Classes with capacity and levels
Classes with a maximum and minimum size, a level or age band, a tutor and a room, running weekly or on set dates, with a rule for who is allowed to join.
Academies × Booking systems
A timetable that rebuilds itself when someone moves.
Classes, rooms and tutors on one timetable. Students book, move and cancel within your rules, make-up sessions and waitlists are handled, and every change reaches the register and the tutor’s calendar. It is a booking system designed around classes, where one booking is not one appointment.
Sound familiar?
One absence changes four other things.
A student cancels a Thursday lesson. The class is now below minimum, a make-up has to be offered, the tutor’s hour is free, the room could be used, and someone has to tell the parent. A standard appointment app treats each booking as separate. A school knows that a class is a group, a room, a tutor, a level and a series that runs for weeks, and when one piece moves, the others should follow.
- Timetables are built in a spreadsheet and re-sent every time something changes.
- Make-up lessons are arranged by message and tracked in someone’s notes.
- Rooms and tutors clash, and it’s found out when a class turns up to a locked door.
- Class packs and term bookings are counted by hand, so nobody knows who has sessions left.
- A full class has a waitlist in an inbox.
What gets built
The parts, shaped to you.
Pick the ones you need. Each is built around how your team already works, then joined up on one set of data.
Clash checks
A tutor can’t be in two places and a room can’t hold two classes. The timetable refuses the clash when it is created, not when the class turns up.
Student self-service
Students or parents see their timetable, move a lesson within your notice period, or cancel and take a make-up credit, all from a phone.
Make-up credits
Missed sessions earn credits that expire when you decide. Booking a make-up uses a credit, and the tutor and register update automatically.
Class packs and terms
Sell a term, a block of ten or a drop-in. The system counts sessions used and left, and prompts renewal before a pack runs out. Payments run through Stripe.
Waitlists
When a place frees up, the next person on the list is offered it, with a time limit to accept, then the next. No one in the office needs to make the calls.
Tutor view and cover
Tutors see their day, mark attendance and get a notification if a class is cancelled. If one is off sick, cover can be offered to available tutors and students are told.
Calendar sync and reports
Two-way Google Calendar sync for tutors and rooms, with occupancy and attendance reports by class, tutor and term.
A good fit if
- You run groups, not just one-to-one appointments, with levels, capacity and rooms.
- Make-ups and rescheduling take up office time every week.
- You sell terms, packs or memberships and need session counts to be right.
- Several tutors and rooms make clashes a real problem.
Not the right call if
- A single tutor with a few weekly slots. A standard booking app does that well and is cheaper.
- You only need an online enrolment form for annual courses. A form and a payment link are enough.
Proof
Built before, running now.
MCMA is a music academy; I haven’t built a language-school or sports-club timetable by name yet. The scheduling, make-up and waitlist logic is the same.
Education · LiveMCMA
Weekly schedule, attendance, rescheduling, waitlists, Google Calendar sync and auto-assigned instruments for a music academy.
Read the case study Music & events · LiveMusicPlaygroundEvent ticketing with member pricing, promo codes, refunds and wallet passes: the paid-booking side of the problem.
Read the case studyHow it runs
From first call to daily use.
The same five steps on every project, sized to yours.
- 01A short call or the quote builder
Tell me how the business runs today: the tools, the workarounds, the bit that drives you mad. The quote builder takes about five minutes and gives me a scoped brief.
- 02A fixed quote, in phases
I reply with a fixed price and a phase plan. The must-haves go first, so you are using the system while the rest is still being built.
- 03Previews as it’s built
You see the real system on a private link while it is being built, with your own data in it as early as possible. Changes are cheap at this stage, so this is where we make them.
- 04Your data moved across
Spreadsheets, an old system, email threads: the data comes with you, checked against the source so nothing is lost on the way.
- 05Launch, then care
Your team gets a walkthrough, and I stay on for fixes and new features, either on a monthly support plan or pay as you go.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Can a student cancel and get a make-up automatically?
Yes, within the notice period you set. They cancel in the portal or a link, the system issues a make-up credit, and they pick a new class that has space. Outside the window, the rule you set applies (no credit, or office approval).
Can the same tutor teach across several sites?
Yes. Rooms and sites are resources, and travel time between them can be added as a buffer. The timetable won’t offer a tutor two places back to back if they can’t get between them.
Can it handle drop-in classes and term bookings together?
Yes. A class can have a fixed set of term students and open places for drop-ins, each paid differently. The register shows both.
How does it connect to student records and fees?
Bookings hang off the same student record as applications and fees, so a cancelled place can update an instalment plan or credit. See student management for the record side.
Is WhatsApp supported for reminders?
Yes, through the WhatsApp Business platform alongside email. A reminder can carry a reschedule link, which reduces last-minute no-shows.
What happens when a tutor is off sick?
The class is flagged and the office can offer cover to available tutors, or cancel and notify the students, who get a make-up credit automatically. Parents and students are told by email or WhatsApp with a link to rebook. Without a system that is five calls; with one, it is a decision and a click.
Go deeper
Read next, then decide.
ServiceBooking systems
Online booking with your rules: deposits, reminders, waitlists and calendar sync.
IndustryAcademies & schoolsApplications, enrolment, timetables, fees and student and tutor portals.
SystemStudent management systemApplications, levels, groups, attendance, fees and agents for language schools and academies.
SystemStudent and parent portalTimetable, fees, homework, progress reports and messages for students, parents and tutors.
ComparisonCustom booking vs booking appsCalendly, Fresha, SimplyBook or custom: which fits your rooms, staff, deposits and rules.
IntegrationGoogle WorkspaceGmail, Calendar, Drive, Sheets and Google sign-in connected to your CRM or booking system.
IntegrationStripeCheckout, deposits, subscriptions and payment links tied to your invoices and bookings.
Case studyMCMAA music academy run end to end from one platform: applications, scheduling, payments, portals and programmes.
Often built together
Related systems.
Booking systems
Online booking with your rules: deposits, reminders, waitlists and calendar sync.
Academies & schoolsApplications, enrolment, timetables, fees and student and tutor portals.
Client portalsA secure login for clients: invoices, documents, bookings, payments and messages.
Custom CRMEnquiries, clients, pipeline and follow-ups in one place, shaped to how you sell.
How pricing works · Digitalise Your SME grants · All case studies
Start here
Get a fixed quote.
The quote builder opens with the parts on this page already switched on. Add or remove what you like, and I reply with a fixed quote.