances on its own and notifies students who have no remaining lessons.
The message is polite, formal, no pressure. The student gets it from the bot, not from you personally — that removes the awkwardness.
What the student sees
The student gets a Telegram message: "Please pay for lessons and press the 'Paid' button." Below the message — a button labeled "Paid." The student transfers the money however they prefer and taps the button, and you get a notification to confirm the payment in the app.
What if a student isn't connected to the bot?
Reminders only work for students who joined TeachersFlow via an invite link. If a student isn't in the bot — you can still track their balance in the system, but you'll need to send the reminder yourself.
In practice, most students are happy to connect. It's convenient for them too — they can see their schedule and balance.
Is €3.50/month worth it?
Let's do the math. An average lesson costs €25. If automatic reminders help you collect payment for even one lesson per month that would have otherwise "slipped through" — that's €25 versus €3.50 for the subscription. Pays for itself with the first reminder.
Try it out
Open the bot in Telegram, add your students and give it a try. 7 days free — enough time to see the difference.