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Set up your organization

A school moving from spreadsheets needs a shared starting point: the organization it operates under, the currency it accounts in and the financial year it uses. Onboarding gathers those details before preparing the workspace.

For example, a school in Nairobi might use “Main Campus” as its workspace, KES as its base currency and Africa/Nairobi as its time zone. Use your own organization’s approved details.

On this pageBefore you beginDescribe your organizationContinue when the assistant is unavailableReview the detailsCreate your workspaceYour first sessionCommon questions

Before you begin

  • Have access to the email address you will use for your account.
  • Know your organization’s name, country and address.
  • Confirm the base currency and start of the financial year with the person responsible for your accounts.
  • Choose a clear name for the first workspace, such as Main Campus.

Describe your organization

  1. Open the Schoolbooks setup flow and describe what your organization does.
  2. Answer the questions about your organization and the work you want to improve.
  3. Review the details gathered by the setup assistant. Use the form option when you prefer entering the details directly.
Schoolbooks onboarding in the running app. The setup conversation and form collect the same organization details.

Continue when the assistant is unavailable

Choose Fill in a form instead at the start or during setup. If the setup assistant cannot respond, the form opens with your saved details. In the website chat, use Sign up with a form, or Continue setup with a form when you already have a draft.

Complete the required organization details, review them and verify your email as usual. Workspace creation does not require an AI response, and a chat interruption will not prevent you from opening your completed workspace.

An internet connection and the Schoolbooks service are still required. If a save is interrupted, reconnect and recover the saved draft before retrying.

Review the details

Correct any assumptions before continuing. An assistant’s suggestion is a starting point; the reviewed details are what you approve.

FieldWhat to check
OrganizationThe name used for your organization.
WorkspaceA recognizable name for the first working area.
Country and addressWhere the organization operates.
Base currencyThe currency used for the accounting foundation.
Time zoneThe local time zone for your organization.
Financial year startsThe start date agreed for your financial reporting.
The actual setup form, before creating a workspace.1 Currency and time zone2 Financial year

Create your workspace

Complete email verification when requested. Review the setup and use the final creation action only when the details are correct. Schoolbooks prepares the workspace, organization settings, accounting foundation and applications.

Wait for setup to finish before starting work. If a step fails, follow the retry or recovery guidance shown in the setup flow rather than starting another organization for the same school.

Your first session

  1. Confirm your organization and workspace in the upper-left switcher.
  2. Open Accounting → Accounting setup to review the financial year, cost centres and dimensions.
  3. Decide which people need access and which tasks they should be allowed to perform.
  4. Prepare your customers and billable items before creating an invoice.
Finding your way aroundReview accounting setup

Common questions

Already invited to a school? Use that invitation and sign in to the existing workspace. You do not need to create a second organization.

Not ready with your financial year or currency? Get those details from your finance lead before approving setup. Do not choose a value simply to get past the screen.