Tuition billing, fee structures, and collections

1. Overview & Business Value#

This comprehensive operational guide details the architecture, business workflows, configuration parameters, and execution steps for Tuition billing, fee structures, and collections within SmartERP.

SmartERP School Finance (smarterp_school_finance) connects academic enrollment directly with native accounting (account.move), automating billing schedules and tracking receivables per student and guardian.

{screenshot:school-fee-billing-and-finance-overview-dashboard}

2. Prerequisites & Security Access Groups#

• Required Modules: smarterp_school, smarterp_academic
• Security Groups:
  • Teacher / Instructor (Technical ID: smarterp_school.group_school_teacher)
  • Academic Registrar (Technical ID: smarterp_school.group_school_registrar)
  • Principal / Headmaster (Technical ID: smarterp_school.group_school_manager)
• Master Data Dependencies: Academic grade levels (Primary, Middle, Secondary), curriculum syllabus, examination schedules, fee structures, and guardian records.

3. Step-by-Step Configuration & Execution#

Step 1: Navigating to the Module Interface#

1. Log into your SmartERP instance at https://smarterp.et/odoo.
2. Open the main App Switcher (grid icon in the top-left corner).
3. Select the School Management app icon.
4. From the top navigation bar, open School Management → Students / Classes / Attendance / Gradebook.

{screenshot:school-fee-billing-and-finance-app-switcher-navigation}

Step 2: Creating and Parameterizing Records#

1. Click the New button in the top-left control panel.
2. Complete the mandatory fields in the record form:
   • Student Full Name (Mandatory): Legal name matching Ministry of Education student census
   • Grade & Section (Mandatory): Assigned academic level and classroom division
   • Guardian Emergency Contact (Mandatory): Primary parent/guardian phone number and address
   • Academic Term / Year (Mandatory): Current academic operational calendar year
3. Configure optional operational parameters and localized tags as required:
   • Transportation Route (Optional): Designated school bus route and stop
   • Extracurricular Activities (Optional): Student sports, clubs, and academic societies
   • Medical Notes & Allergies (Optional): School nurse emergency health details
4. Click the Save icon in the control bar to commit the record.

{screenshot:school-fee-billing-and-finance-record-creation-form}

Step 3: Validating and Processing Transactions#

• State Transitions: Execute operational state progression (Application → Enrolled → Active Student → Continuous Assessment → Final Assessment → Promoted / Graduated).
• Ledger & System Impact: Tuition fees create customer invoices in Accounts Receivable; fee receipts post to bank and cash clearing journals.
• Audit Verification: Automated recording of author ID, timestamp, and immutable revision history.

{screenshot:school-fee-billing-and-finance-transaction-processing-state}

Configurable fee structures#

Schools configure recurring and one-off fees per grade level and program:

• Tuition Fees: Billed monthly, termly, or annually.
• Ancillary Fees: Registration, laboratory, library, transport, cafeteria, and uniform fees.
• Discounts & Concessions: Automatic sibling discounts (e.g., 10% for second child, 20% for third child), staff child waivers, and merit scholarships.

Installment invoicing and payments#

sequenceDiagram
    autonumber
    actor Finance as School Accountant
    participant FinanceMod as School Finance
    participant Acct as SmartERP Accounting
    actor Guardian as Student Guardian
    participant Telebirr as Telebirr / CBE
    
    Finance->>FinanceMod: Generate Term I Invoices (Batch by Grade)
    FinanceMod->>Acct: Create draft account.move per student sponsor
    Acct->>Guardian: Deliver invoice via Portal & SMS Payment Link
    Guardian->>Telebirr: Pay via Telebirr SuperApp / CBE Birr
    Telebirr->>Acct: Webhook payment confirmation (JSON-RPC)
    Acct->>Acct: Reconcile invoice & generate Cash Receipt Voucher (CRV)
    Acct->>Guardian: Send instant SMS receipt

Arrears and examination clearance#

1. Overdue Tracking: Financial dashboards display aging balances per grade, section, and family sponsor.
2. Examination Clearance Pass: The system can automatically withhold examination admit cards or online report card downloads for students with outstanding tuition arrears until finance clearance is approved.

4. Advanced Configuration Points#

• Automated Actions & Scheduled Tasks (Crons):
  • School: Generate term grade report cards (smarterp_school.ir_cron_gradecards): Runs at the end of each term to compile student transcripts
  • School: Daily parent attendance notification via SMS (smarterp_school.ir_cron_attendance_sms): Runs daily at 09:30 to notify guardians of student absences
• Custom Print Templates & Reports:
  • Official Student Report Card & Academic Transcript
  • Classroom Daily Attendance Register
  • Term Tuition Billing & Fee Collection Ledger
• Multi-Company Rules: Record-level security isolation under Company 1 (Ashewa Technology Solutions S.C.), preventing cross-company ledger leakage across parent and subsidiary legal entities.

5. Comprehensive Troubleshooting Matrix#