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Subscription Billing & Payment Guide

This guide explains how your school's 4SCH subscription is billed, how invoices are generated, how to pay them, and what happens automatically after payment.

Audience: School administrators responsible for the school's 4SCH subscription.

How Billing Works​

Two Billing Models​

Your school can be on either of two billing models, set when you signed up:

1. Pay-Per-Period (Prepaid)​

You pay for a fixed period (e.g., a term) upfront. Bills are generated as soon as a period ends, with a new bill for the next period.

2. Pay-Per-Usage (Postpaid)​

You're billed at the end of each billing cycle based on actual usage (active students × charge per student + active staff × charge per staff).

Your Subscription Details​

To see your current subscription:

  1. Login as School Administrator
  2. Click Subscriptions in the main menu
  3. The overview page shows:
    • Package name (e.g., Starter, Pro, Max, or Custom)
    • Start date — when this subscription period began
    • End date — when it expires (and a new bill will be generated)
    • Billing cycle — number of days per cycle
    • Student charge — per active student
    • Staff charge — per active staff member
Why "Days" not "Months"?

The billing cycle is stored as a number of days for flexibility. A monthly plan would be billing_cycle = 30, a termly plan might be 60 or 90, and annual is 365. The system simply adds these days to your end date.

How Invoices Are Generated​

Auto-Generated Daily​

4SCH runs a daily job that:

  1. Looks for any subscription whose end date was yesterday
  2. Generates a new invoice for the next billing cycle
  3. Calculates the amount based on your current student and staff counts
  4. Sends a notification to your registered school admin email/phone

Manual Generation (Rare)​

In some cases, support staff may manually generate an invoice (e.g., for an addon purchase). These appear in the same list as auto-generated invoices.

Finding Your Invoices​

  1. Login as School Administrator
  2. Click Subscriptions → History
  3. You'll see all invoices for your school

Each invoice shows:

FieldMeaning
Bill ReferenceUnique invoice number
AmountTotal to pay (in your school's currency)
Due DateWhen payment is expected
StatusPaid, Pending, or Overdue
Transaction IDSet once payment is made

How to Pay an Invoice​

Step 1: Click Pay Now​

Next to any unpaid invoice, click Pay Now.

Step 2: Choose Payment Method​

You'll see the payment gateways your school's super admin has configured:

  • Paystack — Recommended for Nigerian schools (bank transfer, card, USSD, mobile money)
  • Stripe — Recommended for international schools (card)
  • Flutterwave — Pan-African option (card, bank transfer, mobile money)
Don't see payment options?

A super admin needs to configure at least one payment gateway in Settings → Payment Configuration before invoices can be paid online.

Step 3: Complete Payment on Gateway​

You're redirected to the chosen gateway's secure checkout page:

Paystack​

  • Bank Transfer: Receive a dedicated account number to transfer to
  • Card: Enter card details
  • USSD: Use bank USSD code shown on screen
  • Mobile Money: For supported countries

Stripe​

  • Card: Enter card details
  • Other payment methods depending on country

Flutterwave​

  • Multiple methods including card, bank transfer, mobile money

Complete the payment as instructed.

Step 4: Automatic Redirect Back​

After payment, the gateway redirects you back to 4SCH. You'll see:

  • ✅ A success message
  • ✅ The invoice updates to Paid status
  • ✅ The transaction ID is recorded

What Happens Automatically After Payment​

Behind the scenes, several things happen within seconds:

  1. Payment verification — 4SCH verifies the transaction with the gateway
  2. Bill marked as paid — Linked to your transaction record
  3. Subscription extended — Your end date moves forward by the billing cycle
  4. Features unlocked — Any previously restricted features become accessible
  5. Transaction logged — Record created in payment history
Smart Extension Logic
  • If you pay before your subscription expires, the extension is added to your existing end date (rewards early payment).
  • If you pay after expiry, the extension is added from today (so you always get the full cycle you paid for).

