Webelight Solutions Blog: Insights on IT, Innovation, and Digital Trends

A Case Study On Cost of Developing a School ERP System

DEC 12, 2024

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What if technology is the key to improving your university operations and student engagement? From how students learn to how teachers interact with them, innovations in technology have changed the face of e-learning. The size of the worldwide education ERP market was assessed at USD 16.42 billion in 2023, and it is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.98% between 2024 and 2030. At present, many educational institutions like yours are facing several challenges, from changing student expectations to heightened institutional accountability requirements and contemporary competitiveness. But simply adopting new technologies isn't enough—your institution needs the right tools to streamline its operations, enhance communication, and develop an excellent learning environment.

 

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One of our clients approached us as they struggled with daily operational bottlenecks—manual paperwork, disjointed school operations, and inefficient administrative processes. They were overwhelmed by outdated systems and silos between departments, leading to frustration among staff and students.  The faculty was even facing difficulties in managing student data, tracking performance, and ensuring smooth communication across different levels of their institutions. That's when we introduced them to the best solution they could have possibly asked for: the School of Achiever ERP. 

In an age where your students seek instant access to information, a customized ERP solution for education like School of Achiever ERP is ideal for addressing these pain points. ERP software, or enterprise resource planning, is one of the most important tools for educational institutions. Check out this clip, where Mr Arpit Badjatya, the CEO of Serosoft Solutions and consultant to the Association of African Universities, speaks as an expert on this topic.

 

 

It's essential to realize why such e-learning mobile apps are crucial for universities today. And, perhaps most importantly, why should your educational institution fully grasp the cost of school management app development before diving into the process? Understanding the cost of developing a customized ERP solution for education is essential for any institution contemplating such an investment. Being aware of these factors will help you plan your budgets better and ensure you select the right technology, avoid costly mistakes, and build an e-learning ERP system that will grow with their needs over time. As we explore how the School of Achiever ERP can optimize academic management, let's also examine the key cost factors that can affect the development of such an app. By understanding these elements, you'll be more prepared to make strategic decisions that align with your institution’s goals.

 

Key Features of the School of Achiever ERP That Transforms Education Management

 

The School of Achiever ERP is a cutting-edge, mobile, web-based ERP solution for schools designed to streamline administrative processes and foster greater collaboration between educational institutions and parents. Developed by Webelight Solutions, the ERP system offers a comprehensive suite of modules in the e-learning industry for managing critical school operations such as student profiles, fees, transport, exams, and homework, all in real-time. With features like automated notifications, a parent portal, and real-time updates on student performance, the system strengthens the school-parent partnership, enhancing communication and supporting student success.  It can be customized to suit your institution's unique needs, making it an ideal ERP solution for education.

1) Admission Management

It simplifies and automates the student admission process. Your institution can manage applications, track student details, and process enrollments digitally. The system can speed up enrollment by handling document submission, seat availability, and status updates. It ensures that all student information is centralized and easily accessible.

2) Fee Transparency and Management

It ensures that the fee-handling procedure is transparent and accurate. Your institution can manage fee collection by setting up fee structures, tracking payments, and generating receipts. According to a National Center for Education Statistics report, an automated fee process can improve accuracy and decrease billing disputes by 50%. This system's parent portal gives parents real-time visibility into fee payments and balances. Automated reminders for overdue fees can make the fee management process more efficient.  

3) Exam and Assessment Tools

These tools help manage exams, quizzes, and assessments. This student progress analytics app allows university professors to create and schedule exams, mark student performance, and track progress. They can also use the system to develop digital question papers, automate grading, and analyze student performance. Insights into the student's strengths and weaknesses can be obtained, and based on that, learning methods can be customized.

4) Transport Coordination

This feature assists schools in managing their transportation services efficiently and enhancing student safety protocols. Through real-time GPS tracking of school buses, you can coordinate bus routes, track student pick-up and drop-off times, and ensure safety. Parents can also receive notifications about their child’s transportation status, such as delays or route changes. 

5) Parent Portal and Mobile App Integration

Parents can access real-time information about their child's academic progress, attendance, homework, and school announcements. They can also directly communicate with teachers and school staff. The mobile app integration enhances accessibility and helps students stay actively involved in their lives by ensuring parents can access these features on the go. 

