How schools can collect money from parents online for trips, events and workshops

What goes wrong with cash and screenshots

• Cash in envelopes: counted twice, kept overnight, and one envelope always goes missing.
• UPI to a teacher’s personal number: hard to account for later, and the teacher’s bank statement fills with school money.
• Screenshots in the class group: the name in the UPI app is the parent’s bank name, not the child’s, so matching takes an evening.
• Details scattered: the fee in one place, the permission slip in another, allergies on a sticky note.

The simple setup: one link per trip or event

1. Create the event with the amount, the seats and a short description parents will understand.
2. Add the questions you need answered, for example class and section, allergies or medical needs, an emergency number, and “I allow my child to go on this trip”. Make them required.
3. In the description, ask parents to book once for each child, with the child’s name. The name on the booking is the name on the pass.
4. Book it yourself first with “Try booking” — nothing is charged, saved or emailed — to see exactly what parents will see.
5. Share the link in the class groups. When the last date comes, tap “Pause booking”.

On Yano, you create a page for the trip or event: what it is, the date, where students report, the amount and the number of seats. You share one link in the class or school WhatsApp group. Parents open it on their phone — no app needed — fill in the student’s details, and pay.

Where the money goes

Straight to the school. Yano never holds it. You choose one of two ways:

• The school’s UPI ID: free, no gateway charges. Parents pay in their UPI app and tap “I have paid”; the teacher or office checks the school’s account and taps Approve, and the student’s pass is emailed to the parent. Good for a single class.
• The school’s own Razorpay or Cashfree account: parents pay by UPI, card or netbanking and the pass goes out by itself, with nothing to approve. The gateway charges its usual fee. Better for a whole grade, a camp or the annual day.

Use the school’s account, not a teacher’s

It is tempting to put a teacher’s personal UPI ID because it is quick. Use an account in the school’s name instead. Parents see whom they paid, the office can tally it with the school’s books, and no teacher has to explain school money in a personal bank statement. Every parent can also download a statement from their pass showing what they paid and to whom.

Parents who still pay cash

Some parents will walk into the office with cash, and that’s fine. In your event, use “Add a guest” for each cash payment. The student gets the same QR pass, and the payment counts in your totals, so the online and cash payments sit on one list.

One list instead of a register

• Every booking shows the student’s name, the parent’s phone and email, what was paid and every answer you asked for.
• Download it as a spreadsheet for the office, or print the guest list for the bus or the hall.
• Seats are capped, so a trip for 80 never becomes 86.

On the day

Send the scanner link to the teachers on duty. It opens on any phone — no app, no login, and no access to money or settings. Each pass works once. For a trip, add pickup points and the scanner shows which students are still to board at each stop, with their parent’s number. A student forgot the pass? Find them by the parent’s mobile number.

Kinds of school events this works for

• Picnics, excursions, educational tours and overnight camps.
• Annual day, sports day and cultural evenings, with free or paid passes for parents.
• Science, robotics, art or coding workshops by visiting experts.
• Summer camps and holiday activity batches.
• Inter-school competitions and exhibitions where outside students register.

Every event after the first is quicker

Schools run the same events every year and often every term. Open last year’s trip and tap “Repeat this event”: the questions, seats and payment settings are copied, and you change the date. The school’s organiser page shows all its upcoming events in one place, so parents always know where to look.