A school course set is a school's book list for one class: Class 5 of City Grammar School for 2026-27, with its textbooks, the optional dictionary and the notebooks. BooksPOS keeps each list with its versions, sells it at the till in one step (F6), and shows how much of each item is sold, ordered and still to buy. This guide covers setting lists up; Selling a school set at the till covers the counter.
School course sets work in the current build and are covered by automated tests, including a partial set with a substitute and a later pickup.
How to add a school
- Open School sets (under Sales in the menu).
- Choose Add school.
- Type the School name as parents know it, and optionally the Campus and City.
- Choose Add school. "City Grammar School added. Now add its class lists."
How to make a class list
- Choose New class list.
- Pick the School, and type the Session (for example 2026-27), the Class (Class 5) and, if sections have different lists, the Section.
- Choose Create and add items. The list starts as a draft; the draft editor opens.
The draft editor
- Set the Set discount %, for example 5. It applies at the till to every item added from this list, without a manager. Use 0 for none.
- Add Notes for staff if useful, for example List received from the school office on 12 Feb.
- Add each item: type a title, ISBN or SKU in Add a book or item and choose it. Then set, per line:
| Column | What it means |
|---|---|
| Unit | The unit the parent buys it in (copy, piece, dozen…). |
| Qty | How many one child needs, for example 6 exercise books. |
| Kind | Compulsory (textbooks), Optional (a recommended dictionary) or Consumable (notebooks, covers). Books start as compulsory, stationery as consumable. |
| Choice | A number for approved alternatives. Items with the same number are a choice group: the parent takes one of them, for example one of two atlases. |
| Note | Anything the counter should know. |
- Move up and Remove order and tidy the list.
- Choose Save draft. "Draft version 1 saved with 12 item(s). Publish it to use it at the till." Close without saving leaves the draft as it was.
A choice group needs at least two items of the same kind. Each item must name the exact edition on the school's list: never add a different edition "because it is the same book". See Adding books and stationery items.
Filling a list from a file
From BooksPOS 1.1.0, a school's list need not be picked item by item. Type it in Excel, or take the school's own file, then open the list's draft (Edit draft) and choose Import from file…. It takes an Excel workbook (its first sheet) or a CSV file, of up to 1,000 rows.
The first row names the columns. They can be in any order, and other columns are ignored:
| Column | Headings it answers to | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Item code | ISBN; Barcode, Code, Item code; SKU | Any one is enough: an ISBN with or without dashes, a barcode or the shop's old code exactly as on the item, or the BooksPOS item number. |
| Title | Title, Name, Book, Book name, Item, Description, Particulars | Used when the row has no code. It must be the item's title as in Catalog; capitals, spaces and punctuation do not matter. |
| Edition | Edition | With a title: which edition is meant. |
| Quantity | Qty, Quantity, Copies, Pieces, Nos | Empty means 1. |
| Kind | Kind, Required, Compulsory | Compulsory, optional or consumable. Empty: a book is compulsory, a uniform optional, anything else consumable. |
| Note | Note, Remarks | Shown to staff on the list. |
A file needs an item code column or a title column. BooksPOS then shows every row with what it matched, and the counts, for example "12 matched, 2 need a choice, 1 not found":
- Matched: a row with a code is the item that code belongs to, whatever the row calls it. A row with only a title is matched when exactly one item has that title (and that edition, when the file gives one).
- Needs a choice: several items fit, for example two editions of the title and no edition in the file. The candidates are listed with their SKU, price and free stock; choose one, or leave the row out. BooksPOS never picks between editions for you.
- Not found: nothing has that code or title. Add the item in Catalog first, then search for it in the editor or choose the file again.
- A uniform matches its piece, whatever the size: the line reads "(any size)" and the till asks the child's size. A discontinued item is matched and marked, so you can check it can still be supplied.
- The same item twice in the file counts once, and the later row is reported. A row with no code and no title, or a quantity that is not a number above zero, is left out with the reason.
Add … items to the list puts the matched and chosen rows on the list with their quantities, kinds and notes, each by the copy or piece. Items already on the list are not added twice. Nothing is saved yet: check the list, set choice numbers for alternatives, then Save draft and publish as usual.
Publishing a list
A draft is never sold. When the list is right, choose Publish draft, then Publish. "Class 5 2026-27: version 1 is now on sale at the till."
The list's row then shows On sale v1. Its panel shows the Items, the Set price (compulsory and consumable items, the first choice of each group, before the set discount) and the Set discount.
A published version never changes. To change a list after publishing (the school swaps a title in March), choose Edit draft: BooksPOS starts version 2 as a draft copied from version 1. While you work on it, the till keeps selling version 1: "Draft version 2 is being prepared (12 item(s)). The till keeps using version 1 until it is published." Publishing version 2 replaces version 1 at the till. Bills made on version 1 stay exactly as they were.
Publishing a list. Before publishing, what changed since the copy is shown, such as a newer edition in the catalogue. Screenshot of the current build (28 Sep 2026), synthetic demo data.
Copying a list to the next session
Next year, most lists are nearly the same. Choose Copy to next session, type the New session (2027-28) and Copy as a draft. "Class 5 2027-28 created as a draft. Check the editions, then publish it."
The copy cannot go live by accident. When you publish it, BooksPOS shows the changes since the version this draft was copied from, including titles or editions you changed and newer editions now in your catalogue of titles on the list. Tick Checked against the school's list for this session to confirm you compared it with the school's new list; without the tick, publishing is refused ("Tick that you have checked the changes against the school's new list."). This stops last year's editions going into this year's sets.
Only a published list can be copied: "Publish this list before copying it to another session."
Demand: what to buy
Choose Show demand on a published list. For each item you see:
| Column | What it counts |
|---|---|
| Qty | How many one set holds. |
| Free | Copies on the shelf, not held for anyone. |
| Sold | Copies sold from this list, on bills made from any of its versions. |
| Ordered | Copies on open orders from this list. |
| Held | Copies on the shelf held for those orders. |
| To buy | What open orders still await beyond the free stock on the shelf. |
Use it when you place your purchase orders with publishers (Purchase orders). The demand view does not create orders by itself. Reports › School sets lists sets still being completed: parents waiting, items held for them and items still to arrive.
Demand for a class list. For each title: sold, ordered, held, free on the shelf and still to buy. Screenshot of the current build (28 Sep 2026), synthetic demo data.
Who can manage lists
Creating, changing and publishing lists, and setting the set discount, needs the school-lists permission, which owners and managers have. Everyone who bills can sell a published set at the till.
Common questions
How do I enter a school's book list?
In the draft editor on the store PC: make the list for the school, session and section, then add each item from your catalogue. From BooksPOS 1.1.0 the editor's Import from file… fills the list from the school's Excel or CSV file instead (see "Filling a list from a file" above). The items must be in Catalog first; they can be brought in from a file too, see Importing from Excel or CSV.
Can the set discount apply to the whole bill?
No. It applies only to items added from the published list. A bag or a pen on the same bill keeps its normal price.
Two sections of Class 6 have different books. What do I do?
Make one list per section, with the Section filled in (A, B). If they use the same books, one list without a section is enough.
Do class lists show in BooksPOS Cloud?
No. Lists, orders and demand are on the store PC. The cloud shows each branch's sales, stock and khata, purchases and expenses, and from BooksPOS 1.1.0 its day book and profit and loss.
Related guides
Last updated 30 September 2026. Still stuck? Contact us.