Revenue Management: #8 Revenue Recognition in Educational & Training Institutions

Educational Institutions and training centres typically collect course fees at the time of enrolment, sometimes for a one-day workshop and sometimes for a year-long certification course. You might also charge separately for course materials or evaluation. But when can you actually recognize that income? Would you be able to recognize it on payment? Spread it across the course period? What happens if a student cancels midway?

How do institutions manage revenue when learning is delivered over time?

Revenue Recognition Scenarios in Education & Training

Education institutions and training providers often deal with varying course durations, delivery models (online, in-person, hybrid), and fees collected upfront. Though the five-step revenue recognition model remains constant, the timing and allocation of revenue depend on the learning service's structure. Here are common revenue recognition scenarios for this industry:

Upfront Free for Long-Term Course

When a learner enrols in a course that runs for several months and pays the full fee in advance, the institution cannot recognize the entire amount immediately. Instead, the revenue should be spread out across the period the training is delivered.

Example: A $6000 certification course runs for 6 months. Revenue should be recognized at $1000 per month during the course period.

Short-Term Workshops & Seminars

For one-day or short-duration workshops, revenue can often be fully recognised once the sessions are delivered, assuming there is no refund window.

Example: A $500 weekend workshop is recognized on the day it occurs.

Course Materials & Exams

Institutions that charge separately for materials, exams, or certification must split those payments and recognize those amounts individually.

Example: $1200 total course fee, including $900 for training for three months and $300 for materials. Revenue should be recognized $300 upfront and $300/month for three months.

Cancellation, Refunds, and Attendance-Based Pricing

Refund policies and partial completions must be factored into recognition. If a student drops out after 1 month of a 3-month course, only one-third of the revenue should be recognized unless a refund is issued.

Example: A $900 course is cancelled after 1 month. You must recognize $300 and defer or refund the rest based on the policy. Credit note will be created, and the deferred $600 will be reversed to the customer as credits or issued a refund.

These scenarios show that educational institutions must align revenue with actual learning delivery and not merely based on fee collection. Automating this alignment avoids revenue overstatement and ensures compliance.

Scenario :

A training company signs up a student for a three-month Data Analytics certification program for a fee of $3000. The payment is made in full at the start. The course includes three months of training and $600 worth of course material.  

Zoho Billing for Education Institution Revenue Recognition

Zoho Billing enables learning platforms to automate revenue recognition by setting up roles that separately reflect course delivery and service components.

For the above scenario, you can configure the recognition rule as follows,

Component	Recognition Frequency	Recognition Method	Recognition Time
Course Material	Once	One-Time (Daily)	Period Start
Training Session	Monthly	Evenly Distributed	Period Start

 

Although $3000 is collected upfront, only $600 for the course material can be recognized immediately according to the performance obligation. The remaining $2400 will be spread evenly across the three-month training period.

Reports in Zoho Billing

i) Recognized Revenue Report

Two months into the course, the course material is delivered, and one month of training is pending.

Component	Recognized Revenue	Description
Course Material	$600	Recognized fully at the start
Training Session	$1600	out of $2400 for two months of training given
Total Recognized	$2200	Recognized in two months

 

ii) Deferred Revenue Report

After two months, it will be left with the training session payment alone as deferred.

Component	Deferred Amount
Course Delivery	$0
Training Session	$800
Total Deferred	$800

 

iii) Revenue Waterfall Report

Month	Course Material	Training Session	Total
Month 1	$600	$800	$1400
Month 2	----	$800	$800
Month 3	----	$800	$800
Total	$600	$2400	$3000

 

Best Practices for Education Institution Revenue Recognition

• Separate Instructional & Non-Instructional Items: Classify course material, training, certification, and exam components distinctly
• Align Revenue with Course Delivery: Ensure the recognition rule is set based on course delivery and that the revenue is recognized when the student receives the instruction.
• Set Return/Refund Policy Clearly: Establish a clear policy and terms to account for students who drop out or cancel courses after signing up.
  

