I just discovered Airtable and I’m wondering if it would work well for managing my tutoring business operations. Let me share some details about what we do and see if anyone has experience with similar setups.
Our current situation:
We have 8 instructors handling one-on-one sessions and group classes (maximum 8 kids per group) for elementary age students.
Right now, everything goes into one big Excel spreadsheet, including lesson records, student attendance tracking, instructor payments per session, and parent billing information.
Our curriculum specialist distributes lesson resources daily to instructors. Each class needs between 1-10 worksheets or other materials.
Instructors are always asking our scheduling manager about their upcoming appointments. I want them to access their personal schedules independently and maybe get phone alerts when new students book.
Families buy 5-session packages for their kids. I need automated reminders before the final session so we can contact parents about renewal payments.
Kids take assessment tests and we share results with families. I want to build a parent portal where they can check their child’s progress anytime.
Does Airtable handle this kind of workflow well? Are there better platforms I should consider instead? Any insights would be helpful.
I moved my small service business to Airtable 18 months ago - it’ll work for tutoring, but heads up on a few things. Biggest game-changer was cutting out all the back-and-forth communication. Set up the right views and permissions, and staff stop bugging you about schedules and client info. Your instructors get direct access to session details and materials instead of going through your scheduling manager. The parent portal thing might force a hybrid setup though. Airtable doesn’t do clean external portals out of the box. We use Airtable internally and connect it to a simple client dashboard via Zapier. Works but adds complexity. What really surprised me was how much cleaner billing got once everything linked up properly. Package usage tracks automatically and flags accounts hitting renewal way better than Excel formulas ever did. Bottom line: if you don’t mind some technical setup, Airtable scales way better than Excel. Want something that works right away? Those education platforms mentioned earlier might be worth paying extra for.
Been running ops systems for years - your setup’s perfect for Airtable. Since you’re already comfortable with Excel, the learning curve will be nothing.
Start with your data structure. Make separate tables for Students, Instructors, Sessions, and Packages. Link them and you’ll get way more visibility than any spreadsheet.
Instructor scheduling is where Airtable kills it. I built something similar for developer rotations. Create filtered views for each instructor showing just their sessions, then share those views directly. They bookmark their personal schedule and check it whenever. No more emails bugging your scheduling manager.
For automation like package renewal reminders, Airtable’s built-in stuff handles basic triggers when session counts drop. Parent portal’s trickier - you’ll need Softr or Stacker for a proper external interface.
Learned this the hard way: start simple. Get your data structure and basic workflows running first. Add fancy automation later. You can always expand, but building everything at once usually ends in frustration.
Material distribution should work great too. Your curriculum specialist uploads resources to attachment fields and instructors grab everything from their session records.
I’ve automated business workflows for 10+ years, and your tutoring setup needs automation, not another database.
Everyone’s pushing manual Airtable setups or pricey education platforms. You’re missing the real fix.
Your problems aren’t data storage - they’re connecting systems and killing repetitive tasks. Package renewals, instructor alerts, parent updates, material drops. All automation problems.
Latenode connects Airtable (or keeps your Excel) with everything else. Auto-text instructors when sessions get booked. Send parents progress reports after assessments without clicking send. Fire billing reminders at 4 out of 5 sessions. Upload curriculum once, it goes to the right instructors automatically.
That parent portal everyone’s struggling with? Connect your data to any frontend through Latenode APIs. No expensive middleware or tech headaches.
Here’s the thing - while others want you rebuilding everything or spending months on Airtable views, you could have automated workflows running in days. Keep your Excel if it works. Just add automation on top.
I’ve watched too many businesses get stuck in setup hell instead of growing. Automate first, optimize data later.
Airtable will handle most of what you need, but you’ll probably struggle with the advanced automation stuff. I’ve used it for my consulting business for two years - it’s fantastic for complex data like instructor schedules, student records, and billing. Your team won’t have trouble switching from Excel since the interface is pretty intuitive.
That said, you should check out dedicated education platforms like TeachWorks or MyGuru. They’re built specifically for tutoring businesses and come with parent portals, automated payment reminders, and instructor scheduling access already baked in. Sure, Airtable can do this stuff with integrations and custom work, but you’ll spend tons of time setting it up and likely pay for extra automation tools. With 8 instructors, those specialized platforms will probably save you money and headaches.