In this guide 6 sections
Before a build starts, the specification must pin down fee structures with concessions and siblings, admissions, attendance, the timetable, exams and report cards, parent messaging and staff roles. Add data ownership and the export format. A school that writes these down receives quotes it can compare.
Fee rules come first because they break most systems
Fees are where a school’s habits turn into logic. A Grade 6 pupil pays tuition, transport, a lab fee and a term activity fee. A second child earns a sibling concession. A trust-funded pupil pays no tuition but still pays for the bus.
Write each rule as a sentence a developer cannot misread. Say who approves a waiver and who may reverse a receipt. Say what happens to a part-paid term when a child leaves in the middle of it. Say whether a late fine compounds or stays flat.
Most arguments after go-live trace back to a fee rule nobody wrote down. Write it now.
- Fee heads by class, term and route
- Sibling, staff ward and scholarship concessions
- Instalments, late fines and who may waive them
- Receipt numbering and refund on withdrawal
- Cheque, transfer and cash handling at the office
Admissions, attendance and the timetable
Admissions need a path from enquiry to enrolment: application form, entrance test or interview, offer, document check and fee payment. Decide which documents are mandatory, such as a transfer certificate or a birth proof, and who may accept a late one. Decide how a waiting list is ranked.
Attendance is a daily habit. Specify the device. Teachers marking from a phone in the first ten minutes of a period is a different design from a front desk sheet. Decide when a parent hears about an absence.
The timetable is the hardest module to build well. Ask whether you need clash-free generation or only a place to record a finished grid with substitute cover. Note the teacher who covers two sections, the lab used by three grades and the games period that shares a field.
Exams, marks and report cards
List every assessment type you run: unit tests, term exams, practicals, projects and internal grades. Each has a weight, a maximum mark and a rule for absentees. Board-affiliated schools must also follow the pattern their board sets.
Parents keep the report card. Design it before any code is written. Fix the layout, the grading scale, the remark lines and who signs. Note where co-scholastic grades, attendance totals and the promotion decision appear. Bring last year’s cards.
Decide who may edit a mark after submission. Keep a log of each change.
- Assessment types, weights and maximum marks
- Grade scale and rank rules
- Practical and project marks
- Remark lines and signatory
- Locking marks after the deadline
Parent messaging and staff roles
Parents want few things: today’s absence, the fee due, the circular and the homework. Specify which messages go by app, which by SMS and which stay on paper. Name who may send a circular to the whole school and who only to one section. Agree quiet hours, so no one gets a fee reminder at midnight. Decide whether a parent with two children receives one message or two.
Roles need the same care. The accountant should not edit marks, and a class teacher should not see fee balances. Make a grid of staff roles against screens, with view, edit and approve for each. Include the librarian, the transport in-charge and the front desk.
A principal wants one morning view. It shows attendance, collection and pending approvals.
Questions on data ownership and exports
Ask what you may take away, and in what form. Request an export of students, guardians, fees paid, marks and attendance in plain files such as CSV. Test it on a sample before you sign.
Training institutes may need batches, course modules and certificates instead of classes. Trust run and NGO schools often need donor-funded seats, grant reports and a clear audit trail for each sponsored child.
Write these notes into the specification now. Then send the document to three vendors and ask each to price it line by line. Compare the answers against your own notes.
- Export of every record in open file formats
- Who holds the backups and where
- What happens to data if the vendor closes
- Access for a new vendor after handover
School specification checklist
A two column checklist for the trustee meeting. The left column lists the modules: fees, admissions, attendance, timetable, exams, report cards, messaging and staff roles. The right column has blanks for the rule, the sample document attached, the owner on staff and a tick once the vendor confirms it in writing.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Should a school buy ready software or commission a custom build?
Try a ready product first when your rules are common. Commission a build when fee logic, affiliation reports or trust governance cannot be bent to fit any product you have seen.
Who should write the specification?
The administrator, with the accountant, one teacher and the admissions clerk. They know the exceptions that never reach a principal’s desk.
How do we handle student data safely?
Limit each role to the screens it needs, keep a change log on marks and fees, and ask where backups are stored. Check the data protection law that applies to you.
Can the same system serve a training institute?
Partly. Fees, attendance and certificates carry over. Batches, modules and trainer payouts need their own design, so list them separately in the specification.