Planning for 2027: a practical school payment readiness checklist

‍A little preparation now can take a surprising amount of admin off the January to-do list. Here are a few practical ways school teams can get ahead of collections, Parent communication and reconciliation for 2027.

The start of a new school year always feels a long way off.

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Until suddenly, it isn’t.

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From September onwards, school teams are already balancing two things at once: finishing the current year well while preparing for the next one.

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There are academic results and marks to manage, outstanding accounts to follow up, budgets to work through and admissions and enrolment processes to finalise. Schools are also planning resources and staffing, communicating with new and returning families, and making decisions that will shape the year ahead.

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And all of that happens alongside the everyday work of running a school, supporting teachers and learners, communicating with parents and dealing with the things that inevitably crop up along the way.

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School payments are only one part of that picture.

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But they are also one of the areas where a little preparation can make the months ahead easier.

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Annual fees, textbooks, workbooks, stationery, levies, camps, tours and many other payments are often known well before the first bell rings in January.

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You don’t need every amount or date finalised now. The goal is simply to deal with what you can while there is still time to plan, so there is one less thing competing for your team’s attention later.

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The start of a new school year always feels a long way off.

‍

Until suddenly, it isn’t.

‍

Before the first bell rings in 2027, school teams will already be thinking about annual fees, textbooks, workbooks, stationery, levies, camps, tours and the many other payments that come with a new school year.

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For Principals, bursars and finance teams, September onwards is a useful time to start getting some of that work into shape.

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You don’t need every amount or date finalised. The goal is simply to deal with what you can now, so there is less competing for attention when January arrives.

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1. Map what you already know is coming

Start with the predictable payments.

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Which collections happen every year? Which costs are already known? Which events are on the calendar?

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Depending on your School, that could include:

• annual or upfront fees;
• textbooks and workbooks;
• stationery;
• levies and locker fees;
• camps and tours;
• photographs;
• sporting or cultural events; and
• regular fundraisers.

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Put the known payment moments onto one calendar, even if some of the finer details still need to be confirmed.

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It gives your team a clearer view of the year ahead and makes it easier to spot busy periods where several payment requests could otherwise land at the same time.

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Karri Collections can be used across a wide range of school payment needs, including tuition and fees, books and stationery, fundraising, tours, camps and events.

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2. Prepare what you can before January

Once you know what is coming, decide what can realistically be prepared now.

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That could mean drafting collection descriptions, confirming the right Parent groups, deciding who owns each collection or getting supporting communication ready.

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A useful question is:

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What can we take off January’s to-do list now?

With Karri Collections, Schools can prepare collections in advance and, where applicable, schedule them to open automatically when they are due.

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It means the groundwork can be done while there is time to think about it, rather than relying on someone to remember to set up a collection during an already busy week.

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Once the collection is live, payment tracking and automated reminders can help keep things moving in the background, while your school team gets on with everything else that needs attention.

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The goal isn’t to plan every detail of 2027 now. It’s simply to deal with the things you already can before they become another item on the January to-do list.

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3. Plan the collection and the Parent communication together

The payment request is only part of the process.

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Parents also need to know what they are paying for, how much is due and when they need to act.

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So rather than treating communication as something to add afterwards, build it into the plan from the start.

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Does an email or letter need to go out beforehand? Is the collection description clear? Are there likely to be questions? How much notice will families need?

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This is particularly useful for larger start-of-year costs, when school fees, uniforms, stationery, books and activities may all be competing for the same family budget.

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With Karri Collections, the payment request is sent to the relevant Parents through the Karri App, while automated reminders can help keep upcoming or outstanding payments visible.

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Remember the new Parents too

For families joining your School in 2027, this may also be their first introduction to Karri.

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Preparing your Karri letter, guide or other onboarding information ahead of time means they can understand how school payments will work before the rush of the new year.

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It is a small piece of preparation that could save both Parents and the school office questions later.

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4. Close out 2026 while you plan ahead

Preparing for next year doesn’t mean forgetting about this one.

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Before year-end, take a look at your current collections.

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Are there outstanding amounts that still need attention? Are there collections that need to be closed off or reconciled? Are there any Parent follow-ups that should happen before the school closes?

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It is also worth taking a quick look at what worked and what created unnecessary admin during 2026.

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Which collections went smoothly?

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Where did Parents have questions?

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Which ones needed more manual follow-up than expected?

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Were there recurring reconciliation challenges?

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This doesn’t need to become a lengthy review meeting. A short conversation with the people involved could identify a few changes worth carrying into 2027.

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5. Think about the whole collection from the start

It is easy to focus on getting a payment request out.

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But a collection doesn’t end when it reaches a Parent.

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Your finance team will also need to know what has been paid, what remains outstanding and how the collection will be closed off afterwards.

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That is why it helps to think about the full process upfront:

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Create → Send → Track → Reconcile

The Karri Dashboard gives Schools visibility of their collections, with live tracking and detailed reporting to support the process from collection setup through to reconciliation.

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A little thought at the beginning can prevent considerably more work at the end.

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A quick 2027 readiness check

Before the year wraps up, ask:

• Have we mapped the major payments we already know are coming?
• Is there anything we can prepare before January?
• Does each collection have someone responsible for it?
• Have we planned how and when Parents will hear about upcoming payments?
• Are new Parents getting the information they need?
• Are there outstanding 2026 collections still requiring attention?
• Have we considered tracking and reconciliation from the start?

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You don’t need to have the whole year sorted.

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But every item you can tick off now is one less thing waiting when School starts again.

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Take a little off the January to-do list

There will always be unexpected things in a school year.

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But many of the regular payments, collections and communications aren’t unexpected at all.

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Getting ahead of the things you already know about can give your team a clearer view of 2027 and make the start of the year a little less reactive.

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Because January will bring a long enough to-do list of its own.

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Planning your 2027 collections?

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Speak to your Karri Account Manager if you would like help getting your upcoming Karri Collections ready for the new school year.