Choosing a school management software program for your preschool is a critical decision. The program you choose will be responsible for many essential daily tasks. Therefore, the management program you choose should be reliable, easy to use, and affordable.
When comparing programs, you should take a look at the various features offered and assess how essential they are to your program and its needs.
School Management Software Features
There are many different options when considering a school management software program. For example, some programs offer every bell and whistle available, while others simply cover the basics like billing, scheduling, and registration, and some others offer basic and full option features.
Before you compare various school management programs, consider which features are most important to your needs, which would be nice to have but not essential, and any which are unnecessary or you won’t likely use.
Top features include:
- Administrative and Business Dashboards
- Business Reporting
- Student Registration and Enrollment
- Attendance
- Billing and Invoicing
- Online Payment Solutions
- Communication with Parents
- Daily Student Reports
- Media Sharing
- Calendar Management
- Employee Management
Benefits of Using School Management Software
Perhaps the biggest benefit of using school management software is for admin users who can keep track of key business trends and activities, and optimize nursery practices to improve operations and customer experience. Using a school management software also reduces paper waste which can save money, time, and filing space.
Another benefit of using school management software is how easy and fast it makes daily tasks such as taking attendance, creating daily reports and setting up schedules for students It reduces hours on operational tasks and supports teachers in focusing on child development instead of administrative tasks.
In addition, school management software makes communicating with parents and staff a cinch. Most management programs allow users to create and send group emails to parents and staff and send important alerts and reminders.
School management software creates a safe and secure place for payments and provides real-time revenue insight to help you keep track of parent payments and finances.
Criteria to Select a Preschool Management software
There are many superb school management programs out there. But these are the factors you should consider before selecting a software for your nursery
- Simplicity of the UI – Consider ease of use and navigation of the platform as an important factor in your selection process. The platform will be used by admin and teachers and it is important that employees are able to complete their tasks swiftly so they can focus on child care and development. Most platforms will provide you with a free demo or trial so you can test out the UI for yourself.
- Management Features – Are you a smaller establishment with basic requirements such as attendance and invoicing or a bigger institution which may require automation of features, self-check in and out or an employee management portal? Ensure that the software has nursery management features that meet the needs of your establishment.
- Customer Experience – You may consider it important if the platform offers onboarding, training and a 24/7 customer care service like the platform Bounce which will support you instantly with queries and issues which may arise.
- Customization – Does the app offer you language options, customized payment solutions, bespoke employee permissions, compliance with government regulations? Consider if these factors apply to your business.
- Communication Features – Evaluate the teacher-parent communication features the platform offers – does it offer messaging, media sharing, daily and injury reports so parents can be fully involved in their child’s day.
- Ease of use by parents – Do your student’s parents find the platform easy to use? It is a huge factor in implementing a system within your establishment.
- Pricing – Probably one of the most important criteria in selecting a management software is pricing. Ensure that the cost makes sense to the features and service being offered by the platform.
Takeaway
No matter the type of nursery you manage and if you have five students or fifty, school management software will make your program run smoothly and efficiently.
Knowing what you want from a software management program is key before settling on an option, but you may need to spend some time researching to help you discover the beneficial options available.
