Disbursements is where money goes out. Use it to pay vendors, cover expenses like buses for a field trip, or refund a student. Most school districts use cash-basis accounting — you record the payment when it happens, just like writing a check in your checkbook.
Think of Disbursements like writing checks from your checkbook. You pick who you're paying, how much, and which fund the money comes from. The system handles check numbering and printing automatically.
Single payments
To record a single payment:
Go to Disbursements → New Payment → Single Payment.
Select a vendor from your existing vendor list, or add a new vendor. (If your district approves vendors, the vendor will not be available until the approval is complete.) Other options are to select Staff member or Student, if applicable.
Choose the bank account (Defaults to the main checking account and typically shouldn’t be changed).
Enter the payment date (defaults to the current date).
Enter the amount.
Check number: Auto-populates with the next check number from your settings. It increments by one each time.
Description: Enter what the payment is for.
Fund Allocation: Choose which fund (or funds) the payment comes from. Click “Add Fund” to add an additional line. The system shows each fund's available balance. If splitting across funds, a "remaining to allocate" indicator confirms when the allocation matches the payment total.
Click “Print Check” to post the transaction.
Check printing
When you print a check, you will be able to preview the check before printing.
After printing, you confirm whether the check printed successfully:
Yes, printed — posts the transaction as issued.
No, didn't print — lets you reprint if the check jammed in the printer or didn't print correctly.
After posting, you can:
Print the Payment Voucher — shows all details of the check.
Void — cancels the check if it was printed in error.
Paying invoices (batch payments)
If you track invoices, you can pay multiple invoices from one or more vendors in a single batch:
Create invoices from vendors first (see for details). Invoices start in Posted status — meaning the obligation is acknowledged but not yet paid.
Go to Disbursements → New Payment.
Select the vendor(s) and the invoices you want to pay. You can Select All if paying everything.
The system groups invoices by vendor — one check per vendor covering all selected invoices.
Confirm the batch details: bank account, date, vendor count, total invoice count, and total payment amount.
Prepare the batch, then print the checks.
After printing, confirm all checks printed successfully to post them or reprint, if necessary.
Invoice status flow: Posted (obligation acknowledged, not yet paid) → Paid (payment completed and posted). When you create an invoice, it shows as "Posted." After you pay it through a disbursement, it shows as "Paid."
Payment methods
Disbursements support:
Check — the most common method. Auto-numbered and printable.
EFT/ACH — electronic funds transfer. Generates a file you submit to the bank via a secure site. The bank then withdraws the funds from your account (may require secondary verification with the bank).
Scheduled payments: Payment scheduling is not available in the current version. This is planned for a future enhancement. For now, you record payments on the day you want them to post.