School fees in HexerSMS: from fee templates to receipts

Ask a school office what takes the most time and fees will be near the top: working out what each pupil owes, recording payments, writing receipts and chasing balances. HexerSMS, the school management system we're building for Ghanaian schools, keeps all of it in one place.

HexerSMS is still in development. Here's how fees work in it.

One thing first

HexerSMS records payments. It doesn't collect them. Parents pay the school the way they do today, in cash, by Mobile Money, by bank transfer or by cheque, and the office records each payment in HexerSMS.

Setting the fees

Fees start with a template: one class's fees for one term. A template has the usual lines (tuition, exam, library, sports and development) and adds them up into the total for the term.

Once a template is made, the office applies it to the terms it covers, and every pupil in that class is billed. Templates can be copied, so a similar class takes a minute, not an afternoon.

Recording a payment

Each pupil has a fees record with three views: a summary, their payments, and term by term. To record a payment, the office enters:

• The amount. Exact to the pesewa.
• How it was paid. Cash, Mobile Money, bank transfer or cheque.
• What it counts towards. This term only, or oldest debt first, which clears unpaid fees from earlier terms before this one.
• A receipt number. Optional. Leave it empty and HexerSMS makes one. The same reference can't be used twice.

Only administrators can record payments. Teachers don't see fees at all.

Receipts

When a payment is recorded, the parent gets a text receipt, if their phone number is on file. It shows the amount paid, how it was paid, the term, and the balance still due.

The office can also print an A4 receipt, showing what the payment was put towards, with lines for a signature, and a full fee statement for any pupil.

Who still owes

Every pupil's summary shows what they owe in all, what they still owe from earlier terms, and whether each term is paid, part paid or unpaid. The Reports page shows the school's fees collected, its collection rate, and how much is outstanding.

Reminders

From the School Fees page, the office can text a reminder to parents who still owe. HexerSMS keeps reminders reasonable:

• At most one reminder per phone number in 7 days
• One text per phone, so brothers and sisters share a single reminder
• No reminders once the balance is paid

Reminders are sent when the office chooses to send them. HexerSMS doesn't send them on its own.

Closing the books on a term

When a term is over, the office can lock it, so its payments can no longer be changed. A lock can be undone if something needs fixing.

What parents see

In the pupil's portal, families see the outstanding balance, the balance for each term, the payment history, and a receipt for every payment.

Where it stands

HexerSMS isn't open to schools yet. If you run a nursery, primary or JHS school and want early access, email us at info@hexerize.com, or look around the preview.