FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Everything you need to know about Tiptons Analytics — from M-Pesa fee collection and CBC support to biometric attendance, payroll, online classes and support for Kenyan schools.

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General

Getting started

What Tiptons Analytics is, who it's for, and how quickly your school can go live.

Tiptons Analytics is an all-in-one school management system built for Kenyan primary, secondary and TVET institutions. It brings admissions, fee collection, academics, CBC & 8-4-4 reporting, biometric attendance, payroll, online classes and parent communication into a single, secure platform.

We serve public and private primary schools, junior secondary schools, secondary schools, TVET institutions and colleges. The system supports both the CBC and the 8-4-4 curriculum, so schools in transition between the two are fully covered.

Most schools are live within 24 hours. Our team configures your school profile, classes, curriculum types and fee structures, migrates any existing records, and trains your administrators, teachers and bursar. Biometric hardware installation takes one day on site.

Yes. Every new school gets full access to all modules for one week, with free setup and training included. No credit card is required to get started.
Fees & M-Pesa

Fee collection

How M-Pesa integration, reconciliation, invoices and reminders work for Kenyan schools.

Tiptons Analytics connects to Safaricom's Daraja API v3.0 to enable STK Push (Lipa na M-Pesa Online). When a parent initiates a payment, they receive an M-Pesa prompt on their phone. Once they confirm with their PIN, the payment is instantly recorded, reconciled against the student's fee balance, and a digital receipt is sent via SMS.

Yes. Tiptons Analytics works with your existing Safaricom Paybill or Buy Goods (Till) number. Our team assists with the full Safaricom Business Portal registration and configuration during setup.

Yes. Tiptons Analytics supports scheduled reminders (weekly, fortnightly or custom intervals), overdue alerts, bulk SMS blasts to all parents or a specific class, and individual personalised messages. Each reminder includes the student's name, outstanding balance, due date, Paybill number and account reference.

Yes. Fee structures can be configured per term, per class and per fee category — tuition, boarding, transport, lunch, activities and exams. You can also apply percentage-based or fixed-amount waivers and scholarships per student, per term or for the full academic year.

Yes. Partial payments are tracked automatically and carry forward to the next term without manual journal entries. Bank deposits, cheque payments and cash payments are all supported — each one generates an official receipt with the school stamp and is reconciled against the correct learner.
Academics & CBC

Curriculum & reporting

How Tiptons Analytics handles CBC, 8-4-4, national assessments and report cards.

The Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) is Kenya's reformed education system developed by KICD to replace 8-4-4. It follows a 2-6-3-3-3 structure — 2 years Pre-Primary, 6 years Primary (Lower and Upper), 3 years Junior Secondary, 3 years Senior Secondary and 3+ years Tertiary — focusing on competencies rather than rote exam performance.

CBC uses a rubric-based 8-point grading scale with four broad descriptors: Exceeding Expectations (EE), Meeting Expectations (ME), Approaching Expectations (AE) and Below Expectations (BE). Each descriptor is split into two levels — EE1/EE2, ME1/ME2, AE1/AE2, BE1/BE2 — giving a total 8-point scale.

Senior Secondary learners choose one of three pathways: (1) STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics; (2) Social Sciences — Humanities, Business & Social Studies; (3) Arts & Sports Science — Creative Arts, Performing Arts & Sports.

Yes. Tiptons Analytics is dual-curriculum ready. Each class can be assigned its own curriculum type — CBC classes use the 8-point rubric (EE, ME, AE, BE), while 8-4-4 classes use percentage marks with letter grades and class rankings. Both generate their own compliant report cards.

CBC has three national assessments: KPSEA at Grade 6 (Kenya Primary School Education Assessment), KJSEA at Grade 9 (Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment), and KCBE at Grade 12 (Kenya Certificate of Basic Education).

The 7 core competencies are: Communication & Collaboration, Critical Thinking & Problem Solving, Creativity & Imagination, Citizenship, Digital Literacy, Learning to Learn, and Self-Efficacy.

Yes. Report cards are generated as branded PDFs and can be shared with parents via SMS link, email or downloaded from the parent portal — with competency descriptors, strand-level performance and teacher comments for CBC, or percentage marks and class rankings for 8-4-4.
Payroll & Compliance

Statutory deductions

How Tiptons Analytics calculates PAYE, NSSF, SHIF, Housing Levy and HELB.

Tiptons Analytics handles PAYE (KRA), NSSF (Tier I & II, Phase 4 from February 2026), SHIF (Social Health Insurance Fund at 2.75%), the Affordable Housing Levy (1.5% employee + 1.5% employer), and HELB loan deductions. All are calculated automatically with the correct 2025/2026 rates.

From February 2026 (Phase 4), both employee and employer contribute 6% of pensionable earnings up to a combined ceiling of KES 108,000. Tier I covers earnings up to KES 9,000 (max KES 540 each side) and must go to the NSSF Trust Fund. Tier II covers earnings from KES 9,001 to KES 108,000 (max KES 5,940 each side) and can go to NSSF or an approved private pension scheme.

Yes. Tiptons Analytics generates branded PDF payslips for every employee, plus all statutory reports including KRA P9 annual tax certificates, NSSF monthly reports, SHIF remittance schedules, Housing Levy reports and HELB deduction schedules.

Yes. Salary advances are processed with automatic installment recovery from subsequent pay periods, configurable advance limits per staff grade, and approval workflow. Bonuses — one-off or recurring — are taxed correctly as lump sums under the applicable PAYE band and included in P9 annual totals.
Biometric & Online Classes

Attendance & digital learning

Hardware, parent SMS alerts and virtual classrooms.

Tiptons Analytics uses the ZKTeco F18 fingerprint reader — a robust device supporting fingerprint, Mifare RFID card and PIN verification, with 3,000 fingerprint capacity and a 100,000-record transaction log. Our team installs and configures it at your school gate or reception and integrates it with Tiptons Analytics over your school network.

Yes. Every clock-in and clock-out triggers an automatic SMS to the registered parent or guardian. Late arrivals and absences can also trigger additional SMS alerts. No app to install, no login required — just a simple text message delivered in seconds.

Yes. Tiptons Analytics includes a full e-learning module — live HD video classes with screen sharing, interactive whiteboard, breakout rooms and session recording, plus digital assignments, discussion forums, revision materials and parent SMS notifications about class schedules and assignment deadlines.

Yes. Tiptons Analytics is optimized for low-bandwidth environments common in rural Kenya. Recorded lessons, downloadable materials and text-based forums work even on slow 3G networks, ensuring students in every county can participate in online learning.
Security, Data & Support

Trust, protection and help

How we protect your school's data and how you can reach us.

All data is encrypted in transit and at rest, protected with role-based access control and full audit trails. Every financial transaction is timestamped, attributed to a user and stored permanently, making records tamper-proof and exportable for external auditors.

Yes. Tiptons Analytics uses granular role-based access control. Subject teachers see only their subjects, class teachers get a full view of their class, the bursar sees finance, the head teacher sees everything — and every action is logged with a complete audit trail.

Every school gets free setup and training, plus ongoing support via WhatsApp, phone and email. We also provide a step-by-step user guide for administrators, teachers and parents, and can schedule on-site visits when needed.

Yes. All records — students, staff, finance, exams, attendance — are exportable to PDF and Excel at any time. You retain full ownership of your school's data.

Still have questions?

Reach out to our team — we respond within one business day.

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