Many schools bill transport separately based on routes and zones. This guide covers how to define transport routes, assign students to them, and trigger the transport billing. All transport management happens under Manage Finance → Finance - Manage Transport, which has two tabs: Define Routes and Assign Routes.
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Before you start: You'll need the relevant finance rights within the system. Transport billing uses an optional model of billing — refer to exempt billing.
Overview
Transport management in Mzizi follows two steps on the same page:
1
Define Routes — Create each route/zone with its cost, term, bus assignment, and one-way/two-way setting.
2
Assign Routes — Map each student to a route, select the bus and trip session, then trigger the billing.
For subsequent terms, you don't need to redefine everything — use the Replicate Routes function to copy the previous term's assignments and trigger billing in one go.
1. Define Routes
This is where the transport route or zone is defined.
Define Routes tab — where transport routes are created and edited
To define a route:
1
Type the Zone Name / Route Name (e.g., "Karen Route One Way").
2
Select the School Name branch it should be mapped to.
3
Select the Batch and Period / Term the route applies to.
4
Enter the Cost of that route (e.g., 15,000 for Karen Route One Way).
5
Select the Bus that plies that route.
6
If integrated to QuickBooks, select the QBO Votehead where the items will map to.
7
Check Two Way if the route is both morning and evening; leave unchecked for a one-way route.
8
Click Save Details. The new route appears in the list below with its Fare, Term, and Batch Name.
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Existing routes: The table at the bottom of this page lists all defined routes. Use the pencil icon under Edit Route to modify, the Zero Out column to suspend billing, or the Remove column (red X) to delete a route.
2. Assign Routes (and Trigger Billing)
This is where a student is allocated a route and the billing is triggered.
Assign Routes tab — mapping students to routes and triggering billing
To assign routes to students:
1
Select the Institution, Class, and Period (term) for billing. Optionally select a Stream.
2
The students in the selected class appear in the table below.
3
For each student, select the Route Name billable to them from the dropdown (e.g., KINOO - TWO WAY (12,000.00), ZONE A (1,500.00)).
4
Optionally select the Bus 1 / Bus 2 they're travelling with, plus the Pick up Time and Drop Off Time.
5
Optionally check Morning, Afternoon, or Evening for the trip session — or use Select All at the top of each column to apply to everyone.
6
Click Assign Students Route to save the assignments and trigger the billing.
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Optional fields: Bus selection, pick-up/drop-off times, and morning/afternoon/evening session are all optional — only the route itself is required to trigger billing.
Alternative: Billing a Single Student from Student Exemption
A student can also be billed from the Student Exemption page. This is the most relevant option when you need to bill transport to only a single student — rather than going through the whole class on the Assign Routes tab.
Student Exemption tab — select the Transport Route for a single student and save
1
Go to Manage Finance → Fees Management → Student Exemption.
2
Select the Student Name, Period, and Batch.
3
Under Transport Route, select the route (e.g., ZONE A - MZIZI SCHOOL33 (1,500.00)).
4
Click Save Exemptions — the transport billing is triggered for that student.
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When to use which: Use Assign Routes for whole-class transport setup (fastest for bulk). Use Student Exemption when onboarding a single new student mid-term, or correcting a single student's route assignment without touching the whole class.
3. Replicating Routes for New Terms
For the second and subsequent terms, there's no need to define routes or student assignments from scratch. Use the replicate function available on the Assign Routes page.
1
On the Assign Routes tab, scroll to the replicate section.
2
Select the Institution From (the branch to replicate from).
3
Select the Batch from and Term from — the source period whose assignments you want to copy.
4
Click Replicate Routes. This copies everything from the selected period and auto-maps the students' transport bills to the new term.
5
Click Assign Students Route for the billing to happen on the new term.
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Efficient workflow: Replicate handles the bulk of term-to-term transport setup. You only need to manually adjust students whose routes have changed (e.g., moved, dropped transport).
4. How Transport Billing Appears on a Statement
Once routes are assigned and billing is triggered, the transport fee posts to the student's fee statement as a regular line item — labelled with the route name for easy identification.
Sample fee statement showing a Transport Fee - ZONE A line under Term 2 billing
Notice how the line reads TRANSPORT FEE - ZONE A - INV5387/2026/41551 for amount 1,500.00, matching the route cost defined for Zone A. Each term's transport billing appears grouped under that term's heading in the statement.
Troubleshooting: Common Issues & Fixes
Symptom
Likely Cause
Fix
Transport not appearing on student's statement
Student has no route assigned, or Assign Students Route was never clicked after assignment
Go to Assign Routes, select the student's route, then click Assign Students Route to trigger billing
Route not showing in the student dropdown
Route was defined for a different school/branch or a different term
On Define Routes, check the School Name and Term — make sure they match the student's class and billing period
Transport billed twice for the same student
Replicate ran twice, or route was assigned manually after replicate
Go to FIN-02 → Invoice tab → paste the duplicate invoice number → click Reverse Invoice
New term transport rates not reflecting
Route cost updated but Assign Students Route not clicked, or replicate brought in old amount
Update route cost on Define Routes, then re-run Assign Students Route for the affected students
Route name wrong on statement
Route edited but billing triggered before update
Edit the route under Define Routes, then re-run Assign Students Route
Student dropped transport but still billed
Route still assigned on the Assign Routes tab
Change the student's Route Name to blank (-- select route --) and save. Reverse the existing invoice if already posted.
