Private schools and nurseries
A whole year of revenue is decided in enrolment week
After enrolment week the revenue number barely moves. What moves is how much of it you collect, and when. The rest is an instalment schedule, a discount policy and a collections problem — against guardians, not companies — while payroll consumes most of the cost base and runs on an academic calendar, not a financial one.
- Every student is an account with its own schedule and balance
- Sibling and staff discounts as a rule set once and applied to everyone
- Transport, uniform and books billed separately from tuition
- Mid-year withdrawal handled with a credit note, not a write-off
The actual work
From enrolment to closing the academic year
Running a school financially is not invoicing, it is collecting. The difference shows up in March, when the arrears become visible.
The student is the account, the guardian is the payer
Fees are posted to the student; collection and chasing happen against the guardian. Two siblings hold two separate balances and one consolidated statement for the guardian — not the other way round.
The instalment schedule
The annual fee is split into instalments with due dates known from enrolment. Instalments issue on their dates, and what is late shows up aged in one report rather than by working through files.
Discounts as policy, not judgement
Sibling discounts, staff children, early settlement — rules defined once and applied automatically. Without them every enrolment becomes a negotiation and the percentage varies by whoever handled it.
Transport, uniform and books
Ancillary services with their own prices and their own treatment, billed as separate lines from tuition so you can see what transport costs and whether it makes money on its own.
Teacher and staff payroll
The largest line in a school’s costs, running on an academic calendar: annual contracts, term-shaped leave, supervision and activity allowances, and end-of-service. All on the same platform, charged to the right stage.
Withdrawals and transfers
A student leaves mid-year after the full fee has been invoiced. The correct treatment is a credit note for the unserved period under your published policy, not a balance quietly written off the ledger.
The documents
What actually leaves the school office
Most of a school’s documents go to individuals rather than companies, and that decides their e-invoicing path.
- Enrolment agreement
- The annual fee, the services chosen, the instalment schedule and the withdrawal policy. The basis of every instalment and note that follows.
- Tuition invoice
- Issued to the guardian as an individual in the common case, making it a simplified tax invoice reported to Fatoora within 24 hours. Simplified tax invoice (B2C) — reported within 24 hours
- Fee invoice to an employer
- When a company covers the fees of employees’ children. A standard tax invoice in the company’s name, cleared before it is sent. Standard tax invoice (B2B) — cleared before delivery
- Instalment schedule
- The instalments, their due dates and what has been paid. The document that stops the "how much do we still owe" conversation at every visit.
- Payment receipt
- Proof an instalment was paid, tied to the student and to that specific instalment rather than to a running balance.
- Credit note on withdrawal
- Adjusting invoiced fees when a student withdraws or transfers, under the school’s published policy. Issued electronically and linked to the original invoice. In scope for e-invoicing
Mezan products
The parts of the platform you actually need
A school is payroll-heavy and collection-heavy. These are the pieces that serve both.
Mezan Core
Student and guardian accounts, recurring invoicing for instalments, aged receivables, and dimensions that separate stages, branches and transport from tuition.
Learn moreMezan HR
Teacher and administrator payroll on an academic calendar: annual contracts, term-shaped leave, supervision and activity allowances, loans, end-of-service, and a self-service portal.
Learn moreMezan Pay
Guardians paying online — mada, Apple Pay, Google Pay and cards — with the receipt posting to the right instalment instead of being matched against bank transfers at month end.
Learn moreMezan Workflows
Approve an exceptional discount before it is granted, and an exceptional payment plan before it is agreed. Two places where published policy quietly stops applying.
Learn moreE-invoicing
A guardian is an individual; an employer is a company
Fees invoiced to a guardian take the simplified path: stamped in your own system, handed over immediately, reported to Fatoora within 24 hours. When an employer covers the fees of an employee’s children, that invoice is a standard tax invoice in the company’s name and is cleared first. The VAT treatment of tuition itself, and the arrangements around it, are your accountant’s decision rather than a marketing page’s — Mezan applies what you specify.
Read the e-invoicing page- The guardian’s invoice is issued stamped with a QR code and reported within 24 hours
- An employer-funded fee invoice is cleared by Fatoora before it is sent
- Withdrawals and transfers are handled with an electronic credit note linked to the original invoice
- The tax treatment of fees is set by your accountant, and the system applies it to every instalment as specified
Frequently asked
How do we chase late instalments without going through every file?
The aged receivables report shows arrears by guardian, by stage and by how long they have been outstanding, and you can produce a statement for any guardian instantly. Chasing becomes work off an ordered list rather than a tour of the filing cabinet at the end of term.
Are sibling discounts applied automatically?
Yes. Discounts are defined as rules — a percentage for the second child, another for the third, one for staff children, one for early settlement — and applied to the instalment schedule at enrolment. That is what turns total discounts granted into a known number at year end rather than a surprise.
Our payroll follows the academic year, not the financial year. Is that supported?
Yes. Contracts, leave and allowances run on your own calendar, payroll runs monthly as usual, and cost is charged to the right stage or branch. End-of-service accrues continuously instead of being worked out once when someone leaves.
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