How do fees actually work, end to end?

Four steps: 1. Set up fees — define Fee Categories (e.g. Academic Fees, Boarding Fees) and Fee Items (a named charge like "Tuition," with a default amount, frequency, and who it applies to) under Finance → Fee Setup. 2. Build a Fee Structure — under Finance → Fee Structures, combine fee items into a plan for a specific academic year/term, targeting whole classes, sections, boarding status, or individual students, with concrete amounts per line. 3. Generate invoices — activate the structure and generate invoices; one invoice is created per eligible enrolled student automatically. Running it twice won't double-bill a student who already has an invoice from that structure. 4. Collect payments — record payments (full or partial) against a student's invoice(s); receipts are generated automatically.