From empty class to first payday

For teachers: set it up once, let it run

Plan on about an hour for the first class. Every class after that is faster, because jobs, store items, and bonus buttons are shared across your classes.

1. Decide the money rules on paper first

   Before you open the app, settle three numbers: what a paycheck is worth, how often payday comes, and what rent costs. Everything else (store prices, fines, loan limits) is easier to set once those are fixed.

   Starting point: keep a month of bills well under a month of pay, so students who show up and do their job can always save something. The economy planning sheet walks you through it.

2. Create your classes and add students

   Add students one at a time, or paste a list straight from a spreadsheet: a name and a username or student ID on each row. Cashroom keeps only a first name and last initial, so "Jordan Reyes" becomes "Jordan R."

   Each student's first password is their username or ID. They make their own the first time they sign in.

3. Build the job board

   Every student starts with the built-in Student job, so everyone gets paid for coming to class. (You can set its pay, or switch it off.) Then add class jobs with duties, pay, and how many openings each class has. Students apply with two short written answers, and you hire from the applications.

   You choose the most jobs one student can hold, so the good jobs get shared around.

4. Set the schedules

   Pick when payday happens, when bills come due, and how often savings earns interest. Cashroom pays and charges on those dates on its own, even if nobody signs in that day.

   Tip: a weekly payday gives students more practice recording money. Monthly bills mirror how rent works in real life.

5. Stock the store

   Add items with an emoji and a price. Privileges cost you nothing and students love them; see 20 store rewards that cost nothing. Orders wait for your approval, and if you say no, the money and any coupon go straight back to the student.

   Coupons and auctions are there when you want more fun with the same prizes.

6. Choose who does the math

   By default every student works out their own new balance before money counts. You can switch the math check off for one student as an accommodation without changing it for anyone else.

7. Open credit when students have a track record

   Credit scores run from 300 to 850 and grow from on-time bills and loan payments. Students start at "No score yet," like a real person with no credit history. Once a few bills have gone by, open loans: students need a job from the job board, can hold one loan at a time, and figure the interest with I = Prt as part of applying.

A first month that doesn't overwhelm anyone

Roll the economy out in layers. Students learn each piece before the next one shows up.

Read the full four-week plan on the blog →

For students: your first sign-in

You need one thing from your teacher: your username or student ID.

1. Go to cashroomapp.com and tap Sign in

   Or go straight to cashroomapp.com/app. Cashroom works on a Chromebook, a laptop, or a phone. There's nothing to download.

2. Type your username or student ID, twice

   Put it in the username box and in the password box. That works one time only.

3. Make your own password

   It needs at least 6 characters, it can't have your username or ID inside it, and very common passwords like "password1" won't be accepted. When your browser offers to save it, say yes.

   Forgot it later? Ask your teacher to reset it. Teachers can reset your password but can never see it.

4. Record anything that's pending

   If you see money marked "waiting," work out your new balance and type it in. Money doesn't count until you record it, and you can't shop with money still pending. Miss twice and you'll get a hint.

Stuck? The Help center answers the questions students ask most, like why money is pending or how to raise a credit score.