 

Up Next: Revenue Recognition in Media & Publishing

• Topic Participants

• Hari Hara Sudhan. S

  

• Sticky Posts

• Community Learning Series | Digest #5 — September 2020

  Dear customers, We're happy to bring you the September edition of our #CommunityDigest! Keep track of your subscription KPIs right from your smartphone: Last month, we enhanced our Android mobile app to help our customers get daily updates on their business health. We got to know from a lot of customers that this has made their job much more easier because they no longer have to keep a reminder to manually check on the previous day's revenue or activations. If you have not downloaded it yet, here's

• Community Learning Series | Digest #4 - August 2020

  Dear customers, We hope you're staying safe and healthy. I'm happy to bring you the fourth edition of our #CommunityDigest with some brand-new updates from us. 1. Daily Business Updates (for Android users) The Zoho Subscriptions Android app has got a cool new update: You can now get a push notification to your smartphone that lets you know how many activations and cancellations have taken place, and what's the net revenue for the previous day. The best part is, you can tell the app when exactly you

• Community Learning Series | Digest #3 - July 2020

  Dear customers, We hope you're staying safe and healthy. We're glad to bring you the July edition of our #CommunityDigest. New community members can view our previous newsletters here. This time, we have two major updates and three interesting topics for you: 1. Zoho Subscriptions Developer Community Since the inception of Zoho Subscriptions, our team believed that the recurring billing platform we provide should be able to offer an extensive API library that empowers businesses to automate most

• Introducing: Community Learning Series | Digest #1 - May 2020

  Dear customers, We hope you are staying safe and healthy. Helping businesses manage their customer subscriptions more efficiently has always been, and always will be, our goal at Zoho Subscriptions. We strongly believe this is possible if we grow together as a community and share what we know with each other. To nurture this shared learning experience, here is our brand-new Community Learning Series! ​ Welcome to the first edition of our digest! Each edition of our community digest includes guides

• Recent Topics

• Contacts Missing — PeopleSync/Zoho Mail

  English: In our company we use ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager (MDM), Free edition, to manage corporate mobile devices. Our usage policy does not allow personal Google accounts on these devices; therefore, Google account sync is blocked through MDM.

• Best way to integrate Zoho with mobile app for managing customer requests with real-time notifications?

  Hello, I'm building a solution for a travel company where customers submit requests through a website, and the sales team manages these requests through a mobile app. The Requirement: Customers fill a form on the website (name, email, number of children,

• Kaizen #57 - Mass Update API in Zoho CRM

  Hello everyone! Welcome back to yet another post in the Kaizen series. This week, we will discuss the Mass Update API in Zoho CRM. In this post, we will cover the following: 1. Introduction 2. Mass Update Records API  3. Schedule Update and Get Status

• Getting Attachments in Zoho Desk via API

  Is there a way to get attachments into Zoho Desk via an API?      We have a process by which a zoho survey gets sent to the user as a link in a notification.    The survey has several upload fields where they can upload pdf documents.    I've created

• Pincode based Product Restriction

  we have different types of products. 1) Very bulky items like plywood. 2) Too delicate items like glass These type of products we want to sell to local customers. Other products we want to supply all over India. There should be an option to restrict products

• Related Lists filter

  I have Contacts showing in our Accounts module. I customized the Contacts module with an Employment Status field, with the following picklist options: "Primary Contact", "Secondary Contact", "Active Staff(not a main contact)", and "No longer employed".

• Standalone custom function not generating logs

  Why dont't standalone custom functions generate logs when the're called from another function? I have some functions (workflow, buttons and blueprint) that have common parts, so I put that part in a standalone function which is called from the others.

