School Owners: Billing Companies

[Tainan Mantis]

For 20 months I have run my school in a small plaza without a billing company, but I think it is time for a change. As I have heard many times before, without a billing system, it is hard to make a successful school.

Commitment
I think that a billing system will help the students with their commitment.
Their commitment problem; if a student misses the beginning of the month he may decide to skip the whole month and save himself / herself the tuition for that month. Or, even worse, after missing the whole month he / she may not make it back to class ever(having broken their good habit of training every week). This has been my experience with students.

The Company
The contract of recurring payments helps to fix that problem.
For this reason alone, I think it is enough to get the billing company.
But, I don't know which is good and which is not.

A company called ASF International (http://www.asfmartialarts.com/) Came highly recomended, but I did a google search and noticed they had a lot of complaints against them. I can't tell by reading the complaints if the problem is really with this billing company, or maybe with the schools that are telling the company what to do.

For those owners who use a billing company I would deeply appreciate your input on good billing companies that you have used for years, companies I may want to steer clear of, and a general lowdown on this mysterious aspect of the MA school.

My school Tampa Kungfu (http://tampakungfu.com/)

A Different Kind of Thread
For those who hate the idea of billing companies, I understand your point of view, I am not a fan. If you can run a succesful school without contracts and billing maybe you can go into details on "Billing Free" thread.

Kevin

[MasterKiller]

This has been discussed before. Since no one responded, you should use the search feature. There was some good info in some of those threads.

[ginosifu]

Tainan Mantis,

I used a billing Company years ago. Normal companies take 10% off the top. All they are really doing is sending out a monthly statement to your clients. They are not in charge of forcing your clients to pay. Although you can use their collection agency to go after delequent accounts. Some companies offer electronic transfer which makes it easy for them to get clients to pay monthly via easypay or other transfer systems.

I just can't see paying someone to send out monthly statements. I was doing 10,000 monthly deposits and they were taking 1,000 every month. Myself and my wife have put together a emailing system to send out monthly statements ourselves.

hope this helps

ginosifu

[xcakid]

My current sifu had this saying:

"Commitment is within the student. If they want to be here, they will pay. If they are having financial problems, I do not want my school adding on top of that problem"

School has been open 5yrs. We have been constant at 100+ students paying $140 a month. Lowest enrollment we've ever had were the first 2 yrs.

We do not use a billing company. He does have an option to debit your card/bank account monthly if you choose. That is through the schools bank, not a billing company.

I would never sign up with a school that requires a contract nor has a billing company. I don't like to be forced to do things out of my control. We have a very well known Chinese sifu in the area. Great program and his black belts are top notch in my opinion, however, he does contracts. I have avoided his school like the plague. But thats just me.

[Shaolin]

You can offer your students "commitment" options. Have it available for the students to be able to pay month to month at the standard rates, but if they choose to agree to a "commitment" program of 6 months you'll discount their tuition by $15 per month, if they "commit" to 12 month you'll give them a discount of $30 per month. You can also offer a 3 month pay in advance. If the student pays 3 months in advance they receive 1 month free. Don't sell everyone on this option you'll cash yourself right out of business. If everyone is on pay up front you don't have guaranteed income coming in next month.

These are ways to give your students options and rewards for their loyalty, but it also secures your income. I don't agree with school owners finding every excuse in the book to overcharge their students or create unnecessary ways to get more money out of them but the day of the starving martial arts instructor are over. Being a humble and fair instructor doesn't mean you have to be poor.


P.S. Never ever refer to any agreement as a contract!!!

[Lucas]

You can offer your students "commitment" options. Have it available for the students to be able to pay month to month at the standard rates, but if they choose to agree to a "commitment" program of 6 months you'll discount their tuition by $15 per month, if they "commit" to 12 month you'll give them a discount of $30 per month. You can also offer a 3 month pay in advance. If the student pays 3 months in advance they receive 1 month free. Don't sell everyone on this option you'll cash yourself right out of business. If everyone is on pay up front you don't have guaranteed income coming in next month.

These are ways to give your students options and rewards for their loyalty, but it also secures your income. I don't agree with school owners finding every excuse in the book to overcharge their students or create unnecessary ways to get more money out of them but the day of the starving martial arts instructor are over. Being a humble and fair instructor doesn't mean you have to be poor.


P.S. Never ever refer to any agreement as a contract!!!

ive always liked this method. i personally prefer to pay tuition in 6 month to 1 year incriments, but the month to month option should always be available to people as well.

[GeneChing]

I'm posting this here because it was one of the earlier ones that came up on my search.


Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Martial arts students of defunct Silver Spring club urged to file claims (http://www.gazette.net/article/20130918/NEWS/130919093/1007/martial-arts-students-of-defunct-silver-spring-club-urged-to-file&template=gazette)
Chung’s Martial Arts Club shuttered but continued to collect payment from members
by Aline Barros
Staff Writer

Anyone who purchased a membership at the now-defunct Chung’s Martial Arts Clubs in Silver Spring is being encouraged to file a claim with the Consumer Protection Division.

The gym allegedly shut both Silver Spring locations at 744 Cloverly St. and 15440 New Hampshire Ave. in December 2012 and January 2013 without previous notice and continued to collect payments set up as automatic debits from consumers’ bank accounts, according to a press release from the Maryland Attorney General’s office.

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler advised former members of Chung’s Martial Arts Clubs to file a refund claim with the Consumer Protection Division.

Maryland law requires health clubs to obtain security, which gives consumers a safety net to ensure they won’t be paying for services they don’t receive when clubs close, he said.

Maryland Health Club Law requires centers such as self-defense schools, weight loss facilities and health clubs to register with the Consumer Protection Division, and clubs like Chung’s Martial Arts, which can charge three months payment in advance or an initiation fee of more than $200, have to provide a bond or letter of credit.

“The company is required to post a bond through an insurance or financial method. ... It protects consumers’ interests,” said Alan Brody, deputy communications director of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General. The martial arts academy was last registered in 2012 with a $70,000 bond.

According to Brody, the division has received almost 100 claims so far, and he hopes that more people come forward if they know the gym continued to charge their bank accounts after the school shut its doors.

Consumers who need more information about the closing or would like to know how to file a claim to discontinue debit payments should call 410-576-6350, or send an email with their name, address and telephone number to healthclub@oag.state.md.us.