MicroCampus
Help Center

How can we help?

Step-by-step guides, feature walkthroughs, and answers to common questions.

Contact Support What's New

Getting Started

1

Set up your school profile

Go to Settings and fill in your school name, logo, primary color, and timezone.

2

Add your students

Go to Students → Add Student to enroll one at a time, or use Import CSV to add your whole roster at once.

3

Invite parents

Check 'Invite to parent portal' when adding a student — parents get an automatic setup email. Resend anytime from the Parents tab.

4

Take your first attendance

Go to Attendance, select today, and mark each student. It saves automatically.

5

Explore Learning Plans & Summaries

Set goals in Learning Plans and use Student Summaries to generate printable records for each student.

6

Connect Stripe for payments

Go to Settings → Stripe Integration to start collecting tuition online. Funds go directly to your bank account.

7

Turn on two-step login

Go to Settings → Account Security and enable two-step login to protect your admin account. Highly recommended.

Feature Guides

Adding & Managing Students
  1. 1Go to Students in your sidebar and click Add Student.
  2. 2Enter the student's first, middle (optional), last, and preferred name, grade, funding source, home address, and any allergies with an action plan.
  3. 3Add Primary Parent / Guardian info — name, email, and phone. Check 'Invite to parent portal' to send an automatic setup email.
  4. 4Optionally add a Secondary Parent / Guardian the same way.
  5. 5To edit a student later, click their name in the Students list. All fields — including name, address, allergies, and parent contacts — are editable.
  6. 6To import multiple students at once, use Students → Import CSV. Map your column headers to the correct fields and review before confirming.
Attendance Tracking
  1. 1Go to Attendance in your sidebar.
  2. 2Select the date — today is pre-selected.
  3. 3Mark each student Present, Absent, Tardy, or Excused with one click.
  4. 4Attendance saves automatically. You can edit any past record at any time.
  5. 5Parents can view their child's attendance history in the Parent Portal.
  6. 6Full attendance history appears in each student's Student Summary report.
Parent Messaging
  1. 1Go to Parent Messaging in your sidebar.
  2. 2Select a parent from the list to open a conversation thread.
  3. 3Type your message and press Send — parents receive it instantly in their portal.
  4. 4Parents can reply from their portal and you'll see replies in real time.
  5. 5All messages are stored permanently for your records.
Tuition & Payments
  1. 1First, connect your Stripe account in Settings → Stripe Integration.
  2. 2Go to Tuition & Payments and click Create Plan.
  3. 3Set the amount, frequency (monthly or one-time), and due date.
  4. 4Assign the plan to one or more students.
  5. 5Parents see the invoice in their portal and pay securely via Stripe.
  6. 6Funds are deposited directly into your connected bank account — MicroCampus never touches the money.
Progress Reports
  1. 1Go to Progress Reports and click New Report.
  2. 2Select the student and reporting period (e.g. Q1, Fall Semester).
  3. 3Add narrative comments or standards-based scores for each subject.
  4. 4Preview the report, then click Publish when ready.
  5. 5Parents are notified and can view the report in their Parent Portal.
  6. 6Published reports also appear in the Student Summary for a full academic record.
Student Portfolios
  1. 1Go to Portfolio and select a student.
  2. 2Click Add Item and upload a photo, document, or other artifact.
  3. 3Add a title, description, and optional subject/period tag.
  4. 4Items are automatically grouped by period.
  5. 5Parents can view the full portfolio in their Parent Portal.
  6. 6Portfolio items appear in the Student Summary printable report.
Learning Plans (ILP)
  1. 1Go to Learning Plans in your sidebar.
  2. 2Click New Goal and select the student.
  3. 3Choose a category: Academic, Curriculum, Social/Emotional, Life Skills, Creative, or Physical.
  4. 4Enter the goal title and an optional description.
  5. 5Add milestones (sub-steps) to break the goal into smaller checkpoints.
  6. 6Update goal status as the student progresses: Not Started → In Progress → Achieved.
  7. 7All learning goals appear in the Student Summary printable report under 'Learning Plans & Goals'.
Student Summaries
  1. 1Go to Student Summaries in your sidebar.
  2. 2Click on any student folder to open their full record.
  3. 3The summary compiles curriculum notes, attendance history, learning plan goals, progress reports, and portfolio items into one page.
  4. 4Click Print Report (bottom right) to open the browser print dialog and print or save as PDF.
  5. 5Use this for year-end records, portfolio reviews, or parent conferences.
School Records (File Cabinet)
  1. 1Go to School Records in your sidebar (admin and teacher access only).
  2. 2Click Upload File to add any PDF, Word document, Excel file, or image (up to 25 MB).
  3. 3Enter a title and choose a folder category: Enrollment Forms, Health & Allergies, Emergency Plans, Field Trip Forms, Curriculum, Policies & Handbooks, and more.
  4. 4Files are organized into collapsible folders — click a folder to expand it.
  5. 5Click the Print icon on any file to open it in a print-ready window. PDFs auto-trigger the print dialog.
  6. 6Click the Download icon to save a file locally.
  7. 7Admins can delete files by clicking the trash icon.
  8. 8Use this as your digital office cabinet for blank forms, printable documents, handbooks, and reference materials.
Enrollment & Forms
  1. 1Go to Form Builder in your sidebar to create custom forms.
  2. 2Drag and drop fields: text, signature, checkbox, date, and file upload.
  3. 3Set the form as an Enrollment Application or a Family Agreement.
  4. 4Share the public link with families — no login required to fill it out.
  5. 5Completed submissions appear under Uploaded Documents in your dashboard for review.
Managing Parents & Guardians
  1. 1Each student can have a Primary Parent and a Secondary Parent / Guardian.
  2. 2Add or update parents from the student's Edit page (Students → click a student → Edit).
  3. 3When you add a new parent, check 'Invite to parent portal' to send them an automatic email with a link to set their password.
  4. 4To swap which parent is primary, go to Edit Student → Secondary Parent section and click 'Make Primary'.
  5. 5View all parents in the Parents tab. Both primary and secondary linked parents appear here.
  6. 6Parents log in at your school's portal and can see attendance, progress reports, portfolios, messages, and invoices for their child.
Printing & Exporting
  1. 1Student Summaries: go to Student Summaries → click a student → click 'Print Report' to print or save as PDF.
  2. 2Student Card: go to Students → Add Student → after saving, click 'Print Student Card' to print an emergency info card.
  3. 3School Records: go to School Records → click the print icon on any file to open it for printing.
  4. 4Progress Reports: published reports can be shared with parents via the portal — they can print from there.
  5. 5All print views are formatted cleanly without navigation bars or sidebars.

