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Booking a Session

Booking a Session

Learn how to book a tutoring session on Tuitionable: pick a date and time from a tutor's availability, choose single or package, clear scheduling conflicts, and follow the booking status lifecycle through to payment.

Finding Tutors & Booking 10 min read Updated 16 Nov 2026
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Overview

This page is for students who are ready to schedule a lesson on Tuitionable. It covers the booking form at /student/bookings/create/{tutorProfile} — how you pick a date and time from a tutor's real availability, choose the kind of session you want (single or from a package), what each booking status means, and how submitting the form routes you to payment.

To get started, find a tutor in the directory and choose Book Session. Two conditions must be met before the form will load: the tutor must be bookable (actively accepting sessions), and your account must be be active and allowed to book.

Everything is checked against live data. The calendar, slot list and prices on the booking form are computed from the tutor's current availability and rates at the moment you load the page. A slot you see is one the tutor has genuinely left open.

Choosing a date and time

The booking page leads with a 14-day date strip. Each day shows whether the tutor has open slots and how many, so you can scan the next two weeks at a glance. Days are marked available only when the tutor genuinely has free slots for the duration you have selected — the slot count and the time picker always in-sync, so when you select a “available” day, there is always a available open slot to book.

Picking a slot

Choose a day and Tuitionable loads the open time slots for that date. Each slot shows a clear start and end time (for example 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM). The list reflects the tutor's recurring weekly hours, any one-off date overrides they have added, and any dates they have blocked off — minus any times already taken by existing bookings on either your calendar or theirs.

  • Tuitionable pre-selects a sensible default date for you — the first day with three or more open slots, falling back to the first day that has any availability at all.
  • If you arrived from a tutor card that offered a specific time, that slot is pre-selected so the page lands ready to submit. If the slot was taken between your click and the page load, it falls back to the first available time instead.
  • Times are shown in your account's time zone, and the booking is stamped with it, so a 4:00 PM slot means 4:00 PM for you.
Browsing a tutor's calendar first? The weekly availability panel on the tutor's profile gives a 7-day snapshot of free-slot counts and the first open slot per day — a quick way to have a preview before you open the full booking form.

Session types

Tuitionable supports several kinds of session from the booking form. The type you pick determines the price, the duration, and which payment path applies.

Type type value Duration What it is
Single session single (30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes by default) A one-off lesson at the tutor's hourly rate, prorated to the duration you choose.
Package lesson package The package's per-lesson length A lesson drawn from a bundle you have already bought — and paid for, so it skips the payment step.

Single sessions

A single session is the default. Its length is subjected to the durations the tutor has set — 30, 60, 90, or 120 minutes out of the box. The price is the default tutor's hourly rate (or a subject-specific rate, if you pick a subject that the tutor prices list separately), prorated to the duration, with any first-lesson discount and active promotional offer applied automatically.

Package lessons

If you have already purchased a lesson package from a tutor, you can schedule individual lessons from it rather than paying per session. Because the package was paid for up front, booking a lesson from it skips the payment step entirely and moves straight into the confirmation queue. See Lesson Packages for buying and managing bundles.

Your first session on Tuitionable can be free. Every student is entitled to claim one free session platform-wide. Lookout for tutors with a 🎁 First session free badge for a free trial session as a welcome bonus.
Student Plans & Free Trial.

Choosing a subject

If the tutor teaches more than one subject, pick the one you want to book with — it can change the price when the tutor has set a per-subject rate. Tuitionable handles subject selection automatically where it can:

  • If the tutor teaches only one subject, it is selected for you.
  • If you came from a tutor's profile after tapping a specific subject, that choice is carried over and pre-filled.
  • If the tutor teaches several subjects and none was pre-selected, you choose one before submitting.

Conflict detection

Before a booking is created, Tuitionable checks that the time you picked does not overlap an existing session — on both your calendar and the tutor's. If either side has a clash, the booking is refused and nothing is charged. This stops double-bookings even when two people reach for the same slot at nearly the same moment.

What counts as a conflict

A slot is considered taken when an existing booking overlaps your chosen window and that booking is in an active state — one of pending_payment, pending, confirmed, or in_progress. Notably, a slot held by someone else's in-progress checkout (pending_payment) counts as taken, so you will not be able to book the slot another student is midway through paying for.

Bookings that are cancelled, no_show, or failed do not block a slot — those times open back up for everyone.

