Once MIS Sync is installed and your schools credentials have been entered to log in, the next step is to configure the tool for use. The following steps will guide you through the one time setup required to enable the tool to pull appropriate records from your SIMS database and send them to ParentPay.
Once connected it's a simple process to upload records and in some cases can even be automated.
This article will teach you...
How to set up a connection to SIMS using MIS Sync
When MIS Sync is first logged into, a message will be displayed reading Could not locate SIMS with your current settings in the connections box. The connection must be made to the SIMS database before a pupil import can be completed.
- Within the MIS Sync application, navigate to Tools [1] > Settings [2]
- Select the SIMS[3] tab
- Enter a SIMS username and password into the MIS Username[4] and MIS Password[5] fields
IMPORTANT
The SIMS account that is used must have School Administrator and 3rd party reporting roles within SIMS to be able to complete a successful import of pupil data to ParentPay. Please refer to your SIMS guidance to determine how to configure these credentials.
OPTIONAL (For centrally managed multi-database setups)
If you connect to more than one SIMS database using a single copy of MIS Sync, you will need to enter the Server name[6] and Database name[7] fields, using the format below. If you connect to a single database then these fields can be left blank.
The values are identical to those in your connect.ini found in your SIMS .NET folder- Server name = servername/instance
- Database name = database
- Select the yellow folder. This will populate the SIMS location[8] field
- Select Test these settings
- A message will be displayed showing whether the connection was successful
- If the connection was unsuccessful, review the MIS username and password credentials, and whether the correct permissions have been given to the account used
- If the connection was successful, select OK to close the message, and select Save at the bottom of the MIS Sync window
- Select the Connections[9] tab
- Enter a Notification email[10] and ensure that both options are selected
- Select Save[11]
- Restart MIS Sync. This allows the changes made in MIS Sync to be applied to the program.
- Ensure that the following messages are present in the Connections box:
‘A connection to ParentPay was established with these settings. Your username and password were correctly authenticated. Successfully connected to SIMS.‘