Three months inside one school: what you spend and what you earn
Our Algorithmics partner in Latin America opened their books for three consecutive months. Not a model, not a projection. Every payment received and every expense paid.
Here is the whole period in three lines:
Month 1. Fit-out and a holiday intensive. 38 students, 2,365 USD collected, 3,065 USD spent. Result: minus 700.
Month 2. School year opens, a second venue starts. 46 students, 2,570 collected, 3,140 spent. Result: minus 570.
Month 3. Three channels running. 64 students, 3,895 collected, 3,114 spent. Result: plus 781.
Startup investment was 10,563 USD, almost all of it borrowed. Across the full quarter the center is still 489 USD short. Month three is profitable, the quarter is not. Anyone promising you a payback period of one quarter has never run one.
Here is the whole period in three lines:
Month 1. Fit-out and a holiday intensive. 38 students, 2,365 USD collected, 3,065 USD spent. Result: minus 700.
Month 2. School year opens, a second venue starts. 46 students, 2,570 collected, 3,140 spent. Result: minus 570.
Month 3. Three channels running. 64 students, 3,895 collected, 3,114 spent. Result: plus 781.
Startup investment was 10,563 USD, almost all of it borrowed. Across the full quarter the center is still 489 USD short. Month three is profitable, the quarter is not. Anyone promising you a payback period of one quarter has never run one.
How many teachers do you need, and what do they cost?
Two people on payroll served 46 students. Four served 64.
That is the honest answer, and it is smaller than most people expect. In month two the center paid two staff a total of 560 USD. In month three, when the second venue opened and enrollment jumped, a second full teacher joined at 400 USD a month and two part-time people were added at 100 and 310. Total payroll that month: 1,290 USD.
The shape of that team is worth copying. One senior teacher who also carries the academic side, paid 420 to 480 USD and present from day one. One more full teacher, hired only when a second location actually opened. Two part-time people for the rest. Nobody was hired in advance of the students.
Across the quarter payroll came to 2,895 USD, an average of 965 a month, and it was the largest single category of spending at 33 percent of everything collected.
The number to hold on to: in month three the center paid about 20 USD per student per month for the people who teach them, against an average fee of 60. Roughly a third of what a parent pays goes to the person standing in front of the child
Two people on payroll served 46 students. Four served 64.
That is the honest answer, and it is smaller than most people expect. In month two the center paid two staff a total of 560 USD. In month three, when the second venue opened and enrollment jumped, a second full teacher joined at 400 USD a month and two part-time people were added at 100 and 310. Total payroll that month: 1,290 USD.
The shape of that team is worth copying. One senior teacher who also carries the academic side, paid 420 to 480 USD and present from day one. One more full teacher, hired only when a second location actually opened. Two part-time people for the rest. Nobody was hired in advance of the students.
Across the quarter payroll came to 2,895 USD, an average of 965 a month, and it was the largest single category of spending at 33 percent of everything collected.
The number to hold on to: in month three the center paid about 20 USD per student per month for the people who teach them, against an average fee of 60. Roughly a third of what a parent pays goes to the person standing in front of the child
What share of costs was marketing, and why was it so small?
Marketing was 4 percent of everything the center spent. 379 USD across three months, against 9,319 USD of total expenses.
The budget line said 300 USD a month, so 900 for the quarter. They spent under half of it. In month one they spent almost nothing at all. And 37 new students still enrolled in month three.
The reason is one line further up in the ledger. The groups ran inside an existing private school, and that school received 21 to 23 percent of everything collected, 1,995 USD over the quarter. That is where the students came from. The parents already trusted the building, the schedule already fit their week, and nobody had to be convinced to drive across the city on a Saturday morning.
So the 4 percent is not a benchmark to copy. It is the consequence of paying 23 percent for a space that already had children in it. Read those two numbers together or you will misread both.
What that means in practice is simple. If you already own an education center with parents in it, your cost of finding students for a coding program is close to zero, and your ramp is far shorter than this case. If you are starting with no audience, you will pay either 20 to 25 percent of revenue to a venue partner, or a real advertising budget. What does not work is planning for neither.
