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Is Your School Considering Using an Electronic Income System?Hertfordshire County Council appointed WisePay as its preferred supplier of an online payments system for Hertfordshire schools. The Wisepay system will allow you to collect your school income online with the appropriate bank account(s) being credited without having to count, reconcile and bank cheques and cash. Over 180 Hertfordshire schools have signed up and are using the WisePay system and we are continuing to roll it out over the new academic year. For schools who have not yet considered WisePay, we would like to invite you to an introductory session on WisePay. The session will provide schools with an overview of the system, information about getting set up, the time frames involved and the costs. The date and time of the Free Introductory session is as follows:
If you would like to attend, please email fss.admin@hertscc.gov.uk with your session preference and the names of the attendees. You will receive confirmation of the session and joining instructions nearer to the event. If your schools would like to take up WisePay without attending an introductory session, please contact Nicki Teare to discuss next steps. As it has been selected as HCC’s preferred supplier of an Electronic Income system, we would ask all schools to consider using WisePay. Please contact us, or speak to your FSS advisor, if you are considering a different system. If you are unable to attend these sessions but are still interested in using WisePay, please let us know and we will invite you to the next event. If you have any queries on the project, please contact: Nicki Teare
If you would like further information on WisePay, please find below some frequently asked questions.
Pilot ResultsIn 2010, WisePay were selected as Hertfordshire County Council’s preferred supplier of an online electronic income system for schools. Before offering the system to all schools, a pilot was undertaken to ensure the system was fit for purpose. The pilot of the WisePay Electronic Income system concluded on the 28th February and was a success. The pilot has been formally signed off and the headline results are as follows:
- Reduced visits to the bank
Electronic Income Project: Frequently Asked Questions
What is it?:WisePay have been selected as HCC's preferred supplier of an online payments system. Their online payments system will allow you to collect your school income online. The appropriate bank account(s) are then credited without having to count, reconcile and bank cheques and cash. For example, when a parent pays for dinner money, it will automatically credit the HCC account without intervention from the school. It is a system which can synchronise with your schools MIS/SIMS database, meaning that accounts for each child will automatically be generated. Similarly, new starters and/or leavers will automatically be reflected in the WisePay system.
What does a school have to do to take part?:In order for a school to be set up, they will be asked to provide information on the types of activities they wish to collect payments for online. HCC and WisePay will work with schools to support them in gathering this information, and to give guidance on what type of income can and can not be collected online. Schools are also required to get banking paperwork signed off by a signing authority on the school bank accounts. They will also need to download the WisePay Sync Tool, which will enable pupil accounts to be automatically created based on the school MIS records along with passwords/usernames. WisePay and HCC will work with the schools to instruct them when/how this is required. More detailed information on this is provided in the ‘Steps to go live’ document.
How long does it take a school to get set up?This will vary based on how quickly it takes to get paperwork complete and returned. If all paperwork is returned promptly, schools can be set up in as little as 5-6 weeks, although it is likely to take longer if there are delays in returning banking paperwork or downloading the sync tool.
What will it cost?There is an annual cost for the use of WisePay. For each pupil account which makes an online payment, the charge is £1 for the year – regardless of how many transactions are processed in that year – so if a school has 50 pupils using the online payment facility, the cost will be £50. If they make a payment in the following year, the cost will be a further £1 for the next 12 months. The WisePay Sync Tool is a tool that ensures that all relevant pupils and staff data is automatically updated overnight from your school’s MIS. This means that schools administration staff will not have to set up new student accounts or remove student accounts when there are changes to pupils on roll. The cost is appr. £65.00 for the annual licence per school, and we would recommend that schools take this option because it will save considerable administration time. It will also mean that WisePay will always be automatically synchronised with your school's MIS data without using any staff resource. For online payments, there are transactions charges for card payments made online. The rates are below: Merchant Charge Credit Cards = 1.495% Gateway Charge Above + Payment Gateway Charge (all payments processed via the internet) = 10p Cash Paid in at Branch 17.22p per £100 In addition to the charges, there is also the administration time of processing and banking the monies together with any further bank charges incurred when, for example, cheques bounce. The use of an electronic income collection has been shown to produce savings in schools in bank charges, administrative time and in courier charges. For each administration account in a school (Staff sign on to the WisePay system), there is a £5 charge. Hertfordshire County Council will pay the transaction charges for monies into its bank accounts (meals and milk.) Schools will have to pay the transaction charges for monies into their own accounts.
Do schools have to use WisePay?No, schools do not have to use WisePay. As it has been selected as HCC’s preferred supplier of an Electronic Income system, we would ask all schools to consider using WisePay. Please feel free to contact us, or speak to your FSS advisor, if you are considering a different system. It is important to note that WisePay is the only electronic income supplier which will allow you to collect money for Hertfordshire meals and milk and pay directly into the Hertfordshire bank account (with Hertfordshire paying the transaction costs).
