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
Access your files securely from anywhere
New to Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Developer Community
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources
New to Zoho Survey?
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Bigin?
Topic Participants
Hari | Zoho Billing
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'sCommunity 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 youCommunity 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 mostIntroducing: 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
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
Zoho TeamInbox Resources
Zoho CRM Plus Resources
Zoho Books Resources
Zoho Subscriptions Resources
Zoho Projects Resources
Zoho Sprints Resources
Qntrl Resources
Zoho Creator Resources
Zoho CRM Resources
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Zoho Show Resources
Get Started. Write Away!
Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.
Zoho CRM コンテンツ
-
オンラインヘルプ
-
Webセミナー
-
機能活用動画
-
よくある質問
-
Ebook
-
-
Zoho Campaigns
- Zoho サービスのWebセミナー
その他のサービス コンテンツ
Nederlandse Hulpbronnen
ご検討中の方
Recent Topics
Exporting tickets
I went to Setup -> Organization -> Import/Export in order to export tickets but found 2 issues: 1. The email body never gets exported. 2. There are some large numbers (like 5.57E+16) under certain columns of the exported CSV file. I could not find any export options. Please can you help with this?Editing the Ticket Properties column
This is going to sound like a dumb question, but I cannot figure out how to configure/edit the sections (and their fields) in this column: For example, we have a custom "Resolution" field, which parked itself in the "Ticket Information" section of thisCopy field information to clipboard
I need to be able to transfer some field information in to the clipboard, so that I can then paste it in to our helpdesk system. Is there a way I could add a button to a detail report that does this?Issuing reconciling a bank statement
HELP! I'm trying to reconcile a bank statement. The prior month reconciled perfectly. Beginning balance is correct yet I'm off by the same amount each time. Both myself and my office manager, separately and together, have tried to complete this reconciliationCan you inject JS in an HML+CSS+Deluge Page?
I have an HTML + CSS + Deluge page and need just a little vanilla JS functionality. However, it seems like Zoho Creator does not allow that. I'm required to create a JS widget. Is this correct? If so: 1. Won't this quickly consume my API limit if thereUse the searchBy parameter to find user by email address
I'm trying to find a user is Zoho Desk via the Api. In the documentation I see that there is the possibility to add a searchBy parameter in the request. But I can't find how the search values should be formatted. I've tried multiple things and get eitherCorrelated subqueries not supported in Zoho Analytics. This creates huge limitations
Running into a major limitation in Zoho Analytics: correlated subqueries simply don’t work, even in completely standard SQL patterns inside a JOIN. Example: LEFT JOIN "Bills" b ON d."Id" = b."Deal ID" AND EXISTS ( SELECT 1 FROM "BillUnknown table or alias 'A1'
I would like to create a subquery but i am getting the following error: Unknown table or alias 'A1' used in select query. This is the sql statement: SELECT A1.active_paying_customers, A1.active_trial_customers, A1.new_paying_signup, date(A1.date_active_customers),Detect and ignore bots in visitors
The SalesIQ visitor numbers are basically useless to us because there is no bot detection. We get the same bots coming in from the same countries looking at the same pages every day. It can't be that difficult to tell the difference between an actualZoho CRM - Rename "Estimates" in CRM Finance Suite Integration to "Quotes"
I'm not sure if it's been 2 or 3 years now since Zoho Books renamed Estimates to Quotes. I still see "Estimates" in the Zoho CRM integration. Could this be added to Translation settings so that some customisation could be made on an account by accountAdd Real-Time Microphone Audio-Level Indicator During Screen Recording
Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request an important enhancement to the Zoho WorkDrive screen-recording experience. Current Limitation: During a recording session, there is no visual indication that the microphone isProperly Capture Dropdowns & Hover Elements When Recording a Window/Tab
Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing great. We encountered a limitation when recording a selected window or browser tab: Certain UI elements, such as dropdown lists, hover menus, and overlays, are not captured unless we record the entire screen.Allow Recording Only a Selected Portion of the Screen
Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request a more flexible recording option in Zoho WorkDrive. At the moment, we can record either the entire screen or a specific window/tab — but not a custom selected portion of the screenAdd Camera Background Blur During Recording
Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope everything is well. We would like to request an enhancement to the video recording feature in Zoho WorkDrive. Currently, the camera preview displayed during a recording does not support background blur. This is an essentialMake Camera Overlay & Recording Controls Visible in All Screen-Sharing Options
Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request an improvement to the screen-recording experience in Zoho WorkDrive. Current Limitation: At the moment the recording controls are visible only inside the Zoho WorkDrive tab. WhenDisplay Client Name in Zoho Creator Client Portal Dashboard
Hello Zoho Creator Team, We hope you are doing well. Zoho Creator recently introduced the option to set a client’s display name in the Client Portal settings, which is very helpful for providing a personalized portal experience. However, there is currentlyIntroducing Dark Mode / Light Mode : A New Look For Your CRM
Hello Users, We are excited to announce a highly anticipated feature - the launch of Day, Night and Auto Mode implementation in Zoho CRM's NextGen user interface! This feature is designed to provide a visually appealing and comfortable experience forManaging functions
Can someone let me know if there are any plans to improve the features for managing functions in CRM? I have lots of functions and finding them is hard. The search only works on the function name and the filter only works on function type. I have created a naming convention based on tags to filter the list which helps a bit and for some projects I keep lists in a spreadsheet. I'd like a spreadsheet-style list in CRM with a few custom fields and a way to construct views (like in modules). Maybe evenAllow Admins to Transfer Ownership of Their Own Files & Folders
Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request an important enhancement to the ownership-transfer functionality in Zoho WorkDrive, specifically regarding administrator capabilities. As administrators, we have the ability toAllow Regular Users to Directly Transfer Ownership of Files & Folders
Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request an important enhancement related to file and folder ownership management in Zoho WorkDrive. At the moment, a regular user cannot directly transfer ownership of their files or foldersHow 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.Has Anyone successfully integrated Zoho and Sage Intact?
