---
title: "About — Palaestral"
description: "Palaestral is booking, payments and client records for an independent instructor who sells their own time: who it is for, what it does, how money moves."
canonical: "https://palaestral.com/about"
---

# About

Palaestral is booking, payments and client-record software for an independent instructor who sells their own time — surf, yoga, running, strength.

1. [Who it is for](https://palaestral.com/about#who-it-is-for)
2. [What it does](https://palaestral.com/about#what-it-does)
3. [How payments work](https://palaestral.com/about#how-payments-work)
4. [Why the data outlives the features](https://palaestral.com/about#why-the-data-outlives-the-features)
5. [Who makes it](https://palaestral.com/about#who-makes-it)
6. [Where it operates](https://palaestral.com/about#where-it-operates)

## 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](https://palaestral.com/terms).

## 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](https://palaestral.com/privacy), with the actual retention periods.

## Who makes it

Palaestral is a [Brick Sofa](https://bricksofa.com) 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.

[Contact](https://palaestral.com/contact)