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Against what you're actually using
Most tutoring centers and language schools run on a spreadsheet and a parent group chat. Some try a school ERP built for a 2,000-student secondary school. Here is where each one holds up, and where it doesn't — including where we don't.
| What a school needs | Spreadsheet + group chat | Generic school ERP | Schoolory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enquiries with an owner and a next step | A sheet has no idea who was supposed to call | Usually an 'applications' form, rarely a pipeline | Pipeline with trial lessons and follow-ups |
| Timetable that catches teacher and room clashes | Found out on the day | Term timetables are their strength | Drag to place, clash caught as you drop |
| Attendance by QR, from a tablet or a phone | Paper, then typed in later | Teacher-marked, often desktop only | QR check-in, parent notified in minutes |
| Make-up lessons tracked, not remembered | Someone's memory | Not a concept in school-year software | Owed, scheduled, taken |
| Invoices per course with part-payments and receipts | Works until two people edit the same row | Annual fees, not monthly courses | Reminders on schedule, audit trail on every payment |
| Parents pay online from the invoice | Transfer screenshot in the group chat | Sometimes, via a separate portal | Card on file via your own Stripe account |
| Teacher contracts, timesheets and payroll | A second sheet, reconciled by hand | HR module is usually an extra license | Included on Growth and above |
| A parent app in your branding, no trackers | The group chat is the app | Vendor-branded, often with analytics SDKs | Your logo, no third-party scripts — checked by test |
| Several campuses, one roll-up | One sheet per campus, one person merging | Multi-school is common | Per-campus scoping, one owner view |
| Your data in its own database, deletable on request | It is your file | Shared database, 'inactive' flag | One database per school; delete drops it |
| Gradebook and report cards by semester | Another sheet | This is what they are built for | Progress reports per course, not a semester gradebook |
| Works on day one without a consultant | Nothing to set up | Implementation projects, often months | Import a CSV, invoice the same week |
| Price | Free, paid in evenings | Per-student licences plus setup | One price per school from $39/month |
“Generic school ERP” describes the category, not a named product. If you are comparing us to a specific one, ask — we'll tell you honestly where it beats us.
When to keep the spreadsheet
Sometimes it is the right answer
If your school is one person and one campus, nobody else writes to the sheet, and you can answer “was this student here in March?” without opening four files, keep it and spend the money on marketing. The sheet stops working when a second and third person need it at the same time — not at a student count.
Read: the spreadsheet doesn't break at 200 studentsTry it with your own students
Import a CSV, build one week of timetable, send one invoice. If it doesn't beat your spreadsheet by the end of the trial, walk away.
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