Just like any other organization, it is important for educational institutions to strive towards fast and definitive ROI. There are many expenses associated with running a school such as infrastructure, salaries of the administrators and teachers, and the upkeep of the interests of the stakeholders. Therefore, there is a need to accomplish the best ROI strategy for the purpose.
One of the aspects that should be given prominence is the academic success of students in the school and this should form the basis for designing the aforementioned strategy. Schools can create the best learning environment for the students only when there are adequate funds. In the current times, institutions are closed owing to the coronavirus pandemic, and students are being taught with the help of online classroom sessions. Many schools have been advised by the governing bodies to redefine the fee structure and make it lower than before. In such a scenario, it becomes increasingly difficult to work out an increased ROI. However, with the help of a functionally adept school management system, higher returns are possible even now.
In the following lines, let us take a look at how school ERP software plays a key role in increasing the ‘Return on Investment’ or ROI:
How does school management software increase the profitability:
  • Reduced manpower costs
    The whole idea behind implementing a school management system is minimizing human intervention. Schools have to collect and store huge amounts of data and all of this can be done online. There is no need for doing it manually. Automation reduces the manpower costs by a great deal, and it reduces the margin of error too.
    Any information or data is uploaded onto the system and can be accessed by the relevant people with just a few clicks. There is no need to rely on someone to search through tonnes of paperwork and then get the desired information. It saves time as well.
  • Paperless administration
    This is an extension of the previous point. A school data dashboard is one of the major features of a school ERP system. It has all the data pertaining to the school. From students to staff and admin information, everything is available in such a module. Since there is no need for documentation of any kind. The money spent on printing manual files, storing them in units, allocating space, etc, can all be cut down.
    Other than this, the school data dashboard is instrumental in helping the decision makers take the right decisions on time. With the help of multiple reports that are generated in this module, they are able to identify the pain areas and take decisions that influence the Return on Investment.
  • Ideal resource utilization
    Right from the attendance to the number of hours a member of the staff has spent on a specific task is recorded and reported online. With the help of automated processes, the decision-makers are able to maximize the utilization of their resources. A robust campus management system can help educational institutions avoid over-hiring and manage the operations in the best possible manner with the available resources. This statement holds good for the infrastructure expenses as well. If you find that certain areas in the school have nil/minimal usage, the same can be modified to something that can be used constructively for the betterment of the students.
  • Effective data management
    Let us take the example of the admissions phase. Every year, there are hundreds of parents who visit the schools, get the application forms, fill them and then submit them on a later date. As far as the administrators are concerned, it takes a very long time to vet the requests, and send the apt communication to parents.
    However, if the process happens online, all that the parents need to do is to download the application, fill the relevant details and submit it online. Admin staff can then vet them online and send messages automatically to the respective parents. These can be customized as well so as to get the most relevant information from the forms.
    Once this process is complete, the data is automatically stored online and can be used for future references. Other aspects such as fees structures, event management, old-student records, etc, can also be managed efficiently with school ERP software.
  • Timely communication
    Communication is effective only when it happens in a timely manner. Whether it is a channel between the school and the parents/students, or the school and its decision makers, it has to be seamlessly integrated. By using tools such as SMSs, emails, messaging apps, etc, the same can be established. This reduces the usage of paper-based communication tools such as letters, etc. and ultimately, saves money.

So, enhancing the ROI from academia ERP is possible with the help of a capable school management system. Based on the number of students and course affiliations that a school undertakes, it can opt for the most comprehensive system that can be customized easily and has a user-friendly interface. This is a secure and paperless solution that helps in increasing the profits by a huge margin.