Moving From a Register to an App: Entering Old Pending Fees

The thought that stops most owners from leaving a paper register is simple: "Twenty students owe me money. What happens to all that?" Nothing is lost if you carry it across carefully. It takes an afternoon, and afterwards you will probably know your pending total for the first time.

Before you open the app: make one list

Go through your register and note these for each student:

Do not try to fix every old mistake on this list. If a figure is disputed, settle it with the student first, or enter what you are sure of and add the rest later.

Three ways to enter old fees

Different students suit different methods. In Libolink, when you give a joining date before today in Add student, it asks how to count the fees since then.

1. Count each period from the joining date

Best when your register is clear. Libolink lists every plan period since the joining date, and you tick the ones already paid. The rest become fees due.

For example, a student joined on 1 August on a 30-day plan at ₹800, and you are entering them in early November. Four periods appear. You tick the first two because they paid, and write a note such as "Register 3, page 41". The other two, ₹1,600 in all, show as due.

The note is required when you tick a period as paid, because it is your link back to the paper record. If there are more than 36 periods, type one amount instead.

2. Type one old amount

Best when your register is messy but you and the student agree on a total. Choose Type the old amount myself and enter it. It is added as one line for all old fees, and the plan starts today.

3. No old fees

Choose No old fees when the student owes nothing, or you have decided to start clean. The plan starts today, and nothing before today is due.

Counting paid periods and typing an old amount both need permission to approve payments, so desk staff cannot quietly change what a student owes.

Moving many students at once with Excel

If you have more than a handful of students, use Import students. Download the format, fill one row per student, and upload it. The columns that matter here are:

• Fee amount and Fee still due
• Security deposit and Deposit already received
• Payment note, for the receipt number or register page if anything is already paid
• Old student ID / roll no., so you can find your old entry later

The instructions are also in Hindi, and fee still due cannot be more than the fee. After the import, you can send each student a setup link on WhatsApp.

Collecting the old fees

Once entered, go to Home → Fees due. You see one row per student, with their total, how many months that covers and the oldest due date.

Tap Collect and enter what they are paying now, even if it is only part of the total. It is split across their fees, oldest first, with one payment and one receipt for each. If a student has a plan fee and old dues, you do not have to work out which is which.

Tell students before they get a reminder

Students who owe old fees will now see them in their own app. Send a short notice first, so nobody is surprised:

"We have moved our records to the Libolink app. Please check your fee details in the app, and tell us at the desk if anything looks wrong."

Some will disagree with an amount. That is fine: check your register together and correct it.

Mistakes to avoid

• Waiting for a perfect register. Enter what you know. You can correct one student later, but you cannot collect what was never entered.
• Backdating everything to day one. For students who have paid up, a plan starting today with no old fees is usually enough.
• Throwing away the register. Keep it for a few months, in case of a dispute.
• Doing it alone at peak time. Choose a quiet afternoon, and check a few students' amounts with them.

For the seats, shifts and history side of moving, see How to Switch Without Losing Data, and for keeping old records in order, Library Register Formats. You can try all of this in a free 30-day trial, with free help from our team while you set up.