In EDUBase you give a concession by changing the student's fee against their fee plan, either for one challan or permanently, or by giving a discount on a specific challan. Both can be routed through a manager's approval, and every change is logged.
What is the difference between a concession and a discount?
Most schools use the two words loosely, but it helps the finance office to separate them. A concession is a standing reduction in what a child is billed, such as a sibling, staff-child or merit reduction that applies month after month. A discount is usually a one-off reduction on a particular bill, for example to settle a hardship case or round off a family's balance.
EDUBase supports both. A concession is recorded as a change to the student's fee against their fee plan, so every future challan is generated at the reduced amount. A discount is given on a challan that already exists, and can be held for a manager's approval before it takes effect.
How do I set a standing concession for a sibling, staff child or merit student?
Fee plans are built from your own fee heads (tuition, transport, exam, admission) and can be defined per class or per student. To give an individual child a concession, use the per-student fee change and choose to apply it permanently. The concession is recorded against the plan, so the original fee and the reduction remain visible rather than being silently overwritten.
For siblings, link the children under one family number first. Family grouping lets fee vouchers, payments and reminders work per family, which makes it easier to see which children belong together when you apply a sibling concession to each child's fee.
- Open the student's fee and change the relevant fee head or amount, choosing the permanent option.
- For a whole category (for example all staff children), consider a separate fee plan at the reduced rate and assign it to those students.
- To apply a plan to many students at once, use Bulk update to change the fee plan field, or Upload Fee Plans to assign plans from Excel.
- Check the next generated challans to confirm the reduced amount is being billed.
How do I give a discount on one month's challan?
When the reduction is for a single month only, you have two options. You can change the child's fee for a single challan, which affects that voucher and leaves the plan untouched, or you can give a discount directly on the challan when taking payment.
If a family asks for a discount at the time of admission, the admission can be routed through an approval step when a discount is requested, so the decision is made before the child's fee plan is finalised.
- Single-challan fee change: suited to a temporary reduction you know about before or after the challan is generated.
- Discount on a challan: suited to a reduction agreed at the counter, and can wait for a manager's approval.
- Unpaid balances after a partial discount carry forward to the next challan as arrears.
Who can approve a fee discount?
Discounts are one of the places where schools most want a second pair of eyes. In EDUBase, discounts and payments can be set to wait for a manager's approval before they are applied, so the person at the counter cannot reduce a fee on their own authority.
Access is controlled per user, per screen and per action, including view-only versus edit rights, and users can be restricted to their own campuses. A practical setup is to let counter staff record discount requests while only the finance manager or principal approves them.
How do I keep a record of who received which concession?
Trustees and auditors will ask who authorised each reduction. The Student change log shows who changed a student's fee, class or status, and when. User Logging gives a plain-sentence activity log across the system, with a severity badge and a link that opens the record with the changed fields highlighted.
On the reporting side, the Detail Fee Report breaks charges and payments down by student, particular and month, and the Fee Audit Report keeps historical collection figures by the class and session at the time of billing, showing collected amounts as cleared, awaiting approval and total. Every fee report exports to Excel or CSV for your own concession register.
What should I check at the start of a new session?
When you raise fees for the new session using Yearly fee increment and promote classes with Batch transfer and promotion, review your concession students afterwards. Confirm that sibling, staff-child and merit reductions still apply as intended, and remove any merit concession that depended on last year's results.
Running a short review each session, using a Detail Fee Report export filtered to the affected students, keeps concessions deliberate rather than inherited by accident.
Ways to reduce a student's fee in EDUBase
| Approach | Best used for | What it involves | Control and record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent per-student fee change | Sibling, staff-child or merit concession for one child | Change the child's fee permanently; concession is recorded against the plan | Student change log shows who changed the fee and when |
| Single-challan fee change | A temporary reduction for one month | Change the child's fee for that challan only; the plan is untouched | Logged in the Student change log and User Logging |
| Discount on a challan | A reduction agreed at the counter | Give a discount on an existing challan when paying or printing | Can wait for a manager's approval before it applies |
| Separate fee plan for a category | Many students on the same concession, such as staff children | Build a reduced fee plan from your fee heads and assign it | Plan assignment visible on the student record |
| Bulk update or Upload Fee Plans | Applying a concession plan to many students at once | Change the fee plan field in bulk, or assign plans from Excel | Large uploads run in the background with an in-app notice |
| Discount requested at admission | New families negotiating fees on joining | Admission is routed through an approval step when a discount is requested | Approval decision taken before the child is admitted |
Related modules
- Fee Management & Challans — Fee plans, monthly challans, discounts, family payments and receipts, without spreadsheets.
- Student Management & Admissions — Every student record, from first enquiry to leaving certificate, in one place.
- Fee Reports & Defaulters — Know what was billed, what was collected and who still owes, per class, family or month.
- Users, Privileges & Activity Log — Give each staff member exactly the screens and actions they need, and see who changed what.
- Bulk Data Import & Onboarding Tools — Move from registers or another system by Excel: students, fee plans, old dues and past payments.