Switching Your Class Fund to an App Mid-Year: An Evening's Job

Yes, you can switch your class fund to ClassKasa in the middle of the school year, and you do not have to wait for September. It takes one evening: enter what is already in the class account, give families with money left over their starting balance, share one invite link in the class chat, and re-create the collections that are still running. Then you carry on as if you had started in September.

The spreadsheet does not have to die. It just gets to retire.

It is the middle of the autumn term. You have a file called class_fund_2026_FINAL(3).xlsx, eleven bank transfers that all say "trip", and a private belief that switching now would be like changing a tyre on the motorway. Wait until next year, the belief says.

The old proverb says the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago and the second best time is now. The class fund version is shorter: the best time to switch was September. The second best time is tonight, after the kids are in bed.

How to switch your class fund mid-year, step by step

1. Have a look first, if you like. The demo opens a sample class with no login, starting balances included, so you can see where everything goes before you touch your own numbers.
2. Create the class and start the trial. Starting balances live in Finances, which is a Premium feature, and Premium comes with a 100-day trial with no card. If you do not add a card, the class simply goes back to the free plan afterwards.
3. Bring the families in. Share the class invite link in the class chat or send it by e-mail. A parent taps the link, types their e-mail, confirms with one tap (no password to invent) and you approve them. You can also add a family yourself, one at a time.
4. Enter the starting balances. Go to Finances, then Starting Balances. Put in what the class account holds today. If some families have money left over from earlier collections, give each of those families a starting balance. That credit sits in the family's wallet and can pay their next collection. The family amounts can add up to less than the account total, never more; whatever is left belongs to the class fund.
5. Re-create the collections that are still running. A collection can have a due date that has already passed, so the swimming money you asked for in September fits in fine. Tick the families who already paid (cash or bank), enter part-payments as they are, and an overpayment counts as paid.
6. Connect the bank, if you want the matching done for you (Premium). Connect the class account read-only through Enable Banking, a licensed provider, then use "Load from your bank" to read a date range of up to 90 days per load. For older months, upload a statement as a PDF or a photo and check each suggested match.
7. Carry on. New collections, the running total, the lot. Exactly as if you had started in September, except you did not have to.

One honest detail about step 5: when you tick a family as paid by hand, ClassKasa records today's date, because today is the day it heard about the payment. Keep the old spreadsheet in a folder as the archive of exact dates. It has earned the rest.

What you carry over, and where it goes

What you have today	Where it goes in ClassKasa
Money in the class account	Finances, Starting Balances: the class account starting balance
A family's leftover credit from earlier collections	That family's starting balance, which lands in their wallet and can pay a later collection
A family that still owes for something	The collection itself: create it, and they show as still to pay
A collection already under way	A new collection with the original due date, even a past one; tick who has paid
Cash handed over at the school gate	Ticked as paid, with cash as the method
Bank transfers from the last few months	Premium: "Load from your bank", up to 90 days per load; older months by statement scan
The whole spreadsheet	Your archive. It stays where it is

When is the best moment to switch?

Any evening with a spare hour. A few moments feel natural, and parents barely notice:

• After a trip is settled. The coach is paid and the books are as clean as they will ever be. Start the next collection in ClassKasa.
• At the start of a new term. January and the summer term both come with a fresh round of collections. New term, new link.
• After a mid-term break or the Christmas holidays. Everyone is back, the class chat is awake again, and "here is the new link for everything" lands well.
• When the treasurer changes. If you are taking over from someone mid-year, set the starting balances from the handover figure and you both have it written down. And if it is you handing over later, the treasurer role can be passed on in the class settings with "Transfer Treasurer Role", no new class needed.

The only bad moment is the one you keep postponing until the summer, by which point there are nine collections in the spreadsheet and two of them have a column called "?".

Why it is easier than it sounds

Parents do not install anything. The page for parents shows what they owe and how to pay, and paying is an ordinary bank transfer straight to the treasurer's account. The money never passes through ClassKasa, so nothing about where it sits changes when you switch.

On the free plan you get five collections per class in total, so if you are re-creating three running ones, spend those slots knowingly. Premium is billed per class, not per parent, and gives you unlimited collections plus the bank matching described on the bank reconciliation page. The pricing page has the current price; the 100-day trial needs no card.

The class treasurer guide covers the basics, and collecting school trip money from parents helps with the collection you are probably moving first.

FAQ

Can I switch to ClassKasa in the middle of the school year?

Yes. Enter the class account's current balance as its starting balance, give families with leftover money their own starting balance, invite everyone with one link and re-create the collections that are still open. An evening is plenty for a class of thirty families.

What happens to the money already in the class account?

Nothing moves. The money stays in your account; you type the current balance into Starting Balances in Finances (Premium, trial included), so the total matches your bank from day one.

How do I record families who already paid before the switch?

If they paid for a collection that is still running, re-create the collection and tick them as paid, choosing cash or bank. If they have money left over, give that family a starting balance: it sits in their wallet and can pay a later collection. A family that owes money goes on a collection, not on a starting balance.

Can I import past bank transfers?

With Premium you connect the class account read-only and use "Load from your bank" to read a range of up to 90 days at a time. How far back your bank lets you go depends on the bank. For older months, upload the statement as a PDF or a photo and confirm the matches.

Do parents have to sign up all over again?

They tap the invite link, type their e-mail and confirm with one tap. No app to install and no password. You approve each family, and they see straight away what they owe.

Is it better to wait until September?

Only if you enjoy the spreadsheet. September is tidy, but every week you wait is another round of matching transfers by hand. Today is the second best moment, and it comes round more often than September.

Start tonight

Try it on the demo class first, or start the 100-day Premium trial with no card and move your class fund over tonight. The FAQ has the short answers if the class chat asks. It will ask.