For example, if your billing cycle is 30 days:

  • Paid 5 days before expiry: extension goes to old end + 30 days = 35 days from today
  • Paid 5 days after expiry: extension goes to today + 30 days

Verifying Payment​

To confirm a payment went through:

  1. Go to Subscriptions → History
  2. Find the invoice
  3. Confirm:
    • ✅ Status shows Paid
    • ✅ Transaction ID is populated
    • ✅ Payment Gateway is shown (e.g., Paystack)

Click the transaction ID to see full details for accounting/reconciliation.

Understanding Bill Amounts​

For Pay-Per-Period Plans​

Bill amount = Package fixed price for the cycle.

For Pay-Per-Usage Plans​

Bill amount is calculated as:

(active students × student charge) + (active staff × staff charge)

For example, with 50 active students at ₦100 each and 5 staff at ₦200 each:

50 × 100 + 5 × 200 = ₦5,000 + ₦1,000 = ₦6,000

The exact charges per student/staff are in your subscription details under Subscriptions main page.

Active vs. Total

"Active" means student/staff records flagged as active in your school records. Deactivated users aren't billed.

Receipts​

After payment, a Receipt is available for download:

  1. Go to Subscriptions → History
  2. Click the paid invoice's row
  3. Click View Receipt or Download PDF

The receipt includes:

  • Your school name and details
  • Invoice number and date
  • Payment gateway and transaction ID
  • Itemised charges (student/staff usage)
  • Total paid
  • Currency

Troubleshooting​

"Invalid payment amount" error​

Cause: The invoice amount couldn't be determined. This is rare.

Solution:

  1. Refresh the page
  2. Click Pay Now again
  3. If it persists, contact support with the invoice number

Payment succeeded but invoice still shows "Pending"​

Cause: Webhook processing may take a moment (usually 1-2 seconds, sometimes up to a minute).

Solution:

  1. Wait 1-2 minutes
  2. Refresh the Subscriptions History page
  3. Status should update to Paid
  4. If not, contact support with the gateway's transaction reference

Features still locked after successful payment​

Cause: Browser cache or session may need refreshing.

Solution:

  1. Log out completely
  2. Log back in
  3. Features should now be accessible
  4. If still locked, contact support

Didn't receive payment notification​

Cause: Email/notification settings may not be configured.

Solution:

  1. Check Settings → Notifications
  2. Ensure school admin email is correct
  3. Check spam folder for invoice notifications
  4. For mobile push notifications, ensure the school admin has the mobile app installed

Receipt download fails or shows error​

Cause: Cache issue with the receipt template.

Solution:

  1. Try again after a few seconds
  2. Try a different browser
  3. Contact support if the problem persists

Renewal Reminders​

You'll receive notifications:

  • 7 days before expiry — Reminder to pay upcoming bill
  • On expiry day — Final reminder
  • After expiry — Notification that features are restricted

Configure these in Settings → Notifications under the Subscription category.

What If I Don't Pay?​

If your subscription expires without payment:

  1. Grace period — Some plans include a few days' grace before features lock
  2. Restrictions kick in — Premium features become inaccessible
  3. Data preserved — Your school's data remains safe (NOT deleted)
  4. Resume on payment — Pay any time to restore full access immediately

For detailed data retention rules, see the Subscription Expiry & Retention Policy.

FAQs​

Q: Can I pay multiple invoices at once? A: Currently, invoices are paid one at a time. We're exploring bulk payment in a future release.

Q: Can I change my payment method? A: Yes — when clicking Pay Now, you'll see all configured gateways and can choose any of them.

Q: What if I'm overcharged? A: Contact support immediately with the invoice number. Refunds are handled case-by-case via the original payment gateway.

Q: How do I get a tax invoice or receipt with VAT? A: The default receipt includes basic transaction details. For VAT or tax invoices, contact our billing team.

Q: Can I switch packages mid-subscription? A: Yes — contact support to upgrade or downgrade. Prorated charges apply.

Q: What if I accidentally paid the same invoice twice? A: Contact support with both transaction IDs. We'll process a refund for the duplicate via the gateway.

Need Help?​

For billing questions or issues:

  • 📧 Email: billing@yourschoolsupport.com
  • 📞 Phone: Check your subscription contract for billing support contact
  • 💬 In-app: Use the support chat from the main menu
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