6) Advanced Analytics for Performance Monitoring

This feature leverages data analytics to track and analyze student performance over time. It aggregates academic results, attendance records, behaviour reports, and other metrics into easy-to-read visual reports. Educators and school administrators can proactively identify trends and patterns to address student needs and academic behaviour. Parents also benefit from detailed insights into their child’s progress, which helps them make better decisions.

7) Notifications and SMS API

Automated notifications and SMS integration help keep everyone informed in real-time. This feature allows the e-learning ERP system to send updates to parents and staff about important events such as upcoming exams, school events, attendance alerts, fee reminders, and more. The SMS API ensures that parents who may not have access to the student progress analytics app or portal still receive timely updates, enhancing communication and engagement between the school and parents.

 

How the School of Achiever App Delivers Tailored Solutions for Smart eLearning

 

1) Personalized Learning Paths

The system customizes the curriculum on student performance data and learning preferences over time. For example, if a student excels in a specific subject, the system can suggest advanced materials or more challenging assignments. Conversely, students struggling in certain areas can receive additional resources, such as remedial classes or targeted assignments, to improve their skills. The teachers can also track the effectiveness of these personalized plans and adjust them as necessary. 

2) Secure Data Management

Since data security is the topmost priority, the app ensures that all student, staff, and institutional data is handled securely. The system stores sensitive information such as student grades, health records, and attendance. Role-based access control (RBAC) allows administrators to define who can access specific data, ensuring that teachers can see student performance but not access sensitive information unrelated to their role.    

3) Performance Insights

With advanced data analytics, the system collects and aggregates data from various modules, such as test results and exam scores, to comprehensively view a student's academic performance. Visual dashboards and reports present this data in a user-friendly format to quickly identify trends and patterns. Administrators can use aggregated data across classrooms to identify strengths and weaknesses and adjust their strategies accordingly. 

4) Integrated Communication

The system notifies users regarding various updates, such as academic progress, attendance, and assignments, to ensure that everyone stays informed and engaged. Teachers can quickly communicate with parents about their child's performance or any issues that may arise, while parents can also offer feedback or ask questions. With real-time communication, misunderstandings can be minimized, and students can get the support they need inside and outside the classroom. 

 

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Cost Factors to Consider While Developing a School ERP System

 

Modern enterprise resource planning (ERP) projects can take two, three, or more years to deploy, and universities sometimes spend more than $20 million apiece, according to a report. So, how much does it actually cost to develop a typical School ERP system? Well, it really depends on the complexity of the solution you need. 

For smaller institutions or less complex setups, the cost of developing a customized ERP system can range from $50,000 to $150,000. This typically covers basic functionalities like student records, attendance, grading, and communication tools. For medium to large institutions with more advanced needs—think comprehensive modules for academic management, finance, hostels, library, and mobile applications—the cost can increase from $150,000 to $500,000 or more.  

However, the overall cost of a school management app will vary depending on several elements, like the scope of the app, the technology stack, team size, and ongoing maintenance requirements. Here are the primary cost factors to keep in mind:

1) Scope and Complexity

A primary school management app with simple features like attendance tracking and grades management will have a lower development cost ($20,000 to $50,000) than a fully integrated ERP system with modules for admission management, fee tracking, exams, transport, and advanced analytics ($100,000 to $500,000). The more features and customization you require, the higher the development costs. 

2) Design requirements

A well-designed, intuitive app will keep the users engaged with its attractive interface.  However, high-quality design that meets accessibility and responsive design standards (mobile and web compatibility) can be expensive. It can add $5,000 to $20,000 or more to the project. The app must be visually appealing, easy to navigate, and suitable to different user groups, which may require additional time and expertise from professional designers.  

3) Technologies Used

The backend and frontend development cost anywhere from $25 to $150 per hour. Modern JavaScript frameworks such as ReactJS or Vue.js are commonly used to build dynamic and responsive front-end interfaces. On the backend, server-side technologies like Node.js and Python (Django) can be utilized. The database layer might involve SQL-based systems (MySQL, PostgreSQL) for relational data or NoSQL databases (MongoDB, Firebase) for more flexible, scalable data storage. Choosing a suitable database will depend on data structure, volume, and access speed. 

