A new item for every trip
New item alerts arrive when a child is added to a trip or something to pay for. One per child, so two children means two emails.
ParentPay emails
Another ParentPay email. Sense remembers the pay-by date.
School trips, dinner money, clubs, breakfast and after-school care. Forward the ParentPay emails to Sense and the trip goes on your family calendar, with a reminder to pay or give consent before the deadline.
Inbox 7 from ParentPay this week
- ParentPayNew item: Year 5 trip to Warwick Castle
- ParentPayPayment alert: cash payment recorded
- ParentPayBalance alert: school meals below £5.00
- ParentPayMessage from school: Autumn newsletter
- ParentPayMessage from school: Warwick Castle trip letter
- ParentPayBalance alert: school meals below £5.00
- ParentPayNew item: Breakfast club, spring term
In Sense
Event: Warwick Castle trip - Thu 19 Nov Reminder: Pay and give consent for trip - by Fri 6 Nov Reminder: Top up dinner money - today Trip notes: bring a packed lunch, waterproof coatThe volume
Why ParentPay keeps emailing you.
ParentPay is where many UK schools collect money and consent. Most of what it emails is not news, it is something you have to do by a certain date.
Dinner money running low
Balance alerts fire when school meals or a club balance drops below the amount you set, and repeat every couple of days until you top up.
Pay and consent by a date
Trip letters often say that payment and consent must be in by a set date, or your child cannot go. The trip is weeks away, the deadline is not.
Clubs and wraparound care
Where schools book breakfast and after-school clubs through ParentPay, there is usually a booking cut-off, sometimes days before the session.
What parents try
The usual fixes trade one problem for another.
Leave it unread
The unread email is the reminder, until three more arrive on top of it and it slides off the screen.
Turn the alerts off
Quieter, until the morning there is no dinner money and it has to be a packed lunch.
One parent handles it
The emails go to one inbox, so the other parent never sees the deadline. Neither does the calendar on the fridge.
How it works
You forward it. Sense keeps the deadline.
Step 01
Forward the email
Verify your email address in Sense once, then forward ParentPay emails and trip letters to share@getsense.ai. Attachments included.
Step 02
Sense reads every one
It pulls out the trip date, the pay-by or consent date, the amount, and what to bring. Emails with nothing to do are left alone.
Step 03
Events and reminders
The trip goes on the family calendar. The payment becomes a reminder with its own due date. What to bring goes in the trip details.
Sense reminds you. You still pay in ParentPay.
Sense does not log in to ParentPay and never takes or makes a payment. It only reads what you forward, share or screenshot, then makes sure the pay-by date is on everyone's radar. Paying, giving consent and booking clubs all still happen in ParentPay.
Or let all of it flow in on its own
Premium lets you set up a Gmail or Outlook filter that sends every ParentPay email to your personal Sense address the moment it arrives. Sense reads each one, adds what has a date, and ignores the rest. How to set up auto-forwarding.
What it costs
The free plan covers 10 emails, screenshots or PDFs a month for the whole family, which is enough to forward the trips and deadlines that matter. Forwarding every balance alert will need Premium, which is unlimited. See pricing.
A week of ParentPay
What lands in Sense, and what does not.
In Sense
- Event: Warwick Castle trip - Thu 19 Nov
- Reminder: Pay and give consent for trip - by Fri 6 Nov
- Reminder: Top up dinner money
- Reminder: Book breakfast club for spring term
- Trip notes: bring a packed lunch, waterproof coat
Left in the inbox
- Payment alert: cash payment recorded
- Message from school: Autumn newsletter
- The second balance alert for the same meals balance
When the email only says there is a new item
Some ParentPay alerts just tell you a new item has been added. Open it in ParentPay, take a screenshot of the item and share it to Sense. Sense reads the trip, the date and the amount from the screenshot. If the school sent a trip letter as well, forward that too, since the letter usually has the kit list and the consent deadline.
FAQ
Common questions.
Can Sense remind me to pay for a school trip before the deadline?
Yes. Forward the trip letter or ParentPay email to Sense. The trip goes on your family calendar, and the pay-by or consent date becomes a separate reminder, so you are nudged before the deadline rather than on the day.
Will it remind me to top up dinner money?
Yes. Forward the ParentPay balance alert and Sense adds a reminder to top up, which you can assign to whoever in the family handles it.
Does Sense log in to ParentPay or pay for anything?
No. Sense only reads the emails, screenshots and letters you send it. You still pay, give consent and book clubs in ParentPay yourself. Sense makes sure nobody forgets.
What if the ParentPay email does not include the details?
Open the item in ParentPay, take a screenshot and share it to Sense. Sense reads the trip name, the date and the amount from the screenshot the same way it reads an email.
Other school apps
More UK school apps Sense reads.
ParentPay is a trademark of its owner. Sense is not affiliated with or endorsed by ParentPay.
Let the school ask. Sense remembers the deadline.
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