School Fee Management System for Ethiopian Schools
Know who has paid, who still owes, and how much came in today, without the paper ledger.
Running a private school means hundreds of families, several grades, monthly or term fees, discounts for some students, and a cashier's desk that gets busy every start of term. Our school fee management system puts all of that in one simple place. Your office staff bill students, take payments, print receipts and message parents. You, the owner, see the full picture from your phone or laptop at any time.
It works in Ethiopian Birr, supports the Ethiopian (EC) or Gregorian (GC) calendar, and sends messages through local SMS and email.
Built for: kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools and multi-campus school groups across Addis Ababa and the regions.
What a normal day looks like with the system
Before we list features, here is how it actually feels to use it.
8:00 AM.A mother comes to the office to pay for her two children. Your cashier types the student's name, sees the exact amount owed, enters 10,000 Birr and presses save. A receipt prints. Within a minute the mother gets an SMS confirming the payment and the balance left.
11:00 AM.Your accountant notices three families haven't paid for October. A few clicks later, after a quick check, they get a polite reminder by SMS and email in Amharic or English.
5:00 PM.Before going home, the cashier opens Today's transactions, counts the cash in the drawer, and it matches the screen.
Evening.You open the dashboard at home and see how much was collected today, how much is still unpaid and what is overdue. The unpaid balances report shows Grade 5 is the furthest behind. You didn't have to call anyone to find out.
Why school owners choose this system
1. You always know where the money is
Every payment is recorded with the student, the cashier who took it, the time and the method (cash or bank transfer). Nothing can be quietly deleted. If a mistake happens, it is corrected with a visible reversal, so you always have an honest record.
2. Billing a whole school takes minutes, not days
Set your fee price for each grade once. At the start of the month or term, choose the period and the system prepares invoices for every student. You check the list, then issue them all at once. Students who are already billed for that period are skipped, so nobody gets charged twice.
3. Parents are informed without phone calls
When an invoice is issued or a payment is recorded, the parent automatically gets an SMS and an email. Fewer "Did you receive my payment?" calls. Fewer disputes at the gate.
4. Simple enough for any office staff
The menu is short and grouped by daily work: Record payment, Students, Today's transactions. Your cashier doesn't need accounting training or computer experience. If they can use a phone, they can use this.
5. Your data stays protected
Each staff member has their own login and only sees what their job needs. A cashier can take payments but cannot change fee prices. Important changes can require a second person to approve. Two-step login with a phone app is available for extra protection.
Features
Student records and Excel import
Bring your whole school in on day one.
- Import all your students from one Excel sheet: name, grade, section and parent phone and email.
- The system checks every row and tells you exactly which ones have a mistake (for example a wrong phone number or an unknown grade), so you fix only those.
- Each student has one profile page with their class, parents, invoices, payments and full balance history.
- Add new students one by one during the year in less than a minute.
Fee prices per grade
- Set tuition, registration, transport, uniform, exam or any other fee type you use.
- Give each grade its own price. Grade 1 can be 24,000 Birr and Grade 8 can be 33,000 Birr.
- When you change a price for next year, the old price is kept in price history, so past invoices never change.
- Discounts, scholarships and late fees can be set up as rules the system follows automatically.
Bulk billing (invoices for the whole school)
- Choose a grade or all grades and the period (a month, a term or a full year).
- The price fills in automatically from your fee list, and you can still change it if needed.
- Preview the full list before anything is sent. The system flags students who are already billed, joined late, or have no price set yet.
- Split a large fee into installments with their own due dates.
- Waive or cancel an invoice when needed, with the reason recorded.
Payment recording and receipts
- Search the student, see what they owe, enter the amount, done.
- Record cash or bank transfer payments, with the bank reference number.
- Bank transfers wait on the dashboard until someone checks they really arrived, then the parent is told.
- The system applies the money to the oldest unpaid invoice first, or you can split it yourself.
- If a parent pays more than owed, the extra is kept as credit for the next invoice.
- Print or download a clean receipt with your school logo and name.
- Refunds and reversals are recorded properly, never erased.
SMS and email messages to parents
- Automatic message when an invoice is issued.
- Automatic message when a payment is received, including the remaining balance.
- Reminders before a fee is due and when it becomes overdue.
- School announcements and even birthday greetings for students.
- Messages in Amharic or English, and you can edit the wording so it sounds like your school.
- A person reviews reminders before they go out, so nothing embarrassing reaches parents.
- See which messages were delivered and which failed.
- Works with local Ethiopian SMS providers and your own school email.
Reports for owners and accountants
- Collections: how much came in this day, week, month or term.
- Unpaid balances: billed and unpaid amounts for each grade and section, down to each student.
- Student statement: a full history for one student, ready to print and hand to a parent.
- Cashier summary: what each cashier collected today, to close the drawer correctly.
- Download any report to Excel, PDF or CSV for your bank, auditor or board.
Online parent forms
- Publish an admission form for new students and share the link on Telegram, Facebook or your website.
