Improving financial oversight and reducing cash handling with ParentPay

Overview 

King’s School in Devon is a large secondary school with over 1,100 students. In 2023, the school adopted ParentPay as a solution to reduce cash handling, improve visibility of income and streamline reconciliation across departments. 

We spoke with Helen Tyrrell, Senior Finance Officer, to understand how the solution supported their operational goals and how they successfully brought parents on board. 

Challenge 

Before ParentPay, the school relied on cash and cheque payments for trips, meals and activities. This created significant administrative burden and posed safeguarding risks. Reconciling payments across departments was time-consuming, and visibility of income was limited. 

“We wanted to reduce the amount of cash coming into school and make it easier to track payments.”
— Helen Tyrrell, Senior Finance Officer 

Solution 

ParentPay provided a secure, cashless solution for collecting payments across the school. Parents could pay online for a wide range of services, while staff gained access to real-time reporting and automated reconciliation. 

To ensure strong parental uptake, the school focused on clear communication and timing. They introduced the solution at the start of the academic year and made sure departments were set up correctly from the outset. 

“ParentPay has helped us work more efficiently and securely. It’s made a real difference.”
— Helen Tyrrell, Senior Finance Officer 

The solution also allowed the school to manage income by department, improving transparency and control. 

Impact 

Since implementing ParentPay, King’s School has seen measurable improvements in financial management and parental engagement. 

• Significant reduction in cash handling and associated safeguarding risks 

• Streamlined reconciliation and improved reporting accuracy 

• Greater visibility of income by department 

• Improved convenience for parents and staff 

• Successful parent onboarding through clear comms and phased rollout 

“It’s made a big difference to how we manage payments. We can track income more easily, and parents find it much more convenient.”
— Helen Tyrrell, Senior Finance Officer 

Advice to other schools 

“Take the time to set up your departments properly from the start. It makes reporting much easier and gives you better visibility of income. And communicate clearly with parents—timing is key.”
— Helen Tyrrell, Senior Finance Officer 

Conclusion 

ParentPay has helped King’s School modernise its payment processes, reduce administrative workload and improve financial oversight. The solution continues to support departmental control and parental transparency.