A
AskBooks
en
Schools · Coaching Centres · Universities · EdTech

Fees collected.
Defaulters tracked.
Parents notified.

Class and batch management. Fee structure per program. Auto SMS/WhatsApp reminders for defaulters. Parent portal. PF/ESI/TDS for staff. Program-level P&L.

200+
Schools and institutes
60%
Fewer fee defaulters
Parent
App-ready portal
FEE STATUS · TERM 2● UPDATED
Riya Sharma
Class 10A · Roll 12
₹0 due
Arjun Mehta
Class 9B · Overdue 12d
₹4,500
Priya Nair
Class 8C · Overdue 4d
₹3,200
Karan Singh
Class 11 · Paid full
₹0 due
92%
Fee collection rate (up from 70%) in first term
60%
Reduction in fee defaulters on average
Auto
PF/ESI/TDS for all staff categories
Real-time
Per-program profitability dashboard

The problems we solve

Three holes in every school's finance ops

The pain

Fee defaulters cost crores annually

30% of parents pay late. Reminders by SMS are rarely sent. Follow-up is forgotten. Cash flow suffers. At year end you discover ₹18 lakh of uncollected fee that was never chased properly.

AskBooks fix

Auto SMS + WhatsApp reminders at 7/15/30 days overdue. Parent portal shows live balance. Late fee auto-calculated per policy. Escalation to principal after 45 days.

The pain

Per-program profitability blind

5 programs: CBSE, IB, IIT-JEE coaching, NEET batch, pre-school. Some make money. Some are subsidised. You don't know which. Decisions to expand or close programs are made on gut feel.

AskBooks fix

Program-wise revenue and direct cost tracking. Faculty pay allocation per batch. Per-batch occupancy and margin reports. Expand winners, fix or close losers — with data.

The pain

Staff compliance is a monthly panic

30+ teaching and non-teaching staff. Monthly PF return. ESI return. TDS on salaries. Professional Tax in some states. Form 16 at year end. Manual = errors, penalties, and compliance gaps.

AskBooks fix

Auto PF/ESI computation for all eligible staff. TDS on salary with investment declaration. Monthly ECR and ESI challan. Form 16 in bulk for all staff at year end.

Features

From admissions to alumni — one back office

Designed for schools, coaching, and higher-ed.

Class / batch management

Sections, subjects, faculty mapping, batch-wise rosters. Promotion and transfer workflows. Student lifecycle from admission to graduation.

Flexible fee structures

Per-program fee plans with term-wise schedules. Sibling discounts, merit scholarships, need-based concessions. Transport and hostel fees managed separately.

Defaulter tracking

Auto SMS/WhatsApp reminders at 7/15/30 days. Late fee auto-calculated. Escalation to class teacher then principal. No manual follow-up needed.

Parent portal

Parent app shows outstanding balance, payment receipts, exam schedules, and fee structure. Online payment via UPI, net banking, cards.

Staff payroll

Teaching and non-teaching staff payroll with PF, ESI, PT, TDS computation. Attendance integration. Form 16 in bulk. PT returns state-wise.

Program P&L

Per-batch revenue, faculty cost, overhead allocation, occupancy %, and margin. Compare programs. Identify which courses justify expansion.

How it works

How AskBooks works for education

01

Student admitted

Admission entry creates student profile. Fee plan auto-assigned based on program, batch, and concession category.

02

Fee reminders run automatically

Due date reminders sent 7 days before. Overdue reminders at 7, 15, 30 days via SMS + WhatsApp. No staff action needed.

03

Staff payroll processed

Monthly salary computed with PF/ESI/TDS. Payslips emailed. ECR generated for EPFO. Salary bank file ready in one click.

04

Reports for management

Program P&L, defaulter aging, fee collection vs target, staff headcount and cost — all in the management dashboard.

Compliance

All the compliance education needs

GST exemption, PF/ESI, TDS on faculty, Form 16 — all covered.

GST exempt (education)
Educational services by recognised institutions are GST-exempt. Canteen, transport, hostel above threshold — taxable. AskBooks classifies correctly.
GST 18% on coaching
Coaching centres for competitive exams attract 18% GST. AskBooks handles both exempt school fees and taxable coaching fees in same institution.
PF for staff
Teaching and non-teaching staff PF at 12% employer + 12% employee. Monthly ECR file. Annual statement for staff.
ESI for eligible staff
Staff earning below ₹21,000/month enrolled under ESI. Monthly challan auto-generated. ESI return (Form 5) quarterly.
TDS on salary (192)
TDS on teaching staff salaries based on tax slab. Form 24Q quarterly. Form 16 at year end in bulk.
TDS on visiting faculty (194J)
Guest lecturers and part-time faculty paid as professionals attract 10% TDS under 194J. Form 16A generated.
Professional Tax
State-wise Professional Tax deducted on staff salary where applicable (Maharashtra, Karnataka, etc.). Monthly returns.
FCRA (foreign-aided schools)
Schools receiving foreign grants via FCRA need separate FC-4 reporting. Foreign fund tracking segregated in AskBooks.

Fee collection rate jumped from 70% to 92% in one term. SMS reminders alone paid for the AskBooks subscription. And now we finally know that our IIT-JEE batch is subsidising our pre-school program — which changes our whole expansion plan.

R
Rajesh Iyer
Principal, Sunrise Academy · Chennai

Pricing

Plans for every institution

Coaching
₹1,299/mo

Coaching centres. Batch management, fee collection, defaulter tracking, basic payroll for up to 10 staff.

Get started
Most popular
School
₹3,499/mo

Schools. All modules: fee, payroll, parent portal, program P&L. Up to 1,000 students and 50 staff.

Get started
University
Custom

Universities and large institutions. Multi-campus, 10,000+ students, ERP integration, dedicated support.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is GST applicable on school fees?

Educational services provided by recognised educational institutions are exempt from GST. However, coaching centres for competitive exams (IIT-JEE, NEET, CA Foundation) attract 18% GST. AskBooks handles both in the same interface, correctly applying exemption or tax based on the nature of the service.

How does the auto-reminder system for defaulters work?

When a fee due date passes without payment, the system automatically sends an SMS and WhatsApp message to the parent at day 7, 15, and 30. A late fee is auto-calculated and added to the outstanding balance. After 45 days, an escalation alert goes to the class teacher and principal. All reminders are logged in the student file.

Can we handle sibling discounts and merit scholarships?

Yes. AskBooks supports multiple concession types: sibling discount (%, flat, or per-term), merit scholarship, need-based discount, and staff ward concession. Each concession type has an approval workflow and is tracked separately in the student account for audit purposes.

How is Professional Tax handled for staff in different states?

Professional Tax slabs differ by state. AskBooks has pre-configured PT slabs for Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat. Staff are assigned the correct state-wise slab. Monthly PT is deducted and the challan is auto-generated for deposit.

Can parents pay fees online through AskBooks?

Yes. The parent portal includes an online payment gateway supporting UPI (PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm), net banking, and debit/credit cards. Payment is immediately reflected in the student account. E-receipt is sent via email and WhatsApp automatically.

Run a tighter institution.

60% fewer fee defaulters. Same effort. Used by 200+ schools and institutes across India.