InstantSync for Payschools

PaySchool InstantSync integration syncs Fees and Fines in Genesis directly into the PaySchools Payment Portal.  Payments made in the PaySchools Payment Portal sync back automatically into Genesis.  You must have a PaySchools payment account in order to use this integration. For more information PaySchools visit https://payschools.com/ or contact NJ representative Jim Wilson [email protected].

The PaySchools InstantSync integration will incur a standard 2-way interface charge from Genesis.  (Cost an annual fee. Please submit a Ticket to Genesis for a quote) 

How it works

To start, you will need to configure in Genesis which Fee Categories you wish to sync to PaySchools.  You then simply pick a date to start (the date can be in the past) and fees and fines from that date that meet the selected categories will automatically appear in the PaySchools portal.  Day forward, as soon as a fee or fine is created, it is also created in PaySchools.

A PaySchools button will appear in Parents Portal that will direct Parents to the PaySchools Portal where they can log in and pay for the fees or fines you have created.

The Sync

The sync of fees/fines to PaySchools is instant.  The second they are created in Genesis, they are pushed to PaySchools via our shared API.  The sync of Payments made in PaySchools happens in one of three ways.

1.  Any time you visit a students fee page all payments are automatically pulled via the API
2.  Any time a parent logs into the Genesis Parent Portal, all of that parent's student payments are pulled.
3.  PaySchools InstantSync task will also run nightly and pull down any payments that have not yet been pulled down.

Demographic information about your students will be sent via FTP to PaySchools on a nightly basis.

Setup

The first step is to identify if you have fees in PaySchools that also exist in Genesis.  If so, we may need to purge the unpaid fees in PaySchools prior to enabling the interface.  This will avoid duplicate fees appearing in a parent's PaySchools account. 

If you have UNPAID fees in PaySchools that DO NOT exist in Genesis, these fees will NOT be able to sync with Genesis.  Only fees created through the Instant Sync Integration will be managed.  You will need to work with PaySchools to remove these UNPAID fees from PaySchools and recreate them in Genesis.

Step two is to setup Accounts in Genesis.  The Account in Genesis represents your Merchant ID (MIDS) or Bank Accounts in PaySchools.  This is so PaySchools will know where to send your money from payments made. Payschools will ask your district to provide these to them if they do not have them already.

Step three is to enter your PaySchools credentials and URLs into Genesis on the PaySchools setup screen.  PaySchools will supply you with this information. (This should be done in the testing phase with a Genesis System Support Member)

Step four is to identify which fee/fine Categories in Genesis should be synced to PaySchools.  By default, all categories are included.  Categories can be added from the Setup > Codes screen under "FEE_CATEGORY". 

Step five.  You will need to run both Test Connection tests (Test Pull and Test Push) to ensure you can connect to your PaySchools server. (This should be done in the testing phase with a Genesis System Support Member)

Step Six is to populate the "  Import student fines created after this date:  " field. This can be found at Payments > Payschools once the credentials and URLs have been filled in. **Once this field has been populated, Genesis will be able to send all fees and fines in qualifying categories with a date equal or greater to the one entered.  Fees created prior to this date will not be sent.  You will also need to enable the tasks listed below.**

Tasks

There are a total of four separate tasks for PaySchools. 

PaySchools Export - This will enable Genesis to pull fee payments from PaySchools

PaySchools Import - This allows PaySchoools to Import fees and fines from Genesis

PaySchools Integration - Validate Fees - This task runs validations against the Genesis and PaySchools databases to make sure everything is properly in sync.

The fourth task is Pay Schools Export.  This is a separate task from the InstantSync API.  It FTPs demographic csv files to PaySchools .  Your district may already be doing so with another task such as CCP.  If so, copy the properties from CCP into PaySchools, disable CCP and enable PaySchools.  This will replace the old task. If you do not already have CCP Export setup, please notify Payschools to set up a student export and they will provide you with credentials.

Optional

Included in the interface is the ability to sync lunch balances from payschools. Two things will have to enabled in order for this to happen.

1. Under PaySchools Integration (Core > Scheduler), check off "Sync Genesis Lunch Balance with the current balance in Pay Schools".
   
2. Under Payment > Payschools, check off "Show Lunch Balance on Parents Fees and Fines screen". 

Additional Features

-Change the Parents URL (Defaults to 'Go to Payschools')
-Lunch Payment URL for Summary Screen
 -Lunch Balance Threshold: (turns balance red)

Add a Message on Parent Portal under the Fees and Fines Tab.

-Located Payments > Payschools you can leave a message to show in Parents Portal.

Example: 

FAQ

Q: How many accounts do I need?

A: One account will do to set up the fines and fees.

Q: Can a fee be assigned to a dynamic list?

A: Yes, a fee can be assigned to a dynamic list of students. This is under Payment > Fees > Click Edit Fee button.

You have four different options:

-Create a student list of all students assigned this fee

-Assign this fee to students

-Remove this fee from students who have no paid this fee

-Remove this fee from inactive students who have no paid this fee

**Important to know that assigning fees via list will not include new students. The only fees that are automatically assigned to students are sports and activity fees.**

Q: Can a fee be assigned to one student?

A: Yes, a fee can be assigned to one student. Under Studentdata > Select Student > Fees and fines and add record.

Q: What, if a parent drops off a check rather than use Payschools, can I just add that payments to the Fees and Fines for a student?

A: Yes, this can be done. Fees/Fines paid (or waived) in Genesis will mark the fine in Payschools as paid/inactive.  Under Studentdata > Select Student > Fees and fines > Make a Payment.

Q: What happens if a student is eligible for a reduced lunch fee in Pay Schools for a fee sent from Genesis, and how are payments handled?

A: In the case of free/reduced lunch Pay Schools handles those amounts on their end, we will send the fees over with the original amounts and pay schools will do the reductions. When one of those fees receive a payment in Pay Schools, they will send us that payment amount + if the fee has been closed out, so if it was only $20 out of a $30 fee, and that is the amount a free/reduced fee requires, it will be marked correctly as closed in Genesis.

Q: I received the error "Failed to access the WSDL" or "server sent HTTP status code 404: Not Found" from Pay Schools, what does this mean and how should this be handled?

A: These error messages indicate an error on Pay Schools side. Either their server is unavailable, down for maintenance, or is otherwise unable to be connected to by us. You will have to reach out to Pay Schools to determine when this issue with the server will be resolved. Once it is and we're able to connect, fees and payments will begin flowing through the two systems once again, and any backlog of fees/payments will be remedied by end of the day when our Pay School Maintenance task runs