What Support is available to the schools?The WisePay support desk is available by email between 9am – 5:30pm Monday to Friday with the exception of bank holidays. They will be able to assist with any queries once your school is set up and live.
*************************************************************** Updates ARCHIVESchools Electronic Income Pilot: Introduction Sessions – April/May 2011There has been a great deal of interest in the WisePay introductory sessions and due to the large response from schools, we have put on some further additional sessions in April and May. We are planning to roll out the WisePay system to further schools and we would like to invite schools interested in an electronic income system to attend an introduction session on WisePay. The session will provide schools with an overview of the system, information about getting set up, the time frames involved and the costs. The new dates/times of sessions are: Primary Schools: Secondary Schools: If you would like to attend, email catherine.togher@hertscc.gov.uk with your preference of which session you would like to attend and the names of the attendees. Due to space limitations, there is only room for 2 people per school. You will receive confirmation of the session and joining instructions nearer to the event. PLEASE NOTE: If you have already signed up to one of the earlier sessions, you will receive your confirmation shortly. As it has been selected as HCC’s preferred supplier of an Electronic Income system, we would ask all schools to consider using WisePay. Please feel free to contact us, or speak to your FSS advisor, if you are considering a different system. If you are unable to attend these sessions but are still interested in using WisePay, please let us know and we will invite you to the next event. If you have any queries about the above or the project please contact: Catherine Togher, Project Manager Ben Harris, Project Officer
Schools Electronic Income Pilot: Introduction Sessions - Late February UpdateThere has been a great deal of interest in the WisePay introductory sessions and due to the large response from schools, we have put on additional sessions. We are planning to roll out the WisePay system to further schools and we would like to invite schools interested in an electronic income system to attend an introduction session on WisePay. The session will provide schools with an overview of the system, information about getting set up, the time frames involved and the costs. The new dates/times of sessions are: Primary Schools: Secondary/Middle Schools: If you would like to attend, email catherine.togher@hertscc.gov.uk with your preference of which session you would like to attend and the names of the attendees. Due to space limitations, there is only room for 2 people per school. You will receive confirmation of the session and joining instructions nearer to the event. PLEASE NOTE: If you have already signed up to one of the earlier sessions, you will receive your confirmation shortly. As it has been selected as HCC’s preferred supplier of an Electronic Income system, we would ask all schools to consider using WisePay. Please feel free to contact us, or speak to your FSS advisor, if you are considering a different system. If you are unable to attend these sessions but are still interested in using WisePay, please let us know and we will invite you to the next event. If you have any queries about the above or the project please contact: Catherine Togher, Project Manager Ben Harris, Project Officer
Schools Electronic Income Pilot - February 2011 UpdateWe are in the final stages of the schools’ pilot of the Wisepay Electronic Income system which finishes at half-term. Indications are that the system is working successfully in the pilot schools and we should therefore start to plan how WisePay can be rolled out to additional schools. With this in mind, we would like to invite schools to an introductory session on the WisePay system. The session will provide schools with an overview of the system, information about getting set up, the time frames involved and the costs. There are a number of sessions available: For Primary Schools: For Secondary/Middle Schools If you would like to attend, email benjamin.harris@hertscc.gov.uk with your preference of which session you would like to attend and the names of the attendees. Due to space limitations, there is only room for 2 people per school. You will receive confirmation of the session and joining instructions nearer to the event. PLEASE NOTE: If there is demand, we will arrange additional sessions so that more schools can attend. As it has been selected as HCC’s preferred supplier of an Electronic Income system, we would ask all schools to consider using WisePay. Please feel free to contact us, or speak to your FSS advisor, if you are considering a different system. If you are unable to attend these sessions but are still interested in using WisePay, please let us know and we will invite you to the next event. If you have any queries about the above or the project please contact: Catherine Togher, Project Manager
January 2011 Update – Electronic Schools Income ProjectThe pilot of the electronic income project is now well underway with over £177,000 having been collected online across the 36 pilot schools. As at 16 January, of the pilot secondary schools Queens’ School had collected the most income, having received just under £40,000 through online payments since the start of the pilot. Of the pilot primary schools, The William Ransom had collected the most with over £15,000 since the start of the pilot. These figures, and those of all the pilot schools, are set to increase as the term progresses. Each of the pilot schools is collecting income for a variety of school-related items such as meals, milk and school trips. The use of an online electronic income system is seen to save administration time, reduce processing errors and to make the payments process for parents much easier. Pending the outcome of the pilot, we will be contacting all schools across Hertfordshire to invite them to introductory sessions with WisePay in order to view a demonstration of the system and ask questions. For schools which attended a session in early December, we will be in contact in early February for confirmation on whether you wish to start using the system from April onwards. In the meantime, if you would like more information on the Electronic Income Project then please contact: Catherine Togher, Project Manager Ben Harris, Project Officer
