Labbaik vs IBEAMS (ibeuk.org)

Disclosure: This comparison is published by Labbaik. We've tried to represent IBEAMS fairly using publicly available information, but we naturally know Labbaik in greater depth. If you spot something outdated, let us know.

Quick verdict

IBEAMS is an established admin system. Labbaik is a modern platform built around getting fees in and keeping families close.

Choose IBEAMS if: you want an established, education-focused system with fixed monthly pricing, extensive reporting and a long track record across UK maktabs.

Choose Labbaik if: fee collection is where your time goes. Families set up their own payments from a WhatsApp link, Stripe retries failed payments at the best moment, and parents hear about every step on WhatsApp, all inside a phone-first app that also runs payroll, donations and events.

And if you only run a madrasah? Labbaik stays focused. Its modular workspace only includes the tools your organisation needs.

Fee collection: where the difference shows

Fees are the part of madrasah software that costs real money when it goes wrong: a subscription that was never set up, a card that quietly fails, a parent who didn't know. Madrasahs that have moved to us from IBEAMS have told us their fee setup felt complicated, so this is where we've put the most work. Labbaik treats the whole payment journey as one automated flow, from the first setup link to the retry that brings a failed payment back.

1. 1 · SetupFamilies set up their own feesAssalamu alaykum. Set up Yusuf’s monthly fees here: pay.uselabbaik.com/al-noorA branded link on WhatsApp. No forms to chase, no card details over the phone.
2. 2 · FailureA card is declinedYour card was declined for this month’s fee. We’ll try again on Friday, or you can update your card here.The parent knows straight away, with a secure link to fix it themselves.
3. 3 · Smart retryStripe picks the best time to try againStripe’s intelligent retries use data from across its network to choose when a declined card is most likely to go through, instead of retrying blindly the next day.
4. 4 · RecoveredPaid, and everyone knowsGood news, the retry went through. Fee received. JazakAllah khair.The family’s record updates on its own. Nobody in the office had to chase it.

Stripe setup: Labbaik vs IBEAMS

IBEAMS’ own setup guide is written for a tech-savvy admin: API keys from Stripe’s developer settings, separate test and live modes, and a checklist of conditions to meet before parents even see the card option. With Labbaik, anyone on the committee can connect Stripe in a few clicks.

Built on Stripe, not bolted on

IBEAMS added Stripe to an existing admin system. Its own help guides show the shape of it: admins paste Stripe API keys into a settings page, parents pay each invoice through the portal, and Stripe Direct Debit is no longer supported, so madrasahs are pointed to a separate GoCardless account instead. When a card fails, there’s no automatic retry and no WhatsApp message to the parent. Someone in the office has to notice and chase it.

Labbaik’s billing was built on Stripe from day one. You connect through Stripe Connect in a few clicks, with no keys to copy. Weekly, monthly, termly and yearly fees are charged automatically, cards and BACS Direct Debit sit in the same Stripe account, failed payments go into Stripe’s intelligent retries, and every step reaches the parent on WhatsApp. Each payment, failure and retry stays linked to the student it’s for, and the money goes straight into your own Stripe account.

See how Labbaik fee collection works →

A modern platform vs a traditional admin system

IBEAMS has been running for more than ten years, and it shows in both directions: it’s dependable, and it looks and works like a traditional admin dashboard, with a sidebar menu and rows of records. Labbaik was designed from scratch for the phone in a parent’s pocket and the teacher on the classroom floor. Here are the two parent portals side by side, as they looked in autumn 2026.

VS

IBEAMS: a very complete portal in a traditional admin-dashboard layout. IBEAMS calls it responsive, but on a phone it’s the desktop layout on a smaller screen. Parents can see attendance, payment history and balances, homework, exam results, end-of-year reports, certificates and announcements.

Labbaik: an app that installs to the home screen and opens on what a parent actually wants to know: this month’s attendance at a glance, one tap to report an absence, and straight into progress, messages and billing. It follows the phone’s light or dark mode, sends push notifications, and lets students join live classes in one tap with attendance marked automatically. Younger learners get Legends of Labbaik, a game that makes Qa’idah and Qur’an practice something they want to open.

