Once you have bid on a job and are communicating with a potential client, you can schedule classes with them.

Either you can offer classes, or they can request classes. The process is essentially the same but in reverse.

Classes can either be free meetings or paid classes though Lessonspace, or for offline work which is used for charging for preparation and marking etc.

Watch this video and read the detailed guide below for instructions on how to book classes on Spires, as well as information on the more advanced features of Spires such as calendar bookings and offering multiple class dates.

There are a few places you can schedule a class with a particular student but the simplest is at the right of the messenger window using the green 'schedule class' button when in a chat with that student (on mobile scroll down).

Alternatively you click a date of the proposed class in your calendar.

Doing any of the above will bring up the 'Offer Class' popup:

Using the tabs you can choose to offer a paid online class, a paid offline class or a free meeting.

By default, classes are paid classes at the hourly rate you bid on the job.

In the offer class popup above you can select the class date, the start time, the class length and enter a topic for the class.

You can also offer multiple classes in one go, just select the multiple dates tick box and then choose multiple dates (although they must all have the same start time and length).

Once you click 'offer', the the student or client will get the following notification on their screen.

They can then accept the class offer, decline it, or request to reschedule the date and time.

If they had requested the class instead of you offering it, you would see the above notification instead.

If they accept the class offer, you will be notified by email, and you will see the confirmed class in the messenger, and in the upcoming classes and calendar tabs of your 'Classes' tab:

Declined or expired classes will appear in the failed column of the classes tab.

Class offers/requests that are pending will show in the 'Unconfirmed' column:

If you wish to offer a 'free meeting', simply use the free meeting tab.

We generally recommend offering a 'free meeting' when meeting a student for the first time. This doesn't have to be a free class where you teach them material, but rather it gives you a chance to meet the student in a low context environment (not on the clock), gain an understanding of their needs, determine if you can help them, build some rapport with them and make a plan for the first lesson. It also gives them a chance to get used to the classroom and how Spires works.

The same could equally be achieved by calling the student if they have entered their phone number into the Spires system. It is good tutoring practice to engage the client before having a paid class for a quick consultation, but how that is done through the system is a matter of choice and preference.

This is work that you do before a class, or in preparation for a class. See our offline classes article for more information.

It is important that the student accepts the class offer. It is only booked when they have accepted it. We cannot charge students if they have not accepted the class.

See the subsequent guides on having classes, cancelling and rescheduling classes, and missing classes.