The management system built for Maktabs

No. MaktabMate runs in any web browser on desktop, tablet or phone — there is nothing to download and no app store involved. Staff and parents can add it to their home screen so it opens like a normal app, but that is entirely optional.

Yes. You can import your students, staff and classes from a spreadsheet using the templates provided during setup, and your existing attendance registers can be imported as well, so you keep your history rather than starting from a blank page.

All data is stored in the United Kingdom (London region). MaktabMate Ltd is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (registration C1889637) and is GDPR compliant. Every maktab’s data is fully separated from every other maktab, and access is controlled by role — a teacher only sees their own classes, and a parent only ever sees their own children. Our Privacy Policy and Data Processing Agreement set this out in full.

Yes. The headteacher decides who can message whom: whether teachers can message parents, and whether parents can reply or start a conversation. Every conversation is private to the two people in it. Abusive language is stopped before a message is sent, anyone can report a message to the headteacher or block a person from messaging them, and the headteacher can remove a reported message.

No. Parent access is included on every plan at no extra cost, with no limit on the number of parents. A parent signs in with their email address and a simple 4-digit code that identifies your maktab — no lengthy web address to remember.

Nothing is taken automatically, because we do not ask for card details to start a trial. Towards the end of the 30 days you simply choose the plan that suits your maktab, and whether to pay monthly or yearly (yearly has one month free). If you decide MaktabMate is not for you, you do not need to do anything at all.

Yes. You can move between Lite, Pro and Max at any time as your student and teacher numbers change, switch from monthly to yearly billing whenever you like, and cancel at any time — there is no fixed-term contract.

Yes, and this is the part that generic school software tends to get wrong. Hifdh students are tracked juz by juz with new lesson, recent revision and old revision records (sabaq, sabqi and manzil, or whatever your maktab calls them) and formal juz tests, while Maktab classes are tracked against your own syllabus with daily reading logs. Classes that run two sessions with different teachers are supported properly, including separate attendance for each session.

Yes. You set your own operating days and times, and the system follows them exactly. Attendance percentages are calculated only from the days your maktab was actually open, so closures and holidays never count against a child’s attendance.

Staff scan a QR code displayed at the maktab, with optional geolocation checking so you can be confident that clock-ins happened on site. Hours are totalled automatically for your records.

Yes. Fees are tracked for every child, with sibling discounts, payment records and outstanding balances, all exportable. Parents can pay online by card once you connect your maktab’s own Stripe account, and standing orders and bank transfers are recorded too.

Yes. Parents set up Direct Debit once, through GoCardless or Stripe, whichever your maktab chooses, and each payment is taken on time and recorded against the right child’s fees automatically. Maktabs already using GoCardless can link their existing Direct Debits without parents signing up again. How Direct Debit with GoCardless works

Most maktabs are up and running in an evening. A guided setup walks you through your maktab details, classes, staff and students, and you can skip any step and come back to it later. If you would rather not do it alone, message me and I will walk you through it.

MaktabMate is built and run by a serving imam, which is why it works the way maktabs actually work rather than the way mainstream school software assumes. It is operated by MaktabMate Ltd, a UK registered company, and 10% of all revenue goes towards supporting Islamic education around the world.