Letting families book lessons

Let parents book extra lessons, and trial lessons for new families, into open times under rules you set.

Updated 18 October 2026

Why this exists

Every extra or trial lesson booked by phone or email takes your front desk's time, and families have to wait for office hours to arrange it. With this on, parents book into your tutors' open times under the rules you set, at any hour. You keep control of what can be booked, when and how often, and every booking is priced like one you make yourself.

Parents can book an extra lesson, and a family new to your centre can book one trial lesson, into your tutors' open times. You set the rules.

Before you start

You need settings.edit, and each save asks for two-step sign-in.
The page is Settings > Families booking lessons. If it says "not switched on yet", a database update is still to come for your centre.
While lessons are managed in Teachworks, families cannot book.

Set your rules

Open Settings > Families booking lessons.
Under What can be booked, tick the services a family may book. They come from your own price list, and a booked lesson is priced and charged exactly like one you book.
Choose Where a lesson can happen: at the centre, online, or at home (only when home tutoring is on).
Choose Which tutor: the family's usual tutor only, or any tutor cleared to teach.
Set the times: Minimum notice (hours), Days ahead, Lesson length (minutes), Start times every (minutes) and the Gap around each lesson.
Under Limits for each family, set the most lessons for one day and for one week, or leave them empty for no limit.
Under Trial lessons, choose the service a trial is booked as.
Under Tutors accept each booking, set Time a tutor has to answer (hours). It cannot be longer than the minimum notice. Set the Last-minute window (hours) if you want each tutor's last-minute rule to apply.
Under Cut-offs, set the Booking hours for each day (any time, between two times, or not online), whether online booking is closed on NSW public holidays, a Same-day cut-off, and whether A family with an overdue invoice cannot book.
Under Reminders, choose how parents are reminded the day before (email, text, or both), whether they are reminded again an hour before, whether tutors are reminded of lessons families booked (or of all their lessons, off unless you choose it), and whether a daily summary goes to the people who manage lessons.
Press Save rules, then switch on Let families book and press Save switch. The switch cannot go on until your rules are saved.

Families only see tutors who have switched on Families can book me in their own settings. The page lists who has, with their hours. To change it for a tutor, open their page under People > Tutors; this needs lessons.edit and two-step sign-in, and is recorded.

What happens when a parent books

The parent picks a child, a lesson and a time, sees the price and your cancellation terms, and sends a booking request. Every usual check runs, including the tutor's working with children check. The request holds the time, so no other family, and nobody booking from the calendar, can take it.

The tutor is told in the app and by email, and so is everyone who manages lessons. The tutor, or anyone with lessons.edit, accepts or declines it from Home > Booking requests. On accept, the checks run again and the lesson is booked, and the family is told. On decline the family is told, with the reason if one is given, and offered other times. If nobody answers in time, it is declined automatically and the family is told.

Reminders and the daily summary

Parents get the reminders you chose for lessons booked this way. If you have lesson reminders on for every lesson, those cover these lessons too, and nothing is sent twice.
The tutor gets a reminder the day before, in the app and by email. Switch on Remind tutors of all their lessons and tutors get the same reminder for every lesson they teach, however it was booked. It works only while families booking lessons is switched on.
Each morning, the people who manage lessons get an email of yesterday's requests, answers and cancellations, only when there was any.

Good to know

Students cannot book. Only a parent on the account can.
Nothing is charged at booking or on accept. The lesson is charged the way your centre charges once it is taught, and never while your centre has not started charging families through the portal.
The overdue invoice rule only applies once your centre charges families through the portal.
The public holidays are the NSW Government's statewide list. Add the August bank holiday or a local holiday as a closure day if you close for it.
"Usual tutor" comes from lessons in the portal. If your lessons still come from Teachworks, choose any cleared tutor.