Most schools start looking for software for one reason — usually fees — and end up buying a system that has to run everything else too. A good choice saves the office hours every day. A poor one means two systems, a register kept "just in case", and staff who quietly stop using it.
This checklist is what we would ask if we were buying school management software ourselves. Use it in every demo, whichever vendor you are talking to.
1. Does every module share one student record?
Ask the vendor to admit a test student, then show you that same student in fees, attendance, exams and the parent app — without typing anything again. If modules were bought or built separately, you will see duplicate forms and "sync" buttons. That is where errors come from.
2. Can it handle your real fee structure?
Indian schools rarely have one flat fee. Check for class-wise fee heads, monthly or quarterly billing, transport and add-ons, sibling or staff discounts, late fees with grace days, and concessions approved by the principal. Ask them to set up one of your actual classes during the demo.
3. UPI, cash, cheque and pay links — all in one ledger
Parents pay in every way possible. The system should record cash at the counter, UPI, bank transfer and online pay links against the same invoice, and issue a receipt instantly. Ask whether online payments settle into your school's own payment gateway account, and what the vendor charges on top.
4. Receipts and report cards that look like your school
Receipts, report cards and ID cards should carry your letterhead, logo, principal's signature and stamp. Parents notice when a document looks generic — and some boards and banks ask for properly formatted receipts.
5. A parent app people actually open
Check what a parent sees on day one: attendance, fees due with a Pay button, results, notices and a way to message the school. A parent app that only shows circulars gets uninstalled. Ask for the Android app on your own phone during the demo.
6. Attendance that takes a teacher under a minute
If marking attendance is slow, teachers go back to paper. Time it in the demo. Also check whether the office can see which classes have not marked attendance yet, and whether parents are informed of absences.
7. Exams, marks and report cards for your board
Whether you follow CBSE, ICSE or a state board, you need terms, subjects, grading and report card formats that match. Check that teachers can enter marks for their own subjects only, and that results are published to parents together, not leaked one by one.
8. Roles and permissions
The accountant should not edit marks, and a class teacher should not see every family's fee history. Ask how roles are set up and whether you can create your own.
9. Who owns the data — and can you export it?
Your student and fee data belongs to the school. Ask how you export everything to Excel, how often backups are taken, and what happens to your data if you stop using the product. A vendor that hesitates here is a warning sign.
10. Setup help and training
The first month decides whether software sticks. Ask who imports your existing student list, who sets up fee structures, and whether staff training is included or charged separately.
11. Works on the devices you already have
The office needs a web portal that runs in a normal browser. Teachers and parents mostly use Android phones, often mid-range ones on patchy networks. Check how the app behaves on a slower phone.
12. Clear, predictable pricing
Ask for the total yearly cost for your student count, including the parent app, SMS or WhatsApp messages, payment gateway charges, setup and support. Per-student pricing is common — make sure you know the minimum and what happens when admissions grow.
Questions to ask in every demo
- Can you set up one of our real classes and fee structures right now?
- What will a parent see the first time they open the app?
- How do we export all our data if we leave?
- Who will help us import our students, and how long does it take?
- What is the all-in yearly cost for our number of students?
If you want to see how Anekio answers these, book a free 20-minute demo and we'll walk through it with your own classes.