From a cash drawer to a canteen that reconciles itself
Representative scenario — illustrativeA 1,200-student school runs its canteen on coins and notes. Children queue with loose change at lunch, and the day ends with a cash bag the operator counts by hand.
Coins go missing and the queue crawls, while parents have no idea what their child actually eats. A child who forgets money simply goes hungry at the counter. And accounts receive a cash bag and a story at day-end, never a figure that ties out.
The cheap ERP bolted on a “canteen” screen, but payment stayed cash — or a wallet with no item-level record and no link to the books. No low-balance alert, no menu parents can see, no reconciliation. Six months in, the operator is back to the cash box because the screen only doubled the work, and daily takings still refuse to match the books.
ez.school puts a prepaid wallet on the student record: parents top up online, students tap their ID at the counter, and every transaction lists what was bought. Low balances alert the parent before lunch, weekly menus publish to the portal, and takings reconcile to accounting without a counting ritual.
| By hand | Ordinary ERP | ez.school | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paying at the counter | Loose change, slow queue | Cash, or wallet with no detail | Tap ID — itemised, no cash |
| Low balance | Child goes hungry | No alert | Parent alerted before lunch |
| What the child ate | Nobody knows | A total, no items | Every purchase itemised in the portal |
| Day-end takings | Cash bag, counted by hand | Doesn’t tie to accounts | Reconciles to accounting itself |
- FasterLunch queue
- Before lunchLow-balance alert
- Ties outDaily reconciliation
Tuition is 64% of revenue; transport grew fastest at +18% — concentration risk if fees are capped.
Item-level takings by counter — the day’s sales break down and reconcile to accounts on their own, not as a counted cash bag.