1,500 hours on the clock. Tuition that keeps pace.
Tuition plans built from the enrollment in HubSpot or Pipedrive. The kit and deposit before the first day on the floor, federal aid recorded as each disbursement arrives, the student's share on autopay, and each campus paid into its own bank account and books.
- J. Collins · Charlotte · Payment 2 of 14Paid
- M. Ortiz · Raleigh · Payment 7 of 14Paid
- B. Harris · Charlotte · Payment 11 of 14Open · admins notified
Why a cosmetology or barber school runs on payment plans.
Cosmetology and barbering are clock-hour programs. Each state's board sets the hours, from 1,000 in states like California and New York to 1,500 in states like North Carolina and Ohio. At 30 to 40 hours a week, 1,500 hours takes about nine months to a year.
Aid follows the hours.
At a clock-hour school, federal aid is paid by payment period, and a student reaches the next period by completing the hours (34 CFR 668.4). A student who falls behind on hours waits longer for the next disbursement, and aid seldom covers tuition and the kit in full. The rest is the student's.
The kit comes first.
Students start with a kit of shears, tools and mannequins, often billed before the first day on the floor. It's a large charge at the moment a student has the least saved.
Full time, part time, and back again.
Students move between full-time and part-time schedules, take a leave or come back after time away. Each change moves the finish date, and the plan has to move with it.
Each campus keeps its own books.
Groups grow by opening campuses or buying other schools, often as separate LLCs. Each one needs its own bank account, invoices and books, even when admissions is one team.
One student's 1,500 hours, without anyone chasing the money.
What your admissions team, your financial aid office, your bookkeeper and your student each see.
- Enrollment
Admissions marks the deal enrolled in HubSpot or Pipedrive and presses one button. The invoice is written from the deal: tuition, the kit, the deposit, the start date and the aid the student expects.
The rep never re-keys anything. The campus's template sets the branding and which bank account gets paid.
- Kit and deposit
The student signs and pays for the kit and the deposit on one page with your school's name on it, by card or bank transfer, before the first day.
The card fee is shown before they confirm, where your state allows it. Bank transfer carries none, which matters most on a payment this size.
- Aid by the hours
Each federal aid disbursement is its own payment on the student's invoice, recorded when it posts after the student reaches the hours. If aid comes in lower than expected, recalculate the student's plan for the difference.
The invoice shows who paid what: the kit and deposit, each disbursement and the student's payments, each in its own row.
- The 1st of the month
The student's share is charged monthly from November, through the program and a little past it if you choose. Autopay, and a receipt each time.
Weekly, every other week or monthly, starting on whatever date you set.
- A schedule change
A student who drops to part time, or takes a leave, finishes later. Recalculate the rest of the plan over the new schedule the day the change is approved.
The plan moves with the student, instead of falling behind a schedule that no longer exists.
- A missed payment
When a scheduled payment fails, your admins are notified, and it shows as open on the student's record and on your report. The student can pay it by card or bank transfer from the same payment page.
Your team works the short list of students who are actually behind, not every payment due this week.
- Month end
Every payment and recovered fee is already in that campus's QuickBooks Online or Xero file. One report shows collected, open and recovered, by campus.
Each campus's numbers are its own, and the bookkeeper checks them instead of building them.
deal
A year of monthly card payments, and the fee comes back on each.
Long programs mean many card payments per student, and the processor takes about 2.9% of every one. Paycove adds the card fee as a disclosed surcharge where your state allows it, and offers bank transfer beside every card.
Surcharge rules vary by state. Your counsel confirms yours; we'll show you both setups on the call.
What changes when the money runs itself.
The next campus opens with its money already working.
A new campus is a copy of a template: its own branding, bank account and books, the same plans as the rest. It can take kit payments and deposits before its first class.
locations one business runs on Paycove, each on the same plans, the same checkout and the same month end. A new campus is one more template.
You can say yes to the student a lender turns down.
Many of your students are starting out with a thin credit file or none. A plan from your school, at no interest, lets you enroll them on your terms, and the student stays yours.
students have paid for their program over time on Paycove, without a high-interest loan.
What cosmetology and barber schools ask.
Can the plan cover only what aid doesn't?
Yes. Aid is recorded on the student's invoice as its own payments, and the plan is set for the balance that's left. If a disbursement comes in lower than expected, recalculate the plan for the difference.
Students change between full time and part time. Does the plan change?
Yes. Recalculate the remaining balance over a new schedule the day the change is approved. Your CRM shows the new balance.
Can we bill the kit separately from tuition?
Yes. One-time items and the plan can sit on the same invoice, so the kit is its own line, paid up front or added to the plan.
Do plan payments matter for 90/10?
Revenue is counted on a cash basis, in the year the school receives it, so what your plans actually collect is what counts. How 90/10 counts plan payments. Check how your own plans are set up with your compliance lead.
What happens when a student on federal aid withdraws?
The Return of Title IV funds calculation comes first, and your refund policy decides what's owed after it. Stop the plan, refund a payment or recalculate the balance the same day, and your CRM shows the new balance.
Each campus is its own LLC. Can each have its own bank account and books?
Yes. Each campus runs from its own template with its own Stripe account and its own QuickBooks Online or Xero file, while admissions works from one CRM.
Is Paycove a lender?
No. Paycove runs the plan your school offers, at no interest. It doesn't lend, check credit or take on the student's balance.
What does it cost?
1% of what we collect plus $500 a month for your account, with no seat fees. See pricing.
Fifteen minutes before your next class starts.
On a screen share, we show you how Paycove would run a plan for a student like yours, at a campus like yours. Nothing to prepare. Built for schools collecting $100,000 a month or more in tuition.
Book 15 minutes