Since I'm not getting to see your child in person for the time being, I know that this has caused some concern about how to pay for your lessons. This post will contain the most pertinent and recent information, and details about PayPal payments of which you should be aware. I will not, however, since this site is viewable to thee whole world, be giving any of my personal info that you may need to complete some of the payments. I will provide that to you personally if you need it.
If you have already been able to send me payments without issue, then you probably don't need to read this, but if issues do come up, you may refer to this if needed.
Personal Checks
This is still our preferred method of accepting payments, but it will require you to send the check to me with your child to the lesson, or in the mail. Just let me know if you would like to mail a check to me, and I will send you my mailing address.
Bill Pay from your bank
Most banks offer a BillPay service that will withdraw the amount form your checking account, print the check, and send it postage free. Most of the time, all you need is to give them my name and mailing address, which I will provide to you. Recently I was asked to give a phone number and email address, and for those you can use the number and address from which you receive notifications from me. If they ask for bank names or routing numbers, I'm going to have to pass, though. I hope you understand.
Venmo
I do accept Venmo now. See your invoice for my Venmo username. Please be sure to include your child's full name on the payment info.
Zelle
I do accept Zelle now. See your invoice for my Zelle email address. Please be sure to include your child's full name on the payment info.
Don't Send Cash in the Mail
I'm sure that doesn't need explanation. Just don't do it. If you are sending cash with your child for me, please put it in an envelope with their name and the amount enclosed written on the outside.
More PayPal Information Than You Probably Want
Below is information that I have sent in the past to those that were using PayPal at the time. It's long, but it explains clearly my reasons for accepting PayPal the way I do. The important points for using PayPal are:
- You can avoid fees by using the "Friends and Family/Pay a Person" option
- Use your PayPal balance or a bank account to fund the transaction if you can
- Using a credit card always carries a fee
- Any fees that we incur on our end of the transaction will be charged to you on your next invoice
- Include your child's full name on the transaction
Good Evening!
If you have not and do not plan on ever sending payments through PayPal, you may disregard this message.I want to say up front how much I appreciate all of you, and love teaching your children. It's hard for me to send an email like this, so know that I'm not at all upset or even worried, but I do have some important requests to make. I'll give the short version first, and then explain more after for those who need it.1. When you send money for lessons through PayPal, please use the Friends and Family (Personal) option.2. Please be sure to put your child's full name in the "Notes" section.I know that some of you who are making PayPal payments have done this right every time so far. But, I have had some that did it right for a while, and then did it incorrectly all of the sudden and vice versa. So that is why I'm sending this to everyone. If you don't need further explanation, feel free to stop reading now. =)Number 2 is the easy one, so let me start with that: If you don't put your child's name in the notes, it can be very difficult for my husband (who is helping me with my billing this year) to credit the payment properly on our spreadsheet, especially if the email address that you are paying from is different than the email address or phone number to which we send your invoice, or if the parent's name is different from the child's. I have a lot of students this year. I'm sure you can imagine his confusion since he doesn't know your child like I do, and doesn't always communicate directly with you like I do.Now to Number 1: When you send the payment using the "Pay a Bill" (Business) option, I get charged a fee, and don't receive the full amount. The fee is small, and I don't worry about it at all, but since I didn't receive the full amount from you, I am putting that amount on your balance forward for the next month. So, if you are wondering, "Why did you only credit $X amount when I paid $Y?" this is probably why. If you pay that to me the next time, I really appreciate it. If not, I'm not going to make a big deal about it, but it will remain on your invoices.I can see where this may be confusing, because, yes, I am sending you a bill, and technically I am in business. However, unlike other businesses, I do not set the rate at which I am paid for teaching lessons. The school district or school where your child attends sets the private lesson payment rate, and when I teach lessons, that is the amount I should receive. I'm sure you agree that it's not right if I teach Sally a lesson and receive $20, but only receive $18.80 from Billy, even though Billy paid the same.Also, I only offer PayPal a payment option for your convenience in a world where electronic payments are the norm.Our bank is not compatible with Venmo Zelle or many of the other common payments services, so PayPal is our only real option do accommodate this. It's not a choice that we are completely comfortable with as we have had some unfavorable experiences with PayPal in the past, and we did not do any business through PayPal for several years as a result. We're not at a point of making any similar decisions right now, but I hope you can understand my reasoning.If you have any questions or concerns about this at all, please email me back. Either my husband or I will gladly answer. We want you to feel comfortable with using PayPal for lesson payments just as much as we want to as well.I apologize for the very long email. I hope that it was helpful.-Lynne and Paul
