How long should onboarding a new online teacher take?

Allow one to two weeks from a signed agreement to the first paid class, depending on how long background checks take in the teacher's country. Do not shorten the safeguarding steps to fill a timetable gap. Use the time for training and a test class instead.

Should a new teacher start with a full timetable?

No. Start with a few students, ideally including a trial class, and add more after the first two weeks go well. A lighter start lets you observe early classes, fix habits before they set, and protect families from a poor first experience.

What should a teacher see before their first payday?

The list of classes the pay is based on, with each outcome and any deduction, a few days before payment. A teacher who can check every line of their first statement trusts the next one, and early questions are cheaper to answer than late ones.

Onboarding a new teacher checklist

Run the same steps for every new teacher, in the same order. Nothing on this list is complicated, but skipping one is how a teacher ends up learning the cancellation rule from an angry parent, or a child ends up in a class with an unchecked adult.

Before the agreement

Interview by video, including a short sample lesson.
Two references followed up, at least one from teaching.
Teaching level confirmed (for example exam board, grade, instrument grade or language level).
Availability collected in the teacher’s own time zone.
Rate and payment method agreed (Wise (wise.com), PayPal or bank transfer, and who pays transfer fees).

Agreement and checks

Teacher agreement sent, reviewed and signed. Start from the teacher agreement template.
The pay-per-outcome table explained in a call: on time, late, student cancelled, no-show, teacher cancelled.
Identity document checked.
Background check suited to the teacher’s country requested and received.
Tax form collected where you need one (for example IRS Form W-8BEN for a teacher outside the US paid by a US academy).

Accounts and setup

Teacher account created on your scheduling and classroom system.
Availability entered and checked against the teacher’s time zone.
Payment details recorded and a test transfer sent if the method is new.
Teacher added to staff channels (not to family groups).
Teaching materials and the books library shared.

Training

Safeguarding training completed and the date recorded. See the safeguarding checklist.
The family cancellation and makeup policy read and explained. See the enrollment and cancellation policy template.
How to record a class outcome on the same day, including minutes late.
What to do when a student does not join: how long to wait, what to record.
What to do when the teacher cannot make a class: who to tell and how much notice.
Clock-change weeks explained, with the dates for the countries of their students.

Test class

Test class with a staff member playing the student.
Camera, sound, background and dress checked.
Screen share, whiteboard, PDF book library and Quran viewer tried, as relevant.
Teacher joins from the academy link, not a personal account.

First two weeks

Light timetable: a few students, ideally one trial class.
Families told who their new teacher is and when the first class is.
At least one early class observed, with feedback the same week.
Outcomes recorded on the day for every class; any gaps followed up.

End of the first month

First pay statement shared before payment, with every class, outcome and deduction. The teacher payroll calculator produces this.
Questions answered and the payment sent on the agreed date.
A short review call: what is going well, what to change, more students or not.
Reliability looked at: late joins, late cancellations, no-shows.

In Halqora a teacher sees their own schedule in their time zone, records each class outcome in one step, and follows their earnings as classes are completed. See payroll.