Selecting School Administrative Software
By: Robbie Hillis

School administrative software is imperative in private schools today and is another tool to help in the education of children. Administrative software can help schools manage the day-to-day progress of a specific child, involving everyone from the main office to the classroom to the tuition billing office. Schools without a way to track information electronically and the ability to disseminate that information to the parents in a timely manner are going to be left behind. So how do you go about investing in the right software to meet the needs of your school and community?

There are four main areas that a school should look at when evaluating school administrative software. First, a school should look to the company and its stability in the market. It is important to know how long a company has been developing and marketing the exact products that the school is considering purchasing. As a rule of thumb, the school should only consider companies that have been in business for a minimum of five years. There are many reasons that this is an important factor. Over the past six years, there have been numerous companies enter and exit the school administrative software market after acquiring hundreds of clients.

Next, a school should look at the company’s experience in providing its software to the specific market. The simple question that needs to be asked to each company under consideration is, “How many times have you installed this specific software in a private school?” This answer will help you to determine the overall experience of the company in developing and implementing school administrative software. Most industry experts agree that a school should not partner with a company that does not have at least 1,000 schools currently using their school administrative software. This will demonstrate a veteran company with a seasoned software suite.

Then, you should evaluate the company’s service options. There are two sides to the service options in relation to school administrative software: 1) training and 2) support and maintenance. Make sure that the company offers several options to receive initial training on the software. This will help ensure a thorough and sound implementation.  The other area to investigate when looking at the service options of a company is their support and maintenance. Make sure that the company offers several ways to receive support for their products, whether it is on the phone or over the Web. Also ask how often the company updates their software. A school does not need to be making 100 updates during the school year. This will help demonstrate the stability of the software as well. The school also needs to address how much the updates will cost. Most companies will include them in their yearly support and maintenance fee, but the school needs to be aware if there will be any additional charges that will add to the total cost of ownership.

Finally, you should make sure that the technology that the company employs to build their software is industry standard. There are a lot of products that can be used to develop software, but not all of them will integrate with common desktop software packages. The integration between the software suite and some common desktop products will be beneficial to help the school develop further correspondence with their parents. Industry-standard technology will also be valuable if the school decides to partner with another company in the future, allowing for an easy exit from their existing software provider.

As your school evaluates a company to partner with for school administrative software, these four areas should help you to narrow it down to the right company. Once you have narrowed it down based on these criteria, then contact the company and decide on an implementation schedule, which may include purchasing options, any data conversion or implementation services and training schedules.

Robbie Hillis serves as the partnership director for a leading provider of school administrative software.  Robbie has worked with thousands of schools over the past several years to help schools better manage their income, develop proactive growth strategies and focus on student achievement.

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Product Roundup

Veracross
Veracross is a Web-based school information management system that connects administrators, teachers, students and parents into a seamless community. All major school functionality is provided, including grading, attendance, admissions, development, discipline, scheduling, accounting, volunteer coordination, parent portal and more.  Veracross ties directly to Microsoft Word and Excel applications for letter mail-merge, address labels and data exports. Unlike traditional fixed-code systems, Veracross is a full-service solution that is tailored for each school. Veracross systems are set up and maintained by Breuer & Co., an industry veteran of 25 years. 
www.veracross.com

HeadMaster from ACS Technologies
Get a handle on private school administrative details with HeadMaster from ACS Technologies. These days, so much goes into running a private school, it can be easy to get caught up in administrative details. No matter the size of the organization you run, HeadMaster can help simplify administrative tasks, easing the management of student, parent and teacher information so you can focus on the heart of your school - your students. Specifically designed for private and independent schools, HeadMaster can handle grading, reporting and scheduling. You can even connect your administrative offices directly with your classrooms. From administration to accounting to registrar duties, HeadMaster's flexible, customizable interface provides a complete solution for your school's office.
www.acstechnologies.com

Rediker Software's Administrator's Plus
Rediker Software's Administrator's Plus is a powerful, yet easy-to-use, student information system that quickly and easily manages your school's record-keeping. Since every school is unique, Administrator's Plus' integrated modular design allows educators to build a system that best suits their school's needs. Modules include a student/staff database, daily and period attendance, scheduling, grades/report cards, standards/skills, discipline, tuition/student billing, district management, PDA, Web access and e-mail. Their School Office Suite, a collection of software programs that are seamlessly integrated with Administrator's Plus, manage records in every department in the school. Suite programs include a teacher gradebook, school Web center and programs for the cafeteria, library, admissions, development, health and business offices.
www.rediker.com

pickAtime
The pickAtime Parent/Teacher Appointment System is for K-12 schools that set aside a few evenings when all the parents come to the school en masse to interview their children's teachers. It allows the parents to book appointments from the Internet so that the night goes smoothly. The school will configure their account for their parent/teacher night then tell the parents where to log in. The parents will choose which teachers they want to meet with and when. The parents will have the luxury of arranging their own schedule over the Internet when it is most convenient for them. The school administrators just sit back and watch the time slots fill up. pickAtime has a unique satisfaction guarantee. The school is sent an invoice after the conferences, and if the school doesn’t plan on using the system again, they don’t have to pay the invoice.
www.pickatime.com

Hunter Systems
Hunter Systems is a leading provider of school administrative software. Since 1986, they have been providing integrated software products that have been chosen by thousands of private Christian schools in every state and around the world. Hunter Systems’ focus is to help schools strive to become operationally excellent and partner with them in educating students both academically and spiritually. Based on their Plan for Excellence, Hunter Systems’ solutions are focused on solving daily school challenges in the areas of income management, school growth and student achievement. Contact Hunter to find out how they can partner with your school to help produce an environment that guides the hearts and minds of children.
www.huntersystems.com