November 2010 Update – Electronic Schools Income ProjectWe have written to you previously informing you that WisePay were appointed as our preferred supplier for an online electronic payments system in Hertfordshire schools. We sought expressions of interests from schools to take part in a pilot roll out of the system and 38 schools were chosen to take part. Since the last update we have been working with WisePay and the schools which were selected for the pilot to implement the online payments system in their school. We have 38 schools taking part in the pilot and since half term, schools have begun going live and collecting income online. In the two weeks since half term, schools have already collected £21,200 online and as more schools go live, this is set to increase. The pilot is due to run until the end of February 2011. Upon completion of a successful pilot, we will look to roll the system out to further schools. In the New Year, we will be holding some WisePay introduction sessions to give schools an overview of the system and more information on what is required if you wished to take up this service. We will write to you nearer the time with these details. If you would like more information on the Electronic Income Project then please contact: Catherine Togher, Project Manager Ben Harris, Project Officer
July 2010 Updated - Electronic Schools Income ProjectDiscussions are currently taking place with Wisepay to confirm that the system provides all essential requirements for the online payment system; this needs to be resolved before we go any further. While we had been planning to ask you for some finance details so that work could start on various set-ups in readiness for September, it would seem sensible to defer this until the beginning of September when we will be able to provide a full update on the position. We are still planning to proceed with the pilot in the autumn term, but this is likely to start after the October half-term and run until the February 2011 half-term. Evaluation of the pilot would then follow in February/March 2011. In the meantime if you wish to ask any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Project Team. Ben Harris, Project Officer Andy Lee, Project Manager
June 2010 Update – Electronic Income Collection in Hertfordshire SchoolsWe are pleased to advise that Wisepay has been selected as the preferred supplier for the electronic income collection system to be used in schools. Thank you to those school staff who were involved in the selection process; your feedback was invaluable as part of the decision-making process. Meetings are now being arranged with Wisepay so that we can start work on planning the implementation which will include agreed timescales for the various aspects of the project. It is planned to pilot the Wisepay system during the autumn term in about 40 Hertfordshire schools, which we will contact as soon as possible to confirm ongoing interest and outline in more detail the arrangements for implementation and the pilot itself. We will also keep those schools not involved in the pilot informed of progress. A further update will be provided in the Bulletin and on the Grid before the end of term. In the meantime, if you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact the Project Team. Ben Harris, Project Officer Andy Lee, Project Manager
February 2010 Update - Electronic Income Collection in Hertfordshire SchoolsWe wanted to keep you informed on how things are progressing with the introduction of an Electronic Income Collection System in Hertfordshire Schools. The following provides a brief update on the contract tender process and proposed pilot of the System: Tender Process: The full OJEU notice for tender of this contract went live on 15th December 2009, with the deadline for initial responses to a set of pre-selected questions by 15th January 2010. We are pleased to advise that we received a good initial response from a number of potential suppliers. From the information they have provided, as well as general financial assessments, we have agreed a shortlist that will be invited to provide a full tender. We anticipate receiving full tender responses by mid-March 2010. These responses will then undergo a vigorous evaluation by all stakeholder representatives, before a supplier is chosen and awarded the contract April / May 2010. Please note that due to data protection we are unable to disclose company names at present. We will however ensure to keep you up to date throughout the process, via The Grid and through the school bulletin. Proposed Pilot: We have received over 100 expressions of interest from schools in Hertfordshire which are keen to be involved in the pilot and introduce, or extend, electronic income facilities within their school. We will expect the selected supplier for this contract to work within agreed implementation timescales, ensuring that the pilot starts in the autumn term 2010, with a wider roll-out ready from the start of 2011. Details of numbers of schools and the approach to be taken are yet to be confirmed. However, these timescales are designed to ensure the system is fully tested before implementation. It will also allow plenty of time for set up and training users so it is ready to use from day one. Once the contract is awarded and an implementation plan has been formally agreed, we will formally invite approximately 40 schools to pilot the system; ensuring representation across all phases and categories. Any interested schools that are not invited to be part of the pilot will be kept informed with prices and timescales and offered the opportunity to buy into the system immediately, when full roll-out is ready. Next Update: We will be providing another update at the end of March 2010. In the meantime, should you wish to express further interest or ask any questions, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the project team.
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