The Multiple Discounts feature allows schools to apply more than one discount to a learner on the same payment option — for example, combining a sibling discount and a staff discount on school fees.

Finances > Debtors > Payment Options > Manage Discounts

How does it work?

1. Discounts are created once and managed centrally.

2. Each discount is linked to specific payment options (e.g. School Fees).

3. Learners are linked to one or more of those discounts.

4. All linked discounts are added together into a single total discount on the learner’s monthly billing.

Step 1 — Create a discount

At Finances > Debtors > Payment Options > Manage Discounts, click Add and complete:

• Discount Name — e.g. Sibling Discount or Staff Discount

• Statement Description — shown on parent statements

• Discount Type: Percentage or fixed Amount

• Default Discount Account — the GL account where the discount is recorded

• Important: A discount must be linked to a GL account before it can be used.

• Schools that previously used a single-discount setup will see an “Old” discount that cannot be deleted, as it is required for historical billing records.

Step 2 — Enable multiple discounts on a payment option

When creating or editing a payment option (e.g. School Fees), locate the field “Link discount separately to learners?” and select Yes. This enables multiple discounts for that payment option.

Step 3 — Select which discounts apply to the payment option

A selection box appears showing all available discounts. Move the relevant discounts to the selected list — only selected discounts can be linked to learners for that payment option.

Step 4 — Link discounts to learners

• Bulk linking (recommended): Ideal for structured rules like sibling discounts (2nd learner, 3rd+ learners). Saves time and ensures consistency.

• Manual linking: Used for specific cases such as staff member discounts. Administrators manually select the qualifying learners. Staff-linked learners are not identified automatically and must be managed manually.

Important things to know

• Changing a discount value: If you update a discount’s percentage or amount, the change does not automatically apply to learners already linked — existing links retain the original value. To update, contact the School Management Support team to bulk-unlink learners, then re-link them.

• Deleting a discount: A discount cannot be deleted while linked to a learner or a payment option. Remove all links first.

• Year-end: Discount configurations carry over into the new financial year, but value changes must be updated manually.

• Staff discounts: Not automatic — review and update staff-linked learners annually or when staff changes occur.

Best practice tips: Finalise discount values before linking learners. Use bulk linking where possible. Review discounts at year-end or before invoicing starts. Test billing on one learner before applying discounts at scale.

Frequently asked questions

My discount changes are not reflecting on existing learners — why?

Discount values are stored at the time the learner is linked. Updating the discount definition does not update existing learner links. Contact the School Management Support team to bulk-unlink the affected learners, then re-link them to capture the updated value.

A learner should have multiple discounts, but only one is showing — what should I check?

Verify that the payment option has Link discount separately to learners set to Yes, and that all the required discounts are selected on the payment option before linking to the learner.