New ParentSquare Feature Streamlines School Payments

Digital engagement company ParentSquare has introduced ParentSquare Pay, a school payments solution for its flagship communication platform. ParentSquare Pay allows families to make secure payments for school activities, dues, and other fees in the same place where they receive notifications and other school information — without having to log on to a separate system, the company explained in a news announcement.

With ParentSquare Pay, teachers and administrative staff can send payment requests and invoices to students' families as they would any regular school communication, via e-mail, text message, or app notification. The system tracks who has or has not paid and automatically sends reminders. All transactions are processed with the PCI-compliant Stripe payment platform, and reporting integrates with a school's external accounting systems.

"Like school communications, school payments are often fragmented, frustrating, and ineffective — resulting in uncollected funds, especially across individual departments," said ParentSquare Founder and President Anupama Vaid, in a statement. "Our goal with ParentSquare Pay is to remove the friction from payments to make collecting money as simple and convenient as possible for everyone involved."

For more information, visit the ParentSquare site.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  •  classroom scene with students gathered around a laptop showing a virtual tour interface

    Discovery Education Announces Spring Lineup of Free Virtual Field Trips

    This Spring, Discovery Education is collaborating with partners such as Warner Bros., DC Comics, National Science Foundation, NBA, and more to present a series of free virtual field trips for K-12 students.

  • glowing padlock shape integrated into a network of interconnected neon-blue lines and digital nodes, set against a soft, blurred geometric background

    3 in 4 Administrators Expect a Security Incident to Impact Their School This Year

    In an annual survey from education identity platform Clever, 74% of administrators admitted that they believe a security incident is likely to impact their school system in the coming year. That's up from 71% who said the same last year.

  • horizontal stack of U.S. dollar bills breaking in half

    ED Abruptly Cancels ESSER Funding Extensions

    The Department of Education has moved to close the door on COVID relief funding for schools, declaring that "extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion."

  • pattern of icons for math and reading, including a pi symbol, calculator, and open book

    HMH Launches Personalized Path Solution

    Adaptive learning company HMH has introduced HMH Personalized Path, a K-8 ELA and math product that combines intervention curriculum, adaptive practice, and assessment for students of all achievement levels.