Finance troubleshooting & FAQ

§ 01Access & sign-in

"I signed in but Finance says ‘Finance is for bursars and school admins.’"

Your account isn't a bursar or a school admin yet, so it can open the other apps but not Finance. A school admin grants you bursar access in Settings → Bursar management at the bottom of Finance Settings. Once you're added, sign out and back in. (Admins already have access on their email login — see who does what.)

"A bursar can't see Approvals / Fee structures / Reports / Ledger / Settings."

Those are admin-only — they don't appear for a bursar, and that's by design. A bursar sees the everyday desk: Dashboard, Collections, Cash-up, Reconciliation, Invoices, Receipts, Debtors, Clearance, Refunds, and Periods (view only). If you need to change a fee structure, approve a waiver, or read the ledger, ask a school admin — see the access table.

§ 02Recording money

"The payment won't record."

The form is missing a required field for the method you picked:

• For Bank transfer or Cheque, the Reference / receipt no. is required — the teller/transfer reference, or the cheque number. Cash and mobile money leave it optional.
• For Mobile money, you must pick a Network — the screen says “Select a network for mobile money.” (MTN Mobile Money, Telecel Cash, or AT Money).

Fill the flagged field and press Record payment again. Full walkthrough: Collecting fees & cash-up.

"A student shows no invoices on the collections desk."

The term's billing period probably isn't open yet, or the invoices were never issued — so there's nothing to allocate against. An admin opens the period and issues invoices in Periods (see billing periods & invoices). You can still take the money today: with nothing outstanding, the button reads Record prepayment and the amount sits as a credit balance on the student, ready to apply once invoices are issued.

"Money came into the bank but I can't find the student."

Don't force it onto the wrong student. Record it as a suspense payment in Reconciliation — it lands in the holding account, unallocated. When you've worked out who paid, open it and press Apply to move it onto their invoices. See Reconciliation.

§ 03Term, invoices & clearance

"I can't edit an invoice or void a payment."

The term's billing period is Closed, which freezes the books — no edits, no voiding or reallocating payments. An admin must Reopen the period (it asks for a reason) in Periods before you can change anything. Note you can still record a late payment against a closed term without reopening it — reopening is only for editing the closed books. See billing periods.

"A student is blocked at clearance but has paid."

First check the balance on the student — a part-payment, an unapplied credit, or an arrear from a previous term can still leave them owing. If the balance is genuinely settled but they're still flagged, an admin can grant a clearance override: it routes through Approvals, and an admin Approves it with an optional expiry so it lapses on its own. The Debtors page is where you confirm exactly what's outstanding.

"I can't issue a refund."

Refunds aren't done straight from the desk — a refund must come from an approved refund adjustment first. Request the adjustment (kind: Refund) with a reason; once an admin approves it through approvals, the refund becomes available to pay out. Walkthrough: Refunds & approvals.

"The Trial Balance doesn't look right / how do I check the books balance?"

Open Reports → Trial Balance for the date in question — every account's debits and credits, which should net to zero. If a figure looks wrong, the entry behind it is in the ledger; nothing is ever deleted, so an admin posts a clean reversing entry rather than editing. The Reports section explains each of the seven reports, and the ledger is the layer underneath.

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