21 Questions to Ask Before Buying School Software
Feature demos all look the same. These are the questions that reveal the differences, grouped so you can take them straight into a vendor call.
Quick answer: The five questions that matter most are: what is the total first-year cost including setup, migration and training; is the parent app included or licensed per parent; who migrates our existing data and how long does it take; can we export all our data if we leave and in what format; and what is your support response time during peak fee collection. Ask every shortlisted vendor the same set and compare the answers side by side rather than comparing feature lists.
How to use this list
Send the same questions to every shortlisted vendor in writing and ask for written answers. Vendors who answer clearly in writing behave the same way after you sign. Vendors who deflect to a call for pricing usually have pricing you will not like.
Money - the seven that matter most
The monthly headline is rarely the real number.
- What is the total first-year cost including everything?
- Is there a one-time setup or implementation fee?
- Is data migration included, or charged per record or per hour?
- Is the parent app included, or licensed per parent per year?
- Are SMS or WhatsApp messages billed separately, and at what rate?
- Is training included, or charged per session?
- What is the renewal price after year one, and how much can it increase?
Data - the four nobody asks until it is too late
These decide whether the relationship is reversible.
- Can we export all student, attendance, marks and fee data, and in what format?
- How often are backups taken, and have you tested a restore?
- Where is our data hosted, and who at your company can access it?
- If we leave, how long do you retain our data and can we have it deleted?
Fit - the five that expose template software
Any vendor can say yes to these in a demo. Ask them to show it configured for your school during a trial.
- Can we configure our exam pattern, weightings and grade scale ourselves?
- Can our report card match the format we already issue?
- Can we record cash and cheque payments in the same ledger as online?
- Can we set per-student installment plans and concessions?
- Can notices be sent in the language our parents read?
Support - the three that matter in March
Support quality is invisible in a demo and decisive during fee collection season.
- What is your response time during peak fee collection, in hours?
- Do we get a named contact, or a ticket queue?
- What are your support hours, and is there phone support in our language?
Track record - the two worth verifying
Ask for two reference schools of similar size and board, and actually call them. Also ask how long the company has been operating and how many people are on the support team. A brilliant product from a vendor that closes in two years leaves you migrating again.
The answers you should be suspicious of
We can do everything - no software does. Pricing depends, repeatedly, with no range offered. Migration will be discussed later. Our app is free for the first year. Any refusal to put pricing in writing before a signature.
How we answer these
For transparency: AcadLynk is Rs.2,399/month up to 200 students and Rs.3,499/month up to 500, no setup fee, migration and training included, apps for all five roles included with no per-parent charge, data exportable at any time, and a 14-day trial with no card. SMS and WhatsApp carry provider charges and we quote those separately rather than bundling them vaguely. Where we are not the right fit - live classes, self-hosting, university workflows - we say so on the call.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important question to ask a school software vendor?
What is the total first-year cost including setup, data migration, training, parent app licensing and messaging charges. The monthly headline is rarely the real number.
Should we ask about data export?
Yes, always, and get it in writing. If you cannot export student, attendance, marks and fee data in a standard format, switching later becomes practically impossible.
How do we test support quality before buying?
Ask for a response time commitment in hours during peak fee season, ask whether you get a named contact, and call two reference schools of similar size.
Are per-parent app charges common?
Common enough to always ask. It is one of the most frequent second-year cost surprises in Indian school software.