Schools’ corridors are still full of money, but the percentage of the income it represents has dropped dramatically. However, it is the people spending the money who are recording this drop, not those counting it. The administrative costs of coins in envelopes are now being absorbed by treasurers, business managers and the people who run parent groups. What follows outlines where this cost is currently being incurred, outlines the main tools for managing cash income digitally, and outlines how to transfer to managing income digitally without losing any in the process.
Where the administrative cost of cash actually sits
There is a huge amount of work that goes into counting and banking cash but the majority of people don’t realize the amount of time that is spent reconciling transactions for cash contributions to a PTA. The hours of volunteers disappear in this work of reconciling transactions for cash contributions to a PTA. For example, a single non-uniform day of school can have hundreds of transactions in cash and no record of who paid for what. Class teachers will keep parallel lists of cash contributions in classrooms for example and then have to reconcile that with the total cash collected. This is a huge amount of work for very little return.
It’s not just counting that becomes a problem. The biggest problem is to try to work out the shortfall, or the unexplained variance. And this can take up even more time than the original contribution, perhaps even more than the amount of the shortage itself.
The risks that rarely appear in the budget
- Cash held overnight in a school building, often outside the scope of the school’s own insurance arrangements
- Single-person handling of takings, which leaves well-meaning volunteers with no evidential defense if a discrepancy arises
- Trips to a branch during working hours, increasingly difficult as local banking hours contract
- Lost or damaged envelopes, which generate parent complaints the organization cannot resolve either way
What changes when income moves online
In terms of school income, digital income offers even more benefits. For one, every payment made via digital means has attached to it the identity of the payer. Therefore, when a parent pays for school income via digital means, the payment is identified with the pupil’s name, the event or activity and the amount paid.
Reporting changes for school events. Giving families a straightforward way to make PTA payments online is worth setting up early, because parents and teachers can then see how many people have paid for an event well before it takes place. This allows teachers and other school volunteers to adjust numbers for things like school trips, for school catering, for stock for fairs etc. In good time.
Effects on income levels
Optional items for sale such as school uniforms, as well as items of value to sell to parents and friends to raise funds for specific school projects, can be priced in a way to ensure that removing the need for parents and friends to find exact change to make a payment results in an increase in the number of payments for small value items. Furthermore, there can be an increase in the average value of contributions, by suggesting a contribution amount, which need not result in additional communication.
Comparing the tools available to school organizations
Combination of methods. This framework lists the key criteria to help choose between different methods of digital income. The key factors are transaction cost, reconciliation left, and parent friction. Most parent groups use a combination of methods.
| Method | Typical cost per transaction | Reconciliation effort | Best suited to |
| Bank transfer with a reference | None | High, references are frequently mistyped or omitted | Large one-off payments and grants |
| Generic card payment link | Percentage plus fixed fee | Moderate, payer data must be exported and matched manually | Ad hoc appeals and raffles |
| Dedicated school or parent group platform | Percentage, sometimes with a subscription | Low, income is coded to events and pupils at the point of payment | Recurring termly income and events |
| Contactless terminal at events | Percentage, plus hardware cost | Low for totals, none for individual attribution | Fairs, cake sales and gate takings |
How to read the fee question honestly
Volunteer hours are worth money. Even at a low rate, four hours a week of any of your committee members’ time is worth money. Value that. Then compare the percentage of a term’s income that is spent by your platform’s fees, with the percentage of that same term’s income that would be equivalent to the value of four hours a week of your committee members’ time.
Running the transition without excluding families
Schools are going to lose income and goodwill if a cashless policy is imposed in one term. It is better to go for a phased approach, with different payment types being introduced in different terms.
- Start with items already administered centrally, such as trips and clubs, where records exist and parents expect formal process.
- Move recurring voluntary contributions next, offering a standing option that removes repeat prompting.
- Convert event income last, since it involves the widest range of payers, including grandparents and local visitors.
- Retain one clearly documented cash route for families who need it, handled by a named person rather than by whoever is nearest.
Language matters in parent communications
When framing the change to cashless payment systems in school make sure that you are highlighting the benefits to families and volunteers and avoiding giving the wrong impression i.e. That all payments will have to be by card. Highlight that no child will be excluded from any activity as a result of their family’s payment method.
Governance expectations that come with the shift
As with any school finance system, there will be a higher standard of management for a cashless system, as a complete audit trail will be created of all money entering and leaving the school. Therefore, dual authorization for any withdrawals from school funds, restrictions on administrative access to the digital income system for 2 named individuals, and a data retention period for any parent contact details held within the digital income system.
The handover of digital systems, used by schools and PTAs for managing funds, is also a weak point. This can be prevented by documenting all relevant information such as login details, mandates, refund policies etc. Prior to the annual meeting of the PTA and hence the departure of the current treasurer will not also involve the loss of all institutional memory.
