> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bizaxl.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Fee Schedule
> How to raise fee invoices for all students in a year group at once - one billing operation that creates individual invoices and sends payment notifications to every student and guardian automatically.
A Fee Schedule is the mechanism for bulk billing. Instead of creating invoices one student at a time, you run a Fee Schedule for an entire year group - the system creates one invoice per student and sends payment notification emails to each student and their guardians, all in a single operation.
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## Who Does This
| Task | Who Does It |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| Creating and running a Fee Schedule | Finance Officer |
| Monitoring invoice creation progress | Finance Officer |
| Checking which students received notifications | Finance Officer / Academic Administrator |
***
## When to Use a Fee Schedule
Use a Fee Schedule when you need to bill a large group of students at the same time - for example:
* Raising term fees at the start of each semester
* Adding a supplementary charge (examination fee, lab fee) for all Year 2 students
* Billing all hostel residents for accommodation
For billing a single student or a small number, it is simpler to use individual Fees records or the Programme Enrollment Fees table.
***
## How to Run a Fee Schedule
1. Go to **Education workspace → Fee Management card → Fee Schedule**
2. Click **New**
3. Select the **Fee Structure** - this defines which fee components and amounts apply
4. Set the **Due Date** - when the invoices are due for payment
5. Select the **Academic Year**
6. In the **Student Groups** table, add the groups you want to bill
7. Tick **Send Payment Request Email** if you want notifications sent automatically
8. Review all details
9. Click **Submit**
The system creates one fee invoice (Fees record) per student in each selected group. For large groups, invoice creation runs in the background - a message will tell you if this is the case.
***
## Field Guide - Fee Schedule
| Field | Required | Purpose |
| ------------------------------ | -------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Fee Structure** | Yes | Which fee template to use (defines the components and amounts) |
| **Due Date** | Yes | The deadline for payment on all invoices created |
| **Academic Year** | Yes | Which academic year these fees are for |
| **Student Groups** table | Yes | Which classes to bill - one or more groups can be selected |
| **Send Payment Request Email** | No | Tick to automatically email students and guardians with payment links when invoices are created |
| **Status** | Auto-set | Draft → Partially Paid → Paid |
***
## What Happens After Submission
When you submit a Fee Schedule:
1. The system loops through all students in the selected Student Groups
2. For each student, it creates a **Fees** record (invoice) with:
* The student's name and programme
* The fee components and amounts from the Fee Structure
* The due date
3. If "Send Payment Request Email" was ticked:
* A payment link email is sent to the student's email address
* The same email is sent to every linked guardian
For groups of hundreds of students, this process runs in the background. You will see a message saying records are being created. Come back after a few minutes to check.
***
## Checking Invoice Creation Progress
After submitting a Fee Schedule:
1. Go to **Education workspace → Fee Management card → Fees**
2. Filter by **Fee Schedule** = the schedule you just submitted
3. Count the records - there should be one per student in the groups
If the count is lower than expected, some invoices may still be in the process of being created. Wait a few minutes and refresh.
***
## Checking Payment Notification Status
To verify emails were sent:
1. Go to **Education workspace → Fee Management card → Fees**
2. Open one of the Fees records created by the schedule
3. Check if the "Payment Request" link is visible - if a payment request was created, the email was sent
4. For failed emails: ask your system administrator to check the Email Queue in system settings
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## Fee Schedule Status
The Fee Schedule record itself has a status that updates as invoices are paid:
| Status | What It Means |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Draft** | Schedule not yet submitted |
| **Partially Paid** | Some invoices have been paid, others are still outstanding |
| **Paid** | All invoices linked to this schedule have been paid |
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## Best Practices
**Verify guardian email addresses before submitting.** Payment request emails are sent the moment the schedule is submitted. If guardian emails are missing, those families do not receive the notification - there is no automatic retry.
**Check student group membership before submitting.** Ensure all students who should be billed are in the selected Student Groups. Adding a student to a group after the schedule is submitted will not automatically create an invoice for them - you will need to create a separate Fees record manually.
**Run fee schedules early in the term.** Give students and guardians enough time to pay before the due date. Two to three weeks is a reasonable window.
**Test with a small group first.** If you are running a fee schedule for the first time or billing a new type of fee, select one student group, submit, and verify the invoices and notifications are correct before running it for all groups.
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## Troubleshooting
**Invoices were not created for some students:** Check that those students are listed in the Student Group's Students table. Students not in the group will not receive invoices from the schedule.
**Payment emails were not sent:** Check the "Send Payment Request Email" checkbox on the Fee Schedule - it must be ticked before submission. Also verify the student and guardian records have valid email addresses. Check the Email Queue in system settings for delivery failures.
**Same student received a duplicate invoice:** A student may be in two student groups that were both selected in the schedule. Remove the duplicate invoice (cancel the extra Fees record) and ensure each student is in only one group per course.
**Cannot submit the Fee Schedule:** Check that a Fee Structure is selected and at least one Student Group is in the table. Both are required.
***
## Related Pages
* [Fee Structure](/education/fees-finance/fee-structure) - must be set up before running a Fee Schedule
* [Fee Collection](/education/fees-finance/fee-collection) - monitor payments against the invoices created by this schedule
* [Student Groups](/education/student-management/student-groups) - the groups that determine which students are billed
* [Notifications & Alerts](/education/notifications-alerts) - how the payment request email works