When the clash is your own booking

If the conflict is one of your existing sessions, Tuitionable tells you exactly which one and when, for example: “Your existing session with Cheryl at Mon, 3 Jun · 11:00 AM ends 12:00 PM — it overlaps the time you just picked.” Depending on that booking's status, you get one-click options to view it, cancel it (if it is still cancellable and in the future), or complete its payment if it is awaiting one. If the clash is instead a slot that was just taken by another student, you will see “That time slot has just been taken — please pick another.”

Minimum booking notice. Sessions are required to be booked a set number of hours in advance (2 hours by default). If you choose a slot sooner than that, Tuitionable blocks it with “Bookings must be made at least 2 hour(s) in advance. Please pick a later slot.” Pick a later time to continue.

The booking status lifecycle

Every booking moves through a defined set of statuses. Understanding them tells you exactly where your session stands — whether it is waiting on payment, waiting for the tutor to accept the booking, or locked in.

Status What it means for you
pending_payment The slot is held for you while you finish paying. The tutor is not notified yet — your request only reaches them once payment has been successfully made.
pending Payment is secured (or the session was booked under a free trial) and your request is now in the tutor's queue, awaiting their confirmation.
confirmed The tutor has accepted (or the instant booking was confirmed automatically). The session is locked in and a meeting link is generated.
in_progress The session is live. Confirmed booking switch to in progress automatically around its start time.
completed The session is finished. You can now leave a review.
cancelled The booking was cancelled (by you, the tutor's rejection, or the system) and any due refund will be subjected to the platform refund policy before processing.

How your starting status is set

  • Paid sessions always start at pending_payment. Only after the funds are captured then the booking status advance to pending. Once your tutor has confirmed the session, it will then appear as confirmed.
  • Free sessions Any free session skips payment entirely and starts at pending,Once your tutor has confirmed the session, it will then appear as confirmed.
  • Package lessons are already paid for, so they bypass pending_payment and land in the confirmation queue once your tutor has confirmed the session, it will then appear as confirmed.
If a tutor never confirms. A pending request that the tutor lets pass its scheduled time is auto-cancelled and refunded in full. You do not need to chase it — the booking page updates to show the cancellation and refund the next time you open it.

Submitting and routing to payment

When you submit the booking form, Tuitionable creates the booking and then sends you to the right next screen based on how it will be paid for. You choose a payment route on the form — pay from your wallet, or go straight to the gateway (external card checkout).

Outcome Where you land What happens
Free session Booking details page No payment needed. The session is booked and shown with a confirmation banner.
Paid from wallet (sufficient balance) Booking details page The amount is taken from your wallet and the session moves out of pending_payment.
Paid from wallet (funds held) Booking details page Funds are held until the tutor confirms, then captured. If the tutor rejects, the hold is released.
Gateway checkout Payment page You are taken to the secure checkout to complete payment; the slot stays held meanwhile.

After a successful booking, Tuitionable shows a message tailored to the route — for example “Session booked — paid from your wallet”, “Session booked — wallet funds held until your tutor confirms”, or, when payment is still outstanding, “Slot reserved for 15 minutes. Complete payment to send your booking request to the tutor.”

Pay promptly to keep your slot. A booking left in pending_payment only holds the time temporarily. If payment is not completed, the booking is cancelled and the slot is freed for others — and because no request was ever sent, the tutor never sees a phantom booking. If a previous attempt at the same slot stalled, Tuitionable automatically clears that stale hold when you try again.

For the full checkout experience, including coupons and wallet top-ups, see Checkout & Payment Methods and Wallet, Coupons & Invoices.

Troubleshooting

Symptom What it means & how to fix it
The booking form won't load for a tutor The tutor may not currently be accepting bookings, or your account is not eligible to book. Contact support for assistant
“This tutor is not currently accepting bookings.” The tutor became unbookable between loading the form and submitting. Try a different tutor or check back later.
“Subscription required. Your free session has been used.” You have already used your one free platform session. Subscribe to a student plan to continue booking.
A scheduling-conflict message appears The time overlaps an existing active booking on your side or the tutor's. Use the inline options to view, cancel or pay for the clashing booking, or pick another slot.
“Single sessions are 30/60 minutes…” You picked a duration that isn't allowed for single sessions. Choose an allowed length, or buy a package for longer lessons.
“That slot has already passed” or the day looks empty The slot is in the past or was just taken. Re-open the date strip and pick a fresh future time.
“Bookings must be made at least N hour(s) in advance.” Your chosen slot is sooner than the platform's minimum notice. Pick a later time.
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