Post on 18-Jul-2020
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End of Year Debt Advice and
Guidance
Barking and Dagenham Catering Services
Academic Year 2016-2017
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Message to Head Teachers and Business Managers
CATERING SERVICES ADVICE AND SUPPORT FOR END OF SCHOOL YEAR
ACTIVITY (2016/17) AND NEW INTAKE (SEPTEMBER 2017)
As the end of term is fast approaching, now is the time where it may be useful to remind
you of the process for managing the end of term procedures and preparing your MIS data
for September 2017. For the new intake, the procedures are as last year.
Advice included covers:
• ParentPay Debt
• Catering Services Invoices / Transfers for 2016/17 Debt
• Bank Account Details and Advice
• School Accounts
• New Intake September 2017 – Pre Admissions
• MIS Year Changes
• Infant to Junior School – MIS / Year Changes
• PayPoint Cards
We would also advise you to check your year 6 debts, to ensure you try to get these
settled before the pupils leave. You should also be running down balances from the end
of June to reduce the amount of refunds.
ParentPay Debt 2016/17
ParentPay will be arranging the clearance of debts from pupil accounts and will transfer
the debt to the school account; scheduled date for this is 22nd August 2017. We
recommend that between now and the end of term all schools actively encourage parents
to pay their debts to reduce the debt you will need to manage at the end of year.
Schools can see their pupil’s debt on their ParentPay site (attached are ParentPay
guidelines). Schools should have nominated their preferred bank account for the debt
payments. This allows parents to pay off their 2016/17 debt online and direct into the
school bank account. (A bank account needs to be linked, otherwise parent’s payments
of debts will not reach schools and links from previous years can’t be used for 2016/17)
Older Debts Pre September 2016
If any debts remain for previous years, schools will need to manage these old debts and
decide whether to try to recover (from the pupils) / or write them off. If historic debts
have been cleared or written off the school can archive pre 2016 Debt payment items to
avoid any parents making payments in error. Contact support@parentpay.com if
schools require assistance.
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Catering Services Invoices / Transfers (2016/17 Debt)
Please do not confuse pupil debt with the invoice/transfers from Catering Services.
Settlement of the invoice raised by Catering Services is not settlement of pupil’s debt.
Likewise, a pupil paying their debt to the school is not a settlement of the invoice
Catering Service raised. How you manage the parents’ payments against the debt
transferred to the school is not relevant to your settlement of the invoice raised. (If your
school has brought into the LA finance SLA the LA journal transfer will be replacing the
invoice so when we refer to invoice this would mean journal transfer in such cases. If
this applies to you, please let us have your budget code for the transfer, email details to
Rachel before the end of term.)
Just to clarify the purpose of these invoices/transfers; when schools “lend” this results in
a debt on the pupil account. The debt is not a Catering Services responsibility, it is a
school responsibility and schools have the option of either covering the debt with school
funds or recovering from the pupils. When Catering Services invoice your school we
invoice against the debts to replace funds in the holding account. A “lend” to a pupil is
effectively schools borrowing from the holding account to pay Catering Services.
Catering Services receive payment for the “lend” meals at the point of sale.
Bank Account Details and Advice
ParentPay asked schools to enter their preferred bank account for collecting debt
repayments. Entering bank details in ParentPay is simple if you have not already done
so log in to your ParentPay School site, go to Finance > Manage Bank Accounts and
register the details directly into the system. Contact support@parentpay.com if schools
require assistance. If you do not add the school’s bank account, you will not receive debt
income from parents which belongs to the school.
School Accounts (pupil, visitor, staff, governor’s cards etc)
Schools are asked to ensure all the cards/accounts are paid off by the end of the school
year. These can be paid off by your school debit/credit card or by printing a PayPoint
barcode letter and taking payment to the nearest PayPoint retailer. Contact
support@parentpay.com if schools require assistance.
New intake September 2017 – Pre-Admissions Lists
The pre-admission template will be on the Data Uploads area of the ParentPay Support
Site. Please download the template and complete. Schools MUST use PERMANENT
UPNS. Do not use any other codes otherwise accounts will not match when the
students are fully enrolled into school. The Pre-admission file can be uploaded into
ParentPay just once, please make sure the file contains all pre-admission students.
