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.
   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

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.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

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.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

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)".
   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

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.
   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

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.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

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.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

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.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

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.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

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.
   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

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.
   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

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.

    Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

11. Find a setting and pin it

    Medium5 min

    Every setting card and settings page is in the search, by name, by other words for it and by what it does.

    1. Press Search in the top bar (or Ctrl K) and type the name of a setting, or a word from what it does: "safepay" finds Pay settings, "rail" finds Payout settings.
    2. The Settings group lists each match with where it lives. Open the row: the page opens, scrolled to the card, outlined in yellow for a moment.
    3. Press the pin on the card. It fills in, the setting shows at the top of Settings under Pinned, and the left menu gains Pinned settings.
    4. A setting your role cannot change still shows: the row says who can and names them. Press Ask to open a message to them with the words written and a link that lands them on the card.

    Pins are yours alone: the same list on your phone and laptop and at every school you belong to. Until you pin anything you see the pins the school chose for your role, marked "set by the school". At most 12. Press x on a chip or Pin more on the Pinned card to change them.

    Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

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.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

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.
   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

3. Try the accounting export

   Low5 min
   1. Open Reports for collections, aging, defaulters, discounts and the accounting export (a CSV of dated lines).
   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

4. Read the online payments (Pay add-on)

   Low5 min
   1. Open Online payments. One row per payment a parent made from the phone: paid, the processing cost, the net to the bank and the state. Attempts that failed or are waiting are kept too.
   2. Use the tabs (Paid, Settled, Refunds, Disputed, Failed and waiting), the month and the method. Export (CSV) saves the rows shown.
   3. Open a row for the payment's timeline: the attempt, the provider's confirmation, the receipt and any refund.

   Nothing is a payment until the provider confirms it. The processing cost shows in the journal as a Gateway fee dated with the receipt, so the month agrees with the bank. A payment that arrived after the invoice was paid at the counter stays unallocated as a duplicate to refund.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

5. Ask for a refund on an online payment

   Low5 min
   1. Open the payment from Online payments and press Ask for a refund in the Refund card. Enter the amount (full or part) and a reason the parent will see.
   2. A refund you ask for always waits for the principal or school admin. Once approved it goes back to the same wallet or card through the provider, usually in 3 to 5 days; the invoice reopens by the amount once the provider has confirmed, not before; and the receipt stays, marked.

   Refund is locked while the provider has a dispute open on the payment. The provider goes first: the invoice changes only when it has paid the money back. A refund the provider refused waits on the payment with the reason and under Payment issues; press Retry with the provider once the cause is fixed, or pay it back another way and the office rejects it.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

6. Mark a disputed online payment (Pay add-on)

   Low5 min
   1. When the provider emails that a parent is disputing a payment, open it from Online payments and press Mark disputed. Paste the case number and the reason.
   2. While the dispute is open the Refund card is locked and each teacher's share from the payment shows Held in Where the money went, so it stays out of payout runs.
   3. When the provider decides, press Dispute closed and choose The school won or The school lost (charged back). Won frees refunds and the teachers' share again; lost charges the payment back by itself (the receipt is reversed, the invoice owes again, the teachers' share is taken back), and nothing is refunded: the money went back through the bank.
   You'll seeWhere the money went now lists each teacher's share from the payment and whether it is not paid out yet, in a run, held or paid out.

   Marking a dispute also raises a high flag on the receipt for the office. This is by hand until the provider sends dispute notices to saMas on its own.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

7. Choose how teachers are paid (Pay add-on)

   Low5 min
   1. Open Payouts, tab Settings. Read What you need on the three rail cards: the bank file, the payout partner and wallets by hand.
   2. Press Make default on the rail the school will use. Pick the day of the month the run opens and the bank file format.
   You'll seeThe current default carries a tag; the partner card says Later until the office connects one.

