Students
The Students section is your central record for every student — their personal details, parent contacts, group memberships, instrument hire, and account discounts. Go to Students in the main menu to get started.
The student list
The student list shows all students with columns for first name, last name, grade, class, groups, instruments, hire status, and tags. Click any row to open the student record.
Five filters sit above the list to help you narrow down:
| Filter | What it does |
|---|---|
| Filter by student name | Search by first or last name |
| Filter by instrument | Show students playing a specific instrument |
| Filter by groups | Show students in one or more groups |
| Filter by tags | Show students with specific tags |
| Status dropdown | Defaults to Active — change to see all students or filter by a specific status |
Adding a student
- Go to Students in the main menu
- Click + Add in the top right
- Fill in the quick-add form:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Student First Name | Required |
| Student Last Name | Required |
| Contact First Name | The parent or guardian's first name — required |
| Contact Last Name | The parent or guardian's last name — required |
| Email Address | The contact's email address — required. Used for portal access and bulk emails. |
| Group | Optionally assign the student to an initial group |
| Status | Set the student's enrolment status — e.g. Active |
- Click Add — the student record opens immediately so you can fill in the rest of their details
Details tab
The Details tab holds the student's personal information and their group memberships. The student's name and serial number appear in the top right of the record for reference.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| First Name / Last Name | Required |
| Tags | Optional labels for filtering — click + to add |
| Gender / DOB | Male, Female, or Other; and date of birth |
| Grade / Class | The student's year level and class name — e.g. Grade 6, class 6S |
| Private Tutor | Name of any private tutor outside the school program |
| Photo Consent | Tick if photo consent has been given |
Any custom fields your school has set up for students also appear on this tab — for example School House or Allergies.
Groups
The Groups table at the bottom of the Details tab lets you assign the student to one or more groups. Each row represents one group membership.
| Column | Notes |
|---|---|
| Group | Select from your school's groups |
| Instrument | The instrument they play in that group |
| Tutor | The tutor assigned to them in that group |
| Status | Their status within the group — e.g. Active |
Click + Add Group to add another row. Click the bin icon on a row to remove that group membership.
Click Save to save all changes on this tab.
Note: To delete a student, click Delete Student at the bottom right of the Details tab. A student cannot be deleted if they have an active instrument hire — return the instrument first. Deleted students can be recovered from Settings > Archive.
Contacts tab
Each student can have up to 4 contacts. Each contact appears as its own named tab on the left side of the Contacts tab. Click Add Contact to add a new one.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| First Name / Last Name | Required |
| Relation | The contact's relationship to the student — e.g. Mother, Father, Guardian |
| Mobile | Contact phone number |
| Email | Required — used for MSM parent portal login and bulk emails |
| Receive emails | Untick to exclude this contact from bulk emails sent through MSM |
| Address | Home address |
Any custom fields your school has set up for student contacts also appear here.
Working With Children
Click the Working With Children section to expand it and record WWC check details for this contact:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| WWC Type | Volunteer or Full |
| Number | The WWC card number |
| Exp | The expiry date of the card |
| DOB | The contact's date of birth |
Emergency contacts
Scroll to the bottom of the Contacts tab to find the Emergency Contacts section. Emergency contacts are separate from the main contacts and are for emergencies only — they are not used for portal access or bulk emails.
Click Add Contact within the Emergency Contacts section to add a new entry. Each emergency contact has a Name, Mobile, and Relationship field. Click the bin icon to remove an emergency contact.
If you delete a contact who is linked to more than one student, MSM will ask whether to remove them from this student only, or from all students.
Comments tab
The Comments tab lets you add internal notes about the student. Comments are visible to admins only and are not shown to parents or students.
- Click the + button in the top right of the Comments tab
- Type your comment — you can also drag and drop an image directly into the comment area to attach a photo
- Click Save
Each comment shows the date and time it was added. Click Edit to update a comment or Delete to remove it.
Tip: You can drag and drop images — such as photos of instrument condition, signed forms, or ID documents — directly into a comment. This is useful for keeping a visual record alongside your notes.
Accounts tab
The Accounts tab lets you record fee discounts and voucher information for this student. These values are applied automatically when creating invoices with Apply student discount ticked.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Discount | Choose $ for a fixed dollar amount or % for a percentage discount |
| Value | The discount amount or percentage |
| Description | Optional label for this discount — leave blank to use the default description from the invoice template |
| Apply discount to | For percentage discounts — choose whether to apply to the first invoice item only, or to all invoice items |
| Student Voucher | A voucher or subsidy reference number — e.g. a Creative Kids voucher code |
| Medicare Name | The name as it appears on the Medicare or voucher card |
Click Save when done.
Tip: Discounts set here are applied automatically when you tick Apply student discount on the Add Invoice page. See the Invoices article for more detail.
Instrument hire tab
The Instrument Hire tab appears on a student record only if that student has a current or past instrument hire record. It shows the full hire history for this student — the same information visible from the instrument record itself.
To hire an instrument to a student or process a return, go to the instrument record directly. See the Instruments article for full details.
Bulk actions
You can perform actions on multiple students at once. Tick the checkboxes next to the students you want to update, then click Update in the top right toolbar.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Tags — Add / Remove | Add or remove a tag across all selected students at once |
| Group — Move from / to | Move selected students from one group to another |
| Grades — Move up / down | Shift all selected students up or down one grade level |
| New student list | Move selected students into or out of the new students list |
| Archive | Archive selected students — recoverable from Settings > Archive |
Emailing students
- Tick the checkboxes next to the students you want to email
- Click Email in the top right toolbar
- Compose your message or choose a saved template
- Use variables to personalise each email — the variable is replaced with the student's actual data when sent:
[STUDENT_FIRST]— student's first name[STUDENT_LAST]— student's last name[CONTACT_FIRST]— contact's first name[CONTACT_LAST]— contact's last name[STUDENT_GROUPS]— the student's group memberships[STUDENT_INSTRUMENTS]— the student's instruments- Any custom fields your school has set up for students
- Click Send
Exporting students
- Tick the checkboxes next to the students to export — or tick the header checkbox to select all
- Click Export in the top right toolbar
- Choose how many contacts to include per student — 0 to 4
- Toggle Show student medical if you need medical information included in the export
- Click Export Students — a file named
students.csvdownloads automatically
Quick reference
A handy reminder once you are familiar with the system.
| Task | Where to go |
|---|---|
| Add a student | Students > + Add |
| Find a student | Students list > filter by name, group, instrument, tag, or status |
| Edit student details or groups | Open student > Details tab |
| Manage parent contacts | Open student > Contacts tab |
| Add emergency contacts | Open student > Contacts tab > Emergency Contacts section |
| Add an internal note or image | Open student > Comments tab > + button |
| Record a fee discount | Open student > Accounts tab |
| View instrument hire history | Open student > Instrument Hire tab |
| Move students between groups | Select students > Update > Group — Move from / to |
| Archive a student | Select student > Update > Archive, or open student > Details tab > Delete Student |
| Restore an archived student | Settings > Archive > Students tab |
| Email selected students | Select students > Email button |
| Export student data | Select students > Export button |