SchoolGrid x esenda Compliance Onboarding

Introduction

SchoolGrid has partnered with esenda to deliver more robust payments to our schools and catering clients.

To start accepting SchoolGrid payments through esenda, you will need to complete a short compliance process. This is a standard industry requirement known as KYC (Know Your Customer), which helps verify organisations and ensure payments are processed securely.

This onboarding process is required for:

• Card payments
• Local bank transfers
• International bank transfers

• Open Banking

  
  

The process usually takes 10–15 minutes to complete, provided you have the required information and documents ready in advance.

Below is a quick overview of what to expect and what you will need to prepare.

What to expect

Once your esenda portal is ready, you will receive an email asking you to log in and complete the compliance form. When you log in, you will see a banner on your dashboard prompting you to begin the process.

The form is divided into several short sections covering your organisation, authorised representatives, and where payments should be paid out.

Some sections will also ask you to upload supporting documents, so it's helpful to have these prepared before you begin.

Once all sections are completed and submitted, your information will be verified and payment services will be enabled on your account.

What's needed to complete the form

First, you must identify:

• Where you want payments to be paid out
• Which legal entity owns that bank account

The organisation that owns the payout bank account is the organisation that should be onboarded.

For example, some schools operate both:

• A Charity (with Trustees or Governors)
• A Limited Company (with Directors)

These are separate legal entities, even if they share a similar name.

If funds will be paid to the Company bank account, you should provide company details and directors for KYC purposes. If funds will be paid to the charity bank account you should provide the charity details and trustees or governors for KYC purposes.

Some schools are not registered at Companies House or the Charity Commission at all. That is fine, and common for state-funded schools. In that case, onboard the school itself and use the guidance in section 1 below.

⚠️ All information provided during onboarding must relate to the same legal entity. Mixing information from different entities will result in verification delays and may prevent onboarding from being completed.

1. Business details

Basic information about your school or organisation:

• Legal organisation name
• Registered address
• Company registration number (if applicable)
• VAT registration number (if applicable)

And financial details about your company:

• Number of employees
• Operating currency
• Financial year or reporting dates

⚠️ If your school has no company registration number

Some schools, including many state-funded schools, aren't registered at Companies House. If that applies to yours, use these values:

*You can find your UKPRN on Get Information about Schools.

If your school does have a company number, VAT number or date of incorporation, please enter your real details instead.

⚠️ After you enter your UKPRN

The form checks your number against a business register. A UKPRN isn't a company registration number, so the check usually returns a business that has nothing to do with your school.

1. On Select your business, choose My business isn't here and click Continue. Please don't select the business shown, even if it's the only option.
2. On Company structure, choose Governmental organization.
3. On Additional details:
   • DBA name: select No.
   • VAT registration number: if your school isn't VAT registered, tick I don't have a VAT number, then choose The goods or services provided are exempt from VAT/GST.
   • Date of incorporation: enter 01/01/2001 if your school doesn't have one.
   • Registered business address: start typing your school's address and pick it from the suggestions.

What happens next

Once you submit, Business details will show as In review. Shortly afterwards it will change to Action needed, with a message that some information couldn't be verified. This is expected for government-funded schools, and nothing has gone wrong. The form just needs proof that your school is registered.

To sort it:

1. Click Business details, then upload a registration document.
2. Go to Get Information about Schools, find your school and open its page.
3. Take a clear screenshot showing your school's address, headteacher and ID section (including your UKPRN). Make sure nothing is cut off or blurry.
4. Upload the screenshot, click Continue, then Submit.

Business details will go back to In review while it's checked. You can carry on with the rest of the form in the meantime.

2. Authorised representative details

You will need to provide details for at least one authorised representative of the organisation. This should be someone who has authority to act on behalf of the school.