Marketing was 4 percent of everything the center spent. 379 USD across three months, against 9,319 USD of total expenses.
The budget line said 300 USD a month, so 900 for the quarter. They spent under half of it. In month one they spent almost nothing at all. And 37 new students still enrolled in month three.
The reason is one line further up in the ledger. The groups ran inside an existing private school, and that school received 21 to 23 percent of everything collected, 1,995 USD over the quarter. That is where the students came from. The parents already trusted the building, the schedule already fit their week, and nobody had to be convinced to drive across the city on a Saturday morning.
So the 4 percent is not a benchmark to copy. It is the consequence of paying 23 percent for a space that already had children in it. Read those two numbers together or you will misread both.
What that means in practice is simple. If you already own an education center with parents in it, your cost of finding students for a coding program is close to zero, and your ramp is far shorter than this case. If you are starting with no audience, you will pay either 20 to 25 percent of revenue to a venue partner, or a real advertising budget. What does not work is planning for neither.
What happened with rent?
Rent left in one payment, before the doors opened. 2,445 USD covering deposit, keys, and roughly six months of rent in advance, in a month when the center collected 2,365 USD.
The business plan had rent as a monthly line of 400 USD. The plan was right about the amount and wrong about the timing, and timing is what closes new centers.
Because of that prepayment, no rent appears in the monthly accounts for the rest of the quarter. Which is one of the reasons month three shows a profit. The real cost structure is 400 USD a month heavier than the ledger suggests, and month seven will feel like a step backwards.
What did appear from month two onward were the costs that ride along with a space: building maintenance, waste collection, electricity, internet. Small individually, 267 USD in month two and 310 in month three, and they only start once you are actually operating.
The wider point about space is this. The center paid for it in two completely different ways at the same time. Its own office cost roughly 400 a month plus utilities. The teaching space inside the host school cost 23 percent of revenue, more than four times as much in proportional terms. The expensive one came with students attached. That is the trade, and it is usually the right one at the start.
Before you sign anything, ask what the deposit and advance terms are, and hold that money separately from your equipment budget. It is the first number that surprises people and the hardest one to negotiate once you want the keys.
Rent left in one payment, before the doors opened. 2,445 USD covering deposit, keys, and roughly six months of rent in advance, in a month when the center collected 2,365 USD.
The business plan had rent as a monthly line of 400 USD. The plan was right about the amount and wrong about the timing, and timing is what closes new centers.
Because of that prepayment, no rent appears in the monthly accounts for the rest of the quarter. Which is one of the reasons month three shows a profit. The real cost structure is 400 USD a month heavier than the ledger suggests, and month seven will feel like a step backwards.
What did appear from month two onward were the costs that ride along with a space: building maintenance, waste collection, electricity, internet. Small individually, 267 USD in month two and 310 in month three, and they only start once you are actually operating.
The wider point about space is this. The center paid for it in two completely different ways at the same time. Its own office cost roughly 400 a month plus utilities. The teaching space inside the host school cost 23 percent of revenue, more than four times as much in proportional terms. The expensive one came with students attached. That is the trade, and it is usually the right one at the start.
Before you sign anything, ask what the deposit and advance terms are, and hold that money separately from your equipment budget. It is the first number that surprises people and the hardest one to negotiate once you want the keys.
What do you pay every month, and what do people forget?
Eight things, in the order they hurt.
Payroll, around 965 USD a month on average and the largest category. It grows in steps when you open a location, not smoothly.
The venue share, 21 to 23 percent of collections if you teach inside someone else's building. It started before the students did: 535 USD went to the host school in month one, when new enrollments were almost zero.
The franchisor payment, 372 to 661 USD a month, paid for the previous period and carrying a fixed component. By month three, with the same structure and more students, it took under 10 percent. Fixed payments are not expensive or cheap in themselves. They are expensive when you are small.
