Software for private tutors: sessions, parents and packages

In K-12 tutoring the student is rarely the client. A parent emails in August because algebra went badly last year, or in February because the SAT is in March, and that parent picks the time, pays and wants to know how it's going. The admin work sits with that adult: confirming the session, collecting for a 10-session package, and telling them when their kid didn't log on.

From a parent's first email to a paid prep package

1. Your Link in Bio page, or the QR code on the flyer at the library, opens an intake form: grade, subject, school, upcoming test date and who's paying. Pick "SAT or ACT prep" and the form asks for the target score; submit it and the parent lands on your free 20-minute consult.
2. Your Scheduling page has a 60-minute "Tutoring session" with a 15-minute buffer and 12 hours' minimum notice. Up to 10 questions separate the person booking from the student: the student's name, grade and what the class covered this week.
3. For in-home sessions, make the address a required question. For online ones, your Zoom or Google Meet link goes in the meeting type's location and shows up in the confirmation and the reminder.
4. For test prep, send a proposal with the package as line items, for example ten 90-minute sessions and two timed practice tests, with a 50% deposit. The parent accepts from their phone by typing their name.
5. Create the deposit invoice from the accepted proposal and the balance invoice at session five. Parents pay by card through your Stripe account, or by Zelle or Venmo using the details you put in your payment instructions.
6. Packages don't count down on their own. Send a single-use booking link for each session and log every session against the student's project in Time Tracking, so you and the parent can see how many are left.

A typical week in test season

• Monday: four intake forms from parents of juniors. Three book the Wednesday consult straight from the form.
• Tuesday: a parent moves Thursday's session to Friday from the link in the confirmation email, which frees Thursday at 5 for someone else.
• Wednesday: three consults, then two prep proposals sent from your saved template. One is accepted before 10 p.m.
• Thursday: a student doesn't log on. You mark the session as a no-show and the parent gets an email with a link to pick a new time.
• Saturday: you record a 5-minute video working through the geometry problem you ran out of time for, and send it to the student.

All 13 tools, one by one

How a private tutor uses each tool. Some are daily, a couple matter once a school year.

• Link in Bio: one page for your Facebook or Nextdoor profile with the intake form, the free consult and your test-prep package. Click counts per link show whether the back-to-school post brought anyone in.
• Short Links: a short link and its QR code for the library flyer or the message going around the PTA group chat. If you swap the form later, the printed code still works.
• Forms: the intake form: grade, subject, school, test date and the paying parent's email. Questions change by grade level, and each response creates a contact under the adult's name.
• Scheduling: a free consult, a paid single session and an in-home session as separate meeting types, plus a follow-up email after each session with the link to book the next one.
• Proposals: the SAT, ACT or finals-prep package with each part as a line item and a deposit percentage. The parent accepts online instead of replying to a PDF.
• E-Signatures: rarely needed for single sessions. Useful for the rules of a semester package (missed sessions, make-ups, rescheduling), signed by the parent, not the student.
• Document Tracking: practice tests and review sheets as PDFs, with a passcode and downloads off if you don't want them passed around class. You see whether the student opened the sheet before the session.
• Screen Recording: videos of up to 5 minutes on Solo working a problem on screen. The student can replay it, and you see how far they watched.
• Notes & Boards: a note per student with what they've mastered and what's next, and a board with each student's test date so you can plan the review weeks.
• Time Tracking: the session count for a package: log each session to the student's project and see how many hours are left. If you bill hourly, the entries go straight onto the invoice.
• Invoicing: the package or monthly invoice in the paying parent's name, with a card pay link and email reminders if it's late. A monthly fee can repeat on the 1st and go out on its own.
• Expenses: prep books, printing, your tablet and the miles to in-home sessions, each with its receipt, so you see what a month of tutoring actually left you.
• Automations: a parent who submits the intake form gets the consult link; when a package invoice is paid, a task to prepare the student's diagnostic lands on your board.

Children's privacy and the miles you drive

• The FTC's COPPA rule applies to operators of commercial websites and online services directed to children under 13, or that know they're collecting personal information from a child under 13. The simplest setup for a tutor is to have the parent fill out the intake form and book the session with their own email, and to ask for the child's first name and grade, nothing more.
• If you drive to students' homes, the IRS standard mileage rate for business is 72.5 cents a mile for January 1 to June 30, 2026, and 76 cents a mile from July 1, 2026. Log the trips; your accountant decides whether the standard rate or actual costs work better for you.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by state; check yours with a lawyer or your licensing board.

SoloWOS, Wyzant or TutorBird: which fits

Wyzant is a marketplace: students find you there and pay through it. TutorBird is software for running a tutoring business with a lesson calendar. SoloWOS doesn't find you students; it handles booking, packages and payments for the families you already have, alongside proposals and contracts.

Choose Wyzant if:

• You don't have enough students yet and need people searching for a tutor to find you.
• You'd rather the platform handle billing, and a 25% fee on marketplace students is a fair trade for the leads.

Choose TutorBird if:

• Your students have a standing weekly time and you want those lessons on a recurring calendar with text reminders.
• You run a small center with several tutors sharing one schedule.

Choose SoloWOS if:

• Your students come by word of mouth and you don't want a commission on every session.
• You sell prep packages with a deposit and want the proposal, the signed policy, the invoices and the booking page in one account.

Prices and features checked between October 17 and 23, 2026 on each company's site.

Start with these three

Scheduling, because it ends the back-and-forth over times with every parent. Proposals with your test-prep package saved as a template, because it turns the package conversation into something accepted and paid. And Automations with the no-show template, which wins back the session that was about to be lost.

Free tools that help

• Freelance rate calculator to set an hourly rate from what you need to earn in a school year.
• Project cost calculator to price a 10-session prep package with the practice tests and your prep time.
• Mileage deduction calculator for in-home sessions.
• QR code generator for the library or coffee-shop flyer.

What SoloWOS won't do for a tutor

• No virtual classroom: no whiteboard, video calls or screen sharing. Teach in Zoom, Google Meet or your own space.
• No group sessions: each booking slot takes one student, so a study group needs another tool.
• No recurring bookings and no packages that count down; each session is booked on its own.
• Reminders go by email to the adult who booked, not by text.
• No grade book, progress reports for schools or learning platform.
• SoloWOS doesn't file taxes, issue 1099s or collect sales tax for you. Invoicing sends the invoice with a pay link (card through your Stripe account) and your other payment details; your accountant or tax software handles the rest.