This guide goes with the Setting up lessons video. It walks through choosing how riders book and how lessons are priced, creating a lesson type, giving each instructor their own rate (with an optional deposit) and checking their teaching hours, and explains what each setting means and when to use it.
Watch the video
Before you start
- You need to be an admin of the riding school in Horsify. Staff can add and change lesson types too if they have Programs at Manage (see Staff Access: Who Can Do What).
- Add your instructors first: in the organiser menu, open Instructors, then Add Instructor. The full order of setup is in the Riding School Setup Guide (end to end).
1. Open your riding school settings
In the organiser menu, open Settings, then the tab named after your riding school (for example Riding School). The settings run down one page in sections: Page and booking link, What you offer, Booking a lesson, Lesson pricing, Lesson types and more. On a computer the section list sits beside the page; on a phone it's a row of buttons at the top. Tap one to jump to it.
Everything on this page except the lesson types is saved with the Save settings button in the bar at the bottom, which also tells you when there are unsaved changes. Lesson types save as you add or edit them.
2. Choose who picks the instructor
Under Booking a lesson, Who chooses the instructor? has three options:
- Riders pick a coach, then a time. Each coach has their own hours and price. Best when riders follow a particular coach.
- Riders pick a lesson and a time, and we allocate the coach. Riders see lessons and times only, and you decide who teaches. The times offered come from your booking hours rather than any one coach's.
- We allocate, but regulars can choose. As above, except a signed-in rider with a current signed waiver can pick their coach.
The video uses Riders pick a coach, then a time. This section also sets How far ahead riders must book and whether Riders can move their own lessons.
3. Choose where a lesson's price comes from
Under Lesson pricing, A lesson's price comes from has two options:
- The instructor. Riders pay the rate of the coach they book, so the same lesson can cost more with a senior coach. Deposits and pay-in-full rules only work in this mode, because they're set on each instructor's rate (step 6).
- The lesson type. Each lesson type has one price, whoever teaches it. Best when riders book before a coach is allocated.
If you choose one of the "we allocate the coach" options in step 2, Horsify switches pricing to The lesson type for you, because a rider who doesn't choose a coach has no coach's rate to pay. Check each lesson type then has a price.
Charge a lesson's balance (hours before the lesson) sets when the rest of a deposit lesson is charged to the rider's card. 0 charges it when the lesson starts.
The video leaves pricing on The instructor. Tap Save settings if you change anything.
4. Create a lesson type
Lesson types have their own page: in the organiser menu open Programs & Packages, then the Lesson Types tab. (The same list is also in the Lesson types section of your riding school settings.) A lesson type is anything you teach: Private Lesson, Group Lesson, Beginner Assessment, Jump Clinic and so on.
Tap Add lesson type.
- Name and Description. Riders see both on your booking page, so keep the description short and plain.
- Lesson length (minutes). How long the rider is in the saddle.
- Time blocked in the diary (minutes). The lesson plus any changeover, so the next booking can't start too soon. For example, a 45 minute lesson with 60 minutes blocked leaves 15 minutes to swap riders and tack.
- Price inc GST ($). Always set one, even if you price by instructor. It's charged whenever no instructor rate applies. When you price by lesson type, a lesson type with no price shows No price: riders booking it online pay nothing in your list.
- Position in lists. Lowest first on your booking page and in the booking form.
- Group lesson. Tick this for group lessons, then set Most riders in a group (at least 2). Leave it off for private lessons.
- Only sold as a block, Staff only and Send lesson reminders are optional. Most lessons leave the first two off and reminders on.
- Lesson finder: Who it's for, Riding level and Kind. These answer the "find your lesson" questions on your booking page. Each one starts on Auto, which reads the lesson's name, and the box shows what Auto picked (for a lesson called "Demo Beginner Lesson", Riding level shows Auto: Beginner). Only change one when Auto gets it wrong.
Tap Add lesson type at the bottom to save it. It appears in your list with its length, blocked time and price.
To stop offering a lesson later without losing its history, tap Edit and untick Active (this box only appears when editing). Delete removes a lesson type for good, and shows you what it would affect before you confirm.
