About

Who it is for

One instructor is a complete customer. The product works with nobody else on it. An instructor publishes a page, clients book on it, and the money goes to them.

What it does

• A public page clients book from, at an address the instructor chooses.
• Sessions on a schedule, one-off or recurring, with a seat limit per session.
• Payment at booking, and lesson packs a client buys once and draws down.
• Waivers signed at booking, including a guardian's signature for a minor.
• Client history — what they booked, what they paid, what to remember next time.
• A record of what was earned, in a form an accountant accepts.

How payments work

The instructor is the merchant of record for their own sessions. Money moves from the client to the instructor's own Stripe account and never sits in a balance held here. The one exception is a studio's share, where a studio the instructor teaches at keeps one: it is taken from the same payment and paid on to the studio. Refunds come out of the instructor's own balance, which is also why the instructor decides the cancellation terms.

How a booking is refunded, and what becomes of the fees on it when it is, is on the terms page.

Why the data outlives the features

The intent is to be the instructor's system of record rather than a booking widget. Client history, session plans, waivers and tax records are the part that is worth having in one place, and the part that is tedious to be trusted with — which is why the rules about who can see what and how long it is kept are enforced in the database rather than in a screen.

What that means in practice is on the privacy page, with the actual retention periods.

Who makes it

Palaestral is a Brick Sofa program, operated by Brick Sofa, LLC.

Where it operates

Built in San Diego, California. How large a class runs is the instructor's to set — permits and limits vary by city, park and beach, and knowing the local ones is part of the job.