We have worked with almost every moving part of the school debtor management ecosystem. The courts, advocates, attorneys, accountants, financial software providers, government, SGBs, management, principals, parents, and debtor management teams. For years. All of it.
That puts us in a fortunate position. A rare one, actually. Most people inside this ecosystem only ever see their own connection to it. We get to see the connections between all of them.
So we decided to do something with that position. We took a walk through the ecosystem. Why not, it could just be interesting. And what we found at the end was worth writing about.
Every role player in this ecosystem has a world that extends far beyond debtor management. Every one of them, except one.
A walk through everyone’s day
We started on the first day of the new term.
The principal is walking a new learner and her parents to his office. A welcome speech and a short conversation about what this school stands for. On the way, he greets teachers, other learners, and parents passing through the corridor. Everyone is glad to see him. He is glad to see them. This is why most principals chose this work, the people, the community, the privilege of being at the centre of something that matters.
The SGB treasurer is in a meeting. Budget review. Age analysis and new payment arrangements. They are volunteers, most of them, parents who stepped forward because they care about the school. They have careers of their own. The treasurer is also the school's auditor. At his office, a new company registration is waiting. Tax planning. A trust.
The bursar and finance manager are at their desks. Arrear school fees are part of what they manage, but only part. Payroll. Creditors. Reporting. Budget planning. It is a full role with a lot of components and they get to apply different skills.
Outside the school gates, the ecosystem continues.
The attorney is in the office. A handover file from a school sits on the desk alongside a contract he must draft, a conveyancing query, and a consultation with a new client. The law does not stop at school fees. Neither does the day.
The financial software provider is in a product meeting. A new feature is being planned and everyone is excited. The development team is there, customer success and skills development have input, management is asking about the roadmap.
And somewhere in all of this, a parent is at work. Trying to get through the day. The school fee conversation is in the back of their mind, but right now there is a meeting, a deadline, a child to fetch at three.
Everyone ends up at one desk
When you sit where we sit, this is what you see. Every role player we walked past, at some point in their day, their week, or their year, ends up at the same place. One desk. One person.
The principal arrives when a parent insists on seeing management. The SGB treasurer, also the school's auditor, when the age analysis and bad debt need explaining before the next meeting. The bursar when the exemption application or handover account gets too complex to handle from where they sit. The attorney when he needs documents, a full history, and compliance proof. The software provider when legislation changes and someone needs training. The parent when they owe money, cannot pay, want to dispute, need more time, or have run out of options.
Not one of them comes with good news. Not one of them arrives with the words, can I help you with this.
They get what they need and they leave. The principal goes back to his office. The treasurer goes back to his practice. The bursar moves to the next item. The attorney returns to his contract. The parent goes back to their day.
And the person at the desk stays. And works on the next arrear account.
There is nothing else waiting. Every connection that comes to this desk comes with a problem attached. And when it is resolved, if it is resolved, the next one arrives.
So who is this person?
They did not study to be a debtor management coordinator. Most of them started in a different role. There was an open position. Someone had to step in. And over time, without anyone making a big decision about it, this became their job.
And yet they stay. Not all of them. Some leave. But some stay for years. For entire careers. And that is the part that stayed with us when we walked away from that desk.
Because something in this work holds them. Not the recognition, there isn't much. Not the variety, there isn't much of that either.
A file that was a mess becomes clean. A parent who would not respond finally picks up. An account that looked impossible finds a way forward. A full and final settlement. There is no audience for any of it. No award ceremony. No photo on the school website.
Just the work. And the quiet satisfaction of having done it properly, keeping to a standard.
That is who is sitting at that desk.
Is “debtor management” the right name?
My question after all of this. Is debtor management even the right name for this role?
Because the name describes one relationship. The team and the parent who owes money. It says nothing about everyone else who finds their way to that desk, with a problem, a question, a demand, or a deadline.
The name shrinks the role to its most uncomfortable part. And when a role is named only for its most uncomfortable part, that is how it gets treated.
You have all been to that desk. You all know where it is. You all know the person doing the job.
But after this walk, do you see it differently? Because what we showed you is not a debtor management function. It is the one point in this entire ecosystem where every problem, every question, every difficult conversation lands. And it lands there every single day.
The name says debtor management. The walk says something else entirely.
Daleen Vorster
Co-founder, Jumping Fox Software and Jonker Vorster Attorneys
Attorney specialising in education and credit law since 2002
