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 | 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
Recent Topics
Has anyone built a custom AI support agent inside Zoho (SalesIQ/Zobot)?
Hi all, I’ve been experimenting with building my own AI support assistant and wanted to see if anyone here has tackled something similar within Zoho. Right now, I’ve set up a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipeline outside of Zoho using FAISS. ItThis mobile number has been marked spam. Please contact support.
Problem Description: One of our sales agents in our organization is unable to sign in to Zoho Mail. When attempting to log in, the following message appears: This mobile number has been marked as spam. Please contact support at as@zohocorp.com @zohocorpZoho Books - Hide Convert to Sales Order if it can't be used.
Hi Books team, I noticed that it is not possible to convert a Quote to a Sales Order when a Quote is not yet marked as accepted. My idea is to not show the Convert to Sales Order button when it is not possible to use it, or show it in a grey inactiveWhat’s New in Zoho Inventory | April 2025
Hello users, April has been a big month in Zoho Inventory! We’ve rolled out powerful new features to help you streamline production, optimise stock management, and tailor your workflows. While several updates bring helpful enhancements, three major additionsZoho Books - Quotes to Sales Order Automation
Hi Books team, In the Quote settings there is an option to convert a Quote to an Invoice upon acceptance, but there is not feature to convert a Quote to a Sales Order (see screenshot below) For users selling products through Zoho Inventory, the workflowWhen Zoho Tables Beta will be open to EU data center
Hello all, We in EU are looking at you all using and testing and are getting jealous :) When we will be able to get into the beta also? We don't mind testing and playing with beta software. Thank you!Pass current date to a field using Zoho Flow
I am trying to generate an invoice automatically once somebody submits a record in Zoho CRM. I get an error in the invoice date. I have entered {{zoho.currentdate}} in the Date field. When I test the flow, I get "Zoho Books says "Invalid value passedAPI: Mark Sales Order as Open + Custom Status
Hi, it's possible to create Custom Status (sub-status actually) states for the Sales Order. So you have Open, Void. Then under Open you can have Open, and create one called Order Paid, Order Shipped, etc etc...which is grouped under Open. I can use theZoho Quartz Screen Recording
Hello, can we get access to Quartz, please, as a standalone solution? It would be great for creating training videos for current and future staff on how to use Zoho software according to our company requirements. Thank youTip 26: How to hide the "Submit" button from a form
Hi everyone, Hope you're staying safe and working from home. We are, too. By now, we at Zoho are all very much accustomed to the new normal—working remotely. Today, we're back with yet another simple but interesting tip--how to hide the Submit button from your forms. In certain scenarios, you may want to hide the submit button from a form until all the fields are filled in. Use case In this tip, we'll show you how to hide the Submit button while the user is entering data into the form, and thenfilter broke my data
I uploaded a file recently from Sheets and it has top 2 rows frozen, with table headers in second row and each one is filterable. somehow my first 2 columns became unfiltered and no matter what I do I cannot reapply the filter?? also didn't realize theyHow do I move Notes around within a Group?
It says here: " You can now sort notes by title (alphabetically), or by date modified and date created. You can even organize your notes by dragging and dropping them into a particular order. To sort your notes, simply go to Settings and tap “Sort By.” Please note: all sort settings will be saved and synced across devices, except for custom sorting. Custom sorting will be device specific."However, I am unable to 'custom sort' in either Notebook for Mac or on the Web. In addition, I can't find theGenerate a link for Zoho Sign we can copy and use in a separate email
Please consider adding functionality that would all a user to copy a reminder link so that we can include it in a personalized email instead of sending a Zoho reminder. Or, allow us to customize the reminder email. Use Case: We have clients we need toZoho Sign: need to leave document pending for up to a year, or maybe there's a better way?
I have zoho one, maybe there's a better way to do this with another service than sending a zoho sign template from zoho crm. At the end of the day this requirement is due to regulations, no matter how dumb it may seem. I'm just looking for a way of gettingSeparate Items & Services
Hi, please separate items and services into different categories. Thank youWhat's New in Zoho Inventory | Q2 2025
Hello Customers, The second quarter have been exciting months for Zoho Inventory! We’ve introduced impactful new features and enhancements to help you manage inventory operations with even greater precision and control. While we have many more excitingMastering Zia Match Scores | Let's Talk Recruit
Feeling overwhelmed by hundreds of resumes for every job? You’re not alone! Welcome back to Let’s Talk Recruit, where we break down Zoho Recruit’s features and hiring best practices into simple, actionable insights for recruiters. Imagine having an assistantWe are unable to process your request now. Please try again after sometime or contact support@zohoaccounts.com
I cannot sign up and return the error of we are unable to process your request now. Please try again after sometime or contact support@zohoaccounts.comMulti-currency - What's cooking ?
Hi, We have been doing this feature for sometime and we would like to give you some glimpses of it. Working with Multi Currency : Multicurrency support gives you the ability to handle business transactions in multiple currencies. You can define a base currency for your organization and add more currencies with exchange rates based on the base currency. Setup : From the setup page, you can manage all the currencies supported by your organization. Currencies pageIntegrating Chatbot with Zoho Creator Application
Is it possible to integrate a chatbot with a Zoho Creator application?How to reduce programmatically the image uploaded by user?
