This article explains how billing categories and payment options work in d6 Finance, and how to ensure they are correctly configured before learners are linked. It is for school finance administrators.

Finance > Billing Categories  |  Finance > Payment Options

Overview

Billing categories define what you charge learners for — for example, school fees, Hostel, or sport levies. Payment options define how much learners pay and over how many months. Both must be fully set up before any learner is linked to a payment option. Changing fee amounts or categories after learners are linked will not reflected on the linked learners.

Setting up billing categories

A billing category is required for every fee type the school charges. For example:

• School fees

• Hostel

• Sport levy

• Transport

For schools that share a d6 entity across multiple streams (for example, a primary and secondary school on the same system), billing categories must be split per stream so that fee structures remain separate and reports remain accurate.

To create a billing category

1. Navigate to Finance > Billing Categories.

2. Click Add.

3. Enter the category name and select the applicable stream.

4. Save.
   

Please note that you have the option to manually enter learner opening balances for each category. Alternatively, if you can provide a separate Debtor Aging report, we can bulk import these balances for you—provided we can match the data accurately.

Setting up payment options

A payment option is linked to a billing category and defines the total annual fee and the number of months over which it is spread. Billing always runs on the 1st of the month —our system can not bill on another date but bulk statements can be send from our system any day.

To create a payment option

1. Navigate to Finance > Payment Options.

2. Click Add.

3. Select the billing category this option belongs to - you can also set it up to show separately on a statement.

4. Enter the total annual amount and the number of billing months.

5. Save.

Repeat for each fee structure the school offers. A school may have multiple payment options under the same billing category — for example, a discounted option for siblings or staff children.

Pre-flight checklist

• Every fee type the school charges has a billing category.

• Every billing category has at least one payment option.

• Billing categories are split per stream for shared entities or reporting purposes

• No learner has been linked to a payment option yet.

• Billing is set to run on the 1st of the month.

Frequently asked questions

Can I change a billing category or fee amount after learners are already linked?

You should avoid this wherever possible. Changes to billing categories or payment option amounts after learners are linked can cause balance discrepancies on individual learner accounts. If a fee must change mid-year, please go and amend the learners billing under the learner profile / billing or ask our support department to make sure you follow the correct process.

Why must billing run on the 1st of the month?

d6 Finance is designed to generate monthly statements and run reconciliations on the 1st. Moving billing to a different date causes monthly totals to straddle two billing periods, making the age analysis and debtors reports inaccurate. Always keep billing on the 1st.

Our school has two stream. Do we need separate billing categories?

Yes. For any school that runs two streams (for example, primary and high school or Hostel) on a single d6 entity, billing categories must be created separately per stream and preferably separate Control accounts. This ensures fee structures, reports, and reconciliations remain distinct and accurate for each stream.

What happens if I set up a payment option with the wrong fee amount?

If no learners have been linked to the option yet, you can simply edit the payment option and correct the amount. If learners are already linked, the correction process is more involved — contact d6 support at support@d6plus.co.za before making any changes.