Skip to main content

All About Fields

Overview

In Collexo, fields play a crucial role in managing applicant data and streamlining the fee management process efficiently. Whether it's capturing student information or configuring fees, fields allow institutions to tailor their data management and workflows based on unique operational needs.

How to Navigate?

  • Go to the Menu.
  • Navigate to Fee Setup.
  • Click on Manage Fields.

There are three main types of fields:

  • Custom Fields
  • Amount Fields
  • Date Fields

Let's explore each of these field types and their configurations.

Custom Fields

Custom Fields help organize applicant data such as name, registration number, mobile number, and other data based on your institute's requirements. These fields can be configured as dropdowns, text fields, or date fields. 

There are two primary types of fields: System-generated fields and User-generated fields.

    1. System-Generated Fields 

      • These fields are default fields, automatically created and visible to an entity when its account is set up. These fields come pre-configured within the system.

      • One of the system-generated fields is the Application Number, which serves as a unique identifier for every applicant. 

        • This field is created automatically and cannot be removed or disabled. 

        • It plays a critical role in fee reconciliation, ensuring that each transaction or fee is accurately linked to the correct applicant. 

        • As a default and mandatory field, the Application Number remains consistent across systems and serves as a reliable reference point throughout the payment lifecycle.

    2. User-Generated Fields

      • User-generated fields are custom fields created based on an institution’s specific requirements. 

      • These fields can be added through the “Add Field” option on the Manage Field page. 

      • They allow institutions to tailor data collection to their unique needs, enabling more personalized and relevant data management.

To create a Custom Field, you'll need to provide the following details:

  • Field Title: Enter the name for the custom field.
  • Field Type: Specify whether the field should be a Dropdown, Text, or Date field.
  • Dropdown fields are used when you want applicants to select from predefined choices (e.g., Gender, Program Type, State). If you've selected dropdown as field type, then you'll be required to add the available choices that should appear in the dropdown menu.
  • Text fields are used for open-ended responses where users can enter text (e.g., Remarks, Reference Number).
  • Date fields are used when a specific date input is needed (e.g., Date of Birth, Admission Date, Payment Due Date).

Note: Custom date fields are created based on your specific data requirements and are distinct from system-configured date fields, which are created to support operational functions like due dates and reminders.

  • Field Mandatory: You can enable this to make this field mandatory in the applicant journey.
  • Add to Report: You can enable this to include this field in reports such as Track Payments, Settlement Report, and Payment Ledger. Also, these are available in their respective filters.
  • Add to Receipt: You can enable this to display it in the default receipts.
  • Masking: Enable this toggle to hide sensitive data from the intended roles. To know more about masking, refer to this article.
  • Status: You can enable this toggle to activate the field.
    • Only on Backend: Enable this toggle if the field should be visible and usable only by institute users. This can be used when certain fields, reports, or workflow conditions need to be hidden from applicants.
    • Both (Backend and Frontend): Enable this toggle if the field should be visible and accessible to both institute users and applicants.
  • When dealing with multiple dropdown fields, you have the option to make some dropdown fields dependent on others. This means that certain dropdown fields will adjust their options based on selections made in previous dropdown fields.
    • For example, consider two dropdown fields, "State" and "City". The "State" field includes options like Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. The "City" field should display cities based on the selected state. By establishing a dependency between "State" and "City", you can ensure that only relevant city options appear for each selected state:
      • If the user selects Maharashtra, the "City" dropdown will show Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur.
      • If Karnataka is selected, it will display Bengaluru, Mysuru, and Mangaluru.
      • If Tamil Nadu is selected, the options will be Chennai, Coimbatore, and Madurai.

This helps users by displaying only the cities that are relevant to the state they have selected. It improves the user experience and ensures more accurate, clean data collection by preventing irrelevant or incorrect city selections.

Here's a simple guide on how to set this up:

  1. Click the dropdown arrow next to the parent field (which in the given example is State ), then click on “Add Dependent” to begin setting up the dependency.
  2. Choose the appropriate dependent field from the dropdown menu that displays all the available dropdown fields.
  3. For each value of the parent field values (Maharashtra), select the corresponding values you want to allow (Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur).

Amount Fields 

Amount Fields are used for amount-based fee configurations. To know when to use this payment channel, refer to this article.

These fields act as a substitute for fee heads when the fee amount for each applicant is different. Similar to the fee heads amount fields are of 2 types :

  1. Amount Fields 
  2. Amount Surcharge Field 

Amount Fields 

To create an Amount Field, provide the following details:

  • Field Name: Enter the name for the amount field.
  • Is this a surcharge-type fee head?: Disable this toggle to keep it as an amount field.
  • Status: Toggle to enable or disable the field.

Amount Surcharge Field  

To create the Amount Surcharge Field, provide the following details:

  • Field Name: Enter the name for the amount field.
  • Is this a surcharge-type fee head?: Enable this toggle to turn the fields into an amount surcharge field, requiring additional details to be filled:
    • Fee Borne By: Choose whether the surcharge is borne by the Institute or the Student.
      • If set to Student, the surcharge is added to the student’s payable amount.
        Example: If a student is paying ₹2,000 and a 1.5% (₹30) convenience fee is applied, the total amount payable becomes ₹2,030.
      • If set to Institute, the surcharge is absorbed by the institute, and the student is not charged extra.
        Example: If the student is paying ₹2,000 and a 1.5% (₹30) processing fee is applied, the student still pays ₹2,000, but the institute will receive ₹1,970 after the deduction.
  • Amount Type: Choose one amongst Fixed / Percentage, specifying whether the surcharge is a fixed amount or a percentage.
  • Amount Value: Enter the fixed amount/percentage value, depending on the selection of the Amount Type field by the user.
  • Status: Toggle to enable or disable the field.

Date Fields

Date Fields are used to define start/due/end dates for each applicant. This can be used in fee connect, late fees, and reminders.

 To create a date field, provide the following details:

  • Field Title: Enter the name for the date field.
  • Status: Enable this to activate this field. 

Conclusion 

With this, you can easily set up and manage fields in Collexo to collect the right applicant information and support smooth fee processes. Whether you're using custom fields, amount fields, or date fields, Collexo helps you tailor the system to your institution’s needs, making fee tracking, reporting, and applicant management more organized and efficient.

Was this article helpful?