This guide walks you through creating manual invoices, recording payments, managing debit notes, and reviewing upcoming invoices. With Illumine, you can streamline billing activities and provide parents with a clear and transparent payment experience.
1. How to Create an Invoice Manually
You can create manual invoices for individual students or multiple students at once.
Follow these steps:
Go to Tuition & Billing > Invoices.
Click Create Invoice.
Select students by filtering the list using Classroom, Groups, or Programs, or search by student name. You can select multiple students.
Enter the invoice details:
Invoice Date: Defaults to the current date. You can change it if needed.
Due Days: Set the number of days within which the payment is due.
Billing Period: Select the start and end dates for the billing period.
Send to Parents: Choose whether to send the invoice to parents by email.
Add charges such as fees, taxes, and other items. You can adjust the amounts as needed.
Apply item-level discounts or an invoice-level discount, if required.
Enable taxes at the invoice level, if configured in your settings.
Add notes:
School Notes: Visible only to Staff.
Parent Notes: Visible to parents on the invoice. For example, "Please pay on time to avoid late fees."
If the student has an available credit balance, enable Always settle invoice with available credit to use it toward the invoice.
Review the invoice details and click Save.
2. How to Record Payments
Once an invoice has been generated, you can record payments received from parents.
Follow these steps:
Go to Tuition & Billing > Invoices.
Open the invoice for which you want to record a payment.
Click Record Payment.
Enter the following details:
Amount Paid: Enter the amount received.
Payment Mode: Select the payment method.
Payment Date: Choose the date the payment was received.
Send Receipt via Email: Choose Yes or No.
Reference Number: Enter the payment reference number, if applicable.
Click Submit.
Once the payment is recorded, the invoice status will be updated to Paid, provided the full invoice amount has been received.
3. How to Create a Debit Note
A debit note in Illumine allows you to increase the amount payable by a student after an invoice has already been generated.
You can use debit notes to add additional charges, such as extra services, missed fees, or corrections to an undercharged invoice, without editing the original invoice.
Once created, the debit note amount is added to the student's outstanding balance, increasing the total amount the parent needs to pay.
Follow these steps:
Go to Tuition & Billing > Invoices.
Open the Debit Notes tab.
Click Create Debit Note.
Select students by Classroom, Groups, or Programs, or search for specific students by name.
Enter the following details:
Debit Date: Select the date of the debit note.
Due Period: Set the payment due period.
Billing Period: Select the start and end dates.
Send to Parents: Choose Yes or No.
Add the required charges, taxes, and discounts at the item level.
Add notes for Staff and parents, if needed.
Review the details and click Save.
You can view, filter, and search all your debit notes from the Debit Notes tab.
4. Upcoming Invoices â Overview
The Upcoming Invoices section displays invoices scheduled to be generated in the future based on the tuition plans assigned to students.
It helps you review upcoming charges, check billing amounts, and confirm invoice dates before invoices are generated and sent to parents.
You can use this section to:
Track future billing activities.
Review invoice amounts before they are generated.
Check upcoming due dates and tuition plans.
Identify any changes needed to tuition plans before invoices are generated.
To view upcoming invoices:
Go to Tuition & Billing > Invoices.
Open the Upcoming Invoices tab.
Filters available
You can use the following filters to find specific upcoming invoices:
Date Range: View upcoming invoices for a selected period.
Search by Student Name: Find invoices for a particular student.
Tuition Plan: Filter invoices based on a specific tuition plan.
The total amount displayed on the right shows the combined value of the upcoming invoices.
Understanding the Invoice List
Each row represents an invoice scheduled to be generated.
The list includes:
Student Name: The child's name and admission number.
Tuition Plan Name: The plan assigned to the student, such as Nursery Plan or Kindergarten Plan.
Upcoming Date: The date when the invoice will be generated.
Amount: The amount scheduled to be billed.
Due Date: The payment deadline after the invoice is generated.
Example
Suppose a student is assigned to a Nursery Plan with:
Upcoming Date: February 19, 2026
Due Date: February 24, 2026
This means the invoice will be automatically generated on February 19, and the parent will need to complete the payment by February 24.
The Upcoming Invoices section helps you review future billing activities and ensure everything is correct before invoices are sent to parents.
Watch the Tutorial
For a step-by-step walkthrough of invoice management, watch the video below: