K–12 finance departments are facing numerous challenges with staff shortages, tighter audit scrutiny, and rising parent expectations. To simplify day-to-day tasks, many schools are choosing to modernize payments using a School Commerce Platform that enables unified online and in-person payment acceptance. A system like this also helps districts  centralize financial reporting, support SIS and ERP integrations, automate reconciliation, and enforce strong controls and compliance.

For K-12 school business and finance administrators, managing fee collection efficiently is a crucial part of maintaining a district’s financial stability. However, many schools continue to rely on manual billing processes that, while familiar, hide significant added costs, increase the risk of errors, and slow down cash flow. Understanding these hidden costs and how to evaluate them is an essential step for districts to recognize the benefits of automating the fee collection process. This, in turn, will pave the way to modernize operations, improve service, and maximize resources.

As every new school year begins, so do all the back-to-school to do lists! Districts nationwide are preparing plans for their school programs and the collection of fees that come along with them. From class fees to parking passes, schools are managing countless student programs that require payments. Many schools still rely on physical cash and check payments, even though parents may prefer to pay electronically. By leveraging an online School Commerce Platform, like MySchoolBucks, schools can simplify how they collect and manage fees district-wide.

Here's the top 5 fees we see schools managing each year and how to collect them more efficiently:

In a survey by the District Administration at the start of the 2023-2024 school year, 45% of schools surveyed reported insufficient staff as an ongoing issue. As districts grapple with the downstream effects of limited resources, it becomes even more important for schools to find technology partners that can create efficiencies and help them overcome operational challenges.