Glossary — school words, explained plainly
SqoolHQ guides use simple, professional language. When a school or finance term cannot be avoided, it is defined here. Each guide also expands an abbreviation the first time it appears on the page.
Access slip
Section titled “Access slip”The printed slip a parent receives when a student is enrolled. It shows the portal ID (admission number or parent phone number) and the first PIN. Parents need both to sign in the first time. See: Parent portal guide.
Admission number
Section titled “Admission number”A unique registration number created for each student at enrolment. Parents use it to sign in to the portal, and staff use it to find the student fast. Also called a registration number.
Arrears
Section titled “Arrears”Fees billed in an earlier term that are still unpaid. Arrears roll forward automatically — see B/F. See: Understand balances.
B/F — Brought forward
Section titled “B/F — Brought forward”Unpaid amounts carried from earlier terms into the current term. A student’s total owed is: billed this term + B/F − payments received. New students never carry B/F from terms before they joined. See: Understand balances.
Balance
Section titled “Balance”What a student still owes for the selected term: billed + B/F − payments. A student with nothing outstanding is marked cleared.
Billed
Section titled “Billed”The fee items charged to a student for a term (tuition, lunch, transport…). Billing comes from the term’s fee structure, not from payments. See: Fee structure.
Bursar
Section titled “Bursar”The staff member who handles fees, payments, balances, and receipts. In SqoolHQ the Bursar role sees finance pages but not academic data.
Board report
Section titled “Board report”See Financial summary.
Cleared
Section titled “Cleared”A student with nothing outstanding for the selected term. Use the Owing only filter to hide cleared students when following up. See: Follow up on unpaid fees.
Credit (negative balance)
Section titled “Credit (negative balance)”Money paid above what was billed. The extra stays on the student as a credit and reduces next term’s amount owed. Confirm it only when the overpayment is intentional. See: Handle transfers, leavers and credits.
Current term
Section titled “Current term”The term whose dates include today. Balances, reports, and payments default to it. The header selector can switch to another term when needed.
Director (Owner role)
Section titled “Director (Owner role)”The staff member with full access — settings, team, fees, academics, and
reports. The system role is called owner; in guides we say Director.
End-of-term checklist
Section titled “End-of-term checklist”The close-out routine: close marks, print report cards, confirm collections, close the term. See: End-of-term checklist.
Expense
Section titled “Expense”Money the school spends (supplies, salaries, utilities, maintenance). Recorded under Finance → Expenses against the current term. See: Record an expense.
Fee item
Section titled “Fee item”One charge in the fee structure — for example “Tuition — Term 1” with an amount and who it applies to (a class, a category, or the whole school). See: Fee structure.
Fee structure
Section titled “Fee structure”The full set of fee items for a term. Set it before recording payments so every payment lands against the right item. See: Set up a new term’s fees.
Fee type
Section titled “Fee type”What a single payment is for: Tuition, Uniform, Lunch, Transport, or Other. Chosen on each payment, and used to break down board reports.
Financial summary
Section titled “Financial summary”The Reports → Financial Summary page: collection rate, money in vs out, breakdowns by fee type, method, and class, plus a printable board copy. See: Report to the board.
Gradebook
Section titled “Gradebook”The marks grid where teachers enter scores per class, period, and subject. Percentages, totals, and ranks are computed from each subject’s maximum score. See: Enter marks.
Leaver
Section titled “Leaver”A student who left the school. Leavers who still owe stay listed under Leavers & transfers with outstanding balances so arrears stay collectible. See: Handle transfers, leavers and credits.
Maximum score (max score)
Section titled “Maximum score (max score)”The “out of” value for a subject (for example 50 or 100). Set it on the subject; the gradebook and report cards grade against it. See: Set a subject’s maximum score.
Mobile money (MTN MoMo, Airtel Money)
Section titled “Mobile money (MTN MoMo, Airtel Money)”Payment by phone. Always paste the transaction ID into External reference and set Date received to the day the money actually arrived, so reports match the cashbook.
NSSF — National Social Security Fund
Section titled “NSSF — National Social Security Fund”Uganda’s mandatory social-security deduction. Applied in payroll runs when enabled in payroll settings. See: Run payroll.
Owing only
Section titled “Owing only”A filter on the Balances page that hides cleared students, leaving only those with an outstanding balance. Use it to build a follow-up list. See: Follow up on unpaid fees.
Overpayment
Section titled “Overpayment”A payment larger than the student’s balance. The app asks you to confirm carrying the extra forward as a credit. See: Record a fee payment.
Parent portal
Section titled “Parent portal”The login for parents: view fees, results, and attendance for their child. Parents sign in with the portal ID and PIN from the access slip. See: Parent portal guide.
PAYE — Pay As You Earn
Section titled “PAYE — Pay As You Earn”Uganda’s income-tax deduction on salaries. Applied in payroll runs when enabled in payroll settings. See: Run payroll.
Pay run
Section titled “Pay run”One payroll calculation for a period: a draft line per staff member (basic + allowances − deductions such as PAYE and NSSF), reviewed, then approved. Approved runs lock for audit. See: Run payroll.
Pay structure
Section titled “Pay structure”The pay template for one staff member: basic salary plus standard allowances and deductions, with an effective-from date. Set structures before building a run. See: Set up a staff pay structure.
The parent’s 4-digit portal password. The first PIN comes on the access slip; the first sign-in asks the parent to choose their own. Staff can reissue a lost PIN from the student record — parents cannot reset it themselves. See: Reissue a parent’s portal PIN.
Period
Section titled “Period”See Term. Older screens say “period”; guides say term.
Receipt number
Section titled “Receipt number”The auto-issued proof of a payment (for example RCP-BRI-20260815-0001).
Sequential per day, never editable. File printed receipts in order.
See: Record a fee payment.
Suspended
Section titled “Suspended”A school disabled by SqoolHQ (for example for non-payment). Staff see a notice; parents cannot sign in. No data is lost — access returns once the cause is resolved. See: Your school is suspended.
One school term (Term 1, 2, 3) with a start and end date. Billing, balances, reports, and payroll all run per term. The current term is the one whose dates include today. See: How money moves.
Transfer
Section titled “Transfer”A student moving from one class to another. From the transfer date the student is billed at the new class’s rate; past payments keep their old class in reports. See: Handle transfers, leavers and credits.
UNEB — Uganda National Examinations Board
Section titled “UNEB — Uganda National Examinations Board”The national exams body. Report cards follow the UNEB convention: printed cards are stamped and signed by hand after printing, and carry the line “This report is invalid without a valid school stamp.” See: The school stamp line.
PLE / UCE / UACE
Section titled “PLE / UCE / UACE”Uganda’s national exam levels: PLE (Primary Leaving Examination), UCE (Uganda Certificate of Education, lower secondary), UACE (Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education, upper secondary).
Cancelling a payment entered by mistake, with a required reason. A voided payment leaves every total but stays in the books with who voided it and why — a full audit trail, never a silent deletion. See: Record a fee payment.