• Add "Reset MFA" Option for Zoho Creator Client Portal Users

  Hello Zoho Creator Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to request an important enhancement related to Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for client portal users in Zoho Creator. Currently, Creator allows us to enforce MFA for portal users,

• Urgent Security Feature Request – Add MFA to Zoho Projects Client Portal Hello Zoho Projects Team,

  Hello Zoho Projects Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to submit an urgent security enhancement request regarding the Zoho Projects Client Portal. At this time, as far as we are aware, there is no Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) available

• Creator HTML page refresh

  Hi, I have added around 5 different html snippets in single creator page. I understand, I can refresh the entire page from page script using Navigational URLs https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/creator/developer-guide/others/url-patterns/articles/navigational-urls

• Zoho Desk - Custom Module Related List Columns on Tickets

  I have a custom module in Zoho Desk called Asana Tasks, each task has a lookup to a Ticket. On the Ticket I want to see the columns of the Asana Tasks in the related list . Is there a way to do this? Right now it just has the name of the record and I

• What is your opinion of the new UI?

  Hi Everyone, I would like to see what everyone thinks of the new Zoho One Dashboard. I don't get it, but perhaps I'm missing something. What are your thoughts?

• What are the OAuth scopes needed to access the Zoho MCP server?

  I think I'm authenticating with the MCP server endpoint successfully using a bearer token but I can't successfully initialize an MCP session. I'm using the official MCP Python sdk (https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk). I get as far as here

• "Temporary Error" in Zoho CRM Data Source sync

  I edited my setup for the Zoho CRM to Zoho Analytics Data Source Import configuration to add some new fields. After I saved the changes, I clicked the (Sync Now) link. After a few minutes I got a Sync failure error. The only reason given is "A temporary

• cant upload images in signature- urgent help needed. ta!

  HI, I have been trying to insert the company logo in the signature. i have tried it several times since yesterday, the longest I waited was 1 hour and 12 minutes for the pop up window to upload a 180 KB .jpg file. what am i doing wrong..  an urgent reply will be appreciated,  Ta

• Account blocked for IMAP use

  Hello, My email client (Evolution) can't sync mail anymore. It gives the error: "Your account is temporarily blocked for IMAP use. This may happen if you exceed the maximum number of simultaneous IMAP connections allowed. Kindly try again after some time."

• Is SMTP included in the free plan?

  My client has a Zoho Mail Free 14 day trial that ends tomorrow. She has set up a domain email address with SMTP on a third party app and is wondering if it will continue working once her plan downgrades to the free forever plan. Thanks

• Zoho mail issue.

  I have verified my domain ohhoexpress.online by adding necessary TXT and MX records. But when I am sending email to any external email id, it is showing as zohomail.com. Also while I am sending mail to internal mail id, it is saying user not found whereas

• My email is blocked from sending

  I get this message when I try to send any message .. > Unable to send message, Reason 554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked We have urgent emails to send and the issue continues to persist from yesterday. Please help us with this issue as soon as possibl

• [WEBINAR] Smooth year-end closure with Zoho Books (KENYA)

  Hello there, This webinar is for all Kenyan businesses looking to wrap up their financial year smoothly! Join our free session to learn how Zoho Books can simplify your year-end process. What to expect from this webinar: - All the latest updates in Zoho

• cannot recieve or send emails

  we are not recieving or cannot send emails.Shows sysytem error

• Zoho Sites - contact us form

  I have added a contact us form to my website. I wanted to change the layout so I deleted the section of Contact Us form. When I again try to add the section of Contact Us form, it shows error that "This form already exists on this page."  I am unable

• switching from POP3 to IMAPI do I need to change settings in Web email?

  hi so I am using Outlook with My Zoho mail, also have Verizon email /AOL. they no longer support POP3 and said imapi is much better, so I want to switch my ZoHo to imapai. I googled and it said i need to change it in my account....i looked at my account

• What functionality is new in the Z025 Spaces UI dashboard compared to the previous Zoho One dashboard?

