The invoice is part of the flight, not paperwork after it
An invoice that waits a week gets disputed. An invoice generated at check-in, while the Hobbs time is still on the board, gets paid. The billing module is built around that single operational fact: the moment a flight is checked in, the times are recorded once and the invoice exists, priced from the member's pricing group, posted to their account, ready to collect.
For a Part 61 school, billing discipline is also dispatch discipline. Account balances are checked against the required minimum before an aircraft goes out, so the conversation about money happens at booking, calmly, instead of at the counter with the aircraft already preflighted.
Payments are processed through the platform's payment provider. The platform does not store card numbers; stored payment methods are held by the provider and referenced by a token. QuickBooks sync is a one-way export of finalized invoices: PilotStandard writes invoice records out and never reads from or modifies your QuickBooks books.
Three steps, no retyping
The pipeline below shows what happens when a flight comes back. The desk records the times once, and the invoice is generated with aircraft time by Hobbs, instructor time, and the fuel surcharge as separate line items, each priced from the member's pricing group.
- Step 1Flight checked inThe reservation closes at the desk while the aircraft is still on the ramp.
- Step 2Times recordedHobbs out and in, instructor time, and the fuel surcharge are captured once.
- Step 3Invoice generatedLine items are priced from the member's pricing group and posted to the account.
Priced from the source records
Hobbs out and in come from the check-in, the instructor's time comes from the reservation, and the rate comes from the member's pricing group. Nobody retypes a number, so nobody mistypes one.
Finalized means finalized
Once an invoice posts to the member account it is a fixed record. Corrections are issued as adjustments, not silent edits, so the account history reads the way an aircraft logbook reads.
The desk closes the day clean
Every checked-in flight has an invoice before the aircraft is tied down. There is no end-of-month reconstruction of who flew what, for how long, at which rate.
Collect a batch, card or ACH, in one pass
Outstanding invoices line up in one table with each member's stored payment method beside the amount due. Select the rows, run the batch, and every payment is collected against the method on file. Cards and ACH bank transfers run through the same flow, so the desk does not work two systems.
Each row is a finalized invoice with the member's stored payment method on file. Cards and ACH bank transfers are both accepted. Select the rows to collect, then run the batch.
| Member | Invoice | Amount due | Payment method | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K. Donnelly | INV-2026-0614Dual flight, N4521B, 1.4 hr | $363.40 | Visa ending 4242Card | Due | |
| T. Marsh | INV-2026-0611Solo flight, N4521B, 1.6 hr | $289.10 | ACH ending 6789ACH | Due | |
| D. Calloway | INV-2026-0609Aircraft rental, N738GK, 2.9 hr | $512.75 | Mastercard ending 8821Card | Due | |
| L. Nguyen | INV-2026-0607Dual flight, N881TC, 1.7 hr | $403.60 | ACH ending 2204ACH | Due | |
| P. Sandoval | INV-2026-0605Ground instruction, 2.2 hr | $176.85 | Visa ending 9034Card | Due |
5 payments pending. Each runs against the stored card or ACH method on file.
The minimum balance is a dispatch rule, not a suggestion
Each member account carries a required minimum balance set by the school. The scheduling module reads this table before dispatch: an account below the line is held automatically, and the member sees exactly what is needed to clear it. The school stops carrying flight time on credit without anyone having to make a phone call.
The schedule checks this table before any aircraft is dispatched. An account below the required minimum is held automatically: the member sees the hold and the amount needed when they try to book, not at the counter.
| Member | Account balance | Required minimum | Last activity | Dispatch status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T. Marsh | $1,204.95 | $250.00 | Deposit, Jun 9 | Clear to dispatch |
| K. Donnelly | $612.40 | $250.00 | Invoice INV-2026-0614, Jun 11 | Clear to dispatch |
| A. Reyes | $387.20 | $250.00 | Card payment, Jun 10 | Clear to dispatch |
| D. Calloway | $304.75 | $250.00 | Invoice INV-2026-0609, Jun 9 | Clear to dispatch |
| S. Pruitt | $96.50 | $250.00 | Invoice INV-2026-0608, Jun 8 | Dispatch hold |
| E. Brandt | -$118.40 | $250.00 | ACH payment returned, Jun 7 | Dispatch hold |
Required minimums are set per school and can differ by membership type. A held account clears the moment a deposit or payment brings it back over the line.
One rate sheet per group, applied everywhere
Activity-based pricing groups set what each class of member pays per hour of dual flight training, solo flight, aircraft rental, and ground instruction. Assign a member to a group once and every invoice generated at check-in prices itself. The summary panel reads the rates back in plain language, the same way a member would ask about them.
Default group for active students and renters.
A member billed under the Standard group pays $233.00 per hour for dual flight training, $168.00 per hour for solo flight, $168.00 per hour for aircraft rental, and $65.00 per hour for ground instruction. Every invoice generated at check-in prices its line items from these rates, so the rate on the invoice and the rate in this panel are never two different numbers.
QuickBooks gets the finalized record, nothing else
Map each revenue category to the matching income account, pick a sync frequency, and finalized invoices flow into QuickBooks Online on schedule. The export is one-way by design: your accountant's books stay your accountant's books, and PilotStandard never writes anything it cannot trace back to a finalized invoice.