Overview
Payments for activity selections can be managed in Clipboard. This feature is optional, and you can choose not to use our Payments feature, which will not impact the use of our Activity Selection module.
The Clipboard Payments feature is customisable, and you can set payments to:
Cover card and/or cash
Include or exclude tax
Be allowed for specific Activities and not allowed for others
Card payment processing is through the Stripe payment gateway. Stripe is an online payment processing and credit card processing platform for businesses.
Stripe charges a fee for domestic card transactions of 1.7% + $0.30, and this fee is charged to Clipboard Schools. International cards will attract a higher fee on Stripe than domestic cards will. International fees are 3.5% + A$0.30 per transaction.
For New Zealand Schools: Stripe charges a fee for domestic card transactions of 2.7% + NZ$0.30. International cards will attract a higher fee on Stripe than domestic cards will. International fees are 3.7% + NZ$0.30 per transaction. Pricing for NZ can be found here.
Clipboard charges a 1% fee on transactions.
Visit their website for more information.
Setting up Payments
Go to Settings > Payments
Ensure that all the options entered in the Payment Options sections are correct, including currency, tax rate and method (cash and/or card)
Click Edit in the Business Details section to fill in this information, which will be included on printable invoices. Note: You can replace ABN (Australian Business Number) with your country's equivalent by typing in the field.
Then click on Save
If your Currency is not listed in Payment Options, please consult Clipboard Support. Accurate currency needs to be configured BEFORE setting prices for Activity Selection.
Tip: If you are turning on Card Payments for the first time, a pop-up will open in Clipboard, which will take you to the Stripe website to finish setting up Stripe payment first.
Once you have set up Stripe and set up your Payment Options, follow the steps to set up your Activity Selection Groups:
When adding an Activity, tick the box to 'Use Clipboard for payment', and this will ensure payments for that Activity will be managed through Clipboard.
If you decide to set up a tax rate for Payments, make sure also to tick the box when adding the Activity to have this tax apply either inclusive or exclusive of price.
Income Cost Codes
Income cost codes can be assigned to Activities in Activity Selection to track revenue and expenses, helping you organise your school's extracurricular finances. Income Cost Codes are optional.
Follow the instructions below to enter Income Cost Codes into Clipboard:
Go to Settings.
Select the Activity to which you want to add an Income Cost Code.
Go to the Basic Details tab, and under Customise your Activity (see image below).
Click Edit.
Add the Income Cost Code.
During the Implementation phase, Income Cost Codes can be entered via the Planning Sheet Template.
When Income Cost Codes have been added to the Activity (as above), they do not need to be re-added to the Income Cost Code field within Activity Selection Groups' Options.
However, if each Activity Selection Group Option has individual Income Cost Codes that are different from the parent Activity's Income Cost Code, you will need to add them to each Activity Selection Option.
Making Activity Selections
After students or parents make their selections, they will be directed to either pay by card or pay the school separately (if that method is set up, e.g. via cash).
If you have set up both payment methods (card or cash), the parents or students will be able to choose which method they prefer. Both methods generate an invoice, which they can view in the Portal.
Paying by credit card
If they pay by card, they will be prompted to enter their card details with the option of saving the card details for future payments. Clipboard will then charge their card for the total amount detailed in the confirmation window.
Paying the school directly
If they are paying the school separately, no payment will be charged, and an unpaid invoice will be generated that can then be updated as paid once payment has been received by the school.
Invoices
To view invoices, simply go to Invoices under the Payments tab on the left-hand side menu.
You can filter by the date range and by the status of the invoice and search by student or parent who made the selection and payment.
You can also search by the Student's name to show an invoice related to a Guardian.
Creating an Invoice
To create an invoice in Clipboard, follow the steps below:
Go to the Payments page.
On the top right-hand side, click the ‘Generate Invoice’ button.
Fill in the required fields.
Select the ‘Generate Invoice’ button.
Note: All Guardians will be notified via email when an invoice has been generated.
Updating and printing an Invoice
Click on the specific Invoice
Click Actions (bottom right)
Choose one of the following options:
Print - to either print the invoice or save as the invoice outside of Clipboard
Record manual transactions - if a parent or student pays in cash, you can record the amount they paid, and their invoice will update; this can be a partial or full payment.
Create (and apply) credit - see the section further below on how to refund/apply a credit
Refunds & Credit Balances
In Clipboard we can refund to Card/Cash/Credit Balances partially or in full. Learn more about Refunds and Credit Balances in this article.
If you want to prevent students or guardians deselecting options and triggering refund requests without first contacting the school, you can do this by ensuring that 'Selection Locking'.
How to export invoices
Check out our article on Exporting Invoices here.
What should you do if you mistakenly refund an invoice to a student or guardian's credit balance or cash when it was supposed to be returned to their credit card?
To correct this error and ensure the refund is properly processed, an admin user can follow these steps to revert this refund:
1. Go to Payments > Invoices and locate the invoice that was refunded incorrectly.
2. Click on the invoice and then select Actions (bottom right).
3. Choose the Revert Transaction option and confirm by selecting "yes."
4. The invoice will be reverted and displayed as 'pending refund.' To redirect this refund to the correct destination (credit card), you can proceed with the steps outlined in How to process a full or partial refund.
This credit balance or cash invoice and amount will be removed from the student or guardian's profile.
Please note that for this reversal to be successful, the following conditions must be met:
The student or guardian must still have sufficient credit to cover the reversal.
The refund in question should be the only refund transaction on a credit note. It cannot be used to offset automatic credit notes generated during a cart checkout to pay for alternative options. For instance, if a student or parent initially pays for one option in a selection group and later changes it to a different option, this process won't apply.
Reconciling Payments of Activity Selections
FAQ
Why does the Activity Selection invoice say unpaid?
1. The student was on the waitlist, and now they have moved off it and been allocated a place in the Activity. The invoice will not have a reason for being unpaid. The parent and/or student (whoever made the selection) would have received an automatic email about being moved off of the waitlist and into Activity; this will prompt them to pay the invoice.
2. 'Pay separately was selected'. The parent or student elected to pay for this invoice outside of Clipboard, e.g. they are paying for this in cash or via another method stipulated by the school.
A Student or Guardian unselected their Activity Selection, what do I do with the invoice?
Once a student or Guardian removes the Activity Selection, the invoice will appear on the Payments Invoice page as 'pending refund' you will need to follow the steps in this article for How to process a full or partial refund.
Our school already has a current Stripe account. How can we add this?
If you have a Stripe account and want to add it during your initial Payments setup, kindly send an email to [email protected]. The Clipboard Team will assist you further with the necessary steps.
How do I turn on or off the cash option or 'pay separately' in Activity Selections?
You can turn on or off the cash option by going to Settings > School > Payment Options > unchecking or checking the 'Allow paying outside of Clipboard (e.g. cash)' option, as seen in the example below.
Once removed and saved, the pay separately option will no longer feature in Activity Selection.
I have entered my Credit Card details already, but I have an error message: 'You need to enter card details before proceeding'.
Invoices that were created before April 2025 may experience this issue upon payment. Please remove your card details and re-enter them to resolve this issue.
How do I test my Stripe account with Activity Selections before selections go live?
Please follow these steps to impersonate a 'live' guardian and student, to select and pay for a test Activity Selection.