Sharing Payment Links and QR Codes

For admissions, trips organisers, fundraising, marketing, finance, and estates teams

Collecting payments with esenda is fast, secure, and flexible. Once a link or QR code exists, the real impact comes from making it visible, accessible, and consistent for parents, while giving staff confidence in how to share it.

esenda payment links have a range of settings you can customise to suit different needs:

• Assigning an amount
• Limiting the number of payers (perfect for trips or events with limited spaces)
• Setting active dates (for early access or deadlines)
• Categorising links for fees, donations, trips, events, or venue hire
• Naming the link clearly for easy internal tracking

Understanding and using these settings ensures that links work well for your school, are clear for staff, and create a smooth experience for parents.

1. Make Payment Links the Default

Parents are far more likely to pay when the process is simple, consistent, and familiar. Always prioritise esenda links in communications; emails, letters, portals, and website pages, and minimise the use of old bank details to avoid confusion.

Example: Admissions offer letters, acceptance packs, and invoices all link to the same esenda payment page, giving parents a consistent experience every time.

2. Use Clear Naming and Categories Internally

Even if parents don’t see them, clarity is crucial for staff.

• Use descriptive names (e.g., Year 6 France Trip - Deposit) so colleagues can easily identify what a link is for.
• Clear naming is especially helpful in job shares or when multiple staff manage payments, preventing accidental duplicate links or confusion.
• Assign categories such as fees, trips, admissions, events, or venue hire to keep everything organised.
• Track active dates and payer limits for better reporting and reconciliation.

Tip: Agree on a consistent naming convention across teams to make reporting, monitoring, and handovers seamless.

3. Embedding Links - Make It Easy to Click

Links should be embedded in text or buttons, rather than pasting long URLs. They can be placed in:

• Website buttons and pages
• Emails and newsletters
• Parent portals
• PDF documents
• Admissions platforms

How to embed a link:

1. Copy the esenda link from your payment links dashboard.
2. Highlight the text or select a button in your content editor.
3. Click Insert Link or equivalent.
4. Paste the link and save.

Tip: Use clear, action-oriented wording, like “Click here to pay your trip deposit” or “Pay now securely online”.

4. Using QR Codes Effectively

QR codes are scannable squares that take parents directly to a payment page, without needing to type out the URL themselves. They are perfect when clickable links aren’t possible, like in:

• Printed letters, invoices, or flyers
• Posters around school or at events
• Donation displays during Open Days or fundraising campaigns

Tips for QR codes:

• Make them large enough to scan easily
• Consider including a short instruction: “Scan with your phone camera to pay securely”
• Avoid using QR codes for communications read on mobile devices — parents cannot scan a code on the same device they are holding
• Pair with a clickable link if the QR appears on something that may also be emailed

Example: A donation QR on a brochure at a school event allows instant giving, while a printed invoice can include both a QR and a link for convenience.

5. Coordinate Across Teams

Admissions, trips, finance, and marketing teams should collaborate to ensure:

• The same link is used for the same purpose
• Messaging to parents is consistent
• Deadlines, limits, and categories are clear

Why it matters: Parents experience a reliable, consistent payment process, staff spend less time chasing payments, and reconciliation is far simpler.

6. Encourage Parent Adoption

Parents are more likely to use esenda when they understand how simple and secure it is. Highlight:

• It takes under 60 seconds to pay
• Payments are instant and automatically reconciled
• Card and FX options are available and parents benefit from bank beating FX rates (if your school has these switched on)
• Payments are secure
• They no longer need to re-type bank details

Tip: Repeat the same message across multiple touchpoints (website, portal, emails, and printed materials) to build familiarity and habit. Check out our website wording and email template resources for more help here.

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