Tutor payroll software calculates what teachers are owed from recorded classes. Halqora applies fixed class-outcome, lateness and student no-show rules, and teachers see earnings calculated with the same rules as payroll.
Halqora is our product. We’ve tried to keep this comparison fair: competitor details come from their public pages, linked and dated below. Tell us if anything is out of date at support@halqora.com.
What is tutor payroll software?
Halqora is management software for online academies. Halqora schedules, bills and pays one-to-one classes: one teacher and one student. Payroll calculates the amount owed; you make the transfer outside Halqora.
A timetable shows what was planned. Payroll needs what happened. A completed class, a student no-show and a teacher absence cannot all earn the same amount simply because the calendar reserved the time.
For teacher pay at online academies, the useful starting point is a clear outcome for every class. Halqora applies fixed outcome rules to that record instead of asking you to recalculate deductions separately.
How it works
Halqora payroll starts with the teacher’s hourly rate and the class duration. Base class pay is the hourly rate divided by 60, multiplied by class minutes. Payroll does not convert currencies.
- Record the outcome. Teachers can record a completed class with a report, a student no-show or a student cancellation. Admins resolve other outcomes.
- Record the evidence. Admins enter teacher lateness and student no-show wait minutes. Classroom join and leave logs do not calculate those minutes automatically.
- Apply the fixed rules. Completed classes earn full pay up to 2 minutes late, lose a flat 5% from 3 to 5 minutes late, then lose pay at the minute rate beyond 5 minutes.
- Review exceptions. Missing wait time, unresolved classes and missing completed-class reports prevent payroll generation for the affected teacher and period.
- Review the payment. Generate the teacher’s draft payment after resolving the period. Transfer the money separately, then mark the payment paid manually.
A teacher cancellation with under 4 hours’ notice counts as a teacher no-show when an admin records or resolves the outcome. Halqora does not automatically convert the cancellation, and teachers do not have an in-app cancellation-request screen.
The broader guide to teacher payroll rules tied to class outcomes explains why the outcome needs to come before the payment calculation.
How each class outcome affects teacher pay
| Recorded class outcome | Teacher paid? | Deduction (% or minutes of pay) | Family billed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Completed, on time or up to 2 minutes late | Full class pay | 0% | Yes |
| Completed, teacher 3 to 5 minutes late | Reduced class pay | Flat 5% of class pay | Yes |
| Completed, teacher beyond 5 minutes late | Remaining pay, floored at zero | One minute of pay per minute late, from scheduled start | Yes |
| Student no-show, teacher waited at least half the class | Full class pay | 0% | Yes, unless an admin records an emergency exception |
| Student no-show, teacher left before half the class | No | Full class pay | Yes, unless an admin records an emergency exception |
| Student cancellation with under 3 hours’ notice | Follows your academy’s policy; tell us yours during onboarding | Depends on your policy | Yes |
| Teacher cancellation with under 4 hours’ notice, recorded as teacher no-show by an admin | No | Full class pay | No |
A student no-show with no recorded wait time needs admin review. A missing wait time is not evidence that the teacher left early. Record the wait before generating payroll.
Family billing and teacher pay are separate calculations. An emergency exception waives the family’s student no-show charge; teacher pay still follows the recorded half-class wait rule.
Why the teacher’s earnings screen matches payroll
The teacher earnings screen and payroll use the same calculation and the teacher’s current hourly rate. Teachers see their own data, so a teacher can check earnings without seeing another teacher’s pay.
Matching calculations make a pay question easier to answer. Review the class outcome, duration, hourly rate and recorded minutes together. Correct an inaccurate record before generating payment rather than keeping a separate correction in a spreadsheet.
Completed classes also need reports. The teacher records a rating from 1 to 5 and written feedback. Reports are internal: admins can read them, but families cannot. Payroll for the period waits until the reports are in.
Once a class belongs to a teacher payment, the class record is locked against changes. Review disputed outcomes while the period is still open.
Lateness and wait-time rules: a worked example
Example, illustrative: a class with base pay of USD 4 and a teacher arriving 3 minutes late earns USD 3.80. The arithmetic is USD 4 x 5% = USD 0.20 deducted; USD 4 minus USD 0.20 = USD 3.80.
The 5% deduction applies to the whole class payment. Arriving 2 minutes late remains within the grace period. Arriving 5 minutes late still falls within the flat deduction band.
Beyond 5 minutes, Halqora deducts one minute of pay for every minute late, counted from the scheduled start. The deduction does not start after the grace period. Pay cannot fall below zero. Explain that boundary in your teacher lateness policy.
Example, illustrative: for a 60-minute class with an hourly rate of 20.00 in your payroll currency, a student no-show pays 20.00 after a recorded wait of 30 minutes. A recorded wait of 29 minutes pays 0.00. Half of 60 minutes is 30 minutes.
For class durations with an uneven half, the minimum wait rounds up to a whole minute. The guide to paying teachers when a student no-shows covers the decision behind that waiting requirement.
What it doesn’t do (yet)
As of 21 October 2026, payroll is included in Halqora’s pricing plans: Starter USD 39/mo up to 25 active students; Academy USD 2.50 per active student per month, USD 99 minimum; Scale custom for 300+ students. Annual billing gives 2 months free. A 14-day pilot, free onboarding and data import are available.
Alternatives and how others handle this
Competitor details below are dated 21 October 2026. Choose around the rules you need, rather than assuming every payroll product treats a missed class alike.
Oases describes approved-session payroll feeding billing and tutor payroll, with pay groups and time offsets for preparation. Oases may be a better fit if preparation time or pay groups by subject, service or location matter to your operation.
TutorCruncher’s cancellation documentation describes chargeable cancellations and a late-cancellation notice setting. TutorCruncher may suit you better if you need a notice setting rather than Halqora’s fixed cancellation windows. TutorCruncher also says tutors can track earnings through their own login.
Waiting policies vary. Tutorful’s terms say online students are charged in full when the tutor attends for at least 15 minutes from the scheduled start. Studio Arabiya’s terms say teachers wait the first 15 minutes before a student is marked absent, without a refund or free makeup. These describe student charges and attendance policies, not equivalent teacher-pay promises.
Halqora’s specific approach combines teacher-lateness deductions, a wait-half-class condition for paid student no-shows and matching teacher earnings calculations. Check those fixed rules against how you intend to pay before adopting the workflow.
Sources
- Oases tutor time and payment tools, checked 21 October 2026
- TutorCruncher: cancelling lessons, checked 21 October 2026
- Tutorful terms, checked 21 October 2026
- Studio Arabiya terms, checked 21 October 2026