At a glance

Both are capable platforms, so most of the everyday rows match. Where we couldn't find a feature on IBEAMS' public site, we say "Not publicly advertised" rather than assume it's missing. Where we say "No", we've confirmed it isn't offered.

"Not publicly advertised" means IBEAMS' public site doesn't mention the feature, not that it definitely doesn't exist. Check directly with their team if it's a dealbreaker either way.

Where each one shines

Pricing: fixed subscription or pay when you collect

The two pricing models are genuinely different, and each has a real advantage.

• IBEAMS: Basic £15/month up to 50 students, Standard £30/month up to 150, Enterprise £60/month unlimited, all with unlimited teachers, every management feature and no setup fee. Optional add-ons include a £10/month Student Diary, £10/month phone and Telegram support, and £5/month to remove ads. Payments go straight to your gateway account with no IBEAMS fee on top.
• Labbaik: £0 a month on the Safar plan, with no student cap. A platform fee applies only to card payments collected through Labbaik, from 1.5% and falling as collections grow. Cash and bank transfers are never charged, you can pass the fee on to parents, and there are no ads.

IBEAMS' advantage is predictability: a 140-student madrasah knows its bill is £30 a month. If your priority is the lowest predictable fixed software bill, IBEAMS may cost less in some scenarios, especially if you collect a lot by card. Labbaik's model is designed to remove the upfront subscription and connect considerably more of the organisation.

The honest trade-off: on paper, Labbaik can cost more. But the cheapest software isn’t much of a saving if fees still arrive late, or not at all. Labbaik’s fee is there to make sure you actually get paid on time: families set up their own payments from WhatsApp, failed cards are retried automatically, and parents are reminded before anyone in the office has to chase. Every payment that’s recovered is a fee you would otherwise have chased by hand, or quietly lost.

More than a madrasah tool, without the bloat

IBEAMS is a comprehensive madrasah management system: attendance, fees, curriculum, reports and parents. Labbaik covers that same ground, then extends to the organisation around the madrasah: donations, community events and bookings, verifiable Nikah, Shahada and ijazah certificates, payroll and WhatsApp operations.

Don't want all of that? You won't see it unless it's relevant. Labbaik adapts to the organisation you run: a madrasah's workspace doesn't include Nikah or Janazah, and you can add or remove tools whenever you need them, without contacting us.

See how Labbaik adapts to your organisation →

Kitab-level Alimiyyah tracking

IBEAMS has real curriculum tools: a custom curriculum builder, syllabus tracking and Hifz progress diaries. Where Labbaik goes deeper is the Islamic-studies structure itself. Institutions running Alimiyyah or other programmes can upload their own PDF syllabus (Bahishti Zewar, Zad ut-Talibeen, Mishkat, Hidayah, whatever the curriculum requires), and Labbaik breaks it into sections. Teachers log progress kitab by kitab, section by section, page by page, and it shows live in the student and parent portal.

Committee admin and online classes

Committees carry a stream of dates that are easy to lose: utility and insurance renewals, servicing, Charity Commission report deadlines, safeguarding and DBS renewals, fire safety checks and more. Labbaik sets these up as recurring tasks with an owner and a due date, and sends WhatsApp alerts as renewals approach and if the most important deadlines go overdue.

For online classes, Labbaik has its own built-in video, Labbaik Live (0.35p per person, per minute), where attendance is marked as students join. It also connects your own Zoom account by OAuth, alerts enrolled students by WhatsApp and email when a class starts, and marks attendance automatically when they join from the portal. Recordings publish from your own Google Drive or Dropbox, and Labbaik only ever sees the files you publish. Neither is publicly advertised by IBEAMS.

Frequently asked questions

Weighing up more than one option? See our full round-up of the best IBEAMS alternatives for UK madrasahs, or see why Labbaik is a free, modern alternative to IBEAMS.