School Letters and Permission Slip Tracker

Who this is for

Nothing left at the bottom of the book bag. Log every letter, form, trip slip and payment request as it comes home, and the tracker counts the days to each deadline, shows what is still outstanding and totals what the term's letters have asked for.

Parents of one or more school-age children who find letters crumpled at the bottom of a bag, and households where two adults need to know which slips have gone back.

What this helps you track

• Every letter, form and trip slip that came home, by child and date
• Whether it needs a reply, a payment, both or nothing
• How many days are left before each deadline
• When each reply went back and when each payment was made
• How many items are still outstanding and what the term has cost

How to use it

1. Write the term and the children's names at the top.
2. Each time a letter or form comes home or arrives by email, add a line with the date, child, what it is and what it asks for.
3. Enter the amount and the deadline given on the letter, if there is one.
4. Days left is worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, check the deadline column every Sunday evening.
5. Write the date the slip went back and the date you paid, then tick done so the item drops out of the outstanding count.
6. Keep one tracker per term and file the letters themselves in date order behind it.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Why log letters that need no reply?

Information letters often carry dates you need later, such as an inset day or a non-uniform day. A line on the tracker means you can find the date without hunting for the letter itself.

What does days left show once an item is done?

Once done is ticked it shows zero, so only items still waiting keep counting down. A negative number on an item not ticked means the deadline has passed and it needs chasing.

Does it cover payments made through a school app?

Yes. Log the request as a line, enter the amount and write the date you paid through the app. The total shows what the term's letters and requests have asked for, whichever way you paid.

How is this different from a school fees record?

A fees record tracks money paid to the school. This tracker is about every piece of paper that needs action, paid or not, and about getting slips back before the deadline.