Initial Setup

This guide starts after the technical setup is already complete.

Assume the system is running, the first admin users exist, and staff can sign in. This page only explains the product setup needed so daily work makes sense.

The most important setup areas are:

• academic structure
• finance setup
• admissions setup, if offer letters are used
• commission setup, if consultants or agents are paid

Setup Order

Use this order because later steps depend on earlier ones.

1. Academic Structure

Owner: Academic manager

Set up the academic offer before setting prices.

At minimum, create:

• programs
• levels
• courses
• placement rules or placement test ranges, if placement is used
• sessions for the courses students can join

Keep this simple at first. Only mark programs, courses, and sessions as active when staff should use them.

Why this matters for finance: course fees are attached to courses or sessions. If the academic structure is unclear, finance staff will not know which fee applies to which student.

Ready when:

• staff can find the live courses
• staff can find the live sessions
• a student can be placed and enrolled into the correct session

2. Finance Setup

Owner: Accountant or finance manager

Finance setup controls what students can be charged for and how payments are recorded.

Do not start collecting real payments until the finance setup has been checked with a test student.

Choose The Currency

Decide the currency the institution will use for student fees.

Use one clear currency code, such as MYR or USD, and keep it consistent across:

• fee definitions
• charges
• payments
• reports

Meaning: the currency tells staff what money unit every amount represents.

Good practice: do not mix currencies unless the business has a clear policy for that.

Create The Registration Fee

Create a registration fee if students must pay a one-time fee when they register.

Use a registration fee for charges such as:

• application fee
• registration fee
• onboarding fee

Meaning: this is a student-level fee. It is not tied to a specific course session.

Ready when: finance staff can create a registration charge for a student.

Create Course Fees

Create course fees for the actual study cost.

A course fee can be scoped in two common ways:

Meaning: a course fee is what the student pays for joining a course or session.

Example: General English - Level 1 may have one normal course price, while a holiday intensive session may have a separate session price.

Ready when: an enrolled student can receive the correct course charge.

Keep Fee Names Clear

Use fee names that staff can understand quickly.

Good examples:

• Registration Fee
• General English Level 1 Course Fee
• IELTS Intensive July Session Fee

Avoid vague names like:

• Fee 1
• Main fee
• Special

Meaning: staff see these names when creating and reviewing charges.

Activate Only Usable Fees

Only active fee definitions should be used for real charges.

Keep a fee inactive when:

• the price is still being reviewed
• the course is not open yet
• the fee is old and should no longer be used

Meaning: active means staff can treat the fee as live.

Configure Discounts

Create discounts only when the institution has approved discount rules.

A discount needs:

• a clear name
• a code
• a percentage
• a scope
• start and end dates, if the discount is temporary

Discount scopes:

Example: an early-bird discount for course fees should use the course-fee scope so it is not accidentally used on registration fees.

Ready when: finance staff can select the discount while creating a charge, and the preview shows the reduced amount.

Understand Charges

A charge is the amount the student owes.

Charges are created from the fee setup. Staff should not treat fee definitions and charges as the same thing.

Example: Registration Fee is the fee definition. Ahmed owes 200 MYR for registration is the charge.

Record Payments Carefully

When a student pays, record the payment and allocate it to the correct charge.

The payment should match:

• the correct student
• the correct amount
• the correct date
• the correct charge

Meaning: recording the payment confirms money was received. Allocating it tells the system which debt the payment settled.

Check Balances

After recording a payment, check the student balance.

The balance should show whether the student is:

• fully paid
• partially paid
• unpaid
• overdue

Ready when: finance staff can explain the balance by looking at the student's charges and payments.

Finance Setup Checklist

Before real collection starts, confirm:

• the currency is correct
• registration fee is active, if used
• course or session fees are active
• discount rules are correct, if used
• staff can create a registration charge
• staff can create a course charge for an enrolled student
• staff can record and allocate a payment
• balances update correctly

3. Admissions Setup

Owner: Admissions or student services team

Set this up only if the institution uses official offer letters.

Prepare:

• acceptance terms
• bank details
• the default bank detail for normal offers

Meaning: these details appear on offer letters, so they must be reviewed before offers are issued.

Ready when: staff can create a test offer letter and the payment instructions are correct.

4. Commission Setup

Owner: Commission or finance manager

Set this up only if consultants or agents earn commission.

Prepare:

• consultant rates
• agent rates
• effective dates
• special negotiated rates, if any

Important rule: commissions are based on course-fee payments. Registration fees do not create commission earnings.

Ready when: a test course-fee payment for an attributed student creates the expected commission record.

5. Test The Setup

Use one test student before real work starts.

Check this path:

1. Create or choose a test student.
2. Place the student, if placement is used.
3. Enroll the student into a session.
4. Create a registration charge, if used.
5. Create a course charge.
6. Apply a discount, if used.
7. Record a payment.
8. Check the balance.
9. Check commission output, if commissions are used.

The setup is ready when staff can complete this path and explain every amount shown on the student's finance record.