4) Development Time and Team Size

The timeline for developing an ERP app can vary significantly depending on the number of features, the complexity of e-learning technology integration, and the size of the development team. More superficial apps may take 3 to 6 months to develop, while significant, complex ERP systems might take 6 to 12 months. A larger team, including project managers, developers, designers, and quality assurance testers, will typically be needed for larger projects, leading to higher costs due to the extended development period. The team size and extended timeline could push the price to $200,000 or more for larger projects.

5) Compliance and security standards

Depending on the regulatory requirements, security infrastructure, and compliance in school ERP, this could add another $25,000 to $50,000 to the overall development cost. Educational institutions handle sensitive data like personally identifiable information (PII), grades, and health records, which must be protected in compliance with privacy laws. The app needs to be designed to adhere to relevant data privacy and protection regulations. It must also have security features like data encryption, audit logs, and secure access controls (multi-factor authentication) to ensure the data is protected at all stages, including during transmission and storage. 

6) App platform

Choosing between developing the app for iOS and Android or as a cross-platform solution (using frameworks like Flutter, React Native, or Xamarin) can also affect the development cost. A native app for iOS or Android typically costs more ($50,000 to $100,000+) due to the need for separate development for each platform. Cross-platform development offers a more cost-effective approach ($40,000 to $80,000) but may result in trade-offs regarding performance or platform-specific functionality. Whether to create web apps, mobile apps for schools, or both should be based on your audience's device preferences and usage patterns.

7) QA and maintenance

Quality Assurance (QA) is critical to ensure the app runs smoothly and without bugs, and it typically ranges from $5,000 to $20,000, depending on the level of testing required.  This process involves rigorous testing phases such as unit testing, e-learning technology integration testing, functional testing, and user acceptance testing (UAT). QA helps identify issues that might arise during different stages of app usage, from initial login to completing assessments. After launch, maintaining the app requires ongoing updates, security patches, bug fixes, and possibly adding new features based on user feedback.  

8) Estimated Development Costs and how to optimize it

Development costs can vary significantly based on the scale of the project. A small-scale, basic custom school management app with core features like attendance and grade tracking could cost between $20,000 and $50,000. In contrast, a full-scale ERP solution for schools—could cost upwards of $100,000 to $500,000. To optimize these costs:

  • Prioritize core features: Start with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that focuses on essential features and iteratively adds more features based on user feedback.
  • Outsource or hire experienced developers: Working with a team with proven experience in developing e-learning mobile apps can help ensure quality while keeping costs in check.
  • Use open-source libraries: Leveraging open-source technologies can reduce development time and licensing costs.

 

Cost Factors to Consider While Developing a School ERP System

 

How can you build an app like the School of Achiever?

 

1) Define the Objective and Target Audience

Defining the objective and target audience is the first step when creating a custom school management app. You need to break down the problems you want to solve for schools, parents, and students to see if your goals align with them. Once you have the problem statement, you must decide what this app is for. Who’s going to use it? If the app is made for institutions, you will need an efficient and centralized learning management system. Still, your requirements will differ if it's just for parents who only want a simple, direct way to monitor their ward’s performance and fee requirements. 

2) Conduct Market Research

Without conducting comprehensive market research, you won’t be able to know what competitive apps are offering and what makes your app unique from theirs.  Look for the pain points in the current systems to see what features they lack and how you can innovate to get ahead of them—study ERP and e-learning app trends and competitors to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Look at apps already used by schools, analyze their features, and identify pain points you are trying to solve.  

3) Choose the Right Tech Stack 

The tech stack defines the foundation of the application, its scalability, and how it will perform. It is essential to choose technologies that offer flexibility, reliability, and compatibility with various devices and platforms. A well-chosen stack will provide a dynamic, responsive interface for users while offering the necessary processing power for real-time data management. The database selection must align with the volume and data type the system will handle. 

