Decide first whether the campus joins an existing entity or gets its own. Under the same entity, it needs a new location tag in the books and its own plan terms. As a new entity, it also needs its own bank account, payment processing account and books before it can take a deposit. Either way, approvals from your state, accreditor and, for federal aid, the Department of Education come before enrollment.
Same entity or a new one?
This is a legal and tax decision for your attorney and CPA, but it sets everything on the payments side:
- Same entity: the campus shares the bank account, the payment processing account and the books. It needs a location tag so its money can be reported separately.
- New entity: the campus needs its own bank account, its own processing account and its own books, set up before the first deposit.
A new entity takes longer to set up and is easier to separate later, for example if you sell the campus.
Which approvals come first?
Before a new campus enrolls students, check what each of these requires for an additional location: your state licensing agency, your accreditor and, if you offer federal aid, the Department of Education. Some require approval in advance. Others require notice. Enrolling before an approval is in place can put tuition you've collected at risk.
What does finance need to set up?
- Accounts: bank and processing accounts if it's a new entity. A location tag in the books either way.
- Books: a new file for a new entity, or a new class, location or tracking option in the existing one. See QuickBooks classes or Xero tracking categories and one LLC per location, or one for all?.
- Plan terms: tuition, deposit and schedule for each program at the new campus. They don't have to match your other campuses, but they should be written down before the first enrollment.
- Branding on invoices: the campus name students will recognize, and the right legal name for the entity collecting the money.
- Reporting: the new campus added to every report you already run, so it shows up in the first month's numbers.
What happens to students already on a plan?
If a student transfers from an existing campus, decide which entity collects the rest of their plan and write it down. Moving a running plan between entities means stopping it at one and starting the balance at the other, with the payments made so far recorded on both sides.
What's a realistic timeline?
Work backwards from the first start date: approvals first, then accounts, then books and plan terms, then admissions training. A campus can be ready on the payments side in days once the approvals are in. The approvals usually take longer.
With Paycove, a new campus is a duplicated template with its own Stripe account and books, ready to take deposits once its approvals are in.
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