• Why am I having problems logging in?
• When my student begins the new school year, what must I do to update his/her account? Will the balance transfer from year to year?
• Why do I need to add students to my account? How do I add them to more than one program?
• My student does not always use the cafeteria program, but I don't want him/her to be without money when necessary. What program would be right for me in terms of depositing money?
• How soon does my payment reach my student's account?
• Can I transfer money from one student's account to another? How do I get a refund if necessary?
• What is a student number (ID) and how do I know what my student's is?
• Why can't I see my student's balance/participation report?
• How much is the website fee?

A: It’s important to note that passwords are case-sensitive. For example, if you originally entered your password in all caps, you will need to do so again when you log in. If you’ve entered your full email address, and you’ve double-checked that you’ve entered your password with the correct case for each letter, and you still have trouble logging in, please ensure that you have cookies enabled. Your privacy and security settings should be set low enough to allow you to log into most websites. To adjust these settings in Internet Explorer, please click on your tools menu and then select “Internet Options” to adjust your privacy and/or security settings as necessary. If you’re still unable to log in, please make sure that you’re accessing this website directly by typing cafeprepay.com in your browser’s address bar. Some times when people try to access the website by following a link from their school district’s website, they encounter problems logging in.

A: Important!! If your student is entering a new school within the same school district, you must delete the current student record and then click "Add Student" to re-add the student in the correct school. If your student is entering a new school district, you will need to contact your old school district in regard to a refund, as funds will not be transferred from one district to another. In all other cases, your student's balance should follow him/her as you delete and re-add your student. Please note: if you have scheduled your account to auto-replenish and you end up contacting your old school district for a refund prior to the “End Date” that you had selected when you set up your scheduled payment, this refund will trigger another auto-replenish transaction. Therefore, you should simply make sure to click on "Edit Scheduled Payments" and change your schedule selection to "Not Scheduled" prior to requesting your refund.

A: Adding students to your account enables the money that is deposited to be correctly routed to the school in your student's name. It is also a necessity if you would like to check the current balance or participation report. Most school lunch programs are "integrated", meaning that when you add your student to his/her school's meal program, you will be finding the student's name from the cafeteria database. If your school also allows you to pay for other school fees through Café Prepay, you may either add your student an additional time via the Add Student link (and then select the other programs of your choice, such as “Registration Fees”), or you may click on Edit Student to update your program selections (this will only work if you’ve already successfully added your student to another program). Some schools use Café Prepay but are "non-integrated", meaning that all information is manually entered. In that case, you will find that you only need to enter your student one time, no matter how many programs you wish to select. Please contact us if you have any trouble completing this process, and we will be happy to assist you.

A: Some schools offer a payment schedule called "automatic replenish on low balance." This is optimal for the student whose lunch spending varies greatly from day to day. With automatic replenish, when the student's account balance goes below a specified amount, then another specified amount is deposited in the student's account via credit card. Using "automatic replenish on low balance", the student will never run out of money in his/her account. Conversely, your credit card will not be charged until the student's balance goes below the specified dollar amount.

A: All payment information is sent immediately to the school, at which point it is the school's responsibility to input payments into the student's account. Many schools have the ability to do this automatically, making the process very efficient, downloading payments from our website several times a day. Some schools do not have the internet capability to do this, so payments must be entered manually. If you find that your payment isn't reflected in your student's balance update within 24 hours (during the normal school week), please contact the school cafeteria immediately. Please note: At the end of each month, Café Prepay has to complete an "End of the Month" processing report. During this time, payments cannot be processed and could be delayed until the process is completed (this normally takes 1-2 business days).

A: While Café Prepay has no access to provide refunds or to move money from one student to another (once the school has downloaded your payment), if you contact the school directly, they should be able to transfer balances from one student to another or refund you the account balance at any time. Please note: if you have scheduled your account to auto-replenish and you end up contacting your old school district for a refund prior to the “End Date” that you had selected when you set up your scheduled payment, this refund will trigger another auto-replenish transaction. Therefore, you should simply make sure to click on "Edit Scheduled Payments" and change your schedule selection to "Not Scheduled" prior to requesting your refund.

A: The student number is basically an electronic routing number for your student within the school. At some schools, this number may be the same as the student's PIN number, but this is not always the case. As the student's school creates this electronic routing number, you would need to contact the school for this information.

A: Some schools do not have the Internet capabilities for their cafeteria program that allow for you to see either the current balance or participation report. Some schools have the capabilities for you to view the current balance, but not the participation report. If you are unable to see one, please contact the school, and they will be able to give you the information.

A: There are no fees associated with buying background checks. However, if we are crediting funds to your child's Café Prepay account at his/her school, during checkout your district may be charging a convenience fee to cover the costs associated with this service. Any fees will be listed in the checkout cart prior to processing your payment. Please note: If we receive a notice from your credit card company that you are disputing a charge in which funds were credited to your child's account, that account balance will be debited the original credit amount.