We do acknowledge you may have to do a few adjustments on the first day due to
appeals, and actual attendance but these few will be simpler to manage than a complete
new intake. Once the file is complete go to COMMUNICATION > FILES and upload the
complete file there, then email support@parentpay.com to request it to be uploaded. For
Data Protection, DO NOT EMAIL THE FILE, upload it through the ParentPay site.
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Doing this means that you can get the ParentPay activation letters sent out and the
parents can top up the new pupil account before the pupils start. Good news for schools,
as you should not have to lend because the pupils will be paying immediately, and will
have funds on their accounts. Pre-admission lists for primary schools can be sent at any
time for processing, but should be with ParentPay by 30th July at the latest. ParentPay
have confirmed schools must make sure the list is complete as they will only process the
list once for each school. Secondary Schools lists would be appreciated by the last week
of August to allow time for processing.
All Schools may wish to review their ‘lend’ policy for the first few days of the new school
year, to ensure both new pupils and returning pupils have time to top up their ParentPay
accounts.
MIS – Year changes
Schools will also need to update their MIS for the year change as pupils are moving
through the school. This will affect the information on the till (pupils class/forms setup).
Please note that until the updated MIS is uploaded the till will stay in the 2016/17
academic year classes rather than the 2017/18 classes.
Infant to Junior Schools – MIS / Year Changes
Primary schools should not need to make pre-admission changes where pupils move from
their infant to junior class, providing the infant and junior sites have a universal MIS
system and ParentPay site. However, for a small number of schools if pupils move from
infants to juniors which have separate MIS systems and ParentPay sites, then they are
considered leavers at infants and new starters on the Juniors.
PayPoint Cards
Schools are reminded that with the changes to DSG funding, full delegation and the
ParentPay SLA, the cost of PayPoint cards is a school responsibility.
Change of Internet Provider
If any schools intend to change their internet provider over the summer break, the
Catering Service need to be advised before the start of term. Change of provider may
lose the link between tills, NRS servers and ParentPay, and it will not be possible for the
tills to be used until the new IP address has been installed.
Upgrading, New Menus: Tills
Schools are reminded that in order to apply system changes, upgrades and menu
changes the tills need to be left on (tills in Primary schools/PC and tills in Secondary
schools). This will avoid confusion at the start of term.
If you have any questions in connection with this communication, please speak to Rachel
Gurney (3889) or ParentPay Support support@parentpay.com (02476 994 820).
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PARENTPAY GENERAL SCHOOL ADVICE
Balance letters for parents
Payers should be informed of current meal balances for any associated child accounts
during the summer term to encourage them to manage those balances before the end of
the term. Communication should focus on reducing any outstanding debt and where
appropriate, reducing balances for school leavers to minimise end of term refunds.
The ParentPay communication facility can be used to send emails and letters to payers
reminding them of their balance. Templates exist in Communications to assist. Or
contact support@parentpay.com for further advice.
Account balance report
In the run up to the end of the academic year it is important to get regular full balance
reports. This will clearly show you which parents are in credit or debt. This report can
be used by the school office to focus efforts on those parents that are still showing as
having a debt.
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Refunds from School Bank Accounts
Schools can action a refund back to the parent’s My Account, the parent can then reuse
the funds towards other payments, or the parent can withdraw the balance via
ParentPay. LBBD Catering Refunds. Where catering income is banked with
LBBD Catering Services schools must NOT process refunds.
Refunding school payments (paid through ParentPay online)
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Refund advice for parents
How does a parent withdraw funds? 1. Log into your ParentPay account
2. Select My Account from your homepage 3. At the bottom of your statement summary, select Withdraw
Activation Letters
Once the new pupil/staff data is loaded into ParentPay, account activation letters can be produced and issued.
NOTE: Activation letters should include simple instructions on how to use
activation codes.
To set up your account, you will need to provide a current email address. This will be your username and will also be used for verification purposes.
