Valuable rules for choosing the most suitable education ERP software

For many years, vocational schools around the world have been dedicated to maximizing results. They were focused on correcting mistakes in their activities. And today, in pedagogical practice, the desire to comprehend the integral pedagogical process from the standpoint of management science in order to give it clarity and the highest feasibility is progressively increasing. Management problems have always been the subject of numerous philosophical, sociological, psychological, and pedagogical research.

Management refers to activities aimed at:

• making decisions,
• organization,
• control,
• regulation of the control object in accordance with a given goal,
• analysis and summing up based on reliable information.

And fortunately, over time, the solution came, giving the world education ERP software. This utility allows you to create a purposeful, planned, and consciously organized process that contributes to the achievement of maximum effect with the expenditure of minimal resources, effort, and time. For example, as noted in this study, ERP has brought many disruptive innovations to organizations. However, not every ERP system can be right for your school. Although there are many such utilities on the market already, this does not make a choice for future users any easier. Therefore, in this article, you will learn in detail about selection criteria education management system software. Of the given ones, we will single out the most important ones, in our opinion, disassembling them in more detail. The information obtained is guaranteed to help you choose the appropriate education management system software that will suit your particular educational institution.

Selection criteria education management system software

ERP systems, like many other fairly complex and expensive products, there are, of course, many. Some of them are extremely important, and others may reflect very individual needs. In such situations, one should largely rely on "common sense", and also keep in mind some key points of a special nature. When choosing an automation system, you should pay attention to the following:

• What an automation system can do, or what is its functionality?
• How much will it cost to purchase a system, put it into operation and maintain it in working order, i.e., what is its total cost of ownership (it is extremely important to know the total cost, not just the price of the software)?
• Are there any guarantees for the successful completion of the implementation project and full-fledged commissioning of the system (after all, an automation system is a whole complex of works and not just a box with programs on laser disks)?
• What is "inside" the system and, consequently, how reliable, durable, productive, and, in the end, modern?
• What are the efficiency and possible payback period of the system?

Not the least important is also:

• The level and quality of service in the after-sales period.
• The ability to maintain and develop the system by the efforts of your company's specialists.

Finally, since the "life" of the automation system should be long enough, then -

• What are the perspectives of the system, whether it will be developed and supported by the supplier in the future?

Let's take a closer look at some of the most essential criteria.

Education ERP software functionality

This is what the ERP itself is usually bought for. This is the benefit, the opportunities that it provides. Therefore, if the system does not have functions that are essential for your enterprise and cannot be added in a reasonable time (through settings or relatively small additional programming), then there is nothing to talk about. This system is not suitable for your educational institution.

It is much more difficult when, formally, the system can do "everything". It is wise to start with the enterprise itself rather than with education software in such a situation. In other words, find out what the enterprise really needs. By and large, the enterprise needs everything that modern school systems contain. But as a person needs many things in his life, he does not buy them all at once at his birth! After all, it's just risky - when the school starts to progress, will it use what it bought it ten years ago?

Determining the real automation needs of an enterprise is not an easy task. It will be very useful if your educational institution has created a development plan for several years ahead, which defines the role of information technology and describes the sequence of creating a corporate automated management system. Such a thoughtful approach gives the greatest return, significantly reduces the risk of choosing the "wrong" education management system software. At the same time, automation of the most critical activities at this stage or the most labor-intensive in processing in the traditional way can be considered as priority tasks, such as:

• Tracking learning and evaluation,
• Accounting and tax accounting,
• Reports for data analytics,
• Budgeting,
• The integrated school calendar for events,
• Payroll calculation.

The total cost of ownership education management system software

When buying a car, an experienced driver will definitely ask about the fuel consumption per 100 km, what kind of fuel and oil is needed and how much it costs, how much maintenance values, and whether it is easy to find spare parts if necessary. When purchasing a copier, an experienced office manager will definitely find out how much one copy costs, the durability of the machine, how often it is necessary to repair and change consumables, and their price on the market. The situation with the management system is similar - when deciding whether to buy it, be sure to find out the total cost of ownership. And the total cost of owning a system is made up not only of the software price but also of the costs of:

• preparation for implementation (survey of the enterprise, development of the Terms of Reference, construction of the necessary models, etc.);
• installation, configuration, and fine-tuning of the system, taking into account the specifics of your enterprise;
• test trials and trial operation;
• the hardware necessary for the operation of the system and their installation (computers, networks);
• personnel training (both users at workplaces and specialists of the education ERP software department, who will maintain the system in the future);
• the maintenance of additional employees of the education ERP software department (if necessary);
• transfer of data from the old system (if any);
• routine maintenance and support (labor costs, consumables);
• service (one hour of the consultant's work, "hotline").

Taking into account all the above points, the cost of the system can increase several times compared to the cost of the software. Therefore, in order not to "accidentally" freeze your budget for several years, demand a full cost estimate for all costs.

The level and quality of service in the after-sales period of ERP

The efficiency of any complex, long-term product directly depends on the quality of care. Education ERP software is no exception. Qualitative "care" as applied to the school management system means:

• the ability to choose the necessary and at the same time sufficient for the customer level of system support - from self-support with minimal consulting support ("hotline") to full provision of the system by the supplier;
• prompt response to applications and inquiries, an established system of their accounting and processing;
• completeness of solving emerging issues, decisions on the merits;
• free and quick elimination of detected errors made by the developer;
• preferential terms for the delivery of new versions of the system;
• informing about changes in the system and releases of new versions;
• desire to meet the client halfway when solving certain problems;
• culture of relations with the client.

Automation systems for large and medium-sized educational institutions are among those products for which the quality of service and support comes to the fore over time. Choosing an education management system software, you can make a compromise in terms of functionality, but not in terms of quality and completeness of service and support.

It's like buying an expensive car - you don't buy it every day, but pay a lot of money for it. And you may not take a fancy stereo system, but without a developed system of corporate car service, without the supplier's willingness to work with you as a single customer, without special benefits and other "little things" (for example, cumulative discounts) - without all this, your branded car is unlikely to last the prescribed period and give you pleasure. A year after the purchase, you may not even remember about the stereo system - time makes adjustments to our assessments of the importance of certain needs or desires. But you will constantly remember the attitude of the supplier to you. And it would be better if with kind words.

It is not easy to find "your" automated control system correctly. In fact, the process of choosing educational institution management systems usually takes 6-9 months. The above criteria, of course, do not exhaust all possible selection options. They cover a number of basic, most important points that must be taken into account. However, we hope that these guidelines will help you reduce the risk of costly mistakes.

• What is the purpose of ERP?

The main goal of education ERP software is to improve the efficiency of an educational institution's processes by simplifying its management and improving the use of its resources.

• What are the main ERP systems?

Today, you can find many excellent ERP systems, including LittleLives. To this day, the positive reputation of the company, as well as its goals to introduce effective adjustments in the educational process, continue to grow without planning to stop there.

• What is the future of ERP systems?

ERP systems are becoming an integral part of the life of more and more organizations. The worldwide ERP software market per year is more than $ 25Billion, which grows 10-20% every year.