Who marks it, and when
One rule works: the teacher running the lesson marks it within the first ten minutes. Anything a manager enters later is reconstructed memory, not attendance.
If a teacher forgets, the system should remind them. A lesson closed without marks is a hole in the report and must be fixed the same day.
Statuses you must separate
Without these four, both the debt calculation and the parent notice will be wrong.
- present — the lesson counts;
- absent without notice — counts toward billing;
- excused absence — earns a make-up lesson;
- cancelled by the center — nothing is charged.
Notifying parents
The effective window is 30 minutes after the lesson. Use a Telegram bot where possible and keep SMS for parents who have not connected it.
Keep the wording factual: lesson, date and the time of the next class.
When to trust the numbers
An attendance rate only means something once marking discipline passes 90%. Make month one about marking every lesson, not about improving the rate.
From month two the churn signal appears: two unexcused absences in a row means someone should call.
Frequently asked questions
Can attendance stay on paper?
It can, but paper never becomes a report — someone has to count it by hand at month end, and that is where errors appear.
What if a teacher marks it wrong?
Allow corrections, but keep an audit trail of who changed what and when.
How does attendance connect to billing?
Either a monthly subscription, where attendance is control only, or per-lesson billing, where marking accuracy directly affects revenue.