Tutor Help
Below are answers to the most common questions/issues tutors experience when using TutorHi. If none of these answers solve your problem, you can always contact us.
Our motto for our tutors
TutorHi's motto for our tutors is join, post and forget.
We know everyone is busy & time is valuable - so we've made it as easy and effortless as possible for tutors to find students.
How does it work
All you have to do is, join TutorHi, post an Ad, and then relax and forget about it.
Let us do all the hard work
Once a potential student contacts you, we will let you know ASAP, by email and realtime Mobile App notifications.
Don't worry! Your ranking in search results won't be impacted by how long ago you last logged in (but how quick you respond to student messages & lesson requests will have an impact).
Join, post and forget - you'll never lose an opportunity, nor any time trying to finding one.
Ads
Posting an Ad is the first step towards finding students to tutor.
Navigate to the Ads tab and press the circular button with a plus icon on it.
If you do not see the Ads tab as an option in the Home Screen, you will need to switch your account type to Tutor in the Settings Screen
Fill in the required details, such as title, hourly rate, description, availabilities (online/in-person), etc
Create your ad by clicking the 'Save' button!
That's it! You have officially posted an Ad on TutorHi. Please note that new and updated ads take about 20-30 minutes to appear in the search results.
If you don't want your Ad to be displayed in the search results right now, you can disable it in the Ad Editor Screen
What is it
An achievement is something you can add to your Ads to prove your skills to students. For example, you might want to add your Computer Science Degree, or your HSC or SAT exam results.
How to add an achievement
To add an achievement to your Ad:
Open it in the Ad Editor Screen and scroll down to the Achievements section.
Press the Edit button, and then press the Add button on the next screen.
Fill in the name of your achievement.
Upload a photo as evidence for your achievement, such as a University Degree Certificate, if you are adding an University Degree Achievement.
Finally, submit your achievement for review. TutorHi reviews all uploaded achievements before they are visible to students. (You can add them to your Ads, like above, but they won't be visible until reviewed)
Disclaimer
TutorHi is NOT indicating that reviewed achievements are true and/or verified. We are only stating that we received documentation that appear to support these achievements.
How it works
When students search for tutors, the higher your Tutor Ad places on the results, the more likely you will get students.
Search result ranking on TutorHi depend on several factors, with different weightings. By optimizing your Ad to these factors, you increase the chances of being placed higher in search.
Things that impact your rank
Title and description If your title & description closely matches what a student is looking for, your Ad will rank higher than Ads that do not.
Subjects TutorHi places more weighting on the subjects you add to your Ad than the Ad's title or description. For example, Ads that have 'SAT' as a Subject will rank higher than those that only mention SAT in their title & description.
Subject Ratings After every lesson, students select the subject(s) they learnt, and give you a rating. Ads that have higher Subject ratings will rank higher than those that do not.
Number of Reviews The more reviews you get from students, the more credible you will appear, and therefore the higher you will rank.
Responsiveness Tutors that respond to messages and lesson requests quickly are rewarded with a higher rank than those that do not.
Achievements Ads with Achievements that closely match what a student is looking for will rank higher than Ads that do not. For example, if you have an Achievement of 'SAT Score of 1510', and a student searches for 'SAT tutor', you will rank higher than an Ad that does not have a SAT-related Achievement.
Things that don't impact your rank
Last login If you haven't logged into TutorHi for a year, it doesn't matter! This is because TutorHi is a join, post and forget platform.
Name, Location, etc We do not discriminate based on name, location and other personal details.
Lastly, keep in mind that TutorHi's search algorithm is constantly changing, and may not reflect what is described above in the future.
New tutors search ranking
Yes, TutorHi aims to be as fair as possible, rewarding tutors who perform well, but also giving new tutors opportunities to get noticed.
