For dance studios, academies and competition teams
Tuition on auto-pay. Costume deposits on time. Competition fees on a schedule.
Monthly tuition priced by hours of class, charged on the 1st. Costume deposits collected before the order deadline, recital fees and tickets in the spring, and the competition team's season split into monthly payments. Private lessons billed from the time your instructors track.
Explore the live demo See the client portal
No signup, no password: walk around Starling Dance Academy’s workspace. Or start your free trial.
Sound familiar?
The paperwork side of the job.
- Costume orders are due to the supplier in November and half the deposits are still "coming Friday".
- Tuition changes every time a dancer adds a class, and the sibling discount gets missed on the next bill.
- The competition season costs a family a few thousand dollars, and the payment plan lives in a spreadsheet only you understand.
- Private lessons get taught, then forgotten when the invoice goes out.
- Recital fees, ticket orders and photo packages all land in the same three weeks of May.
A real example
What an estimate looks like.
Line by line, the way you’d actually quote it: quantity times rate, tax worked out for you, and the deposit collected the moment the client approves.
- Your client opens one link and approves it, paying the deposit by card.
- Approved estimates turn into invoices in one click.
- Your logo, your terms, and your line items saved for next time.
Prepared for The Castellanos Family
| Item | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choreography, large and small group routines — Sofia C. 1 ea × $450.00 | 1 ea | $450.00 | $450.00 |
| Competition entry fees, group routines (2 routines × 4 regionals) 8 ea × $62.00 | 8 ea | $62.00 | $496.00 |
| Competition entry fee, solo (4 regionals) 4 ea × $140.00 | 4 ea | $140.00 | $560.00 |
| Competition costumes, per routine 2 ea × $185.00 | 2 ea | $185.00 | $370.00 |
| Summer convention, two days 1 ea × $395.00 | 1 ea | $395.00 | $395.00 |
| Team jacket & warm-ups 1 ea × $145.00 | 1 ea | $145.00 | $145.00 |
The 20% deposit holds Sofia's spot on the team. The balance is split into five monthly payments, September to January, charged to your card on file. Fees are non-refundable after the first regional.
Sent with Fee-Lion · example document, fictional client
How Fee-Lion fits
The parts that do the heavy lifting.
Tuition that charges itself
One recurring invoice per family with each dancer's classes on it, billed on the 1st September to June. Parents save a card or bank account once.
More on online paymentsCostume deposits before the deadline
Send costume fees as an estimate with a 50% deposit. Parents approve and pay from one link; the balance invoice credits the deposit.
More on estimates & proposalsCompetition season, in payments
Choreography, entry fees, costumes and convention on one estimate, offered as group-only, two groups, or groups plus a solo. The balance is split into monthly payments, each charged on its date.
More on payment schedulesTeam contract, signed
Require a signature on the competition team agreement, so the contract and the deposit come back together.
More on e-signaturesPrivate lessons from tracked time
Instructors time each lesson; the month's lessons become invoice lines in one move. A monthly lesson package can run as an hours bank.
More on time trackingTrial-class requests
A "Book a free trial class" form asks for the dancer's age and experience and lands as a request you can follow up.
More on request formsA day with Fee-Lion
How it actually plays out.
- A parent books a free trial class from the form on your website, with the dancer's age and experience. You follow up from the request.
- She signs up for Ballet II and Jazz II: set up the family's monthly tuition once, add the sibling discount for her brother, and it charges on the 1st.
- In October, send each family the recital costume estimate with a 50% deposit. Deposits come in from the link before your order deadline.
- For the competition team, send the season estimate with group-only, two-group and solo options. The family picks one, signs the team contract, pays the deposit, and the balance goes on monthly payments.
- Instructors time private lessons as they teach them; at month end the hours become invoice lines.
- In April, recital fees and ticket orders go out as invoices. Ice-storm closure? A credit note on May tuition.
Live demo
Click around Starling Dance Academy.
A dance studio in Overland Park, Kansas, mid-season: monthly tuition on auto-pay, recital costume deposits, a competition team on payment schedules, private lessons and a lesson package, recital fees and tickets, and birthday parties.
A real Fee-Lion workspace set up as Starling Dance Academy, with sample clients, jobs, estimates and invoices. No signup, no password. Changes are switched off, so click anything.
- The dashboardMoney owed, jobs in flight and this month’s numbers.
- Estimates & invoicesLine items, deposits and payments, the way your jobs actually run.
- The client portalThe one link your customer opens to approve and pay.
Questions
What people ask before they switch.
How do dance studios usually charge tuition?
Most charge a monthly fee for the season (often September to June) based on hours of class per week, with a discount for multiple classes or a second dancer. In Fee-Lion each family has a recurring invoice with each dancer's classes on it, charged on the 1st.
How should I collect costume fees?
Many studios take a 50% costume deposit in the fall so they can order, and the balance in winter. Send costume fees as an estimate with a 50% deposit; when the balance invoice is created, the deposit is already credited.
Can competition team fees be split into payments?
Yes. Put the season on one estimate or invoice and add a payment schedule, for example a deposit and five monthly payments. Each payment has its own due date and reminder, and parents on auto-pay are charged on each date.
How do I bill private lessons?
Instructors track their lesson time against the family's project, and the month's lessons become invoice lines in one move at their rates. For a set number of lessons a month, an hours bank bills the package and tracks what was used.
Does Fee-Lion handle class registration, rosters or attendance?
No. Fee-Lion handles billing and payments: tuition, fees, deposits, payment plans, credits and statements. Dancers appear by name on the invoice lines, but there are no class schedules, rosters or attendance. Keep your registration software for those.
Your next estimate could go out tonight.
Start a 14-day free trial, no card needed, or look around Starling Dance Academy first.