Moving Your School from Spreadsheets to School Software

Most schools start on spreadsheets. Moving to proper software is easier than it sounds if you do it in the right order and keep the old files until you are sure.

1 · Clean the spreadsheet

One row per student, one column per field: surname, first name, class, gender, date of birth, parent name, parent phone, parent email. Fix obvious errors — duplicate rows, misspelt class names — before you import anything.

2 · Set up the school first

Create your classes, subjects and term. In MSMS, Academic Setup can import them for your country in one click, and you can edit afterwards.

3 · Import with the sample file

MSMS offers a sample CSV with the exact columns it understands, including surname / first name and the parent's name, phone and email — which also creates each parent's login and links brothers and sisters together. Import one class first and check it.

4 · Hand out logins

Use the credentials sheet to give students, teachers and parents their first passwords, and reset first-time logins in one click for anyone who has not signed in.

5 · Bring fees across

Set the fee structure for the current term and generate invoices. Record payments already received so balances match your records.

6 · Run both for a short time

Keep the spreadsheet read-only for a few weeks, then archive it. Staff learn faster when the new system tells them what to do on each page — which MSMS does with its built-in guide.

Switching from the Onest Schooled website? MSMS can import your public site in one click, translations included. Read how MSMS works.

Quick answers

Can I import students from Excel?

Yes — save the sheet as CSV and import it. MSMS provides a sample file with the right columns.

Will parents be created during import?

Yes. If the sheet has parent name, phone and email, MSMS creates the parent logins and links brothers and sisters to the same parent.