- Collect parent feedback and complaints in one place.
- Review every submission inside the system. No more lost paper forms.
Staff roles and approvals
- Owner / administrator: full control, settings and prices.
- Accountant: billing, reports and parent messages.
- Cashier: records payments and prints receipts.
- Approver: confirms sensitive changes before they take effect.
- Every important action is kept in a timeline: who did what, and when.
School setup and calendar
- Your school name, logo and contacts on every receipt and message.
- School year, grades and sections set up step by step.
- Choose Ethiopian (EC) or Gregorian (GC) dates.
- Supports one campus or several campuses, each with its own staff.
- A Getting started checklist walks you through setup so nothing is missed.
How it works, from start to finish
Step 1: Set up your school.Add your name, logo, school year, grades and sections. The checklist on the dashboard shows what is left.
Step 2: Add your fee prices.Enter tuition and other fees for each grade.
Step 3: Bring in your students.Upload your Excel list or add students one by one.
Step 4: Bill students.Pick the period, check the preview, and issue invoices. Parents are notified automatically.
Step 5: Take payments.Cashiers record payments and print receipts. Parents get an SMS straight away.
Step 6: Follow up.Send reminders to families who are behind.
Step 7: Check your reports.See collections, unpaid balances and each cashier's daily total.
A step-by-step user guide with screenshots comes with the system, so new staff can learn on their own.
Real benefits for your school
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Paper receipt books and Excel files that don't match | One record that everyone works from |
| Days spent writing invoices by hand every term | All invoices prepared and issued in minutes |
| Parents calling to ask about balances | Parents get an SMS after every invoice and payment |
| End-of-day cash counting with no clear total | Today's transactions shows exactly what each cashier took |
| Owner has to ask staff for numbers | Owner sees collections and unpaid balances anytime |
| A student is accidentally charged twice | The system blocks double billing automatically |
| No trace when a payment is changed | Every change is recorded with name and time |
Who it is for
Private kindergartens and primary schools.Small office, many families. You need something simple that the cashier can learn in one afternoon.
Secondary and international schools.Several fee types, scholarships, installments and a busy accounts office. You need clear control and reports for the board.
School groups with more than one campus.Each campus keeps its own students and staff, and the owner sees all of them together.
Faith-based and community schools.Discounts, fee waivers and scholarships are recorded properly and transparently.
What the system does not do (yet)
We prefer to be honest so there are no surprises.
- Parents do not pay online through the system. Payments are made at the school or by bank transfer, and staff record them.
- There is no separate parent login. Parents are kept informed by SMS, email and printed statements.
- It focuses on fees. Grades, attendance and timetables are outside its scope.
If any of these matter to your school, tell us during the demo and we will talk about what is possible.
Why work with DreamTech
- Made in Ethiopia, for Ethiopian schools. Birr, the Ethiopian calendar, Amharic messages, local SMS and the way schools here really collect fees.
- Set up with you. We help you import your students, enter fee prices and train your staff.
- Your school's branding. Your logo and name on receipts, messages and forms.
- Support after launch. We stay available when your team has questions, especially at the start of term.
- Secure by design. Separate logins, approvals, a full activity history and optional two-step login.
Pricing
Pricing depends on the number of students, the number of campuses and the setup support you need. Contact us for a clear quote for your school.
Get a price for your schoolFrequently asked questions
Do my staff need computer skills to use it?
No. If they can use a smartphone, they can use the system. The menu shows only what each person needs, and a picture-by-picture guide is included.
Can I bring in the students I already have in Excel?
Yes. Upload your Excel sheet. The system shows any rows with mistakes so you can fix them, then imports the rest.
Does it send SMS to parents in Ethiopia?
Yes. It works with a local Ethiopian SMS provider and your school email. Parents are notified automatically when they are billed and when they pay.
Can parents pay online?
Not at the moment. Parents pay at the school or by bank transfer, and your cashier records the payment. The parent then receives a confirmation SMS.
Can it use the Ethiopian calendar?
Yes. You can show dates in the Ethiopian (EC) or Gregorian (GC) calendar.
What if a parent pays only part of the fee?
That is normal. The system records the partial payment, shows the remaining balance, and tells the parent how much is left.
Can it handle discounts and scholarships?
Yes. You can give discounts and scholarships, or waive a fee, and the reason is always recorded.
Can I see the reports from home?
Yes. It runs in any web browser, so you can check collections and unpaid balances from your phone or laptop.
What happens if a cashier makes a mistake?
The payment is reversed with a clear record of who did it and why, and the correct one is entered. Nothing is hidden or deleted.
We have two campuses. Will it work for us?
Yes. Each campus has its own students and staff, and the owner can see everything together.
How long does it take to start?
Most schools are ready once their fee prices and student list are in. We guide you through it.
Ready to stop chasing school fees?
Show us how your school collects fees today: your grades, fee types and how many students you have. We'll walk you through the system using an example close to your school.