Fee Structure Examples: How to Set Up Your School's Fees

The four choices

• Which classes: all students, or the classes you tick.
• How much: one amount for all, or a different amount for each class.
• How it is billed: Compulsory charges everyone it applies to. Opt-in charges only the students you pick.
• When: Every term, Once a session, or This term only.

Tuition

One amount for the whole school

Create "Tuition", Compulsory, Every term, for all students, at one amount.

A different amount for each class

Create one fee called "Tuition", tick the classes, and price each class differently: Primary 1 at ₦120,000, JSS 1 at ₦180,000. Parents see "Tuition" with their child's amount. This is the tidiest setup, because one change updates one fee.

A named fee for each class or level

If your school prefers "Nursery Tuition" and "Primary Tuition", or "Class 1 Tuition" and "Class 2 Tuition", create each as its own fee for just those classes. It bills the same way, and parents see the name you chose.

One line or a long breakdown

All in one

Create a single fee called "School Fees" with the whole amount. The invoice is one simple line.

Itemised

Create a separate fee for each item, such as Tuition, Development Levy, PTA Levy, Lesson Fee, Sports and Exam Fee. Each appears as its own line, and they add up to one invoice total. Parents pay the total, not each line.

Neither is more correct, so match the bill your parents are used to. Itemised fees also let you choose exactly which items sibling or staff discounts apply to, using Eligible for discounts.

Uniforms and books

One price for everything

Create "Full Uniform" as an Opt-in fee, and pick the students buying it.

Priced by item

Create a separate Opt-in fee for each item: "Uniform Trousers", "Uniform Shirt", "Socks", "Shoes". A child who only needs trousers is charged for trousers. Do the same for textbooks, by subject or as a class set. Sizes with different prices can each be their own fee.

Choose This term only if it isn't charged every term. A child opted in partway through a term gets it added to their current invoice. If that invoice has already been sent, resend it so the parent has the new total.

Boarding and day students

A day school

Everyone pays the same core fees, so make those Compulsory. Lunch, bus and clubs are Opt-in, because only some families use them.

A boarding school

If every student boards, make "Boarding Fee" Compulsory, with a different amount per class if you need one. Set up Feeding, Laundry or Medical the same way, or roll them into the one fee.

A school with both

Keep what everyone pays as Compulsory, make "Boarding Fee" Opt-in, and add your boarders. Day students are never charged it. If hostels or weekly boarding cost different amounts, make each its own fee, such as "Boarding: Full" and "Boarding: Weekly".

A student who moves from boarding to day partway through can have the fee removed. If it has already been paid, you choose whether to keep it as credit or refund it yourselves.

Bus, feeding and clubs

Anything only some families use works as Opt-in. For a bus with different prices by area, create one fee per route: "Bus: Kubwa", "Bus: Bwari", and add each child to their route.

After-school classes

Create one Opt-in fee for each class you run: "After-School Coding", "After-School French", "Lesson: JSS 3 Maths". Each child takes whichever they attend, so one child can have two and their sibling none. If a class costs more for older students, price it per class. Choose Every term if it continues, so children stay on it next term. Choose This term only for a holiday lesson or a short course.

Books at different prices

• Everyone in a class buys the same set: create one "Books" fee, Compulsory, with a different amount for each class.
• Parents choose what to buy: create an Opt-in fee for each book or subject, so a child is charged only for what they take.
• New students need the full set: create "New Student Book Bundle" as Opt-in, This term only, priced per class, and add it to your new students.

Fees that aren't every term

• Once a year, such as insurance or a yearly levy: choose Once a session. It bills on the first term of each session.
• One time only, such as an excursion or an end-of-year party: choose This term only.
• For one class, such as WAEC or NECO for SS 3: tick only that class. Use This term only, and set it as Compulsory or Opt-in, depending on whether everyone registers.

New students only

Create "Admission Fee" or "New Student Development Levy" as Opt-in with This term only, and opt in your new students. Fees101 doesn't work out who is new by itself, so pick them from the list when you set the fee up.

A refundable caution deposit can be set up the same way. Returning it later is a separate step, so keep a note of who paid it.

Discounts, scholarships and exemptions

• Sibling and staff discounts: set the rules once in your discount policy.
• A scholarship or a one-off reduction: request a discount on that student's invoice, with a reason, for approval.
• A student who shouldn't pay a compulsory fee at all: exempt them from that fee on their fee page.

Part payments

You don't need to set anything up. Parents can pay in parts into their account number, and the balance updates each time. Anything left at the end of the term carries to the next invoice. There's no fixed instalment schedule to set.

Charging one child for something

If the school sells it at a set price, such as a uniform item, make it an Opt-in fee and switch it on with Manage opt-ins, so everyone pays the same. For anything without a set price, such as a fine or damaged property, open the child's profile and click Add a charge. See Opting a Student Into or Out of a Fee.

Setting up next term

Choose how to bring your fees across when you create the term, or use Copy from last term and edit the prices. Moving Fees to a New Term explains both, and what happens to each kind of fee.