Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What happens to money remaining on the account at the end of the school year?
Typically, any money remaining on the account is rolled over to the next school year. Please contact the Food Services department at your school to find out their policy for remaining funds.

Can I transfer the balance from one student's account to another?
We are not able to transfer money from one account to another through the site, however if you contact the Food Services department at the school, they should be able to assist you.

If I have a question about charges on my child’s account, who should I contact?
If you have questions about a specific charge on your student's account, you should contact the Food Services department at the school. If you have a question concerning a payment you processed through our site, please send us an email using the Contact Us screen.

What is my child’s Student ID number?
The Student ID number is a unique number that is given to each child within the district. This is not necessarily the same number as their cafeteria PIN number. If you do not know this number, you can contact your district office.

In the Add Student screen, why do I have to match all of the information?
We want to make sure that the student being added to your account is the correct one. By matching all the information you can be certain that the deposits that you make through the site will go to the correct student's account at the school.

Why is a Credit Card required during signup, if I don't plan to make payments through the site?
A credit card is required to sign up for the site, but you are not required to process a transaction through the site. The main purpose of our site is to allow parents to place money on their student’s account with a credit card. The balance monitoring and activity reports are additional features that are beneficial to our users. Having the credit card on file simplifies the transaction process for the user and it also allows us to offer the ability to set up automatic replenishment payments. We store the credit card information in an encrypted format and your credit card number is never displayed on the site.

Is there a fee for using PayForIt.net?
There is no fee for setting up an account, checking your child’s activity, or checking account balances. When transactions are processed through the site, a percentage based Internet Convenience Fee (ICF) or a flat Transaction Fee (or both) may be assessed to each transaction. The ICF varies depending on which School District you are in and some school districts pay the fee for the parent. Please use the Contact Us screen to request information about the specific ICF for your School District.

Is your site Mac compatible?
Yes, our site is Mac compatible. Please be sure to upgrade Safari to version 3.1. You can download the Safari update at the Apple website.

How is the Internet Convenience Fee percentage or Transaction Fee determined and why is it charged?
When a School District signs up with PayForIt.net, the ICF percentage or Transaction Fee is determined for the district. The collected fees are used to offset the cost of the credit card transaction (which the credit card processor charges) and to pay for the use of our site. The ICF percentage can be obtained by your District Administration. The schools have the choice to have the parent pay the entire fee, the school pay the entire fee or having the parent and the school share payment of the fee.

I have completed the sign up process and activated my account, what is my next step?
You are now ready to log into the system and add your students to your account. Log in using your username and the password you created during the sign up process. After logging in, select Add Students from the Add/View Students menu. Enter the required information (school, name, student ID & grade) and click the Register Student button. Repeat the process for each of your students. After you have added your students, you can now go to the Make Payment screen. Our system will request a balance update from the school for your students, which should be updated within a few hours.

How do I close my PayForIt account?
Please use the Help/Contact Us screen to send a request to have your account removed. Removing your PayForit user account will not affect the student's account at the school, so they will still be able to make purchases. If you want to inactivate the student's account, please contact your school.

As a parent, what are the benefits to using PayForIt.net?
There are many benefits to you when you use PayForIt.net including: 1. Ability to deposit money on your child’s account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 2. Set automatic payments so you don’t have to remember to put money on the account 3. Set balance alerts so you are notified before your child's account runs our of money 4. Monitor their meal and a la carte purchases 5. Prevent your child from misplacing their money on the way to school

How long will it take the payment to appear in my child’s account? Why does it take up to 48 hours sometimes?
Typically, payments made on the site are posted to the student's account by the following morning. However, due to timing and communications with the schools, it can take up to 48 hours for the payment to post. We understand that with the internet, the expectation is that things should happen instantly. The problem is that most of the computers used in the cafeterias at the schools,where the student's lunch account is maintained, are not connected to the internet all the time (or even turned on). When you process a payment on our site, it is first sent to the School District and then it sent out to the individual school. The first step is done within an hour of the payment being processed. The second step from the school district to the school is done once a day, usually between 2 to 4 A.M.. If the payment isn't included in the batch or the school does not communicate properly, it will not get picked up by the school until the following day.

Can I set up an Automatic Replenishment payment to fund my student's account when their balance gets low?
Auto-Replenish Payments can be set up by selecting Auto-Replenish Payments from the Lunch Payments menu. For each student you can set up a Auto-Replenish payment based on their balance. For example, you can set up a payment for $30 when your student's balance reaches $5. Auto-Replenish Payments are processed once a day at 10 p.m. Eastern time. When setting up an auto-replenish payment be sure to check the Active box to turn on the payment for each student and click the Update button to save your changes. See the Auto-Replenish Payments screen for more details.

Can I set up a Recurring Payment (same day each month) to fund my student's account?
We do not offer Recurring Payments on our site. However, you can set up an automatic replenishment of your child’s lunch account based on the remaining balance. The account will be automatically replenished when the balance falls below a pre-determined level that you choose.

Can I be sent a notification when my child’s balance gets low?
You can configure your account so that PayForIt.net will send you email notifications. A notification can be sent to you on a certain day of the month to give you a status update of your child’s account or an email can be sent to you every time your child’s balance reaches a certain dollar amount. You can sign up for the low balance and other email reminders by selecting the My Email Options screen from the My Account menu.

Can I find out what my child is buying in the cafeteria?
Our site features an online Recent Purchases list that will show you student purchases for the last 30 days. When you first add your student to your account, our site will request the last 14 days of purchase data from the school. The list will then grow to cover that last 30 days.