I need a function that will automatically reduce the pixel dimension to 800 x 600 pixels / 180 resolution or (approx. 1.37MB) of image uploaded by user from digital camera, for example, 2271 x 1704 pixels /180 resolution or approx. 11.1MB. After the user selected the image, the function will able to detect if pixels is above 800x600, process the photo (crop/ reduce) and resume upload. Need help...Dark mode for Zoho Creator / Zoho CRM Code editor
Hi Team, Is there any plans for Dark mode in Zoho creator / Zoho Crm code editor and development pages in pipeline?Is there a way to make a button scroll down?
Looking to have a button on a landing page scroll down to another section on the page. Any recomendations outside of coding?Collective-booking event not added to all staff calendars
We assign two staff to certain events. When the client books this event, it adds it to one staff calendar (the 'organiser') but not the other. How can I ensure all staff assigned to a collective booking get the event in their calendar? (A side note: itZOHO Android Client
Hi, I installed the Android app, but it had an issue, so I reinstalled it. I was able to add multiple accounts, but now when I add the next account, it just duplicates the one I already have and will not even allow me to enter the info for another account.I'd like to suggest a feature enhancement for SalesIQ that would greatly improve the user experience across different channels.
Hello Zoho Team, Current Limitation: When I enable the pre-chat form under Brands > Flow Controls to collect the visitor’s name and email, it gets applied globally across all channels, including WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. This doesn't quite alignEnhance Barcode/QR Code scanner with bulk scanning or continuously scanning
Dear Zoho Creator, As we all know, after each scan, the scanning frame closes. Imagine having 100 items; we would need to tap 100 times and wait roughly 1 second each time for the scanning frame to reopen on mobile web. It's not just about wasting time;Non-depreciating fixed asset
Hi! There are non-depreciable fixed assets (e.g. land). It would be very useful to be able to create a new type of fixed asset (within the fixed assets module) with a ‘No depreciation’ depreciation method. There is always the option of recording landManaging Rental Sales in Zoho Inventory
I am aware that Zoho Inventory is not yet set up to handle rental sales and invoicing. Is anyone using it for rentals anyway? I'd like to hear about how others have found work arounds to manage inventory of rental equipment, rental payments, etc. ThMegamenu
Finally! Megamenu's are now available in Zoho-Sites, after waiting for it and requesting it for years! BUT ... why am I asked to upgrade in order to use a megamenu? First: Zoho promised to always provide premium versions and options for all included Zoho-applicationsCannot access KB within Help Center
Im working with my boss to customize our knowledge base, but for some reason I can see the KB tab, and see the KB categories, but I cannot access the articles within the KB. We have been troubleshooting for weeks, and we have all permissions set up, customersZoho Flow to Creator 3001 Respoonse
I have updated my Flows with the new V2 connection to Zoho Creator, but now some Flows do not work. They take in data from a Webhook and are supposed to create a record in Creator, however creator returns a 3001 message along with a failure, but I cannotFile Upload to Work Drive While Adding Records in Zoho Creator Application
Hi I am trying to set a file attachment field in zoho creator form, to enable the user to upload a scanned document from their local pc. The file should be uploaded to zoho workdrive and not to the default zoho creator storage. The file link should beWhy not possible to generate?
Using this https://desk.zoho.com/DeskAPIDocument#TicketCount#TicketCount_Getticketcountbyfield on my ZML script url :"https://desk.zoho.com/api/v1/ticketsCountByFieldValues?departmentId=XXXXXXXXXXX&accountId!=XXXXXXXXX&customField1=cf_country_1:XXXXXX&field=overDue"email
Hi My crm email is not working, can you check, I have zoho one account.Need option to see Mass Emails & Cadences in Gmail Outbox OR a dedicated Zoho Outbox
Hi everyone, Right now, when we send 1:1 emails from gmail (with gmail API connected to Zoho CRM), those emails appear both in gmail's sent folder and in Zoho CRM. That works well. But when we send Mass Emails or Cadence emails form Zoho CRM, they areI can't found API for Sales Receipts
Hello May you please help me to find an API document for Sales Receipts to get data and retrive a custom fields like Invoice and credit notes RegardsKaizen #205 - Answering Your Questions | Managing Picklists and Enabling History Tracking via Zoho CRM APIs
Hello everyone! Welcome back to another post in our Kaizen series. In this post, we will look at how you can manage picklist fields in Zoho CRM using APIs. This topic was raised as feedback to Kaizen #200, so we are taking it up here with more details.Multiple Vendor SKUs
One of the big concerns we have with ZOHO Inventory is lack of Vendor Skus like many other inventory software packages offer. Being able to have multiple vendor skus for the same product would be HUGE! It would populate the appropriate vendor Sku forInternally created tickets
Hi there When tickets are created internally on-behalf of customers - there is nothing to show that the ticket was created by an internal agent. This means, that it's easy for our agents to confuse tickets which were created by internal team members andNext Page