This article explains how to manage partial payments in Groovio. Partial payments allow students to pay for a class, course, membership, or package over an agreed period, with installments recorded manually by the studio rather than charged automatically.
Overview
Partial Payment:
A partial payment is when a student pays off the cost of a service or product over time. Unlike automated payment plans, these payments are recorded manually by the studio. A common example is letting a student pay for a course one class at a time (e.g. a $150 five-week course paid at $30 each week).
Creating a Partial Payment
Partial payments can only be set up at checkout, when the student is first booked in.
Navigate to Checkout:
Go to the checkout section in Groovio (or click Checkout on the student's profile).
Select the student.
Select the class, course, membership, or package the student wishes to purchase.
Select Partial Payment:
Click the Partial Payment button (instead of Full Payment).
In the Partial Payment field, enter the amount the student is paying today — not the amount left to pay. Groovio automatically records the rest as owing.
Example: for a $150 course paid at $30 per week, enter $30. Groovio records $30 paid and $120 owing.
Choose how the student paid today (Card on file, Wallet balance, Cash, EFTPOS, Bank Transfer, Other, etc.).
The remaining balance must be at least $1.00.
Partial Payment Record:
Once the checkout is complete, the student's profile shows the record under the Partial Payment tab, with the total, paid, and remaining amounts.
This tab appears only while the student has an outstanding balance.
Important: if the student is already booked into the class or course without a partial payment, there is no partial payment record to add payments to. You can't convert an existing paid booking into a partial payment yourself — contact Groovio support and we can correct it for you.
Recording Additional Payments
Each time the student pays the next installment (e.g. each week when they come to class):
Go to the student's profile and open the Partial Payment tab.
Click the eye icon next to the record.
Select Installment amount and type the amount being paid now (e.g. $30) in Enter Amount.
Choose the payment method: Card on file (charges the student's saved card), Wallet Balance, Cash, EFTPOS, Bank Transfer, Square, Other, etc.
Optionally add a note, then click Complete.
The paid amount goes up and the remaining amount goes down. The amount can't be more than what is still owing.
Tips:
Enter only the amount being paid now. There is no field to enter or change the total price here — the total is set at checkout.
You do not need to add money to the student's wallet first. If they pay by card, cash, etc., just pick that method here. (If funds are already sitting in their wallet, you can choose Wallet Balance to use them.)
There is no "Info" button or three-dot menu for this — always use the eye icon on the Partial Payment tab.
Adjusting or Waiving the Owing Amount
To discount what the student owes, open the record with the eye icon and choose Reduce Owing Amount, enter the amount to take off, then click Complete. No payment is recorded.
To clear an unpaid balance (waive it), choose Reduce Owing Amount and enter the full remaining amount, then click Complete.
Reduce Owing Amount should only be used to discount or waive — not to record a payment. Always use Installment amount for payments.
If a Payment Was Entered Incorrectly
If the record suddenly shows as fully paid (and disappears from the Partial Payment tab) when the student still owes money, usually the amount entered at checkout or in an installment was too high — for example, the amount remaining ($120) was entered as the amount paid.
Manually entered payments (Cash, EFTPOS, Bank Transfer, Virtual Terminal, Gift Card, Humm/AfterPay/ZipPay, Square) can be voided: go to the student's Transaction History, open the purchase, and in the Partial Transaction table click Void. Enter a reason and leave Increase amount owing (re-open partial) ticked. The amount is added back to what is owing and the record reappears on the Partial Payment tab.
Payments recorded as Other, Wallet, Card, or Account Credit can't be voided from the dashboard — contact Groovio support and we'll correct it.
Don't rebook the student to fix this — that creates a second booking.
Finalizing Partial Payments
Completion:
Once the student has paid off the entire balance, the record automatically disappears from the Partial Payment tab. Past payments remain visible in Transaction History.Owing Indicator:
While a student has an outstanding partial payment, a red $ owing badge shows next to their name on class rosters.Mobile App: Students can pay the full remaining balance themselves via the app. Any payment that doesn't cover the full balance must be recorded by the studio on the Partial Payment tab.
By following these steps, you can effectively manage partial payments in Groovio, ensuring transparency and flexibility for both the studio and its students.