Education has moved forward in leaps and bounds, however, the challenges faced by schools in maintaining day-to-day activities are also immense. Handling of school accounts and the financial management areas are no exception. The many innovations in technology have considerably simplified school operations and are doing wonders in the way schools are managed, this includes the management of school finances.
The collection of fees and other receivables, payment to members of staff, suppliers and others, cash management etc are all part of the functions of the school accounts departments that have been greatly impacted by the use of technology.
In schools where a large amount of data is generated every day, software such as Enterprise resource planning or ERP packages have helped consolidate school operations along with mobile apps and other tools such as the use of cloud software. Here are a few ways in which technology is aiding the job of a school accountant:
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Speed and accuracy
There is no more need for long queues to pay school fees as parents have the option of making and tracking the payments online. Similarly, any communication regarding payment of fees, reminders and so on may be easily communicated through SMS messages or an email. Along with the speed of such transactions, this has considerably reduced the burden on school accountants, greatly increasing efficiency as well as providing greater accuracy while minimizing the occurrence of human errors.
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Greater transparency
Even as the time and effort in maintaining accounts in schools and managing the financial aspects of running the schools have been considerably reduced, there is also increased transparency. Records are just a click away and easier to be accessed. Any previous history or information such as the amount of fees due from a particular student, a wrong entry in crediting the salary of a teacher etc can be easily identified and rectified and may be made available to the concerned parties.
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Maintaining records easily
Not only has maintaining and retrieving records become easier by uploading on the system, technology has helped to efficiently access, manage and analyze data for more informed decision making. Reports may easily be generated to help management run the school operations smoothly, analyze, compare data and manage effectively the expenses and income of the institution. All this makes it far more easier to identify how every dirham or dollar spent is helping to improve educational opportunities for children.
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Cost effective
Saving man hours is directly proportional to saving finances. When the basic processes of school accounts management, such as fee collection, payroll handling etc are taken care of online, it results in saving a huge amount of money and resources.
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Better organization
By replacing manual work and minimizing human errors, it helps to organize data better and also in avoiding improper and incomplete information. All this leads to reduction in the workload of the school accountants, saving time and effort and promoting greater employee happiness.
There is no doubt that advances in technology are making it possible for school accountants to perform their role in smarter ways and enabling them to provide seamless service to parents and school administration. They need to however, keep themselves constantly updated on the advances in technology. Rather than using just paper, pen and ink, they are now aided by computers, fax machines, printers and the internet to function better. The benefits of all this is finally impacting the quality of education offered by schools in a big way.
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