How Ascension Parish School Board Improved the Payment Experience and Saved 9,000 Staff Hours a Year

Cash management complexities at high-volume events

As one of the largest districts in Louisiana, Ascension Parish School Board supports more than 24,000 students across 32 schools with a thriving athletics and events program.

With over 50 ticketed events per year at each middle and high school, the district collected an average of $22,000 per school annually – a major fundraising success, but a challenge for staff tasked with counting, securing and reconciling thousands of dollars in cash after every event. 

Handling such large sums on event days created risk and a lengthy reconciliation process. After each event, staff spent hours balancing ticket sales against cash collected, receipting it and posting it into their general ledger. Post-event reporting was equally burdensome, with staff piecing together tickets sold and revenue manually. 

On top of that, parents and students often arrived at events unable to use their preferred payment methods like credit cards or mobile wallets, creating frustration and in some cases, lost revenue for the district.

The district had previously used older third-party devices that required Wi-Fi to process payments, but connectivity at stadiums was unreliable. As Kelly Achord, Financial Secretary Coordinator at Ascension Parish explained, “Out at the field house in the stadium, it’s very hard for us to get a good signal. We’ve had to use hotspots in order to get a signal.”

Recognizing that revenue collection couldn’t rely on patchy Wi-Fi and that the existing post-event reconciliation process was unsustainable, Kelly began looking for a more reliable, integrated solution.

Easy-to-use POS technology that integrates with the district’s school finance platform

To streamline event payments, Ascension Parish chose KEV Group’s POS technology for three key reasons:

• Cellular capability: Devices worked anytime, anywhere, without dependency on Wi-Fi
• Unified payments: Transactions from POS devices automatically flowed straight into the district’s school finance platform
• Ease of use: Both staff and families could quickly use the system, without a big training lift

The district launched a targeted pilot program, placing POS devices in high schools where athletic events generated the highest revenue and posed the greatest cash-handling challenges.

This one change delivered multiple benefits across the community:

For students and families: They could pay however they wanted (credit, debit or digital wallet) in any setting—at the stadium gate, a school event or out in the field.

For finance staff: Payments were automatically consolidated into the district’s school finance platform. Unlike the previous tool that required manual reconciliation of device-level reports, this integration eliminated redundant steps and minimized risk. Administrators also gained real-time reporting, with immediate visibility into ticket sales and attendance. No more fumbling through spreadsheets and reconciling after the game.

9,000 hours of admin time saved and flexible payment options families love

The impact was immediate. As Dianne Velasquez, Athletic Secretary at Prairieville High School noted: “It’s very quick, it’s very efficient. They can use their Apple Pay, they can tap, they can swipe—whatever they want, we can accommodate it.”

The technology’s intuitive design meant that adoption happened quickly across the community, with most families opting for card payments over cash once the choice was available. This shift represented a fundamental change in how the district handled event revenue moving forward.

“KEV Group’s POS technology replaced tens of thousands in game-day cash. It’s safer, faster, and parents love it”

– Kelly Achord, Financial Secretary Coordinator, Ascension Parish School Board

By replacing cash-heavy reconciliation with automated reporting, the district eliminated error-prone, manual processes and saved more than 9,000 staff hours per year—time that can now be redirected to directly supporting students and school programs.

“Eliminating as much cash as possible was our main goal. The more cash that you have on hand, the more issues that you could have,” Kelly emphasized.

Looking forward: scaling success

The initial success at high schools quickly generated momentum. Other departments and schools began requesting their own devices after seeing the results, driving district-wide expansion. Administrative staff especially valued the flexibility to reassign devices between schools based on event schedules and needs, maximizing use across Ascension Parish.

Automatic transaction tracking and reduced cash handling also aligned with the district’s audit requirements, providing stronger financial oversight.

“When it comes to audits, our audits should be much better because we’re not taking in all that cash.”

– Kelly Achord, Financial Secretary Coordinator, Ascension Parish School Board

By eliminating Wi-Fi dependency and reducing cash reliance, Ascension Parish School Board transformed its event operations. The district now benefits from a more efficient, secure and user-friendly system that improves the payment experience for the community, reduces administrative burden and strengthens financial visibility.