Finance basics

The Finance module uses a set of components to support finance management. These components work together to cover all major financial operations such as fee collection, invoice generation, payment tracking and provide transparent and accurate billing.

Fees

In DreamApply, fees are charges associated with different stages of the admission process. They represent costs that applicants must pay to proceed with their application or get access to services such as tuition or accommodation.

DreamApply supports the following fee types:

  • Tuition fee
  • Application fee
  • Deposit fee
  • Registration fee
  • Examination fee
  • Dormitory fee
  • Course fee
  • Insurance fee
  • Accommodation fee

Fees are directly linked to academic programmes. A single programme can have several fees associated with it — for example, a programme fee, examination fee and registration fee — allowing institutions to define a full set of charges for a programme. Each specific fee type can only be assigned once per programme.

DreamApply allows institutions to define fee options based on region or country. For example, international applicants may have a different tuition structure than domestic applicants. Depending on how the institution prefers to manage payments, fees can be set up in two ways:

  • Automatic invoicing: DreamApply can automatically generate invoices when applicants reach a certain step, for example, submit applications or confirm offers.
  • No invoicing: For some fees, invoices may not be generated automatically. Instead, Administrators can issue invoices at a later stage.

Additional services

DreamApply allows institutions to set up an inventory of additional services and items that applicants may choose to purchase during the admission process. These services may include:

  • Airport pickup
  • Health insurance
  • Housing services
  • Other institution-specific offerings

Unlike fees that are typically mandatory, additional services are extras that applicants can select based on their individual needs. This feature enables institutions to streamline the sale of extra services and provide applicants with added flexibility.

Invoices

To formally request payments from applicants for specific services or items, DreamApply uses invoices. Invoices are final financial documents issued to applicants. They provide a detailed, itemized summary of charges, payment terms, due dates and other financial details.

Invoices can be issued when applicants are required to pay fees, such as an application or tuition fee, or when they make optional purchases.

Invoice templates

In DreamApply, invoices are generated based on predefined invoice templates. Invoice templates serve as ready-made blueprints, helping institutions create invoices quickly and consistently, reduce the number of errors and support institutional branding.

An invoice template is a structured document with designated areas for key financial information, including:

  • Invoice type, number and date
  • Seller and buyer details
  • List of items or services, taxes and total amount
  • Payment instructions, comments and terms
  • Custom branding

Invoice series

To manage and organize invoices, institutions can set up invoice series in DreamApply.

An invoice series is a predefined numbering format used to assign invoice numbers in a structured and sequential way. Typically, each series has a unique prefix and a number that automatically increments with each new invoice, for example: FEE-BA-25-001, FEE-BA-25-002 and so on.

By creating different invoice series, institutions can categorize and keep track of invoices based on various factors such as:

  • Institution or campus
  • Academic year
  • Course/programme
  • Type of fee
  • Payment mode or channel

VAT rules

To guarantee that financial transactions comply with local tax laws, institutions can apply Value Added Tax (VAT) to purchases. This is particularly important when serving international students subject to different regional tax rates.

VAT rates can be applied in two ways:

  • Default VAT rates: Institutions can utilize default VAT rates provided in DreamApply. This option can be used to minimize administrative overhead and ensure consistency with official EU tax rates.

    To identify the current VAT rates, DreamApply relies on a community-maintained collection of VAT rates for European Union member states maintained as a JSON file. DreamApply uses the applicable standard rate based on the most recent effective_from date.

  • Custom VAT rules: Institutions can set up custom VAT rules in DreamApply. This option can be used to apply specific tax policies based on local legislation.

Payment gateways

In DreamApply, invoices issued by the system can be paid through two main methods:

  • Offline payments: Applicants can pay at authorized payment centers such as banks and post offices.
  • Online payments: Applicants can perform payments online. This type of payment is supported if the DreamApply instance is integrated with a payment gateway.

A payment gateway is a secure, third-party service that authorizes and processes online payments. When an institution integrates with a payment gateway, applicants can pay their invoices through the system using their credit or debit cards or other payment methods supported by the payment gateway.

DreamApply supports the following payment gateways:

You can link one payment gateway to one or more invoice series to track and manage payments by method or provider. You can also link several payment gateways to the same invoice series. In this case, applicants will be able to choose their preferred payment option when paying an invoice.

DreamApply does not handle online payments. It securely redirects applicants to the payment portal provided by the payment gateway and keeps track of the transaction status. All financial transactions are handled by the payment gateway itself.

Grants and scholarships

Institutions can use the Finance module as a budget planning and financial aid allocation tool. DreamApply helps institutions understand how funds can be potentially distributed to candidates, forecast expenses and prepare structured data for use in external budgeting or payment platforms.

How financial operations work

A typical financial workflow in DreamApply is organized in the following way:

  1. Administrators with appropriate roles and permissions set up the following resources in the system:

    • Fees
    • Invoice templates
    • Invoice series
    • VAT rules
    • Additional services

  2. An applicant reaches a certain stage in the admission process or performs a billable action. For example, they can accept an offer or select a service from the inventory.

    Alternatively, an Administrator manually issues an invoice for an applicant using one of preconfigured templates.

  3. DreamApply defines the additional service cost or the fee to be charged and the VAT taxes to be applied based on the applicant’s citizenship.

  4. DreamApply uses an appropriate invoice template to format the document and assigns a unique number from the invoice series to the document.

  5. The system generates an invoice and sends it to the applicant, listing applicable items and taxes.

  6. The applicant pays offline or initiates online payment if the DreamApply instance is integrated with the payment gateway.

  7. The payment is collected in one of the following ways:

    • If the payment is performed offline (for example, via a direct transfer to the university’s bank), Administrators manually collect the payment to track it in the system.
    • If the payment is performed online, DreamApply automatically updates the payment status.

See Also

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