Utilities, 260 to 310 USD a month, appearing from the month you actually open and rising as you use the space.
Marketing, 100 to 270 USD a month in this case, and only that low because of the venue partnership.
The fit-out tail. Carpentry, desks, switches, cables, a voltage regulator. 1,414 USD arriving across three months, most of it after opening. Add 15 to 20 percent of your equipment budget for spending that lands once you already think you are finished.
Permits and paperwork. 214 USD over the quarter, 185 of it in a single month, in the month they could least afford it. Ask a local operator what an education center actually pays, not a lawyer. Lawyers quote the statute, operators quote the queue.
Local municipal fees and bank charges, small, recurring, and never in anybody's business plan.
Eight things, in the order they hurt.
Payroll, around 965 USD a month on average and the largest category. It grows in steps when you open a location, not smoothly.
The venue share, 21 to 23 percent of collections if you teach inside someone else's building. It started before the students did: 535 USD went to the host school in month one, when new enrollments were almost zero.
The franchisor payment, 372 to 661 USD a month, paid for the previous period and carrying a fixed component. By month three, with the same structure and more students, it took under 10 percent. Fixed payments are not expensive or cheap in themselves. They are expensive when you are small.
Utilities, 260 to 310 USD a month, appearing from the month you actually open and rising as you use the space.
Marketing, 100 to 270 USD a month in this case, and only that low because of the venue partnership.
The fit-out tail. Carpentry, desks, switches, cables, a voltage regulator. 1,414 USD arriving across three months, most of it after opening. Add 15 to 20 percent of your equipment budget for spending that lands once you already think you are finished.
Permits and paperwork. 214 USD over the quarter, 185 of it in a single month, in the month they could least afford it. Ask a local operator what an education center actually pays, not a lawyer. Lawyers quote the statute, operators quote the queue.
Local municipal fees and bank charges, small, recurring, and never in anybody's business plan.
What almost went wrong
One things, and it's not about the product.
A quarter of month one billing was never collected. The center invoiced 3,155 USD and collected 2,365. The 790 USD left unpaid was most of a month's teacher payroll, sitting in other people's pockets. By month three that figure was 80 USD, or 2 percent. Nothing about the classes changed, only who chased the payments and on what day. It is the cheapest problem on this list to fix and the most expensive one to leave.
One things, and it's not about the product.
A quarter of month one billing was never collected. The center invoiced 3,155 USD and collected 2,365. The 790 USD left unpaid was most of a month's teacher payroll, sitting in other people's pockets. By month three that figure was 80 USD, or 2 percent. Nothing about the classes changed, only who chased the payments and on what day. It is the cheapest problem on this list to fix and the most expensive one to leave.
Who this is easiest for
Owners of an existing education center start from a much better place than this case. Space, furniture, admin staff, and parents already exist, which removes most of the 10,563 USD and most of the ramp. The real question is not startup cost, it is how many current families will add a second program and what that does to your weekday evenings.
People leaving a corporate job should look at the 1,203 USD low point rather than the startup figure. The business worked. It would not have survived month two without a cushion.
Marketing professionals have a genuine edge here, but not where they expect it. It is not in acquisition, which cost 4 percent of the budget. It is in collections, retention, and renewal pricing, which is where the 781 USD came from.
Technical specialists should read the payroll section again. Teaching the groups yourself to save 33 percent means teaching every group by week six and running nothing else. The technical part of this business is the part you can already do.
Owners of an existing education center start from a much better place than this case. Space, furniture, admin staff, and parents already exist, which removes most of the 10,563 USD and most of the ramp. The real question is not startup cost, it is how many current families will add a second program and what that does to your weekday evenings.
People leaving a corporate job should look at the 1,203 USD low point rather than the startup figure. The business worked. It would not have survived month two without a cushion.
Marketing professionals have a genuine edge here, but not where they expect it. It is not in acquisition, which cost 4 percent of the budget. It is in collections, retention, and renewal pricing, which is where the 781 USD came from.
