Online Payments

[Divaldo]

Does anyone have any experience of school online payment systems? We're trying to choose between Tucasi and Agora.

 

If anyone has any pros or cons for either I'd be grateful.

 

Thank you.

[Sylv3r]

Never used either what you have mentioned, but had no issues here using sQuid | eMoney, smart cards, cashless, payments, cashless catering if your wanting more to investigate.

[Edu-IT]

We use Tucasi. Is there anything in particular you'd like to know?

 

The big difference is that Tucasi is mainly software based, data is downloaded to a database in school, whereas Agora is entirely web based.

 

Edit: I did hear whispers that Tucasi is going web based too though.

Edited June 11, 2013 by Edu-IT

[plexer]

@Sylv3r depends on if squid is in your area though seems to be mainly oop north.

 

Ben

[GREED]

Parent Pay?

Wise Pay?

Schoolcomms? (Woops nearly forgot my good friends there... slaps wrists)

Edited June 12, 2013 by GREED

[creese]

School to home communication for Secondary schools

[zag]

We use Tucasi. Is there anything in particular you'd like to know?

 

The big difference is that Tucasi is mainly software based, data is downloaded to a database in school, whereas Agora is entirely web based.

 

Edit: I did hear whispers that Tucasi is going web based too though.

 

I hope so!

 

We use Tucasi and their syncing client has been a nightmare for years. Its effectively a local access database but does do the job.

 

I would go with a web based system like parent pay if I had the choice.

[Sylv3r]

@Sylv3r depends on if squid is in your area though seems to be mainly oop north.

 

Ben

 

Possibly, although I noticed them at BETT so I would have thought they would deal with the UK.

[WithoutMotive]

We've just started with Tucasi. Had School Cash Office for some time but just started with online payments. Works well. Had no trouble with it so far.

[plexer]

Possibly, although I noticed them at BETT so I would have thought they would deal with the UK.

 

They might actually do it for school payments tbh I tried to get one for myself for curiosity purposes but got told that no retailers are in my area.

 

Ben

[Edu-IT]

I hope so!

 

We use Tucasi and their syncing client has been a nightmare for years. Its effectively a local access database but does do the job.

 

I would go with a web based system like parent pay if I had the choice.

They are moving towards SQL. Never had problems with the sync to be honest.

[GeeHubb]

Decide what you need it to do. For example do you need it to link into your MIS? Attendance module? Existing Dinner Money module? We have just gone through the process and our GB have chosen ParentPay, because the local Secondary school use it and it is felt that this will be more convenient for parents with children in both schools. I would have preferred SIMS own Agora or Schoolcomms, which we already use for communications, because they both have better links to existing SIMS modules.

 

Personally I think we have taken a backward step. If we ever manage to get registration into the classroom the staff will have to access SIMS to do their attendance registers and then log in to ParentPay to do the dinner register....

[jmak]

Cambridgeshire Catering Services (LA Business unit) have sponsored a roll out of cashless catering to schools buying their services. They chose Parentpay for us, but I have to say it has been painless in school and having always resisted ParentMail type solutions for emails to parents on the basis of cost, we get that thrown in too.

 

Squid was one of the three finalists in the tender process, so they must come at least this far South! I saw them at BETT too and personally I was quite impressed with them.

 

Having spoken to the teachers, I think they would appreciate a system which was better integrated with the electronic register, but our infant age kids fill out the dinner register on the IWB, so it's not a massive issue.

[GeeHubb]

Hi jmak, that's good to know. It'll be great to be able to at least get the dinner registers completed in class! Do you know what the take up has been like on the online payments among your Primary age pupils?

[PhilNeal]

We've found take up very high. Some schools have mandated e-payment as a safeguarding/H&S issue.

[jmak]

Hi jmak, that's good to know. It'll be great to be able to at least get the dinner registers completed in class! Do you know what the take up has been like on the online payments among your Primary age pupils?

 

100%

 

We don't take cash (or cheques) in school now. The next lot of school trips will use ParentPay too. We sent out a letter giving 6 weeks notice, then a letter with account details home and told the parents to start using it. Part of the project plan was that I would be available near reception for an hour every morning for the first two weeks with a laptop to help people get started and deflect some flak. In that time I had precisely two visitors! Everyone else just got on with it. Bad debt is down. Time saved in the office is measured in hours per week. No cash in school or to be transported to the bank. Zero complaints. Beginning to sound like an evangelist. I knew it would be worth it in the end, but I really expected the change to be painful.

[truebluesteve]

We use Tucasi and its pretty good - especially the support. It's an awful lot cheaper than ParentPay which IMHO is a rip off - certainly when we looked at it a couple of years ago.

[Divaldo]

Thanks for all the useful information everyone. I think the key for us is that we already have Sims with a parent portal set up and we don't want parents to have to remember another username and password, which I'm guessing they would with Tucasi?

 

Can anyone tell me where the data is stored for Agora and Tucasi? Am I right that Tucasi stores it in a local Access DB? Where does Agora store its data? In our Sims SQL DB?

 

Thank you.

[PhilNeal]

Agora holds its connection data in the cloud.

[Edu-IT]

Tucasi is local, in an Access DB.

[zag]

Tucasi is local, in an Access DB.

 

Does anyone know if they are even going to launch a cloud version?

 

I asked them years ago and they said yes it was coming but never heard another thing about it.

[sonofsanta]

This may be too late, but FWIW, we looked at Tucasi, ParentPay & WisePay a year or more ago and went with the latter, and it's been superb. Entirely web based, links in with CMIS (does SIMS as well), works with our new cashless system from NRS, fantastic support, and a genuinely nice website layout - both for parents and in the back end admin system (that our finance team also adopted). Thoroughly recommended.

[Edu-IT]

Does anyone know if they are even going to launch a cloud version?

 

I asked them years ago and they said yes it was coming but never heard another thing about it.

I think the next step is a hosted database with a view to going web based entirely further down the line.