Balances and reminders

Go to Finance → Fee Balances.

The balance screen compares invoiced, collected, outstanding and collection rates by class.

The list can be filtered by class, by size of balance, and by whether anything has been paid at all. Sorting by balance descending is the practical starting point — a handful of large debtors is usually a bigger number than the long tail.

Balances by class

The class summary is what the board asks for: what is owed, by which class, and how it compares to the same point last term.

Sending statements

Balance Notifications sends each guardian their own balance.

Notification batches show the audience, delivery totals and current status.

1. Choose the classes and, optionally, a minimum balance so you do not chase 50 shillings.
2. If the selected term has bills under Other Levies, choose School Fees only, Other Levies only, or Combine School Fees + Other Levies. Combined messages show each balance as a subtotal and then the grand total. Schools without Other Levies billing do not see this extra choice.
3. Choose the channel — SMS for a short figure, email for a full statement.
4. Choose the template — see message templates.
5. Preview against one student. The preview shows the message exactly as it will arrive, with the merge fields filled. Read it.
6. Send.

Statements go to the guardian contacts on the student record, so their accuracy decides who actually receives one.

Receipt Notifications works the same way and sends a confirmation when a payment is received — worth turning on, as it removes a large share of “did my payment arrive” calls. Where the learner also has Other Levies billing, receipt messages and receipt PDFs automatically show the current School Fees balance, Other Levies balance, and the grand total. This applies whichever ledger received the payment.

Fee reminders

Finance → Fee Reminders schedules chasing rather than sending it by hand.

When Other Levies have been billed, printable reminder slips also ask whether to print School Fees, Other Levies, or a combined balance. A combined slip shows both subtotals.

A reminder rule is: for students in these classes, with a balance over this amount, send this template, on this schedule. Rules typically escalate — a gentle note two weeks into term, a firmer one at mid-term, a call list before exams.

Create reminders from the fee-reminder workspace and review the generated history below.

Check the wording, and check the timing

Automated fee messages reach every parent on the list, including one who paid yesterday if the receipt has not been entered. Enter the day’s receipts before a reminder run, and have someone read the template out loud before it is scheduled. A badly worded automatic reminder does more damage to the school’s relationship with parents than the arrears it recovers.

Defaulters

Filter the balances list to the students who have paid nothing, or who are above a threshold, to get the list the school actually acts on. Export it to Excel for the bursar’s call list, or to PDF for a board pack.

Before acting on the list, check it for:

• Students with an approved bursary that has not been recorded as an individual bill.
• Payments received but not yet receipted.
• Students who have left and should have been transferred out.

All three produce a debtor who does not owe anything.

Statements

A full statement for one student — every charge, every payment, running balance — is available from their record, and is what to send when a parent disputes a figure. It shows the workings rather than a total, which usually ends the dispute without a meeting.