Xero and Schola Integration for Schools

(PR.co.nz) Online accounting software company Xero (XRO) has entered into an agreement with Schola Technologies to deliver an integrated online school management system for roll out in the 2011 school year.

Schola Technologies has developed the new on line school management system known as Assembly and also operates the school management system SchoolMaster. More than 500 schools use either of these products.

After receiving a significant number of requests from accountants in New Zealand to deliver Xero for schools, Xero did a review of the school market. “We were shocked at the wastage arising from non-integrated desktop applications and the quality of existing solutions,” says Xero CEO Rod Drury. “School financials is an area of incredible frustration for school administrators and school boards.”

“Our analysis determined that a quality, integrated, online school management solution could save $10-20m of spending from reduced licensing, support, consulting and remote audits, says Rod Drury. “That money could be better spent on education outcomes.”

Rod Drury also notes that schools are the key first customers in the Governments Fibre to the Home (FTTH) initiatives. He says for school principals to connect to the fibre network, the industry has to provide quality cloud solutions that can remove local servers and their associated management costs from school budgets.

After reviewing existing school management systems Xero determined the Assembly solution, developed by Schola, was well ahead and of the same high quality as Xero.

Assembly helps schools with analysing student learning including, presenting National Standards; the management of planning and assessment by teachers; and student administration, including electronic attendance.

“By linking the key financial information from Assembly with Xero, a school will be able to produce the appropriate financial information and reports much more efficiently and keep the school community better informed,” says Schola Managing director John Dyer.

He says this integrated online solution will result in significant efficiency gains for schools and enable them to focus on their core functions.

“Xero shares our vision for making things much easier for school administrators, teachers and parents/caregivers.”

26 March 2010 Media Release from Xero (XRO) CEO Rod Drury and Schola Technologies Ltd Managing Director, John Dyer.