Dependence on various kinds of software products is the need of the hour in today’s fast-paced competitive world. The same stands true for managing schools nowadays. Hence educational institutes are changing their old school methods to new-age solutions by shifting a lot of their requirements to ERP software.An ERP system is an Enterprise Resource Planning application for schools comprising a set of tools and programs which are capable of efficiently managing administrative works of a particular educational institution or a group of institutes. It saves time, eliminates tonnes of paperwork, and collates everything in a central place accessible to principals, teaching and administrative staff, parents, and students.
But now a big question arises and that is how to select an ERP system for your school?
ERP system selection can be quite critical, therefore, you can refer to the checklist below to know what are the requisites of a good ERP system.
Best ERP cloud software selection guide
Here is an eight-step checklist that can help you determine what are the must-have criteria in an ERP system that can be best for managing your school.
1. Cost-effectiveness:
It is always essential to pre-determine the cost of the ERP tool as per your requirements. For this, it is necessary to be aware of the base price and the true cost of the ERP application.
The true cost is affected by the total cost of ownership (TCO) for all your customized requirements over a prolonged period. Your true cost may vary by the total number of users, how the software is implemented and whether it has any maintenance needs. Finally, you need to determine if the ROI is more than TCO.
2. Online or Offline availability:
An offline model of the ERP system is more beneficial if your school does not have round-the-clock internet access. Whereas an online model is more useful as it enables users to access the tool from anywhere and at any time and serves as a great option to support online classes.
3. Technological capabilities:
Before finalizing a tool, it is indispensable to check what are its capabilities, whether it is developed using the most recent technology, and can suffice your institution's needs. The most important factor of all is to check if the software can be customized as per your preferences.
4. User-friendliness:
The best ERP cloud software is the one that is easy-to-use by school staff, parents, and students. It should be easy to figure out how to use the ERP solution and working with it shouldn’t be cumbersome and time-consuming.
5. Scalability:
When the ERP tool is obtained, the scalability factor should always be kept in mind. This is because if one institution decides to expand, then its management tasks could be accommodated by the same software instead of looking for a new vendor and product.
6. Availability of customer support & training:
It is essential to verify if the software vendor provides round the clock technical assistance and training in the form of SOPs, FAQ section, training videos, in-person training, or a community of users.
Training facilities and customer support are two essential features that are helpful for teachers, parents and students when dealing with the newly installed software.
7. Automatic & regular updates:
Another important factor that guides the ERP system selection is whether the software is automatically and regularly updated and upgraded to be at par with its competitors.
8. Vendor viability:
ERP vendor selection is equally important to ensure that the ERP application you decide to install for your school delivers its best performance. Taking into consideration customer reviews and vendor’s credibility would always help you decide better.
Conclusion:
Ultimately, ERP system selection is a crucial step that can play an important role in determining how well your school is benefiting from the ERP software.
From the above-discussed points, you have understood that an ERP solution should be developed and deployed with the most modern technology, be scalable, provide commendable customer support, and be regularly updated. Online accessibility of an ERP application is truly a winning attribute as it facilitates conducting online classes. Other than this, the ROI should be greater than the total cost of ownership and overall the tool should be user-friendly.
