How Credits Are Consumed
Credits are consumed when you mark attendance for a lesson with a billable outcome. The system automatically finds the right available credit and applies it. Non billable attendance statuses — such as an excused absence
The Trigger: Attendance
Lesson pack credits are consumed through the attendance system. When you mark attendance for a student, the system:
- Checks the attendance status you've selected and whether it is billable under your attendance settings
- If the status is billable and a matching credit is available, it applies the credit automatically
- The credit moves from
availabletoconsumed, stamped with the lesson and attendance details
If the attendance status is not billable, no credit is consumed — the student's pack balance is unchanged.
If no matching credit is available (the pack is exhausted or no pack exists), the lesson is simply recorded as attended and uncovered — which may mean it falls under a different billing model, needs to be handled separately, or will be covered by a credit from a pack purchased in the future. See Retroactive Credit Application for how that last case works.
How Attendance Settings Affect Credit Consumption
Your studio's attendance settings determine which outcomes are billable. Each attendance status in your list is configured as either billable or non-billable — and that setting is what the lesson pack system uses to decide whether to consume a credit.
A few examples of how this plays out in practice:
Present — typically billable. When you mark a student as present, a credit is consumed.
Absent with notice — typically non-billable in studios that have a courtesy policy for advance cancellations. No credit is consumed; the student keeps the credit for a future lesson.
Absent without notice — typically billable, treating the lesson as a late cancellation. A credit is consumed even though the student didn't attend.
Teacher cancelled — typically non-billable, since the cancellation was on your side. No credit is consumed; the student keeps their credit.
Here's a worked example. Suppose three students — Maya, James, and Lena — each have a 5-lesson pack. You hold a lesson and mark attendance:
| Student | Attendance status | Billable? | Credits remaining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maya | Present | Yes | 4 |
| James | Absent with notice | No | 5 |
| Lena | Absent without notice | Yes | 4 |
Maya attends and is marked present — a credit is consumed. James gave advance notice and is marked with your studio's "absent with notice" status, which you've configured as non-billable — no credit is consumed. Lena didn't show and gave no notice — your "absent without notice" status is billable — a credit is consumed even though she wasn't there.
If you later mark a lesson as Teacher cancelled, no credits are consumed for any student in that lesson, regardless of their pack status.
How the System Finds the Right Credit
The system uses strict matching to ensure credits go to the right lessons. For a credit to be applied to a lesson, all of the following must be true:
| Matching rule | What it means |
|---|---|
| Same student | The credit must belong to this student (owner match) |
| Same enrolment | The credit must be scoped to the same individual enrolment or group membership |
| Same lesson type | The credit must match the lesson type on the pack |
| Same duration | The credit must match the lesson duration |
| Status: available | The credit hasn't already been used |
This precision prevents credits from the wrong pack being applied to lessons they weren't purchased for. A pack for 30-minute lessons won't cover a 45-minute lesson, even if the student has both.
FIFO — Oldest Pack First
If a student has more than one active lesson pack of the same type, the system consumes credits from the oldest pack first (First In, First Out). This keeps things predictable and fair, and ensures older packs don't sit unused while newer ones are consumed.
Attendance Linkage
When a credit is consumed, the system records exactly which lesson participation and attendance event triggered it. This creates an auditable chain: you can see which lesson used which credit, and this linkage is what makes it possible to reverse billing decisions later without touching attendance records.
This participant-level linkage is important in group lessons, where multiple students attend the same lesson event but each has their own independent credits. The system tracks which participant consumed which credit — not just which lesson was attended.
Credits Don't Affect Scheduling
Pack credits have no effect on whether a lesson appears in the calendar or the schedule. Lessons are scheduled and attend independently. The credit system is purely a billing layer — it determines what is owed and what's been prepaid, but not when lessons happen or how they're structured.
Previous: How Credits Work · Next: Retroactive Credit Application