   Only with the Pay add-on on. Start with the bank file: it needs no new contract. A teacher can be on a different rail in their payout details. Withholding tax is off for now.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

8. Check a teacher's payout details (Pay add-on)

   Low5 min
   1. Open Payouts, tab Teachers, and open the teacher. Teachers enter their own account under Earnings; you check it against their record.
   2. Press Change details to correct it, Verify once it matches, and Reveal with a reason if you must see the full number.
   You'll seeComplete or Incomplete, and Verified. Account numbers are masked like CNICs; every reveal is logged.

   Changes are refused while a run that includes the teacher is open or sent.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

9. Pay the teachers (Pay add-on)

   Low15 min
   1. Open Payouts and press Open a run. Give the period, first day to last, and press Open the run.
   2. Read the table: Earned, Carried, Held, To pay, the rail and masked account, and each teacher's state. Press Send for approval.
   3. Once the principal or school admin has pressed Approve, press Send. On the bank rail press Download bank file and upload it at the bank's portal; wallet items are listed to pay by hand.
   4. As the bank confirms, press Mark paid with its reference, or Returned with what the bank said. Press Close run when every item has ended.
   You'll seeTeachers get their statement by email the moment you mark them paid. A returned payout goes into the next run and the teacher is told what to fix.

   One run at a time. The person who opened the run cannot approve it, and the person who approved it cannot send it. Approve and Send ask for a fresh sign-in.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

10. Read the Pay overview (Pay add-on)

    Low5 min
    1. Open Pay overview. Five numbers for the month: collected online, the processing cost (paid by the school), settled to bank, awaiting settlement, and open issues.
    2. By method says which rails parents use. Teachers shows what teachers earned from every paid fee, counter included, and what the school keeps: the same figures as the month close.
    3. Needs you lists every open issue and every teacher with money waiting and no account yet, each with a link to the screen that answers it.
    You'll seeParents pay the provider; the provider pays the school's bank the next working day; the payout run pays teachers from the bank. saMas School never holds money.

    Only with the Pay add-on on. A payment held for a dispute stays under Awaiting, and its teachers' share stays out of payout runs, until the dispute closes.

    Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

11. Match a settlement to the bank statement (Pay add-on)

    Low10 min
    1. Open Settlements. Each batch is what the provider paid into the bank for a day's online payments, net of its cost; batches arrive by themselves each morning, or press Enter by hand from the provider's dashboard.
    2. Open a batch. Read the sum behind it, then the suggested statement lines: within two days and one percent of the net, nearest first. Upload the bank statement under Documents if none is offered.
    3. Press Match on the line that is the batch. When the bank shows a little less (its own transfer charge), press Match and record PKR 250 bank charge (the button names the amount): it goes into the journal dated the statement day.
    You'll seeNothing here records a payment: the payments in the batch are in the ledger already, so the statement line becomes a settlement line, never a receipt.

    A batch off the bank opens an issue by itself under Payment issues; matching it closes the issue. Match asks for a fresh sign-in. The month closes cleanly once every batch is matched.

    Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

12. Work the payment issues queue (Pay add-on)

    Low10 min
    1. Open Payment issues. One queue for disputes, refunds waiting for approval, settlements off the bank, returned payouts, parent queries and provider notices saMas could not take, each with a kind, an owner, a due day and a state.
    2. Press View on an issue. Write what was asked, answered or done and press Save note; Hand to passes it to someone else on the staff.
    3. When it is done press Resolve, pick the outcome, say how it was closed and press Close the issue. A parent's question is opened by hand with New issue.
    You'll seeMost issues open themselves, and some close themselves: a provider notice that landed on a retry, a settlement matched with its bank charge, a returned payout paid on a retry. They sit under Closed this month.

    A dispute closes as won or lost, nothing else, and the payment's state and the held teachers' share follow. A refund waiting for approval is decided under Refunds by the principal or school admin, not here. An issue open for more than three days emails the office.

    Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

Voiding an invoice, approving discounts, approving refunds and approving a payout run are done by the principal or school admin, so money decisions always have two people. Splits (who earns what from each fee) are the office's too; you see them under Splits without the buttons.

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.