Case Study: How Kuhu International School Saved ₹15 Lakh with Fee Lock

Kuhu International School, with a student base of over 1,000, struggled with manual adjustments and verbal negotiations during the admissions process. Often, the front desk or admissions staff agreed on customized packages or special concessions with parents verbally, which led to significant discrepancies during month-end fee reconciliations.

By implementing e-Saraswati's unique Fee Lock / Fee Decide system, the school group completely eliminated verbal disputes, reduced fee-allocation errors by 30%, and prevented leaks of around ₹15 Lakh.

The Challenge

Before moving to a digital Fee Lock system, Kuhu International School faced administrative and financial issues:

• **Verbal Commitments:** Admission staff frequently made verbal commitments for custom discounts that were not documented, leading to billing discrepancies.
• **Unauthorized Concessions:** Without system-level controls, concessions were applied inconsistently, causing friction with parents who claimed different finalized amounts.
• **Manual Verification:** Accountants spent hours verifying each student's admission form package against manual cash receipts.

The Fee Lock Solution

e-Saraswati introduced a strict Fee Lock control mechanism: 1. Upfront Package Setting: During the initial admission discussion, the administrator decides the exact fee structure package for the parent. 2. System-Level Fee Lock: Once finalized, the administrator locks the specific package in the database. 3. No Staff Modification: The system automatically uses this locked structure to add dues to the parent's ledger. No other staff member can modify or reduce this package without admin authorization. This prevents parents from renegotiating later with different cashiers or accountants.

The Impact

By locking down the initial fee decision, Kuhu International School achieved:

• **30% Reduction in Errors:** Rectified incorrect fee allocations and manual entry mistakes.
• **₹15 Lakh Saved:** Recovered lost revenue leaks caused by inconsistent concessions and unauthorized adjustments.
• **Improved Transparency:** Eliminated disputes between parents and the accounts department, as the locked fee was displayed clearly on the parent mobile app.