4) Design the User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI)

The app's design needs to be engaging and extraordinary so that students will be interested in using it. The UI must also be intuitive and user-friendly. Create wireframes or prototypes to visualize the layout of the app’s screens and functionalities and design a visual representation of your app. Share the wireframes with potential users, teachers, students, or universities. Since the app targets diverse users, regularly gather feedback through usability testing. 

 

Technical hurdles we tackled during development

 

1) Customizing for Diverse Needs

Every educational institution is unique, with different teaching methods, student demographics, varying needs, and operational requirements. Customization is needed while creating curricula for students with special learning needs, offering personalized learning paths for advanced or struggling students, or adjusting administrative processes for schools with different management structures. Speaking of personalized learning, check out this blog about how the e-learning industry will use Generative AI to personalize the learning mentos. We can contribute to making your app flexible and adaptable so that institutions can modify modules, reports, and workflows to align with their unique requirements.     

2) Integration with Mobile and Parent Portals

Mobile accessibility and seamless e-learning technology integration with parent portals are essential for school and student-parent collaboration. However, achieving smooth, real-time synchronization across multiple platforms—mobile apps for schools, web interfaces, and parent portals—is difficult. The challenge lies in ensuring these systems are consistently updated, data is securely shared across platforms, and users receive a unified experience.    

3) Data Security and Compliance

We had to ensure that our ERP system complied with stringent international and regional data protection standards, such as the GDPR in the European Union and FERPA in the United States. These regulations and compliance in school ERP set strict requirements for collecting, storing, and sharing student information. We implemented a multi-layered approach to data protection and incorporated robust encryption methods to protect sensitive data in transit and at rest.

4) User-Centric Design

Each user group has different goals: administrators require tools to manage school operations, teachers need efficient grading and communication tools, and parents and students need quick access to academic performance, assignments, and notifications. The design must ensure that the system is adaptable to these varied requirements. Accessibility is crucial, with features like high-contrast modes, text-to-speech, and keyboard shortcuts to support disabled users.  

 

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Why Investing in a Custom School Management App is Worth It

 

Automates routine tasks and saves time and resources

Tasks such as attendance management, fee processing, report generation, and scheduling are repetitive. With automation, your institution can easily handle large volumes of data (e.g., student records, exam results, and attendance logs). Automating everyday administrative tasks can reduce the burden on school staff so that they can focus on higher-value activities such as student support and save the costs spent on extra administrative staff. 

Strengthens parent-teacher collaboration 

Both parties i.e. the parents and teachers can stay well-informed and actively involved in child’s education. When parents are well-informed about their child’s academic progress, they can provide the right support at home. The app can deliver continuous updates on academic progress, attendance, assignments, and school events, and enhance student engagement.  

Customizable to grow with the institution's evolving needs

A custom school management app is scalable and flexible, able to adapt to the school's changing needs. Whether your institution wants to implement new modules, expand features, or integrate emerging technologies, a custom ERP system can be tailored to accommodate these growth demands. Schools can modify the app to suit their specific operational model and educational philosophy.  

 

Get a high-quality & budget-friendly ERP solution from us

 

As you must have understood by now, the cost of a school management app depends on several factors, such as the size of your company and the complexity of your processes. To estimate the budget for your ERP project, it's essential to consider the hourly rates of all the team members involved, the specific modules and features, and the time required to complete each stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC). 

The School of Achiever ERP, developed by Webelight Solutions Pvt. Ltd., is a significant breakthrough in the e-learning sector. Integrating the latest advancements in edtech and eLearning offers real-time insights into student progress, simplifies administrative tasks, and personalizes learning experiences. With the School of Achiever ERP, schools can deliver top-tier education and support student success in a dynamic learning environment. Our expertise ensures that every aspect of the app development is optimized for maximum ROI.

 

Are you struggling to balance quality and budget? Get a cost-effective e-learning solution from us. Reach out for a free consultation today!

FAQ's

The cost of developing a School ERP system depends on multiple factors like the features included, the complexity of the system, and the number of users. Typically, custom ERP solutions for schools range from $20,000 to $100,000, with costs varying based on specific needs like student management, transport coordination, and performance analytics. It's essential to invest in the right technology that scales with your institution’s growing demands to maximize ROI in the long term.