Payment gateway and online payments

The payment gateway in Skolar depends on a central institution setting and on a payment flow that validates charges, generates the invoice, and records the payment method before confirming the result.

What this configuration controls#

From the payment gateway tab you can define:

• whether online payments are enabled
• which provider is active for the school
• the provider configuration

If this configuration is not valid, the online payment view for families becomes unavailable.

Before enabling online payments#

Make sure:

• the provider has already been validated internally
• the configuration contains the right keys or credentials
• currency and charge concepts are correct for the school
• the finance team understands how invoices and receipts will be delivered

Recommended setup flow#

1. Open institution settings.
2. Go to the payment gateway tab.
3. Enable the gateway.
4. Select the provider configured for your school.
5. Enter the provider configuration and save.
6. Validate the flow with a test student or family before announcing it to the whole school.

What happens during an online payment#

When a family pays online, Skolar:

• checks that the gateway is still available
• validates that the submitted charges are still valid
• temporarily locks the process to avoid duplicates for the same student
• generates the invoice with its items
• submits the order to the payment provider
• stores the external order identifier and payment method

Payment links#

The system can also generate and send signed payment links for a specific student. This is useful when your team wants to:

• share a payment link by email
• resend a payment reminder
• avoid asking the guardian to search for the correct student manually

Skolar generates these as signed routes, which lowers the risk of sending the wrong generic URL and keeps the flow tied to the selected student.

What to review before sending a link#

• that the right student is selected
• that debts and active charges are up to date
• that the guardian or payer email is valid
• that the finance team has already decided which items should be payable online

Internal online-payment flow#

Before confirming an online payment, Skolar runs several validations:

1. it acquires a temporary lock to avoid duplicate charges for the same student
2. it validates that the submitted items are still payable
3. it creates the invoice and its items
4. it submits the order to the payment provider
5. it stores the external order identifier, payment method, and guardian relation

If any validation fails, the attempt is cancelled and the lock is released.

What to do when the payment fails#

If the attempt does not complete, review:

• whether the gateway is still passing health check
• whether the selected charges changed after the screen was opened
• whether another user tried to charge the same student at the same time
• whether the provider rejected the payment method or order

Do not register a second manual invoice until you confirm what happened with the first attempt.

Sending payment links by email#

The system can send the payment link directly to one or more email addresses. Before using it:

• confirm the addresses belong to real guardians or payers
• avoid sending links while the balance is still under review
• document internally who sent the reminder

Relation to invoices and receipts#

Online payment is not isolated from the rest of finance. It ends in an invoice and triggers later follow-up, such as:

• storing the payment method
• storing the provider order identifier
• emailing the receipt to the selected address
• later reconciliation if the school uses an external invoice ID

Good practices#

• validate the gateway health first with an internal test
• review charge details before sending a payment link
• confirm which email address will receive the receipt
• document who enabled or changed the provider configuration

Common issues#

The online payment screen is unavailable#

This usually means the gateway is disabled or the current provider configuration is not passing validation.

The charge was rejected even though the student has active items#

Review whether the submitted charges are still valid, whether the duplicate-prevention lock was triggered, or whether the provider rejected the payment details.

A family received confirmation but finance still needs to review the invoice#

Confirm the invoice was stored with both the payment method and the provider order identifier before closing the follow-up.

The payment link opens but the family cannot continue#

First review whether the gateway is still active for the school. Then confirm the student still has pending charges and that the payable items did not change after the link was generated.