Finance training

Before you start

Your school office or the saMas team has already added you; if sign-in says you are not linked to a school yet, ask them.

1. Sign in

   High2 min
   1. Open admin.pilot.beta.samas.school, your school's admin site.
   2. Press Continue with Google if your email is a Google account. Otherwise type your Email address and press Continue.
   3. On Check your email, type the 6-digit code we sent you and press Sign in.
   4. The admin site asks for your two-step code once it is set up. Bookmark this address: your work lives here.
   You'll seeYour dashboard.
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2. Set up your two-step code

   High3 min
   1. Press your picture at the top right, then Account and security.
   2. Press Set up two-step. You may be asked to confirm it's you first.
   3. Scan the QR code with an authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator or 1Password) and type the 6-digit code it shows. Press Turn on two-step.
   4. Save your backup codes with Copy or Download, then press I have saved them.

   Each backup code works once, for a day your phone is not with you. Office work on the admin site needs this code. If the code does not match, delete older saMas School entries in your app and set your phone's time to automatic.

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Your first week

In this order. High tasks first.

1. Add the fee heads

   High10 min
   1. Open Fee structure, tab Fee heads, and press Add head.
   2. Give it a Name (Tuition), a Code (TUITION) and the Kind: Recurring (bills every cycle) or One time (bills once per student). Add admission, exam and other charges the same way.
   You'll see"Fee head added".

   The code cannot change once set, because invoices use it. Inactive heads are kept for history but not billed.

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2. Set this year's amount for every class

   High15 min
   1. On the Amounts tab, check the year. The first row is All classes; each class row can override it.
   2. Click a cell, type the Amount and choose the Frequency: Monthly, Per term (every four months), Annual (first month) or One time.
   You'll see"Amount saved". Cells that use the all-classes amount show "(all)".
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3. Choose the due day and late fee

   High5 min
   1. On the Settings tab: Due day of month (1 to 28), Late fee amount (0 turns it off) and Grace days.
   2. Set Second approval above (%) for discounts and Refund second approval above for refunds.
   You'll see"Settings saved". It applies to invoices generated from now on.
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4. Raise this month's invoices

   High5 min
   1. Open Invoices and press Generate invoices. Choose the Month and Every class (or one class). Press Generate.
   You'll see"N invoices created. Students who already had one were skipped."

   Invoices are per family, so siblings share one account. Invoice numbers run in order and are never reused. Late fees are added with Apply late fees after the grace days.

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5. Record a payment and print the receipt

   High5 min
   1. Open Collect payment and search Family name or phone. Pick the family.
   2. The family's Open invoices are ticked. Check the Amount (PKR), choose the Method (Cash, Bank transfer, Cheque or Wallet), the Paid on date and a Reference for a cheque or transfer.
   3. Press Record payment and issue receipt, then Print receipt.
   You'll see"Receipt RCP-... issued". The payment covers the oldest invoices first; anything extra stays as credit.

   Receipts are never edited or deleted. A wrong one is reversed with a reason.

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6. Clear parents' payment slips and claims

   Medium10 min
   1. Open Payment proofs. The Waiting tab lists what parents sent, oldest first; the oldest turns red after 3 days. A slip has a file. A claim is a parent who pressed I have paid on an invoice without a slip; it is marked Parent says paid and names the invoice.
   2. For a slip press View file and check it against the bank. For a claim there is no file: look for the reference in the bank statement.
   3. Press Match: enter the Payment date (from the slip), or for a claim the Payment date (the day the parent says), and press Match and issue receipt. A claim is matched to the invoice the parent named.
   4. Or Return (the parent can fix and resend) or Reject, with a reason the parent sees.
   You'll see"Matched. Receipt ... issued". "Possible duplicate" warns when the same file was sent before.

   While a slip or a claim waits here, no late fee is added to its invoice and reminders for it pause for 7 days. The fee reminder email carries an I have paid button that opens the claim on that invoice. A parent can have one claim waiting per invoice; a second is refused until you answer the first.

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7. Upload a bank statement and match deposits

   Medium15 min
   1. Open Bank statements and press Upload statement: the file, the Bank, the dates, and press Save statement.
   2. Press Read deposits, tell it which columns hold the date, description and money in, and press Read.
   3. Review each deposit: the app suggests a family. Record payment, Pick a family, Skip or Not a fee. Sure matches can be recorded together with Record N payments.
   You'll seeEach suggestion says how sure it is. It looks for the invoice number, a parent's slip, a phone, an admission number or a name.

   CSV, Excel and PDF can be read, up to 3,000 deposits a file. The columns are remembered per bank.

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8. Turn on reminder rules and send reminders

   Medium5 min
   1. Open Reminder rules and press Add rule: Days overdue, Channel (In app or Email) and the Message. Common rules: 7 and 21 days.
   2. Send them from Dues and reminders with Send reminders.
   You'll see"N reminders sent". Each rule sends once per invoice.
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9. Look at dues each week

   Medium3 min
   1. Open Dues and reminders. See what is owed and how late, By class and per invoice, with Collect on each row.
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10. Ask for sibling or staff discounts

    Medium10 min
    1. Open Discounts and press Request discount. Find the student, choose the Fee head, the Kind (Discount, Scholarship, Waiver, Sibling discount), percent or amount, dates and a Reason.
    You'll see"Discount requested. Another office member must approve it."

    The principal or school admin approves; nobody approves their own. A discount only changes invoices generated while it is valid.

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When you have time

1. Close last month

   Low10 min
   1. Open Month close, pick the month and check "The books balance."
   2. Press Close month, with an optional note.
   You'll see"<Month> closed". No payment can be dated in that month afterwards.

   Only a school admin can reopen a month, with a reason.

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2. Print family statements

   Low5 min
   1. Open Family statements, search a family and pick the dates (up to a year). Print or save as PDF, or download a CSV.
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3. Try the accounting export

   Low5 min
   1. Open Reports for collections, aging, defaulters, discounts and the accounting export (a CSV of dated lines).
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Voiding an invoice, approving discounts and approving refunds are done by the principal or school admin, so money decisions always have two people.

When something goes wrong

Check yourself

Three levels of five questions. Pass a level with 4 right to open the next. Your answers stay on this device.