When students search for tutors, TutorHi:
Selects two new tutors (tutors with no lessons yet) at random
Randomly puts them somewhere in the top 15 search results, though they are more likely to appear in the bottom half
What is it
Boosting your Ad is a way to push its rank higher in the search results
You choose an amount to pay and the amount you pay determines its rank in search results, regardless of your Tutor Rating or Ad Rating
How does it work
For example, if you boost your Math Tutoring Ad with $5, and no other Math Tutoring Ads are boosted, then your Ad will always come first whenever people search for math tutoring.
However, if another Math tutor boosts their ad with $8, then your ad will always be placed second when students search for math tutors. In this case, if you boost your ad with $5 again, you will be placed first again.
Boosts last for two weeks, and ads can be boosted any number of times, for any amount (minimum $5).
How can I do it
To boost your Ad, find and open it from the Ads Tab.
Then, specify an amount to boost the Ad and press the 'Boost' button to make the payment.
Once payment is successful (usually instantly), the boost will be added to your Ad.
You will be notified once the boost takes effect on your Ad's search result ranking (about 20-30 minutes after it is added)
To help you decide how much to boost, you can check the ranking of ads and how much they've been boosted, for any given search query, using the Boost Rank Checker
Lessons
Instant Messaging
Once your Ad is posted and enabled, students can find it when they search for tutors. When a student finds your Ad and likes what they see, they will send you a message.
Students will likely ask questions regarding your skills, abilitiies, experience and availabilities. It is recommended that you respond in a timely and helpful manner, as it keeps the student interested in your services and also enhances your reputation on TutorHi
Lesson Request
Once your student is ready to book a lesson, they will send you a Lesson Request.
A Lesson Request includes details such as date, time, location and payment
Once you have received a Lesson Request from a student, you have three options
Accept
Congratulations! You now have a lesson booked, and the details of the lesson, such as time, location, payment, etc will be shown in your Confirmed Lessons Tab for your reference. Once a Lesson Request is accepted, it will be pending the student's payment. You will be notified once your student pays for the Lesson. After that, all that is left for you to do is to attend the lesson at the agreed date and time and bring your expertise!
Edit
If you disagree with any of the terms (date, time, location, price, etc) proposed by the student, simply edit the Lesson Request to your desired terms. Revising the Lesson Request will send it back to the student, who will then have the same three options you had to respond to the Lesson Request.
For example: maybe the time or date is not convenient for you; in that case, simply edit only the time and date, keeping all other details such as price, location, etc the same, and send it back to the student
Your student may then accept your new terms, or further edit the Lesson Request and send it back to you for further consideration
Decline
If you are no longer offering this service or you simply do not wish to offer the service for whatever reason, you can decline the Lesson Request. Please note that it is helpful to let the student know the reason for declining, so that they fully understand the situation.
Sometimes you just have to reschedule a lesson because life happens. No worries!
TutorHi allows you to reschedule easily.
Simply navigate to the Lesson Screen for your lesson by finding it in the Confirmed Lessons Tab, and press the 'Reschedule' button.
Then select the new time, date and/or location desired and send the Lesson Reschedule Request.
Note It is completely up to your student to accept or decline the Lesson Reschedule Request. If they accept your request, then the lesson has been successfully rescheduled. If they decline your request, the lesson's time, date and location remains as originally agreed.
If your student declines your Lesson Reschedule Request and you absolutely cannot attend the lesson, it is best to cancel the lesson. For more information on TutorHi's refund policy, please take a look at the Tutor Terms of Service
Sometimes you just have to cancel a lesson because things come up. No worries!
Over 1 hour before lesson starts
TutorHi allows you to cancel a lesson and fully refund the student as long as you do it one hour before it starts. Just press the 'Cancel' button on the Lesson Screen.
This gives ample notice for your student, who can then adjust their plans accordingly
Under 1 hour before lesson starts
If it is under one hour before your lesson starts, you cannot cancel the lesson. Here, it is best to message your student and let them know that you cannot attend the lesson. Once the lesson officially 'ends', your student will have the option to review you, and you will have the option to review them.
If it is a honest mistake, and you have explained it to your student they will likely give you a good review. Try not to cancel unless you absolutely have to, otherwise you will risk developing a bad reputation on TutorHi.
