Hostel charges on the student fee ledger
A school or college hostel can bill through SmartMy Campus fees instead of hostel invoices. Rent, deposits, electricity and fines become fee dues of the student, and parents pay them with the other fees. Circulars can be sent to the residents of chosen hostels or blocks.
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The problem it solves
- Parents get a school fee receipt from the office and a separate hostel bill from the warden.
- The accounts office cannot see in one place what a student owes the institution.
- A student leaves the hostel owing rent, and the office learns of it only at the leaving certificate.
- Notices for hostel students are pinned on a board that day scholars also read.
How it works
- Open the hostel, Billing tab, and set Billing to Fee module (institutes). Set Due Days for the fee dues.
- Optionally choose a Fee Head on each charge head. Empty means the institution's Hostel Fee head, and the refundable Hostel Deposit head for deposits.
- The hostel's usual rules make the charges: rent plans, proration, deposits, electricity, fines and the final settlement.
- Each charge of a student's stay becomes a due on the student's fee ledger. No hostel invoice is made.
- Parents see the dues on the fees pages with the other fees and pay at the fee counter or online. The hostel portal and app link to the fees page.
- At check-out, unpaid hostel dues stop the check-out until they are paid or a manager lets it through.
- To reach the residents, write a circular and choose the Hostels or Hostel Blocks under Hostel Residents, with Also to Guardians if needed.
Everything it does
Charges as fee dues
- Every charge of a student's stay in a fee-billed hostel: rent, deposits, electricity, fines and damages
- Due date: the day the charge is billed plus the hostel's Due Days
- Fee Head: per charge head and Entity; empty uses Hostel Fee, or Hostel Deposit (refundable) for deposits, made on first use
- A charge paid by someone outside the family, such as an employer or sponsor, becomes that payer's due
- A correction or waiver first lowers the stay's unpaid dues under that head; any rest goes back to the student as credit
- The stay's Billing tab lists its Fee Dues
Late fees, overdue and leave
- With Campus late fees: a Late Fee Rule (Fees) per hostel; empty uses the institution's rule
- The hostel's rule is used only for the student's own dues, not for deposits or dues of other payers
- Dues long overdue give the hostel manager a to-do, once per due: Dues long overdue, or Serve notice, as the hostel's overdue action says
- If the hostel blocks leave for overdue dues, a student with dues overdue past the set days cannot apply for leave
Booking, check-out and settlement
- A cancelled booking: unpaid dues are cancelled; what was paid comes back as the student's credit (the booking fee by the hostel's refund percentage)
- Check-out lists Fee clearance with the unpaid amount; only a manager can check out anyway
- With Campus fee refunds, the final settlement sets the deposit against the stay's unpaid dues and refunds the rest
Circulars to hostels
- On a circular, under Hostel Residents: Hostels, Hostel Blocks, Also to Guardians
- Readers: the residents in house in those hostels or blocks, and their guardians when ticked
- Works for any hostel, not only fee-billed ones
Who uses it
Fee office / AccountsCollects hostel dues with the other fees and gives receipts and refunds.
Hostel ManagerSets the hostel to fee billing, follows long overdue dues and approves check-outs with dues.
ParentSees and pays hostel dues on the fees pages with the other fees.
Where you use it
- Web: the hostel's Billing tab (Billing, Due Days, Late Fee Rule (Fees)); the stay's Billing tab (Fee Dues); the fee ledger in SmartMy Campus
- Parent / student portal: the Fees pages; the hostel stay page shows Hostel fees with Pay on the fees page
- The SmartMy Hostel app: hostel fee dues with a link to the fees page. The app is built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- Not the hostel desk: Collect Payment at the hostel is not used for these hostels; pay at the fee counter
- Not kept up to date on a circular: its readers are fixed when you choose the hostels or blocks; later arrivals do not see it
- Not live-tested: online fee payment has been tried with a test payment provider only, not with a live payment
What you control
Settings
- Billing: per hostel, Hostel invoices to start with; Fee module (institutes) for this page
- Fee Head: per charge head and Entity; empty uses Hostel Fee or Hostel Deposit (refundable)
- Late Fee Rule (Fees): per hostel, with Campus late fees; empty uses the institution's rule
- Overdue action and its days: per hostel
Notifications
- Fee reminders and receipts: those of SmartMy Campus fees, to the parents; the hostel's own invoice and reminder messages are not used
- Hostel Final Settlement: to the resident and the guardians with the deposit and the refund; in the app and by email. WhatsApp and SMS come from your message credits, and app push once the apps are in the stores
- Circulars: shown to the chosen residents and guardians on the circular board
Works with
SmartMy CampusNeeded for this page: the fee ledger and its heads, receipts, reminders and the circular board. Late fees and refunds through fees need those parts of Campus.
SmartMy POSA fee-billed hostel's store sales go to the student's fee account in the POS, not the hostel bill.
Questions
Will parents get two bills, one from the school and one from the hostel?
No. Hostel charges become dues on the student's fee ledger. Parents see and pay them with the other fees and get one kind of receipt.Can a student check out with hostel dues unpaid?
Not without a manager. Check-out lists Fee clearance with the unpaid amount, and only a hostel manager can go on with a reason.Can parents pay hostel dues online?
Online payment of fees is built in SmartMy Campus. It has been tried with a test payment provider only, so before you go live we test it with yours.What happens to the deposit when the student leaves?
The final settlement charges the deductions and releases the deposit as credit. With Campus fee refunds, it is set against unpaid hostel dues and the rest is refunded.Can a circular go only to the girls' block?
Yes. Choose that block under Hostel Blocks, and tick Also to Guardians if parents must see it too.Related features
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGESStudents and parents from SmartMy CampusWith SmartMy Campus, a hostel stay is booked for a student record. The student's login becomes the resident, the father, mother and guardian become guardians, and the stay carries the academic year. The hostel and bed show on the student, and parents get a Hostel card on the portal.BILLINGRent bills raised each periodEvery night the system adds the rent that has fallen due, puts the open charges on invoices and sends them to whoever pays. When a resident gives notice, moves room or leaves early, rent already billed is corrected with an adjustment or a credit note.CHECK-OUT AND SETTLEMENTFinal settlement of the depositWhen a resident leaves, one screen sets the deposit held against the last rent, unpaid bills and any deductions such as damage. A hostel manager approves it, and settling it leaves the exact refund, or what is still due, on record.BILLINGRent reminders, late fees and waiversPayers, residents and guardians are reminded before the due date and every few days after it. A late fee follows your rule after the grace days, and long overdue dues reach the manager as a to-do. A charge can be waived with a reason, within a limit for managers.DAILY LIFENotice board and pollsPost notices to whole hostels, some blocks or some floors, pin the important ones and let them expire by themselves. Add a poll to a notice and residents answer on the portal or in the app.WITH OTHER SMARTMY PRODUCTSHostel store purchases on the hostel billWith SmartMy POS, a resident buys at the hostel store or tuck shop and pays later on the hostel bill. Each sale becomes a Store Purchases charge on the stay. It is invoiced with the other hostel charges, and income and tax are not counted twice.
See it with your own blocks and classes.
Tell us how many hostels and students you have. We will show you an allotment, a leave request approved by a parent and a night roll call, set up the way your hostel works.