Technical specialists should read the payroll section again. Teaching the groups yourself to save 33 percent means teaching every group by week six and running nothing else. The technical part of this business is the part you can already do.
The same numbers for your city
Every figure above belongs to one market with its own prices, rent, and currency behavior. Yours will differ, and the differences matter more than the similarities.
We will build the same three month picture for your city: local price points, local payroll and rent, the number of paid seats you need to break even, and the reserve that gets you through month two. It takes about two working days and costs nothing.
[Request the unit economics model for your city]
Tell us your city and whether you already have a space and an audience. Those two facts change the answer more than anything else. This center is one of more than 500 Algorithmics partner schools, and the shape of the first quarter repeats with unusual consistency: two months of investment, a third month that turns, and a fourth that tells you whether you built a business or bought a job.
Every figure above belongs to one market with its own prices, rent, and currency behavior. Yours will differ, and the differences matter more than the similarities.
We will build the same three month picture for your city: local price points, local payroll and rent, the number of paid seats you need to break even, and the reserve that gets you through month two. It takes about two working days and costs nothing.
[Request the unit economics model for your city]
Tell us your city and whether you already have a space and an audience. Those two facts change the answer more than anything else. This center is one of more than 500 Algorithmics partner schools, and the shape of the first quarter repeats with unusual consistency: two months of investment, a third month that turns, and a fourth that tells you whether you built a business or bought a job.
FAQ
How many teachers does a kids coding school need? Two staff served 46 students and four served 64 in this case. One senior teacher from day one at 420 to 480 USD a month, a second full teacher only when a second location opened, and two part-time people. Payroll averaged 965 USD a month.
How much does a coding center spend on teachers per student? About 20 USD per student per month against an average fee of 60, so roughly a third of what a parent pays.
What percentage of an education center's budget goes to marketing? Four percent in this case, 379 USD across three months. It was that low because groups ran inside an existing private school that received 21 to 23 percent of revenue and supplied the students.
How much rent should I expect to pay up front for an education center? This center paid 2,445 USD before opening, covering deposit, keys, and about six months of rent in advance, against a monthly rent of 400 USD.
What monthly costs do new education centers forget? Utilities that start only after opening, a fit-out tail of 15 to 20 percent of equipment cost arriving post-launch, permits and official paperwork, municipal fees, bank and currency charges, and repayment of any loan used to open.
When did this center become profitable? Month three, with 64 students and 3,895 USD collected against 3,114 spent.
How many teachers does a kids coding school need? Two staff served 46 students and four served 64 in this case. One senior teacher from day one at 420 to 480 USD a month, a second full teacher only when a second location opened, and two part-time people. Payroll averaged 965 USD a month.
How much does a coding center spend on teachers per student? About 20 USD per student per month against an average fee of 60, so roughly a third of what a parent pays.
What percentage of an education center's budget goes to marketing? Four percent in this case, 379 USD across three months. It was that low because groups ran inside an existing private school that received 21 to 23 percent of revenue and supplied the students.
How much rent should I expect to pay up front for an education center? This center paid 2,445 USD before opening, covering deposit, keys, and about six months of rent in advance, against a monthly rent of 400 USD.
What monthly costs do new education centers forget? Utilities that start only after opening, a fit-out tail of 15 to 20 percent of equipment cost arriving post-launch, permits and official paperwork, municipal fees, bank and currency charges, and repayment of any loan used to open.
When did this center become profitable? Month three, with 64 students and 3,895 USD collected against 3,114 spent.
Updated: August 10, 2026
Want to bring Algorithmics to your region or partner with us to expand tech education for children? Let's get in touch!
ALGORITHMICS GLOBAL FZE
Contacts
Address: Smart Desk 258-1, The Offices 3 - One Central,
World Trade Centre Dubai, UAE
Contact number: +19176282245 (WhatsApp only)
Email adress: infofranchise@alg.team
World Trade Centre Dubai, UAE
Contact number: +19176282245 (WhatsApp only)
Email adress: infofranchise@alg.team
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