ERP software and the unique needs of payroll in K-12 education

Most ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems are not designed for the unique needs of K-12 education and trying to make them work for school districts can result in a plethora of challenges. In most cases, school districts need to revise their administrative procedures, retrain employees, and expend their dwindling resources on customizations to make their resource-planning systems work.

Payroll Challenges

Several years ago, the Los Angeles school district ran into major problems with their newly adopted ERP system. While they had good intentions by adopting new technologies, they rushed through implementation, district officials weren’t trained on the software and most importantly, their issues could be traced back to simply choosing the wrong ERP software for their unique needs. Because of this, they had overpayment issues of over 28,000 employees and roughly 4,500 were paid less than what they were owed.

Payroll fraud is also something you need to consider when running a school district, especially when deploying payroll software not intended for the needs of K-12 Education. In contrast, a purposefully built K-12 supplier will have built-in innovations that automatically assign security roles, track payroll processes, and provide transparency if a suspicious transaction is suspected.

According to a survey of Deloitte’s payroll processes in 2015, businesses face the following most prominent challenges when processing payroll:

• Issues with manual processes
• Accuracy and timing of inputs
• Non-standard complex processes
• Inconsistent and decentralized systems
• Integration of payroll data to and from other systems
• Outdated/limited systems
• Maintaining compliance
• Employee/manager review and approval of reported time

ERP Software: What is it?

Before we can understand how ERP software can help with payroll issues, we first need to uncover what it is. Enterprise resource planning software can be defined as a type of software that companies use to manage day-to-day business activities. These systems are usually designed around a single, defined data structure that has a common database. This helps to ensure that the information used across the enterprise is standardized and based on popular definitions and user experiences. From there, these core constructs are then interconnected with business processes driven by workflows across business departments—connecting systems and the people who use them.

Quite simply, ERP software is the tool for integrating people, processes, and technologies across a modern enterprise.

How ERP Software Can Help with Payroll?

Payroll systems are critical for school districts across North America who spend most of their budget on salaries and benefits. Not having a purposefully built and well-tailored payroll solution for your K-12 education needs can put school districts at risk of failing to meet payroll, producing inaccurate reporting, and not complying with collective agreements.

Before purchasing a new ERP solution, check that the payroll software can meet your school district’s specific requirements. Some ERP solutions for schools should be able to include:

• Union and non-union employees
• Multiple collective agreements
• Multiple pay period calendars
• Employees with multiple positions
• Substitute teachers
• Special allowances
• Fraud prevention

How is Edsembli’s ERP Software Different?

Edsembli’s mission is to ensure that school districts are spending more of their time and resources focusing on classrooms and students and not on complications arising due to an inadequate ERP system. Our ERP software was built by K-12 education administrators for K-12 education school districts. Therefore, issues surrounding flexibility or trying to use a system designed for use in a different industry, is eliminated. HR systems and payroll are in the cloud, ensuring information is accurate and compliant. With our included API school districts can seamlessly integrate with Edsembli FIN, Edsembli SIS, and other school business systems.

Edsembli’s ERP software also includes employee and manager self-service, time and attendance management, performance management tools and productivity dashboards, so missing information is minimized. Other features include:

• Hire management that seamlessly integrates with popular applicant tracking software to reduce data entry for new hires
• Leave administration is automated through an approval workflow and ensures that your board is compliant with your collective agreements
• Health & Safety compliance can be measured and reported on to reduce the risk of accidents and fines
• Criminal Record check compliance that is easy to track and action on

Our payroll software—which was developed for Canadian K-12 education—can increase the authority school districts have over employee data and processes and ensure compliance with collective agreements, payroll accuracy, and comprehensive reporting. Speak with Edsembli today about the benefits of our ERP software and start reallocating your focus on what really matters.