Set up Binder in one quiet pass.

Visual setup tour

These production screenshots show the first places a new family will use after onboarding: the dashboard, subjects library, planner, and billing page.

Create your account

Sign up at binder.school with just your email address. There is no password to invent or remember: Binder emails you a sign-in link and a six-digit code. Tap the link on the device you are using, or type the code into the sign-in screen on any device, and you land straight in the setup wizard. Every later sign-in works the same way, and the same email signs you into the web app and the mobile apps.

Links and codes expire after a few minutes and work once. If a code has expired, request a new one from the sign-in screen. Keep your inbox secure: anyone who can read your email can sign in as you.

Every new account automatically starts on the Free plan. No credit card is required to begin. You can use Binder for up to two students, create a term, and start planning before deciding whether to upgrade.

The onboarding wizard

After signing in for the first time, Binder walks you through a short setup sequence. It takes about five minutes and shapes how the app presents itself to your family going forward.

Once the wizard completes, Binder takes you to your dashboard. You can revisit any of these settings — method, children, terms — from Account → Settings at any time.

Add children

Navigate to Children in the sidebar to add, view, or edit student profiles. Each child you add gets their own dedicated space in Binder: lesson history, narration log, book list, portfolio feed, habit tracker, and — at the Scholar plan — a high school transcript.

On the Free plan, you can add up to 2 students. Upgrade to Plus or Scholar for unlimited children. Each child's profile page shows a summary of lessons this term, hours logged, subject breakdown, active books and read-alouds, and evidence coverage (the percentage of lessons that have files attached as proof of learning).

Create your first term

A term gives Binder a time frame for your school year or semester. It drives the week counter, scopes compliance progress, and filters your portfolio and progress reports. You can have multiple overlapping or sequential terms and duplicate a past term to start a new year without re-entering everything.

Manage terms from This term → Manage dates. To start next year, use the Duplicate option on your existing term — it copies the structure without the lessons.

Add subjects

Subjects organize lessons by topic area. Every lesson you create is tagged with a subject, which lets Binder group your logged hours in reports and map them against state-required subject categories in compliance tracking.

Open Subjects (in the sidebar, under More on smaller screens) to create subjects. Each subject needs a name and a display color. Each subject belongs to one student, so children on different tracks, such as a 1st grader and a 7th grader, can each have their own subjects. Subjects carry across terms, so you create them once per student.

There's no fixed list. Name subjects to match your curriculum or philosophy. Examples: Mathematics, Language Arts, Literature, History, Science, Latin, Art, Music, Physical Education, Logic, Nature Study, Philosophy. Charlotte Mason families often create subjects like "Narration," "Copywork," or "Handicrafts" to accurately represent their day. Classical families commonly track "Memory Work" and "Dialectic" as separate subjects.

Create your first lesson

With a child, term, and at least one subject in place, you're ready to plan. The fastest way is from Plan in the sidebar.

What changes by plan

Binder has three plans. Free is always available, and you can upgrade at any time from Account → Billing.