Top Seven Integrations In Any School ERP Software

Your school ERP software is highly capable

What are integrations in school ERP software?

School ERP software is any tool or platform used to manage a variety of processes and functions in an educational institution. While most school ERP software has inbuilt functionalities that address all the needs of various stakeholders in the educational institution, oftentimes users want their school ERP software to do more. This is where integrations come in. Integrations refer to the capability of your school ERP software to work with or collaborate with an external functionality and have it smoothly work like it would normally. For instance, an email integration allows you to basically connect your school ERP software to your email client so that you can easily integrate or shift between these two applications as needed.

Why do we need integrations in school ERP software?

School ERP software tends to be quite comprehensive in nature. It makes sense why – the very purpose of a school ERP software is to be a robust and reliable tool that handles every function and process an educational institution could need. Why then would we need integrations for our school ERP software?

To answer this question it is important to understand that educational institutions do not function in silos. They often have to interact with stakeholders that might not be within this field. They might be using software and hardware that was not necessarily built for educational institutions. Their capabilities are affected by these factors and the fact that dedicated educational technology is still a nascent trend. For a while now educational institutions have relied on using technology or tools or platforms for various functionalities that may have not been built for them, but have become the de facto tool, software, or platform to use in a given industry or by a given stakeholder.

Often times, these types of preferences are deeply ingrained and difficult to change, especially when it comes to external entities. This is where integrations come in to save the day. With integrations, educational institutions bridge the gap between their school ERP software and whatever tool, software, or platform that is already in use by stakeholders they have to work with.

Who benefits from integrations in school ERP software?

A common misconception about school ERP software is that it is only useful for administrative staff in educational institutions. This is because school ERP software is so adept at taking over processes or non-education functions that administrative staff is primarily responsible for in most educational institutions. But nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, school ERP software is for all stakeholders in the educational ecosystem. These stakeholders include teachers, students, parents, non-educational staff like an administrative staff and even the management or controlling board of a school.

The same applies to integrations in school ERP software, since through the use of the school ERP software these numerous stakeholders will inevitably be making use of the integrations also in the course of their professional interactions.

What type of integrations is possible in school ERP software?

It is obvious that multiple integrations are possible with your school ERP software. Everything from email to financial software can be integrated with school ERP software. It might be to increase the functionality of your school ERP software as much as possible by integrating everything possible. But the sheer range of possible integrations might be overwhelming for some school ERP software users. So where would be the right place to begin?

Below, we discuss in great detail, the top seven integrations we advise to start using your school ERP software to its full potential. Read on to find out what you should be looking at as for as integrations for your school ERP software go:

• Biometric or RFID Integration

One of the biggest integrations possible with your school ERP software is biometric ID or RFID integration. But what is biometric or RFID? RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. Biometric IDs are any form of identification relying on biometric information – like an Aadhaar. Your school ERP software is capable of integrating with ID cards enabled with biometric info or RFID to automatically convey information every time the ID card is used. An example of the kind of information this integration would collect would be something as simple as entry and exit times for students using their ID to swipe in and out of classrooms and even school itself.

• SMS Integration

Your school ERP software is capable of integrating with a bulk SMS provider of your choice, enabling management, teachers, and administrative staff to connect with parents and students easily and in one go. Parents and students can also set up SMS alert notifications that are reliable and delivered at scale thanks to this type of integration in the school ERP system. Finally, SMS notifications can be set up to be sent out in bulk automatically every time certain events occur in your school ERP software, eliminating the need for human intervention in case of routine alerts.

• Email Integration

School ERP software can be integrated with your preferred email client in order to set up email notifications for a variety of stakeholders – such as parents and students. But this does not mean spam email from your school ERP software. In reality, the integration empowers the administrator to send emails to select stakeholders. They can also give permission to key employees to be able to the same through the school ERP software integration itself. Finally, automated emails can be set up for specified groups of recipients for specific events taking place in the school ERP software.

Recap: Web-based college ERP system – Why is an effective solution for higher education institutions?

• Tally Integration

This is a good example of an integration made necessary by the existing status quo in an industry. While your school ERP software has its own financial and accounts management capabilities, externally Tally software is the one most used by accountants and other financial personnel. Schools would be hard pressed to find professionals who will be willing to work with their custom school ERP software when a perfectly functional alternative works just fine and is used widely across their industry. This is where Tally integration in your school ERP software comes in handy, making it possible to bridge the gap between two different software.

• Barcode Integration

Why would a school need barcode integration? This might seem like a pointless integration but is actually extremely useful for library services your school offers. Integrating the barcode with the library module of your school ERP software ensures that barcoded library books and materials borrowed by students and teachers are tracked. Your school ERP software thus also ends up helping with inventory management for your library electronically.

• Mobile App Integration

Integrating the mobile app with your school ERP software is almost a necessity. These two arms of the same tool must work seamlessly, and this is made possible thanks to easy integration within the same school ERP software.

• Online Payment Integration

While some school ERP software has their own payment gateways, many schools already use their own custom payment gateways that they may not want to abandon. This is where custom online payment integration comes into play – a robust school ERP software will allow for such an integration that delivers smooth and easy payment.