1. Navigate to www.parentpay.com
2. Select Login at the top right corner of the screen 3. Enter the username and password provided in your account activation letter and
select Activate 4. Complete the activation as detailed on the screen.
You can now log in to your account.
You are able to add up to six active children to a single ParentPay account, even if the children attend different schools (schools must use the ParentPay service).
1. Log in to the account you want to use as your main account (this will become the only account you use in future).
2. Select the Add a child tab on the home page.
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3. Enter the username and password (activation codes) provided in your activation letter.
4. Select Search. Your child’s name will be listed on screen.
5. Select Add to my account.
On your homepage you should now see an additional tab for the child you have added to the account. Repeat this process for any other children you wish to add to your account.
Please note: It is not currently possible to combine accounts that have already been
activated. You will need to manage two separate accounts. Please ensure that when adding a new child using an activation letter you have received, that you add them to
your existing account where one exists.
PayPoint Cards and PayPoint Letters
PayPoint barcodes are uniquely assigned to individual school payment items for the specific child for whom it is issued. It is not possible for barcoded cards or letters to be
transferred between students or schools. Schools should remind leavers to destroy old barcodes to ensure payments are not made to the wrong account or school.
School Bank Accounts
How to add a new bank account
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New Year key tasks that most schools will need to carry out
Refreshing pupil and staff data
Checking term dates are correct
Adding any known School Closure Dates
Setting up Meal Patterns for new pupils (if relevant)
Checking school meal price and periods (if relevant)
Checking FSM Allowances are set correctly
Ordering PayPoint Cards for new starters
Archive any manager accounts for staff leavers
School Data Uploads (RM Integris)
Often the upload failed because of text entered into phone number box – only numbers should be added here. Use the contact type dropdown to identify type of contact.
If you are not yet using the RM Integris integrated upload, please contact ParentPay Support for more information.
Changes to the school’s servers or MIS system
Any changes to the school MIS system (SIMs, Integris etc) will require a managed upload of data by ParentPay to ensure the old and new accounts are accurately matched.
Please advise ParentPay in advance of any change, giving a minimum four weeks’ notice and our Technical Team can set aside time to manage the new upload and check
the data. Do not upload from a new MIS system until the first upload has been processed by ParentPay.
Any changes in school to servers or office computers may mean the user loses access rights to ParentPay, and MIS:Sync Software. Please make sure that these are re-
instated.
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ParentPay’s End of Year Assistant
This feature will be release towards the end of May to guide schools through the essential tasks they need to complete to prepare the school’s ParentPay site for the start of the
new academic year. Tasks include:
• Confirming FSM allowance • Non-cashless schools/non-lunchtime meal types: Confirming meal/session prices
• Adding term dates and closing days
• Confirming school administrator contact details
The End of Year Assistant will be mandatory to complete 21 days before your last day of the summer term.
Meal Prices in ParentPay
Cashless tills manage the meal costs directly and do not need to be changed in
ParentPay. In the meal value is set to £0.00 on your setup, it should not be changed. If your meal price is increasing however, you will need to ensure the new FSM allowance
is reflected in ParentPay.
New School Administrator ParentPay accounts Quite often new members of staff join the school at the start of the new academic year.
Schools are able to manage their Manager Account logins from SETTINGS > MANAGE USERS tab.
Homepage notifications
As part of the End of Year and New Academic Year processes, ParentPay will activate additional notifications with the MY NOTIFICATIONS area on your homepage. These
notifications will provide you with important information relating to required or advised actions. For Example, if a pupil upload needs to be processed or if you have a meal type period about to expire.
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Other ParentPay features
• collect consent for trips as well as collecting money online • manage before/after school clubs and show balances online
• parents can order and pay for uniform online • full communication package, email, texting, mail merge • collect money for third party providers; money goes to their bank account
• you can collect other income, like lettings payments online or via the telephone
• you can become a cashless school
Further Assistance
If you require further assistance with any aspects of ParentPay, please do not hesitate to contact the ParentPay Service Desk Team either by calling 02476 994 820 or by email
support@parentpay.com Alternatively, you can find useful guidance via the ParentPay online Support Site, which
you can access from the HELP Link on your ParentPay home page.