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How do I charge families for a recital or event?

Charge families for a recital, concert, or workshop in one of two ways. Families who sign themselves up on your event self-booking link pay when they book, at the price on the event's payment plan. Students your staff add to the roster are never billed automatically, so charge each family yourself with Charge / Invoice Client. Pick one way per student, or the family pays twice.

Applies to: Owner, Manager
PLUS Feature: No
Plan: All
Last updated: November 5, 2026

Table of Contents

  1. Overview
  2. What charges a family and what does not
  3. Which path to use
  4. Before you start
  5. Path 1: Families pay when they sign themselves up
  6. Path 2: Staff add students, then charge each family
  7. Keeping track of who has paid
  8. Refunds, withdrawals, and moving a student
  9. FAQ
  10. Related Articles

Overview

Recitals and concerts often carry a fee: hall rental, an accompanist, programs, a recording. Events in Opus1.io are built around performers, not audience tickets, and the way a student lands on the roster decides whether Opus1.io bills the family.

A family is charged automatically only when they enroll themselves through your event self-booking link. When your staff put a student on the roster, that slot is an invitation, and nothing about it creates an invoice. Not the invitation, not the family confirming, and not moving or removing the slot later.

Why it matters: If you build the roster yourself and expect the fee to follow, nobody gets billed. If you build the roster and also send the self-booking link, some families pay twice. Choosing one path per student before you invite anyone avoids both.

What charges a family and what does not

What happens Does Opus1.io charge the family?
The student, or the parent who manages their account, enrolls on your event self-booking link Yes. One charge for that performance date, at the price on the event payment plan. The slot is marked confirmed.
Staff add a performance slot and type in the student No. The slot is an invitation only.
The family confirms, declines, or asks for a change on that invitation No.
Staff delete the slot, move it to the waitlist, or use Transfer Session to move it to another performance date No charge and no refund.
Staff run Charge / Invoice Client on the parent's profile Yes. The invoice is a separate fee and is not attached to the performance slot.

Which path to use

Opus1.io gives you two ways to collect an event fee. They do not know about each other, so use one per student.

Path Best for Trade-off
Families sign up and pay on the self-booking link Open recitals where any student can claim a time, and schools that want payment collected at signup You do not hand-pick the performers. Each signup is one student and one date.
Staff add students, then charge each family Juried recitals, studio showcases, or any event where teachers decide who performs Every family is charged one at a time, and the roster does not show who has paid.

If you want every family to pay without charging them one by one, have them sign up through the self-booking link rather than adding them yourself. That is the closest Opus1.io comes to charging a whole recital at once.

Before you start

Create the event service, its performance dates, and the roster in Opus1.io the way you usually do. Using Events-Based Services covers the setup.

You need an event payment plan only when families will sign themselves up, and you need one even when the event is free. If your staff will place every student on the roster, skip the payment plan and charge each family as described in Path 2.

Path 1: Families pay when they sign themselves up

Use this when families should choose a performance date and pay in the same step.

  1. Open the gear icon, choose Services, and open the event service.
  2. Open the Payment tab and choose the pencil icon to edit.
  3. Choose Create payment plan.
  4. Choose One time event participant payment (cash or credit), then continue.
  5. Fill in the plan:
    • Name defaults to Event Participation. Rename it to something families will recognize, such as Spring recital fee.
    • Description is what families read when they pick a plan. Say what the fee covers, for example "Hall rental, accompanist, and printed program."
    • How much should be charged? is the fee for one performance date. Enter 0 for a free event.
    • Should sales taxes be added? is the tax rate for this fee. Leave it at 0 if you do not collect tax on it.
    • Should a visit be only payable using a credit? Turn this on only when the fee must be paid with a service credit (a prepaid lesson or class the family already has on their account). Families then need an available credit at checkout, and no card is charged.
    • Should this payment plan be available only at specific locations? Leave this off when the recital is at an event location, such as a rented hall. Event locations are not in that list, and a plan limited to your studio locations will not be offered for that performance.
  6. Choose Create payment plan.
  7. On the new plan, choose Enable for Self Booking. Families cannot see the plan, or sign up, until you do.
  8. Save the service.
  9. Create an event self-booking link: open the gear icon, choose Business, then Self-Booking Links. Add a custom link and choose Event Self-Booking. How to create and share a self-booking link walks through the link settings.
  10. Send the link only to families whose students are not already on the roster.
What the family sees at checkout

The family picks one performance date and one performer, then pays with a card on file, a new card, their account balance, or an eligible service credit if your plan allows it. A free plan, set to $0 and not credit-only, does not ask for a card.