Integrations

Everything you can connect to MicroCampus — and exactly how to do it.

Stripe — Online PaymentsRequired for payments

Accept tuition and fees online. Funds go directly to your bank account — MicroCampus never touches the money.

  1. 1Go to Settings → Stripe Integration in your dashboard.
  2. 2Click Connect with Stripe and follow the prompts to create or connect an existing Stripe account. This is the recommended path — Stripe handles everything including payouts.
  3. 3Alternatively, if you already have Stripe API keys, enter your Publishable Key and Secret Key manually under the manual keys section. Use this only if you can't use Stripe Connect.
  4. 4Once connected, go to Payments and click Send Payment Link or Record Payment to charge families.
  5. 5Families pay via a secure Stripe-hosted page. Funds are deposited into your bank account on Stripe's standard payout schedule (usually 2 business days).
  6. 6To pass card processing fees to families (optional), enable 'Pass fees to payer' inside your Stripe Dashboard under Payment Links settings — not in MicroCampus.
ℹStripe charges ~2.9% + 30¢ per transaction. MicroCampus does not add any additional fee.
ℹYou do not need Stripe to record cash or check payments — you can log those manually in the Payments tab without connecting Stripe.
Twilio — SMS MessagingOptional

Send SMS text messages to parents for attendance alerts, reminders, and announcements. You use your own Twilio account — billed directly by Twilio, not MicroCampus.

  1. 1Sign up for a free account at twilio.com.
  2. 2In your Twilio Console, buy a local phone number. This will be the number families receive texts from. Cost is approximately $1.15/month.
  3. 3From your Twilio Console dashboard, copy your Account SID and Auth Token.
  4. 4Go to MicroCampus → Settings → Integrations and paste your Account SID, Auth Token, and From Phone Number. The phone number must be in E.164 format — for example, +15551234567 (country code first, no spaces or dashes).
  5. 5Save. SMS is now active — outbound messages will use your Twilio number and be billed to your Twilio account.
ℹTwilio Pay As You Go pricing: ~$0.0079 per outbound SMS in the US (less than 1 cent per text). No monthly fee beyond the $1.15/month phone number.
⚠10DLC registration: if you plan to send messages to large groups (school-wide announcements), US carriers require you to register your number and use case through Twilio's 10DLC program. Cost is a one-time ~$4 fee and takes 1–2 days to approve. One-off messages to individual parents do not require 10DLC.
ℹMicroCampus never has access to your Twilio account or message contents. Your credentials are encrypted and used only to send messages on your behalf.
Google Sheets — Curriculum & Data EmbedOptional

Embed a Google Sheet directly into your MicroCampus sidebar — useful for curriculum plans, pacing guides, or any shared data you already manage in Sheets.

