Collecting Madrasa Fees Online in Bangladesh: What Has to Be Set Up First

What has to exist before a single taka can be collected?

The order matters, because most madrasas stall on the second item rather than the first.

1. A payment gateway merchant account in the institution’s own name, opened by the institution. Sabaq does not open it for you, because the money settles into your bank account and only you can enter that relationship.
2. A bank account in the madrasa’s name, not an individual’s, linked to that merchant account.
3. The store details from the gateway entered into Sabaq.
4. A test transaction of your own, to confirm the receipt is produced correctly.
5. Minimum and maximum amounts set, and the fund the money should land in chosen.

Which decisions must the institution make first?

Most madrasas are held up by internal decisions rather than by anything technical. Settle these four in a committee minute before you approach a gateway.

• Whose name the bank account is in. It must be the institution’s. Money for the madrasa arriving in a personal account is very hard to explain to a committee later.
• Who signs. Two signatories is the usual arrangement, so work continues when one is away and no single person holds everything.
• Who reconciles. Name the one person who will compare the gateway statement with the madrasa’s books each month.
• Who answers guardians. When money leaves an account and no receipt appears, someone will telephone within the hour. Decide in advance who that is.

What should you ask the gateway before signing?

Terms differ between institutions, so ask rather than rely on what another madrasa was told, and write the answers down. That page is what you will show your committee.

• Which documents do you need from an institution of our type?
• How many days until money reaches our bank account?
• How is the charge on each transaction calculated, and what is it for each payment method?
• If money is taken but the transaction fails, how and when is it returned?
• What is the refund procedure, and who is allowed to request one?
• Where do we download the daily and monthly transaction statements?
• How do we reach support, and is it available in Bangla?

Who pays the transaction charge?

The gateway takes a service charge on each transaction. That is a matter between the gateway and the institution; it is not part of the software price. What the madrasa must decide is whether it absorbs the charge or passes it to the guardian. Either is defensible. What causes complaints is not deciding, or deciding without telling anyone. Put it in the notice that announces online payment.

What happens to the money and the receipt?

The money goes directly to the madrasa’s own account. Sabaq never holds it. On the software side, a successful payment creates an ordinary fee receipt, which means the dues list, the student’s ledger and the fund balance all move from that one event.

This is the part that decides whether online collection saves work or creates it. If online payments were written into a separate book, the madrasa would end up reconciling two sets of figures every month. Because the receipt is the same kind of receipt as one issued at the counter, the month end totals simply include it. A separate report of who paid online is available when the committee asks.

What do you tell a guardian whose money was taken but shows no receipt?

Have the answer ready before you launch, because this call will come.

Money being debited and a transaction succeeding are not the same event. If the connection breaks after the debit, the transaction can remain incomplete, and in that case the money is usually returned by the gateway under its own rules without ever reaching the institution. Ask the guardian to keep the debit message and to wait the period the gateway told you about.

If money was taken twice, the office should first check whether two receipts exist in the software. One receipt means one payment succeeded. Two receipts means the extra amount can either be held as an advance against next month or refunded through the gateway. Decide which of those two the madrasa will do, and record it as a committee decision, so the answer does not change from case to case.

A transaction that looks suspicious can be held. The office verifies it and only then approves it into the accounts, so a wrong amount does not enter the books.

Why will the gateway statement not match your books exactly?

Because it never does, and knowing why saves an afternoon every month. The gateway deducts its charge before sending money on, and a transaction on the last day of the month may reach the bank in the next one.

Reconcile in three steps. Take the list of online receipts for the month from Sabaq. Download the gateway statement for the same period. Then account for the difference in exactly three buckets: the gateway’s charges, money still in transit, and returned transactions. Once those three explain the gap, the books are right. The wider reconciliation routine is on the accounting page.

How should a madrasa introduce it to guardians?

Slowly, and voluntarily. Announce that it is an additional way to pay, not a replacement, and keep the counter open exactly as before. Start with one or two classes, and start with the guardians who live furthest away, because they are the ones who will be glad. Show one guardian in the office how it works; they will explain it to others better than a notice does.

Put the method in a written notice rather than announcing it verbally, or half the guardians will never hear about it.

Is online payment available in the app?

No. It is in the web panel for guardians. The Android app carries attendance, fees, results and notices, and is described on the app page.

Frequently asked questions