System Settings¶
The settings area in sERP covers global configuration options that affect all users and modules. Settings are grouped into sections accessible from Settings in the main navigation.
General Settings¶
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| School Name | Full name of the school — appears on reports, receipts, and the login page |
| School Logo | JPEG logo used on terminal reports and the nav header. After uploading, a crop overlay appears — draw a selection box over the area to use and click Crop Image to confirm. |
| School Address | Printed on official documents |
| School Phone / Email | Printed on official documents and used in automated messages |
| Correspondence Reference Prefix | Prefix used only when numbering correspondence letters — not student IDs. Student ID prefixes are configured per campus; see Student ID Generation. |
| Staff ID Prefix | Prefix for auto-generated staff IDs |
Academic Settings¶
Academic Calendar¶
Manage calendar entries and set the active term from a single page. Access it via Settings → Academic → wrench icon next to Default Academic Year / Term.
The page has three areas:
- Add Calendar Entry (left form) — create a new entry
- Active Calendars (top-right panel) — shows the currently active entry for Trimester and for Semester
- All Entries (table) — lists every entry with Activate and Delete actions
Adding an entry¶
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Academic Year | Start and end years, e.g. 2025 / 2026 |
| Label | Optional display name — defaults to Default if left blank |
| Category | Trimester or Semester |
| Term/Semester | First, Second, or Third |
| Begins | First day of the term/semester |
| Ends | Last day of the term/semester |
Click Add Entry. The row is injected into the All Entries table immediately without a page reload.
Activating an entry¶
Click Activate on any row. The Active Calendars panel refreshes instantly and the row is highlighted green. Only one entry per category can be active at a time; the previously active entry reverts to inactive automatically.
Deleting an entry¶
Click the trash icon on a row and confirm. Two restrictions apply:
- An active entry cannot be deleted — activate a different entry first, then delete the old one.
- The delete button is only shown to users with administrator access (access level 100).
CA Components¶
Define the sub-components of the CA allocation (e.g. Class Test 10%, Mid-Term 10%, Homework 10%). These are global and apply to all classes unless overridden.
Grading Scales¶
See the dedicated Grading Scales documentation.
Finance Settings¶
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Fee Items | List of billable line items (e.g. Tuition, PTA Levy) |
| Discount Types | Predefined discount categories (e.g. Staff Child, Scholarship) |
| Payment Methods | Accepted payment methods shown on receipts |
| Invoice Prefix | Prefix for auto-generated invoice numbers |
| Payment Gateway | Paystack secret key for online payments — required before parents/students can pay fees online |
| Email Receipts | Toggle automatically emailing parents a PDF copy of the receipt when a payment is recorded, alongside the existing SMS confirmation |
HR Settings¶
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Staff Types (Designations) | Job titles/grades (e.g. Head Teacher, Accountant) |
| Leave Types | Types of leave and annual entitlement per type |
| Statutory Rates | PAYE bands, pension rates, NHF — see country guide for current values |
| Bank List | Banks used for payroll bank advice letters |
SMS Settings¶
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| SMS Gateway | API endpoint and credentials (provided by licensee) |
| Sender ID | The name or number that appears as the SMS sender |
| Absence Alert | Toggle automated absence SMS to parents |
| Fee Reminder | Template for fee reminder SMS |
| Result Notification | Toggle result published SMS |
| Payment Confirmation | Toggle payment receipt SMS |
Test the gateway configuration using the Send Test SMS button after saving credentials.
Dashboard Widgets¶
Settings → Dashboard Widgets lets an administrator choose which widgets (e.g. classes, enrollment, staff, attendance summary) appear on the staff dashboard. This is set once for the whole school.
Deployment Info¶
Settings → Deployment Info is a read-only page showing the active deployment configuration derived from deployment.conf.php and the loaded country profile:
- Country, timezone (with live current time), language
- Currency code, symbol, name, and subunit
- Active academic framework
- Data residency country
- A warning banner if any required constants are missing or set to placeholder values
This page is useful for verifying configuration after setup or after an update.
Export Data¶
Settings → Export Data is restricted to administrators (access level 100).
Select one or more datasets and click Export Selected:
| Dataset | Description | Filters |
|---|---|---|
| Students | Personal details, guardian contacts, account status | Class; Status (active / withdrawn / all) |
| Staff | Personal details, department, employment type, salary | — |
| Classes | Class list with active and withdrawn student counts | — |
| Fee Payments | All recorded payments with receipt numbers and dates | Term; Academic year |
A single selected dataset downloads as a .csv file. Multiple datasets download as a .zip archive with one CSV per dataset. All files are UTF-8 with BOM for Excel compatibility. Export actions are recorded in the activity log.