TutorHi recognizes that you may have cleared your schedule, or spent time and effort to prepare for an confirmed lesson, that was later cancelled. So we created a Student Lesson Cancellation Policy that is aimed to pay tutors a part of the agreed lesson price, in the event a student cancels a lesson close to the agreed date/time
The percentage of the lesson price paid to you depends on how 'late' the student cancelled the lesson.
For example, if the student cancels two hours before the lesson starts, you wll receive a larger percentage of the lesson price, than if they cancelled six hours before the lesson starts.
If the student cancels one week before the lesson starts, there will be no payment to you, as the lesson is too far away.
The exact percentages of the original price you are entitled to varies, depending on multiple factors, but you will be notified of the amount instantly after the student cancels the lesson.
Once the lesson ends, you will receive a notification to review it.
How to submit a review
To do so, you can either:
Press on the notification asking for your review or,
Navigate to the Completed Lessons Tab and open your completed lesson
Then, simply press the 'Review' button to provide a review
What can I say on a review
A rating out of five
How did you find it? If it was great, give it a 5 star rating!
An optional note
Completely optional. If you are in a hurry or don't feel a note is necessary, just leave it blank. If your lesson went extremely well, maybe leave a postitive note and vice versa.
Other tutors can see your note when they look at your students reviews.
Payment
On TutorHi, paying for a lesson is easy.
How it works
Students add a debit/credit card and everytime a lesson is confirmed, the amount will be automatically charged from their card. After the lesson, we hold on to the payment for 48 hours, and if there are no issues or compliants, the amount will then be transferred to you.
How it protects you
This is a very safe way to pay for lessons, as we can provide support and protection for our students and tutors.
For example, if something goes wrong, because we hold onto the payment, we can guarantee to pay you when the issue is deemed not your fault. We protect our users against many issues including:
Students not showing up
Students not paying the tutor at the end of the lesson
Tutors misrepresenting their abilities
Other fraudulent activities
Furthermore, you are entitled to receive a part of the lesson payment in the event your student cancels the lesson. For more information on TutorHi's cancellation/refund policy, please take a look at the Tutor Terms of Service
How it works
Your earnings will be paid out to your bank account on a weekly basis.
This will require you to have a Stripe Payout Account.
What is a Stripe Payout Account
Stripe is an award winning payment management platform with a very respectable track record of security and stability.
Whenever a student pays you, the payment is stored in your 'Payout' account on Stripe
So, when it's time for your weekly payout, we simply transfer the money from your 'Payout' account to your chosen Bank Account
Setting up your Stripe Payout Account
Firstly, navigate to the Payout Details Screen, and press the Complete Setup button
You will then be taken to the Stripe Onboarding Screen, where you will be prompted to provide some essential information, such as phone, email, name, etc and the bank account you want to be paid out to.
Stripe will then attempt to verify your identity, and if successful, your payout account will be activated and ready to receive payments and payouts!
In the case that Stripe cannot verify your identity, you may be required to provide some more documentation, such as a driver's license number, passport number, etc - however, rest assured, the whole setup process is simple and striaghtforward!
Stripe will notify you, through email, once your payout account has been successful setup. Of course, you can periodically navigate to the Payout Details Screen and manually check your payout account setup status as well.
The only fee you will ever incur as a tutor, is the TutorHi service fee, which is, on average, only 4 to 7%. This fee is substantially lower than our competitors and will always remain that way.
Some of our competitors take a 30% fee! Others take 100% from the first few lessons, and then 20 to 40% afterwards. Yikes!
Note For the first lesson of the month, this fee will be $1-2 higher to cover payout processing fees.
We need to take a fee because:
Ongoing costs associated with providing and enhancing the TutorHi platform
We incur third party charges on our side for processing, storing and eventually sending the payment to you
We provide support and protection for tutors and students (outlined above)
This fee is taken out of the amount the student paid and the net amount will be paid out to you with absolutely no surprise fees.