Billing

Matchpal uses a grant-based billing system where students purchase packages of hours or sessions, which are then consumed as they work with providers.

Understanding the Billing Model

Packages

Packages are the products students purchase, typically through an external shop (WooCommerce). Each package provides:

  • A specific number of hours or sessions
  • Service type coverage (tutoring, advising, or both)
  • Validity period (if applicable)

Grants

When a package is purchased, it creates a grant on the student's account:

  • Balance - Available hours/sessions
  • Used - Hours consumed through sessions
  • Held - Hours reserved for active relationships
  • Remaining - Balance minus used and held

Usage Flow

  1. Student purchases package → Grant created
  2. Student matched with provider → Hours held
  3. Sessions completed → Hours consumed from hold
  4. Relationship completed → Unused hold released

Viewing Student Balances

From Student Profile

  1. Open student profile
  2. Navigate to "Grants" or "Billing" tab
  3. See all grants and current balances
  4. View usage history

From Dashboard

The admin dashboard shows:

  • Total grants across platform
  • Usage trends
  • Low balance alerts
  • Recent transactions

Grant Management

Assigning a Grant

To manually add a grant:

  1. Open student profile
  2. Click "Add Grant"
  3. Select package type
  4. Enter quantity (hours/sessions)
  5. Add reference (order number, note)
  6. Save grant

Adjusting a Grant

To modify existing grant:

  1. Open student profile
  2. Find the grant to adjust
  3. Click "Edit" or "Adjust"
  4. Increase or decrease balance
  5. Add reason for adjustment
  6. Save changes

Decreasing a grant below used + held amount is not allowed. Release holds first if needed.

Transferring Grant Hours

If a student needs hours moved between service types:

  1. Open student profile
  2. Decrease one grant type
  3. Increase the other type
  4. Document the transfer reason

Package Configuration

Packages are typically configured in the external shop, but Matchpal needs to know:

Package Mapping

  • Which shop products map to which service types
  • How many hours each package provides
  • Any special conditions or limits

Package Types

Common package configurations:

PackageHoursService
Tutoring Basic5Tutoring only
Tutoring Standard10Tutoring only
Advising Package3Advising only
Combo Package8Both services

Usage Tracking

Session-Based Usage

Each completed session deducts from grant:

  • Duration recorded
  • Hours subtracted from relationship allocation
  • Relationship allocation subtracted from grant hold
  • Total used increases

Revision-Based Usage

For advising revisions:

  • Each revision may have fixed hour value
  • Or tracked by actual review time
  • Deducted similar to sessions

Real-Time Balance

Student's available balance calculated as:

Available = Total Grant - Used - Held

Where "Held" includes all active relationship allocations.

Grant Holds

When a relationship is created, hours are held:

Creating Holds

  • Relationship created with hour allocation
  • Those hours become "held"
  • Available balance decreases
  • Ensures hours exist for the provider

Releasing Holds

Holds are released when:

  • Relationship completed (unused returned)
  • Relationship cancelled
  • Relationship declined by provider
  • Admin manually releases

Hold Visibility

Students see holds in their balance breakdown:

  • "Reserved for [Provider Name]: X hours"
  • Helps explain why available differs from total

Handling Special Cases

Insufficient Balance

If student needs services but has no grant:

  1. Verify with student about purchasing more
  2. If immediate need, admin can add grant manually
  3. Note reason for manual addition
  4. Follow up on payment outside platform

Expired Grants

If grants have expiration dates:

  1. System tracks validity periods
  2. Expired grants no longer available
  3. Admin can extend if policy allows
  4. Communicate with student about renewals

Refunds

If student needs refund:

  1. Verify unused hours
  2. Adjust grant balance down
  3. Process refund through shop
  4. Document in student profile

Package Upgrades

If student wants to add more hours:

  1. Process new purchase through shop
  2. New grant automatically created
  3. Or admin manually adds grant
  4. Existing relationships can continue

Reporting

Usage Reports

Generate reports showing:

  • Hours purchased vs. consumed
  • Usage by service type
  • Usage by time period
  • Grant utilization rates

Financial Reports

Track financial aspects:

  • Total packages sold
  • Revenue by package type
  • Outstanding grant balances
  • Consumption velocity

Exporting Data

  1. Navigate to billing/reports section
  2. Select report type
  3. Choose date range
  4. Export to CSV or Excel

Integration with WooCommerce

Matchpal integrates with WooCommerce for purchases:

Automatic Grant Creation

  • Student purchases package in shop
  • Webhook notifies Matchpal
  • Grant automatically created
  • Student ready to match

Order Fulfillment

  • Successful orders create grants
  • Failed orders logged for review
  • See Order Errors for troubleshooting

See Integrations for setup details.

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