You will be asked for:

• Full name
• Job title
• Email address
• Phone number
• Confirmation that the person has authority to sign contracts on behalf of the organisation

Upload required: A form of photo ID for the authorised representative (for example a passport or driving licence)

Choosing the right person

The person you name needs to appear on a public government register as a director, trustee or governor of your school. A Company Secretary cannot be used for this.

You will be asked four questions about them. For the right person, the first three will all be Yes:

• Do they have authority to sign contracts and other official documents for the school?
• Are they listed as a director on legal or other official documents?
• Do they have significant responsibility to control, manage or direct operations?

If any of these is No, it usually means someone else at your school is the right person to name. Answering No will prompt the form to ask for an additional beneficial owner.

The fourth question asks whether the person owns 25% or more of the business. For almost every school the answer is No, and that will not hold up your application.

If your representative does not appear on a government register, you can upload a document instead. See the FAQs below for what we can accept.

3. Customer support contact

This section asks for the contact details parents or payers should use if they have questions about payments.

You will need to provide:

• Support email address
• Support phone number 

4. Payout details

This section confirms where your payments should be paid out.

You will need to provide:

• Bank account name
• Account number and sort code (or equivalent)

Upload required: A bank document dated within the last 12 months, such as a bank statement or official bank letter showing the account details.

5. Services agreement

Finally, you will be asked to review and sign the services agreement to complete the onboarding process.

Once you’ve submitted the form

After submitting the form, your information will be reviewed and verified. Once verification is complete, payments will be enabled in your esenda account and you will be ready to start accepting payments.

Frequently asked questions

Our school is not registered at Companies House. What do we enter as a company number?

Enter your UKPRN (UK Provider Reference Number). You can find it on Get Information about Schools.

The form is showing a business we don't recognise. What should we do?

Select My business isn't here and carry on. This happens because your UKPRN is checked against a business register, so the name returned won't be your school. You'll then be asked to upload a screenshot from Get Information about Schools to confirm your details. See After you enter your UKPRN above.

Our business details say "Action needed". Have we done something wrong?

No. This is expected for government-funded schools. Click Business details, then upload a screenshot of your school's page on Get Information about Schools, showing your address, headteacher and UKPRN.

We are not VAT registered. What do we enter?

Tick I don't have a VAT number and choose The goods or services provided are exempt from VAT/GST. Please do this only if your school genuinely has no VAT registration number.

We do not have a date of incorporation. What do we enter?

Enter 01/01/2001. Please use this only if your school doesn't have one.

What do we enter as our financial reporting date?

Enter the date your most recent annual figures relate to. If you're not sure, your school business manager or local authority will be able to tell you.

Who should we name as our authorised representative? 

Someone who appears on a public government register as a director, trustee or governor of your school, and who has authority to sign contracts on its behalf. For most schools this is a named trustee or governor rather than a member of the school office.

Can we name our Company Secretary? 

No. A Company Secretary is not accepted for this purpose, even where they are the person who usually signs paperwork. Please name a director, trustee or governor instead.

Why is the form asking us for another beneficial owner? 

This happens when one of the first three questions about your representative is answered No. It usually means the person named does not hold the authority the form is checking for. Go back, name someone who does, and the extra section will not appear.

Our trustee or governor is not listed on any government website. What can we upload? 

Either of the following is accepted.

An extract from a local trade registry, which must:

• be dated within the last 12 months
• contain the name of the director
• be signed and dated by a legal representative of your school within the last 12 months

An internal school document, which must:

• be dated within the last 12 months
• confirm that the person is a director or trustee of the school
• be signed and dated by a legal representative of your school within the last 12 months
• contain the name, job title and signature of that legal representative

Do we need to own 25% or more of the school? 

No. Schools are not owned in that sense, so this question will almost always be answered No. It will not affect your application.

How long does the form take? 

Around 15 to 20 minutes, provided you have your bank details, photo ID and supporting documents ready before you start.

Need a hand?

If you have any questions while completing the form, you can use the “What does this mean?” help buttons within the form for additional guidance, or contact the esenda team at [email protected]