Why Schools Need An ERP Software?

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is an uncommon term in the world of education. But in this fast-paced technology-driven world, it is necessary to have a cloud-based ERP system like Oracle NetSuite to streamline all your operations under one roof.

Why ERP?

Let us first understand why ERP is crucial and how it can help the education industry. 

ERP provides a 360-degree view of what is happening in and around the organization 24/7. It automates several activities like accounting, Employee payroll, recruitment, student admission, and more. ERP for educational institutions features three main functions. 

1. Automation 

ERP’s are self-sufficient systems capable of performing repetitive tasks - like generating reports every month/quarter with ease. ERP system seamlessly gathers data from multiple sources and then compiles and presents it whenever required. 

2. Integration 

Integration is the process of connecting and synchronizing software with another piece of software.

Both your accounting software and employee management system hoard data. By integrating these two disparate systems, there is a steady stream of data that gets automatically updated if either of these two systems gets updated.

3. Organization

Here we will focus more on how it can improve the efficiency of an individual department. Let us consider the department of administration, who is always checking reports and briefing senior executives on the overall performance of all departments. 

It becomes easy for the team to gather all relevant data from all the sources and helps the management to make real-time decisions without delay. The admin panel gets a quick snapshot of all the activities without going through piles of data from various departments. 

Why Use An ERP System In School?

By accommodating the whole ecosystem ( principals, teachers, parents, management) under one roof, it becomes easy to track and control activities like back-office operations, online registrations, and various school-related activities efficiently. 

Online registration

Schools store important student data like parent details, Birth certificates, and more while a student is admitted. Also, various forms are filled by the parent at the time of admission and submitted to the school. All these data needs to be stored somewhere efficiently. This time-consuming process can be made seamless using an ERP system. 

Student Information System

Schools maintain an elaborate student information system containing detailed reports of a student. By implementing an ERP system, it is possible to gain a quick snapshot of various entities like attendance, performance, and pending dues of a student in one click. 

Real-time insight into transportation

Several schools often look into the possibility of adding a GPS to monitor the live-position of their school bus. By adding a real-time tracking system, the school management can ensure the safety of the students and even provide live updates to concerned parents. 

NetSuite offers far more advanced modules and customizations than a basic ERP system. Read more to learn how NetSuite can help improve your school. 

NetSuite for Schools 

Till now the discussion was limited to what a basic ERP system can provide your organization. Oracle NetSuite is not just another round the corner ERP system. 

It is currently the leader in the ERP market space with its cloud-enabled platform and state of the art business intelligence tools. NetSuite solves all the challenges faced by educational institutions like operational inefficiencies, fragmented back-office systems, and un-integrated financials. Here Are Some Of The Industry-Best Features of ERP for schools.

Financials -First 

Educational institutions require a comprehensive mechanism for accounting. NetSuite’s accounting-intelligent ERP software provides in-depth financial reports and helps in processes like accepting payments (school-fees) from customers while maintaining a steady database for every transaction with a transparent audit trail. 

Also, it is possible to customize NetSuite to tailor your business needs like setting a date for sending timely notifications to parents regarding due fees and payment, etc.  

Human capital management

Staff management is a necessity while managing a school. NetSuite helps store staff data vigilantly. This data can be accessed by management staff whenever necessary. NetSuite ensures the security of all the data that is stored in its server.  Also, through this system, it is possible to get a quick overview of both teaching and non-teaching staff of the school right from the very date they join the organization till their last working day. 

Forecasting the Future

NetSuite helps the educational institutions in financial planning by formulating  “what if” scenarios to better understand ‘actual’ and ‘possible’ projections. Also, it is possible to roll out twelve-month forecasts and analyze the variance levels between actual vs project results. 

Fixed asset management

Fixed asset management is a must-have for schools with a large number of assets like school buses, printing machines, computers, and more. NetSuite helps maintain records of every item in the school and track the book value and depreciation of fixed assets. This adds accountability in the organization thus eliminating any possibilities of mismanagement. 

Customer Relationship Management

Customer relationship management helps your organization get a bird-eye view of all your constituents. A unique set of tools help manage your lead-to-cash cycle. Ultimately, NetSuite helps craft meaningful relationships with all of your customers.

• Cross-sell campaigns made easy by creating target segments. 

• Follow and track from the beginning till the end of the customer cycle.

• Improved marketing  ROI by targeting high return avenues. 

Fundraising 

NetSuite lets you manage the whole donation cycle, right from the pledge to payment. It also standardizes the donation process by streamlining the donations online (like accepting and processing payments). 

• Shape your grant prospecting process to ease by using NetSuite. 

• Get the desired financial sustainability and boost the pledge-to-payment cycle. 

• Manage all your transactions and routing in a single system

Global Connectivity

NetSuite ensures global connectivity with its multi-currency management and helps follow regional regulatory standards with ease. With Global CRM, it is possible to gain insights into various facets of the business and manage all your global operations through a unified platform.

NetSuite OneWorld offers multiple entity management. This feature especially helps educational organizations with subsidiaries spread across the world. A streamlined channel of information is available once you log into NetSuite. Standardizing business processes across the world becomes an effortless task with the help of NetSuite OneWorld. 

Business-Intelligence to drive ROI

NetSuite’s home dashboard is rich with actionable data sourced from various reports, and KPI’s (key performance indicators). Statistical data from various departments, locations, or donors may be analyzed and measured. The core management has real-time visibility into key insights, including quick summary snapshots as well as detailed transaction records.

With NetSuite’s home dashboard, senior school management can drill into KPIs and understand student conversion ratios and compare it with other individual schools if the business runs a chain of institutions. Also, NetSuite offers role-based dashboards - meaning, information delivery is customized for various roles inside the organization.  

Wondering how to implement Oracle NetSuite in your School. Contact Jobin & Jismi to get a quick quote.