Pricing
As a self employed or freelance music teacher, setting your price is one of the first hurdles to overcome and hopefully, after reading this, you will have a much better idea of what you can charge.
As a 1-2-1 private guitar teacher and an online guitar teacher, Giles will draw on his own experience as well as official guidance.
The Musicians’ Union recommended rate (as of August 2020) is £35/hour:
“This rate is for individual lessons or for small-group teaching. It can be adjusted pro rata for lessons shorter than one hour. Rates for whole-class or large-group teaching and ensemble direction can be negotiated up to reflect any additional preparation time”
Having the confidence to charge appropriately for your time can be difficult. Having the MU publicly share their advised rate is a great way to quickly demonstrate how you have set your price.
Perhaps you will have to consider if there is competition for the instrument you teach. If there is an abundance of teachers, the price may be driven down. This does not necessarily mean you have to drop your price as you have no way to compare the quality of other teachers.
When Giles was new to teaching guitar, he was honest about his lack of experience with students and parents. He charged £20/hr or £10/ 30 mins. He felt this took the pressure off him to the best teacher in the universe and he was happy with that compromise.
Bundles
To secure work and regular lessons, it is definitely worth considering selling your lessons in bundles of 3, 5 or 10. The more lessons the better the discount. Let’s look at an example;
1 hour lesson: £35
3 x 1 hour lessons: £95.00 (Save £10.00)
5 x 1 hour lessons: £155.00 (Save £20.00)
10 x 1 hour lessons: £310.00 (Save £40.00)
Having a contract
We would highly recommend having a contract between yourself and your client. It is important that you agree when you will be paid, especially with respect to lesson bundles. It is also important to agree what happens in the event of a lesson being cancelled by you or the student. Here is a link to the MU’s template contracts to get you started.
Using a Service
You could also consider using an online service such as Yourspace Music Lessons or musictutors.co.uk. Giles has taught with Yourspace and loved having someone else worry about the bookings. All he needed to do was go through the induction process and set up the ‘Shop Hours’ to suit me. A cut of the lesson cost goes to Yourspace for the administration of this service.
How to get paid online – 2 simple ways
Let’s look at 2 simple ways to get paid online. BACS transfer and Paypal request. As with any self employed work, you will need to keep a record of your income for self assessment tax purposes.
BACS Transfer
To be paid via BACS transfer you need to give the client:
- Account Name
- Account Number
- Sort Code
- Amount to be paid
These details could all be included on a standard invoice where you just change the amount and date. See below for what you need to include in your invoice.
Your invoice should include:
- Your details including your business name (plus a logo, if you have one); business address and postcode; phone and fax number plus email address and who to contact with any queries.
- Date of invoice (your own) and invoice number (your own).
- Students details including their name and address.
- Financial information, including a description of the services provided, including date, times and venue.
- VAT due and VAT number (if you are VAT registered).
- Total due.
- Any relevant additional information.
- Cheques to be made payable to your bank account name.
- Terms of business. The following text effectively sets out your terms of payment: ‘Strictly 30 days net. I/we reserve the right to claim statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate at the date the debt becomes overdue, in accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.’
Paypal Request
First you will have to create a Paypal account and connect it to at least one bank account. You can then go to ‘Send and Request’ at the top of your Paypal homepage and use an email address or mobile number to send a bill.
The client needs a Paypal account too. If they don’t have one, it is very easy to set-up. Be aware that Paypal will have it’s own small charges for using their service.
In conclusion, teaching online can be hugely rewarding and enjoyable as with teaching in real life. Getting the price, contract and invoicing right from the start will save time and stress. It also makes you look professional and gives your students more confidence to spend time and money with you.
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