Hey all, We’re evaluating Zoho One + Sage Intacct and I’m trying to connect with anyone who has actually implemented the two together.Specifically, I’d love to know: -- Which functions you kept in Zoho vs. Intacct (e.g., Product Catalog, AR/AP, invoicing,Finding missing records
I have a challenge and I am not really sure where to start with it. I can't find any similar threads on here, can anyone help: I have two forms, FormA and FormB. Both forms have records that contain a field called Job_Number. What I am trying to achieveKaizen #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 StatusCreator 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-urlsZero Personalization of the File Sharing Experience
By now (2025) this is the maximum level of personalization available for a Zoho sharing link. We gently asked Zoho if we could modify at least the background, and they replied that it cannot be customized. We're truly disappointed – and surprised everyCanvas Flex Box containers should not require a width/height.
Flexbox containers are often used as organizational concepts, to ease re-flow on mobile etc. - I cannot use % for flexbox W or H - I cannot omit W or H This means that the content cannot dictate, and a Flexbox container cannot be used merely as an organizationalIts 2022, can our customers log into CRM on their mobiles? Zoho Response: Maybe Later
I am a long time Zoho CRM user. I have just started using the client portal feature. On the plus side I have found it very fast and very easy (for someone used to the CRM config) to set up a subset of module views that make a potentially extremely usefulAutomation in Zoho Sprints
Hi. I have a Sprints board with the following statuses: ToDo, InProgress, CodeReview, Testing, Preprod, Live When a ticket is moved from e.g. Testing to Preprod, the following tags should be modified: remove 'tested OK' remove 'ready for Preprod' addCustom function return type
Hi, How do I create a custom deluge function in Zoho CRM that returns a string? e.g. Setup->Workflow->Custom Functions->Configure->Write own During create or edit of the function I don't see a way to change the default 'void' to anything else. AddingTwo factor authentication for helpdesk users
The company i work for wants use the helpdesk site in Zoho desk, as a place for their distribution partners to ask question and look for information about our product. The things there is suppose to go up there is somewhat confidential between my companyKiosk can't merge picklist or multiselect
There is no ability to load a multiselect or picklikst field into a kiosk with the values that have been previously selected. So, I essentially have 3 unacceptable options: 1.)Load the value into a text string and include instructions like this: "PicklistAGE field from DATE OF BIRTH Field.
HI! I have a field called date of birth in my CRM (LEADS, CONTACT etc…) How can I know the AGE today I would like to create a field AGE. I now how to create a field but I don´t which calculation (CUSTOM FUCTION) to make ¿ANY HELP?CRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive
Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage filesHow to update/remove file in zoho creator widgets using javascript API
Hi Team, I have developed a widget which allows inserting and updating records I have file upload field with multiple file upload. Now while doing insert form record, I am using uploadFile API to upload files for that record. I am using updateRecord APIContact data removes Account data when creating a quote
Hi, Our customer has address fields in their quote layout which should be the address of the Account. They prefill the information, adding the account name - the address data is populated as per what is in the account - great. However when they then addIntroducing Enhanced Storage Management
We’re excited to roll out two new enhancements in Zoho Recruit, Subscription Information and Storage Management — designed to give admins complete visibility into subscription details, feature limits, and storage consumption — all from one place insideAnnouncing new features in Trident for Windows (v.1.34.4.0)
Hello Community! Trident for Windows just got better! With this update we have features that make your daily work easier and more efficient. We've added some features that are exclusive to our app and we're sure you'll find them useful. Let’s dive intoReport Hover Setting
Would be great if we will able to show information to the user while hovering a record in a report.Vertical images displayed as horizontal
Some pictures that originally are in vertical position are displayed in horizontal after the upload. It seems that system rotates them by 90 degrees. How can I fix this issue?Next Page