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Closing vs. canceling lessons: which gives a makeup credit?

Closed for a holiday or snow day and wondering whether families get a makeup? In Opus1.io, Set All As Closed never adds a makeup credit. On a per-lesson plan, the unpaid invoice drops instead. A batch cancel from the main schedule is a staff cancellation, and it adds a makeup only when the service's Staff Visit Cancellation setting issues one. Choose one path per closure, never both.

Applies to: Owner, Manager
PLUS Feature: No
Plan: All
Last updated: November 10, 2026

Table of Contents

  1. Overview
  2. Close or cancel: the short answer
  3. What closing a lesson does
  4. What canceling a lesson does
  5. Which path to use for a holiday, snow day, or teacher out
  6. What happens to the invoice
  7. How to close every lesson on a closed day
  8. How to cancel so families receive a makeup credit
  9. FAQ
  10. Related Articles

Overview

When your studio shuts for Thanksgiving, a winter break, or a snow day, Opus1.io gives you two ways to take those lessons off the schedule. Closing marks a lesson as not happening and issues nothing. Canceling sends the lesson through the service's cancellation policy, which can give the family a makeup credit, a lower bill, or nothing at all.

On the calendar the two look alike. For the family they are very different, and Opus1.io does not choose for you. The right one is whichever matches the policy you have already told families.

Why: Pick the wrong path and you either field "where is my makeup?" emails weeks after the holiday, or give a per-lesson family a lower bill and a makeup for the same day.

Close or cancel: the short answer

What you do in Opus1.io Is a makeup credit added? What the family is left with
Close the lesson with Set All As Closed No. Closing never adds a makeup credit, a monetary credit, or a refund. On a per-lesson plan, the unpaid invoice drops by that lesson. On a flat-rate plan, the invoice stays the same.
Cancel, with the policy set to Automatically issue a service credit Yes A makeup credit on the student's account, ready to book.
Cancel as staff, with the policy set to Automatically issue monetary credit (or recalculate invoice) No On a per-lesson plan, the unpaid invoice is recalculated. Money goes on the account only when that invoice is already closed and an amount is set.
Cancel, with the policy set to forfeit the visit No The visit is given up.
Cancel with Don't issue credit(s) turned on No The usual policy is skipped for this cancellation only.

 

ℹ️ Note: The Cancellation tab on a service summarizes the same choices in different words: A service credit will be issued, Visit will be credited (or billing adjusted as applicable), and The visit will be forfeited. They are the same settings.

What closing a lesson does

Close lessons when the location is shut and your policy is that the day is not made up. Closing is done from the location in Opus1.io, not from the cancel button on the calendar.

  • The lesson stays on the calendar with (closed) in its title. The student stays enrolled, and a group class date stays on the class, marked as not happening.
  • No makeup credit, monetary credit, or refund is created.
  • Families and teachers are not emailed or texted. If you want them to know, send that message yourself.
  • On a per-lesson plan, every unpaid invoice that included the lesson is recalculated without it.
  • On a flat-rate plan, including tuition-table pricing, the invoice stays the same. If your policy is to reduce that bill, add a discount or a monetary credit yourself.
  • An invoice that is already paid is left as it is. Opus1.io does not refund a card because a lesson was closed.

Saving closed hours on the location stops new bookings on that day. It does not touch lessons that are already on the calendar, or any invoice, until you click Set All As Closed.

What canceling a lesson does

Cancel a lesson when someone is giving up that visit, or when your policy owes the family a makeup. Whatever the family receives comes from the service's settings on the Cancellation tab, and Opus1.io picks the setting based on who canceled.

Who canceled Setting Opus1.io uses What it can give the family
The family, with enough notice Client Visit Cancellation A makeup credit, or nothing
The family, inside the late window Client Late Visit Cancellation A makeup credit, or nothing
A teacher, the studio, or any batch cancel from the main schedule Staff Visit Cancellation A makeup credit, a lower bill (sometimes a monetary credit), or nothing

A batch cancel is always a staff cancellation, even when the reason is a holiday. On a group class you can also cancel a single student. That uses the client or staff setting for that student only, and the class still meets for everyone else.

The cancel and batch cancel screens have three switches that change the result for that one cancellation:

  • Don't issue credit(s) skips the policy, so no credit is added. Leave it off when the family should receive what the service is set to give.
  • Do not notify the participants (Clients & Staff) stops the cancellation email and text.
  • Remove from calendar permanently deletes the lessons. It cannot be undone, and it is not a substitute for closing a holiday. Leave it off.

If a student was already canceled on a class date, a staff cancel of the whole class leaves them as they are, so they do not receive a second credit for the same day.

A canceled lesson can also produce a credit the family cannot book right away. Some services only let a cancellation credit be used once the lesson's invoice is paid. Client cancellations can be capped, and once a student reaches the cap Opus1.io shows Subscription cancellation credit cap reached and adds no credit. Staff cancellations do not count toward those caps. Each credit can only be booked on the makeup service mapped on the Cancellation tab. Understanding Cancellation Makeup Credit Settings and Mapping Makeup Credits to Makeup Services cover these in full.