Why can't I see my student's Recent Purchases online?
If you do not see the Recent Purchases listed on the right side of the home page, it may mean that your school district does not offer this service. If you have just added your student to your account, it can take several hours for their purchases data to be sent to our site.

Once I sign up, when can I make my first payment?
After you complete the 3 steps of the sign up process, you will receive a message on the screen that you have successfully created your account. Clicking on the continue button will take you to the Activation page. At this point you should check your email for your Confirmation email. The email contains your Confirmation code, which you should enter into the Activation page with your username. After you have activated your account, you can then login at the main page of the site with your username and the password you created during the sign up process.

Why do I have to activate my account? Why can't I just login after I finish the sign up process?
The activation process is in place to make sure that only you can access your account. The confirmation code is sent to the email address that you enter during the sign up process. So the account can only be activated with the email.

Is it safe for me to store my credit card information in PayForIt.net?
We are committed to protecting your personal information and providing a safe environment for your transactions. We use DigiCert which specializes in providing SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificates to some of the most prestigious organizations throughout the world. We also encrypt your credit card information before storing it and we never display your credit card number on the screen. Our webserver is located behind a strong firewall and we have implemented security measures to guard against any outside intrusion.

Are my transactions secure?
We have taken every precaution to ensure that your transaction is secured by encrypting the information using DigiCert. You can view our SSL (Secure Socket Layers) certificate by clicking on the Digicert logo on the upper left corner of the screen. You will also see the secure page symbol (a lock) in your browser address window when you are using a secure page. All payment and credit card pages are set up as secure pages.

When is my credit card actually billed?
There are 3 steps to process a transaction. 1) Enter the amount that you want to place on the student’s account. 2) Click Create Transaction & Review the Amount and Total Amount. 3) Select the credit card you want to use and click Process Selected Transaction. After clicking the Process Selected Transaction button, you will be taken to a processing screen. Once the transaction has been processed you will be shown status of the transaction. If it has been Approved, then your credit card has been billed for the total amount. The charge should show up on your credit card account by the end of day.

If I make a payment at the cafeteria will it show up on PayForIt.net?
Any deposits that are made to that student's account, including those at the school, will be reflected in the account balance which can seen on the Home page or the View Students screen. It may take up to 24 hours for new payments to be reflected in your child’s balance that is displayed on the web site.

Do each of my children need separate accounts?
No, the PayForIt.net site is designed so you can set up one account and add all of your students to it. You can add students to your account using the Add Student screen. You can then process a single transaction to put money on your student's account, even if they are in different schools.

Can I add new students to my account?
Yes, new students can be added to your account at any time. After logging in, select Add Students from the Add/View Students menu. Enter the required information (school, name, student ID & grade) and click the Register Student button.

My child is graduating this year, what do I do with the money left on the account?
Please contact the Food Services department at the school to find out what your options are.

What happens to the money that is left on my child’s account at the end of the year?
If your child will be attending the same school next year, then the money will remain in the account for the next school year.

Can I view my payment history?
By clicking on Payment History you can see a record of transactions that have been process throught the site.

Am I able to pay for meals using more than one credit card?
Yes, you can set up multiple credit cards on the site in the My Credit Cards screen on the My Account menu. You can set up as many cards as you need and mark one of them as the default card to be used in the site. You can also use, this screen to update or remove any of your cards, although you are required to keep one credit card active on the site.

Is it possible for me to view my child’s account balance?
Your student's balance is displayed on the Home page and the View Students screen. On the View Students screen you can also see the Last Transaction Date and the Last Update date by clicking on the Student's ID. The Last Transaction Date tells you the last time a purchase or deposit was made on the student's account at the school. The Last Update date is the last time that our site received a balance update from the school.

I want to put money on my child’s account and he/she lives with my ex-spouse. Is this possible?
Yes, you can set up an account for your child and place money on the account at any time, check their balance, and get an activity report. Remember, you will need their pertinent information to set up the account including student name, school, grade and their ID number. PayForIt.net is set up so that multiple users (parents, guardians, grandparents, etc.) can add the same student to their account, so they all can monitor and fund the student's account.

Once I have put money on my child’s account, will I receive any type of notification?
You will receive a receipt via email from PayForIt.net soon after your transaction has been processed.

What happens if I forget my username or password?
Click on the Forgot Username or Password link on the main login page. You can retrieve your username by entering your email address in the top box. The you can use your username to have your password sent to you via email. If your email address is not recognized send an email using the Contact Us page.

What do I do if my email address changes?
If your email address changes, log into PayForIt.net as normal. Once logged in, click on My Account. On the My Account screen you can update all of your information, except your Username, which cannot be changed.

Can I change my password?
Your password can be changed at any time by logging into PayForIt.net using your current password. Once logged in, click on My Account. From here, you can simply change your password. Remember, you will need to enter the new password and then re-enter it in the field below. After the changes are made, click the Submit button and the password change will be saved.

I am not getting any emails from PayForIt.net and I do not know why?
Most email services have spam filters and addresses that are not recognize are moved into Junk or Spam folders. Check these areas and when you find the email from PayForIt.net, mark the email as a safe address. All future correspondence from PayForIt.net should now appear in your in-box. Emails from PayForIt.net are sent from either [email protected] or [email protected]

Will I be notified if my credit card expires?
Yes, the system will send you a notification if the credit card on your account has expired. To update your credit card, log into the site and select My Credit Cards from the My Account menu.