5. Give the lesson to an instructor
Open Instructors, find the coach and tap Edit (the pencil). Scroll to Lesson types & rates. There's a row for every lesson type. A new one shows Not configured with a Set Rate button.
Setting a rate is what records that this coach takes that lesson. A new coach with nothing set up is treated as taking every lesson type at its base price, until you start setting their rates.
6. Set the coach's rate, deposit or full payment
Tap Set Rate on the lesson's row.
- Price (inc. GST). This coach's price for this lesson. Another coach can have a different price for the same lesson, for example a senior coach charging more.
- Active. Untick to retire this rate. Inactive rates aren't available for new bookings.
- Requires Full Payment Upfront. The rider pays the whole lesson price when they book. This overrides any deposit setting.
- Requires Deposit. The rider pays part of the price at booking, and the rest is charged to the same card before the lesson, at the time set under Lesson pricing (step 3). Choose a Deposit Type of Percentage or Fixed Amount, then enter the amount. In the video, a $70 lesson takes a $20 deposit, with the other $50 charged before the lesson.
Tap Save Rate. The row now shows the coach's price.
Pricing by lesson type? Then this section is called Lesson types and each row just has Add or Remove, because the lesson type's price is charged and there are no per-coach rates or deposits. A new coach takes every lesson; remove the ones they don't teach. The last lesson type can't be removed; to stop a coach being booked online, turn off Bookable Online on their profile instead.
7. Only some coaches teach a lesson?
If you allocate the coach (step 2), a further setting appears under Booking a lesson: Only offer a time when a coach who teaches that lesson is working. Turn it on when only some of your coaches are trained for a lesson type, so riders are only offered times when one of those coaches is on. Set each coach's lessons first (step 5). A lesson type no coach has been given yet keeps offering every rostered coach, so it never quietly disappears from your booking page.
If riders choose their instructor when they book (as in the video), this setting doesn't appear.
8. Check the instructor's teaching hours
From the Instructors list, open the coach's page (View Details). An instructor with no hours cannot be booked online: riders are only offered times inside their hours, minus time off and existing bookings.
- Weekly hours holds the days and times they usually teach, at each venue.
- Calendar is for adding one-off sessions and time off, and Time off and dates lists them so you can check or remove them.
- On a day the instructor is on the staff roster, their rostered shift is used instead of their weekly hours.
9. Check your Book Now page
Open your school's Book Now page and tap Lessons. Riders pick an instructor, and the new lesson type is listed with that coach's price. See Booking a riding lesson for what riders see next.
FAQ
My coaches charge different prices. How do I set that up?
Keep A lesson's price comes from on The instructor, then set each coach's price for each lesson under Instructors → Edit → Lesson types & rates → Set Rate. Each coach's rate is charged when riders book with them.
Why is my lesson showing as free?
The lesson type has no price, and the booking has no instructor rate to use (for example, it was booked without an instructor, or you price by lesson type). Edit the lesson type and set Price inc GST. When you price by lesson type, lesson types with no price show a No price warning in your list.
Why can't riders book my new instructor?
Check that the instructor has weekly hours (step 8), that Bookable Online is on in their profile, and that they take the lesson the rider wants (step 5). With no hours, a coach can't be booked online.
Can I take a deposit instead of the full price?
Yes, when you price by instructor. Tick Requires Deposit on the coach's rate and choose a percentage or a fixed amount. The rest is charged to the rider's card before the lesson. When you price by lesson type, the full lesson type price is charged instead.
What's the difference between lesson length and blocked time?
Lesson length is the teaching time. Time blocked in the diary is how long the slot is held, so you have time to change riders, horses and tack between lessons.
How do I stop offering a lesson without deleting it?
Edit the lesson type and untick Active. To stop one coach teaching it, untick Active on their rate for that lesson.
Related articles
- Riding School Setup Guide (end to end)
- Booking a riding lesson
- My Day: your lessons and checking riders in
- Staff Access: Who Can Do What
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wiki/features/LESSON_SETUP.md \nLast synced: 2026-10-21 13:19:49 UTC