Which path to use for a holiday, snow day, or teacher out

Your policy What to do in Opus1.io What the family receives
Holidays and weather days are not made up. Add the closed hours to the location, then Set All As Closed. No credit. Per-lesson families pay for one fewer lesson.
The studio is closed and every family gets a makeup. Add the closed hours so online booking stops. Do not click Set All As Closed. Batch cancel the day from the main schedule. A makeup credit, if Staff Visit Cancellation issues one.
One teacher is out and the studio is open. Assign a substitute, or batch cancel that teacher's lessons. Do not close the location. A makeup credit only for the lessons you cancel, and only if the staff setting issues one.
One family canceled. Cancel that lesson, or that student on the class. A makeup credit only if Client Visit Cancellation or Client Late Visit Cancellation issues one.

Flat-rate plans. Closing leaves the family paying the full month for a lesson that never happened. Canceling with a staff policy that issues a makeup credit keeps the invoice the same and gives them the lesson back. For flat monthly tuition, canceling is usually the better fit.

Per-lesson plans. Closing already lowers the bill, and for many studios that is the whole policy.

⚠️ Warning: On a per-lesson plan, a staff-canceled lesson also comes off the unpaid invoice, unless Should staff canceled visits be counted in per visit billing? is turned on in that payment plan. It is off by default. So a batch cancel with a makeup-credit policy gives per-lesson families a lower bill and a makeup for the same day. If makeups are how you compensate per-lesson families, turn that setting on before you cancel.

Why: Studios that bring a flat-rate habit ("every closure gets a makeup") to per-lesson plans end up giving those families the day twice.

What happens to the invoice

Payment plan Lesson closed Canceled by the family Canceled by a teacher or batch cancel
Per lesson, billed monthly Comes off the unpaid invoice Stays on the invoice Comes off the invoice, unless Should staff canceled visits be counted in per visit billing? is on
Flat rate, including tuition-table pricing Invoice stays the same Invoice stays the same Invoice stays the same
Any invoice already paid Stays the same, with no automatic refund Stays the same Stays the same. A monetary credit is added only when the staff policy recalculates billing and Should an amount be credited back to the payer? has an amount.

Opus1.io recalculates per-lesson invoices as the price of one lesson times the lessons left, and adjusts discounts and sales tax to match. Does a holiday closure lower per-lesson invoices? walks through the math, including group class terms billed once.

How to close every lesson on a closed day

  1. In Opus1.io, go to Settings > Locations / Rooms and click Update next to the location.
  2. Add the holiday or closure under Closed Hours / Days, then click Update Business so it is saved.
  3. Select the red warning beside that closure, such as 5 session/appts not marked as closed.
  4. In the Location Closure window, click Set All As Closed.

Screenshot 2026-11-10 at 13.58.02

Each matching lesson now shows (closed) on the calendar, and unpaid per-lesson invoices are recalculated at the same time. Repeat for each location. Partial-day closures, lessons on a hold, and closures dated in the past each behave a little differently, and Why are lessons still scheduled on my closed dates? covers them.

How to cancel so families receive a makeup credit

  1. In Opus1.io, open Services and click Update on the service. Go to the Cancellation tab and click the Edit (pencil) icon beside Staff Visit Cancellation.
  2. Set What should happen when an appointment or class is canceled when a staff is unable to perform the service? to Automatically issue a service credit. Set the makeup service the credit books into and how long it lasts, then click Update Service. Repeat for each service that should give makeups.
  3. Add the closed hours to the location and click Update Business, so online booking stops on that day. Do not click Set All As Closed.
  4. On the main calendar, switch to day view, click Show filters, and click Batch Cancel (the X icon).
  5. Type a Cancellation reason, such as Thanksgiving closure. It becomes the label on each credit. Leave Don't issue credit(s) and Remove from calendar off.
  6. Click Proceed With Batch Cancel. Repeat for each day of the closure.
  7. Open one affected student's profile and confirm the makeup credit is on the Credits card. On a per-lesson plan, open the family's unpaid invoice and check whether the lesson is still counted.

To cancel a single private lesson, open it on the schedule and click Cancel Appointment. To cancel one student out of a group class, open the class date and cancel that student.

FAQ

We closed the day and no makeup credits appeared. Is that a bug? No. Closing is the path that never issues credits. If those families should get a makeup, open each lesson, use Override Status to set it back to Active, then cancel it as a staff cancellation. Do not leave lessons closed and cancel them as well. For a whole day of students, Did my students get makeup credits after a closure? explains the faster options.

We canceled, a credit was issued, then we set the lesson back to Active. Why is the credit still there? Override Status changes the lesson's status and nothing else. It does not take back a credit that was already issued. Remove or adjust that credit on the student's profile.

Do teachers get paid for closed or canceled lessons? Staff-canceled lessons show as $0 in the Opus1.io payroll report. Closed lessons are left out of payroll unless Count location closures? is turned on in that teacher's pay rate, for studios that pay teachers through holiday weeks.

Who can close lessons, and who can cancel them? Only owners can add closed hours to a location, so only owners can close lessons. Managers and staff with permission to cancel lessons can cancel from the schedule, but they cannot turn a holiday into closed lessons from the cancel button.

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