  My company is interested in creating a revamped dashboard this coming year, and are trying to weigh different platform options. The new Spaces UI is said to be a more "feature-rich" dashboard experience than the previous. Could a developer please explain

• Collections Management: #5 Convenience on Offer, using Self-Checkout

  "Is this the right page? Oh, now, it wants my address again. Why am I being redirected?" These were the exact thoughts running through Karan's mind as he tried to subscribe to an application he genuinely liked. He clicked "Buy Now", expecting a quick

• Tip #50- A Closer Look at the Unattended Access Dashboard- 'Insider Insights'

  Having complete visibility and quick access to everything you need certainly makes managing multiple remote devices a lot easier, and that is precisely what the Unattended Access Dashboard in Zoho Assist is designed to offer. Once you go to the Unattended

• How to update custom multi-user field in Zoho Projects?

  I'm trying to update custom multi-user fields in Zoho Projects via a Deluge function in CRM. The code I have so far is below. It works for updating standard project fields and single-line custom fields, but it does not work to update multi-user fields.

• Tip of the Week #75– Manage your social media messages from a single shared inbox.

  Are you tired of jumping between apps or browser tabs to reply to your business's Facebook and Instagram DMs? Handling customer messages on social media might seem simple, but switching between multiple platforms can easily lead to lost messages, duplicate

• Zoho Map integration tasks have changed - you need to "Locate all instances of Zoho Map integration tasks in your Deluge scripts by searching for the v1 marker... before 16 January 2026"

  The Zoho Map deluge integration task has been changed (as at 21 October 2025) to provide a more structured, JSON-like response. This change affects all three Zoho Map integration tasks (Geocode, Reverse Geocode, and Distance Between). More details can

• Using files from Zoho CRM in Gemini/ChatGPT/Claude

  Hi all, I’ve got subscriptions to Gemini and a few other AI tools which I use for tasks like data enrichment, email composition, etc. In our workflow, we often receive various documents from clients — such as process workflows, BRDs/requirement documents

• Zoho Analytics & Zoho Creator - Modified Time value

  I'm trying to use the Zoho Creator system field 'modified time' in Zoho Analytics, but it's consistently showing 12 hours 'out' In Zoho Creator In Zoho Analytics Is this a constant difference that I just need to correct with a timezone change - or is

• Zoho CRM - Option to create Follow-Up Task

  When completing a Zoho CRM Task, it would be very helpful if there was an option to "Complete and Create Follow-Up Task" in the pop-up which appears. It could clone the task you are closing and then show it on the screen in edit mode, all the user would

• Portal For Different Apps

  I found some older threads on this but didn't see anything very recent. I'm new to Zoho One so forgive me if my terminology is off a bit. I was hoping set up a single point of entry into Zoho One. So, many of the apps could be found in one single place

• Calls undetected

  Zoho Voice records indicate my last call ended at 6:00 PM. All incoming and outgoing calls occurred between 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM.

• Unable to Select Authenticated Domain as Sender

  We’ve already authenticated our domain, but it’s still not appearing in the sender list when we try to run a campaign. Could you please check what might be causing this issue?

• Zoho Projects - Show Task List as dropdown field on Task records

  Hi Project's Team, I noticed today that there is no field on a task record related to the task list it belongs to. A dropdown would be helpful for quickly moving tasks between lists while in a task. I know that you can go to "Other Actions" and choose

• My followed tickets extension is not working under the All departments view

  Hi. I've installed the My followed tickets extension. However, when I try to open the extension under the all departments view, I get the following message: 'Sorry, this extension is not supported in the All Departments view.' How can I solve this p

• Ticket Time Entry to Timesheet

  The title just about sums it up. I have searched here and not found anything relevant, but If I overlooked, then please set me straight.  We have staff that do nothing but close tickets in desk all day long. These tickets represent their timesheet. Is there a way to have this information sync or for a tech to go into their timesheet themselves and sync it with their tickets of the same timeframe?? We waste a ton of time doing timesheets and the old "Clock in/Clock out" isnt detailed enough for us!!

• Calls undetected.

  The call is not showing on the call log.

• Calls undetected

  Zoho is not reading calls made.

• Next Page