  1. 1Open your Google Sheet in Google Drive.
  2. 2Click File → Share → Publish to web. Choose to publish the entire document or a specific sheet, then click Publish and copy the link.
  3. 3Go to MicroCampus → Settings → Integrations → Google Sheets.
  4. 4Paste the published URL into the Google Sheets URL field.
  5. 5Enter a display name (e.g. 'Curriculum Plan') — this is what appears in your sidebar nav.
  6. 6Save. The sheet will now appear as a menu item in your sidebar for staff and admins.
ℹThe Sheet is embedded as a read-only view inside MicroCampus. Editing still happens in Google Sheets directly.
⚠Do not paste the regular sharing URL — you must use File → Publish to web to get the embeddable link, otherwise it will not display correctly.
Public Landing PageOptional

Enable a public-facing page for your school at your MicroCampus subdomain. Prospective families can see your school name, about text, contact info, public announcements, and upcoming public events — no login required.

  1. 1Go to Settings → Branding & Public Page.
  2. 2Toggle 'Enable public landing page' to on.
  3. 3Fill in your About Us text, contact email, phone, address, and website.
  4. 4Optionally upload a hero image for the top of your page.
  5. 5Save. Your public page is now live at your school's subdomain (e.g. yourschool.microcampus.site).
  6. 6To show announcements publicly, go to Announcements and toggle 'Show on public page' when creating or editing an announcement.
  7. 7To show events publicly, go to Calendar, create or edit an event, and set Visibility to 'Make Public'. Public events automatically appear in the sidebar of your landing page.
ℹIf the public page is disabled, visitors are redirected to the login page instead.
ℹYour school's branding (logo, primary color) set in Settings automatically applies to the public page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I invite parents to the portal?

When adding a student, check 'Invite to parent portal' and the parent will receive an automatic email with a link to set their password. You can also go to Parents in your sidebar, find the parent, and resend an invite from there.

Can a student have two parents?

Yes. Every student can have a Primary Parent and a Secondary Parent / Guardian. Both receive portal access and appear in the Parents tab. You can swap which one is primary at any time from the student's Edit page.

Can teachers have their own login?

Yes. Go to Staff in your sidebar and click 'Invite Staff Member'. Teachers get their own portal with access to students, attendance, lesson plans, portfolios, and progress reports — but not billing or admin settings.

How do I add a student?

Go to Students → Add Student. Fill in the student's name (first, middle, last, preferred), grade, funding source, address, allergy info, and parent details. You can also import multiple students at once using the CSV import tool.

How do I import students from a spreadsheet?

Go to Students → Import CSV. Upload your file, then map each column to the correct field (First Name, Last Name, Full Name, Parent Email, etc.). Review the results before confirming. You can also select and delete individual rows before importing.

What is the School Records file cabinet?

School Records is a digital file cabinet for your school's office documents — blank enrollment forms, printable permission slips, health policies, handbooks, and any other reference materials. Upload PDFs, Word docs, or images and organize them into folders. Click the print icon on any file to print it directly.

What is Student Summaries?

Student Summaries compiles a student's full academic record — curriculum notes, attendance history, learning plan goals, progress reports, and portfolio items — into a single printable page. Use it for year-end records, parent conferences, or transcript requests.

What are Learning Plans?

Learning Plans (ILP) let you set goals for individual students across categories like Academic, Curriculum, Social/Emotional, Life Skills, Creative, and Physical. Add milestones to each goal and track progress over time. All goals appear in the Student Summary report.

Can I customize my school's branding?

Yes — go to Settings → Branding. Upload your school logo, set your primary color, and add your school name. These appear on parent-facing pages, enrollment forms, and invite emails.

How do I change my pricing plan?

Go to Settings → Billing to upgrade or downgrade your plan instantly. You can switch between Seed, Grow, and Thrive at any time. Changes take effect immediately and billing is prorated.

Is there a mobile app?

MicroCampus is a web app that works great on any device — phone, tablet, or desktop. No download required. The interface adapts automatically to smaller screens with a bottom navigation bar.

What happens to my data if I cancel?

Your data is retained for 30 days after cancellation. You can export all student records, attendance logs, and documents before your account closes. After 30 days, data is permanently deleted.

Can I try MicroCampus before paying?

Yes — every plan includes a 14-day free trial. No credit card required to start. You'll be prompted to add payment info when the trial ends.

What is two-step login and should I turn it on?

Two-step login (also called 2FA) adds an extra layer of protection to your admin account. After entering your password, you'll be asked for a one-time code sent to your email. We strongly recommend turning it on — it means that even if someone else gets your password, they still can't sign in. You can enable it in Settings → Account Security.

How do I reset a parent's password?

Go to Parents in your sidebar, find the parent, and click 'Resend Invite'. This sends them a fresh link to set a new password. The link expires in 24 hours. Parents can also use 'Forgot Password' on the login page themselves.

Still need help?

Our team typically responds within a few hours on business days.

Email support@microcampus.site