Opus1.io charges the plan price once for that student and that date, adds the plan's sales tax, creates the invoice, and marks the slot confirmed.

⚠️ Warning: Do not add a slot for that student by hand afterward, and do not run Charge / Invoice Client for the same fee. Either one leaves you with a duplicate slot or a second charge.

Path 2: Staff add students, then charge each family

Use this when your team decides who performs. Opus1.io will not bill these slots, including after the family confirms.

  1. Add the performance slot and the student to the event roster. The slot starts as invited, and confirming it does not create a charge.
  2. Open the account manager's profile. The account manager is the person who pays, usually the parent. The charge action does not appear on a dependent student's profile.
  3. Choose Charge / Invoice Client, the invoice icon beside the profile photo.
  4. Fill in the charge:
    • Location. Pick the studio location that should receive the payment. Event locations are not listed, so if the recital is offsite, charge it to your main studio, or to your online or in-home location if that is where you take payments. Sales tax, when turned on, follows this location.
    • Charge Description. Name the student and the performance. This is the line the family sees on the invoice, for example Spring recital fee — Maya Chen, Saturday 2:00 PM.
    • Amount. The fee. This does not copy the price from the event payment plan, so type it in.
    • Client. The student the fee is for. The payer must be that student's account manager, or the student when they pay for themselves.
    • Apply Sales Tax. Turn this on only when this location charges sales tax and this fee should include it.
    • Tags. Add the same tag to every charge for this event, such as Spring recital. The invoice is not linked to the event, so the tag is what ties these charges together.
    • Payer and Payment Method. Card on file, cash, check, or a card terminal. Use account balance applies money already on the account.
  5. Check the total, then choose one:
    • Process Charge takes payment now and saves a paid invoice.
    • Invoice now / Charge later saves an open invoice without taking payment. Collect it later from the invoice.

Repeat for each family. When two students share a performance slot, such as a duet, charge each student's account manager separately.

How do I run a one-time charge to my clients? covers the rest of this screen.

Keeping track of who has paid

Opus1.io does not show payment status on the event roster, and a confirmed slot does not mean paid. A family who confirms a staff invitation shows as confirmed exactly like a family who signed up and paid.

When you charge families yourself, three habits keep the list straight:

  • Use one tag for every charge for the event, so the recital fees are easy to tell apart from lesson invoices.
  • Keep your own copy of the roster and mark each family as you charge them.
  • If you used Invoice now / Charge later, check the open invoices before the event. An open invoice has been sent but not paid.

With self-enrollment, the signup and the payment happen in one step, so every family who booked through the link has a matching invoice.

Refunds, withdrawals, and moving a student

Removing a student from an event in Opus1.io never undoes a payment.

  • Deleting a slot, moving it to the waitlist, or using Transfer Session to move it to another performance date leaves the invoice as it is.
  • A family who declines an invitation is moved to the waitlist. Nothing is refunded.
  • A self-enrollment charge stays in place when you later delete the slot. So does a Charge / Invoice Client payment.
  • To return money, refund the invoice the same way you would any other invoice. The roster will not do it for you.
  • To cancel an unpaid Charge / Invoice Client invoice, void it from the invoice. Voiding cancels the invoice so the family no longer owes it.

FAQ

Will autopay pick up the recital fee?
No. Autopay in Opus1.io does not bill event slots. A fee is collected only at self-enrollment checkout or when you charge the family yourself.

Can a family book two performance dates, or two children, in one checkout?
No. Each self-enrollment is one performer on one date, so a second date or a second child is a separate booking and a separate charge.

Can families put themselves on the event waitlist?
No. Only staff can place a student on an event waitlist, and doing so does not charge the family.

If I cancel a recital date, does the cancellation screen refund families?
No. The class cancellation screen does not apply to events, so it will not issue a credit or a refund for a recital date. Refund or void each invoice yourself.

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