ZamSkools
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Last updated: July 2026
School Fees Management · Zambia

Know who owes what — get paid faster.

ZamSkools gives every Zambian school real-time arrears, per-pupil statements, mobile-money collections and SMS fee reminders in one place. Set your fee structure once, record every payment as it comes in, and let parents check their own balance on the web, the Android app, or by dialling *388*11# on any phone.

Short answer: how does fee management work?

You set a fee structure for each class or term, and ZamSkools bills every pupil from it automatically. As payments arrive — cash, bank, or mobile money — you record them and each is posted to the pupil's account in real time. Every pupil has a live statement showing charged, paid and balance due, so arrears are always current without hand-counting. You can then send SMS fee reminders to parents, and parents can check the same balance themselves. Fee management is part of the platform — free for up to 100 pupils; you only pay K0.30 per SMS reminder you choose to send.

🧾 How fee management works — four steps

Set it up once at the start of term; the rest runs off each payment as it lands.

1 Set fee structures

Define what each class or term costs — tuition and any other charges — so every pupil is billed from the same structure automatically, not typed in one by one.

2 Record & collect payments

Record cash and bank payments at the office, or collect by mobile money. Each payment posts to the pupil's account the moment it's captured — no separate spreadsheet.

3 Statements & arrears

Every pupil has a live statement: what was charged, what was paid, and the balance due. Arrears stay current on their own, so you always know who owes what.

4 SMS fee reminders

Send fee reminders straight to parents' phones. Parents can also check the balance themselves — no phone call to the bursar needed.

📊 Real-time arrears you can trust

The balance on screen is the balance — not a figure someone re-added last week.

Arrears are the number a bursar re-calculates by hand more often than any other, and it's the number most likely to be wrong on a paper ledger. In ZamSkools the balance due is derived from the fee structure minus every recorded payment, so it updates the instant a payment is posted. A pupil marked paid whose account was actually settled shows a zero balance and drops off the arrears list — it isn't counted as owing.

Because each payment is tied to a pupil, you can see arrears for a single child, a whole class, or the entire school, and export the list for the board, the PTA or a fees meeting. There's no month-end reconciliation ritual — the ledger is always live.

📱 Mobile-money collections & the prepaid model

Collect fees the way Zambian parents actually pay — and keep the platform bill simple.

Fees can be collected by mobile money, so parents pay from the phone in their hand and the payment lands against the right pupil. Cash and bank payments captured at the office sit in the same statement, so one screen shows the full picture however the money arrived.

ZamSkools itself runs on a prepaid model: the platform — including fee management, HR and payroll — is free for up to 100 pupils, and you top up in advance only for the things that cost, like report cards (K1.00) and SMS (K0.30, first 100 free on signup). There's no card on file and no surprise invoice; if a balance runs low the system asks you to top up. See the full pricing for every rate.

🔎 Can parents check their own fees?

Yes — three ways, so every parent can, smartphone or not.

On the web & Android app

Parents sign in to the Parent portal to see the pupil's statement, payments and current balance any time.

By USSD — *388*11#

Any parent dials *388*11# on any phone to check fees — no internet, no app, no data. Works on the most basic handset.

By SMS reminder

Fee reminders arrive as a text, so a parent sees the balance even without opening anything.

The bursar sees the same figure

Parent, teacher and office all read one live balance — there's no "your records vs ours" argument at the desk.

⚖️ Honest limitations

What fee management does well today, and where to set expectations.

Strengths

  • Live arrears and per-pupil statements, no manual re-adding
  • Mobile-money, cash and bank payments in one ledger
  • SMS reminders plus self-service on web, app and USSD
  • Free for up to 100 pupils — the whole platform, not a trial

Good to know

  • SMS reminders are pay-as-you-go at K0.30 each after the first 100 free
  • Reminders are sent when you choose to send them — automatic scheduling is not enabled by default
  • Mobile-money availability depends on the operators and gateway supported for your school
  • Beyond 100 pupils, extra pupils are K2.00 each — see pricing
💡 Fees don't sit alone. Fee management is one part of the all-in-one ZamSkools school ERP — results, attendance, timetables, HR and payroll run on the same record. See everything the platform does →

Get paid faster this term

Set your fee structure, collect by mobile money, and send your first SMS reminders — free to start for up to 100 pupils, with 100 free SMS.