What is SchoolsBuddy?
Founded in 2013 and now part of the Faria Education Group, SchoolsBuddy provides a comprehensive web and mobile platform including activities management, online payments, transport & dismissal, event and trip sign-ups, school bookings, including parent-teacher conferences, and wraparound care. Designed for staff, parents and students, SchoolsBuddy also features parent communications, online consent and safeguarding. A solution for Primary Schools, MATs, International Schools, Independent Schools, and IB Schools.
SchoolsBuddy is a modular system allowing schools to adopt as many of our solutions as they require for their school. By providing a number of solutions within one platform, we save schools money and time. SchoolsBuddy enjoys particular success providing billing and payments for schools to manage their micropayments including, activities, school trips and other events.
We strive for constant improvement and growth through listening and learning from our customers. We endeavour to maintain our personal touch with all our schools by offering support and training whenever it is needed.
What do I need to run SchoolsBuddy?
SchoolsBuddy is a web-based application that is hosted on our servers. All you need is an internet connection and a modern web browser with JavaScript enabled. We would recommend using Google Chrome for the best experience, but the latest versions of Safari, Firefox, and other internet browsers should all work on both Macs & PCs. You can download SchoolsBuddy apps for your phone or tablet device on the Apple AppStore, Google Play, and there is also a direct download link for Chinese Schools.
How much does SchoolsBuddy cost?
SchoolsBuddy is free for parents & students to use, but it is provided as a modular subscription service to schools and the cost varies with the number of modules and students served.
For more information and an official quotation, please book a demo where we can show you the available options.
In what languages is SchoolsBuddy available?
The SchoolsBuddy interface is available in the following languages:
- English
- Chinese (Simplified)
- Chinese (Traditional)
- Korean
- Spanish
- Portuguese
- Russian
- Arabic
- Thai
- German
- Japanese
These are available for Students, Teachers, Admins and Parents. All text boxes support Unicode (UTF-8) formatting, allowing for input of international characters in all major languages. Please contact us if you would like to enable languages other than the default English option.
Who is behind SchoolsBuddy?
SchoolsBuddy was founded by Gary Hector and David Higginson in 2013, and became part of the Faria Education Group in 2019. The SchoolsBuddy team are primarily based on the south coast of the UK, supported by remote working colleagues and the wider Faria group across the world.
Is SchoolsBuddy GDPR Compliant? How secure is SchoolsBuddy?
SchoolsBuddy is committed to keeping your data safe and secure, by using best practices to protect our systems. These range from SSL connections to continuous security review of our source code. We are proudly ISO 27001 certified, as well as GDPR compliant. For further details, refer to our Security and Compliance page.
Setup
What do I need to get set up?
Setting up SchoolsBuddy is quick and easy. After signing up, we will discuss your requirements, bring in your data (via your MIS/SIS) and offer you initial set-up guidance prior to more detailed training. We can integrate with almost all MIS/SIS systems including Powerschool and iSAMS, and because we are part of Faria Education Group we offer enhanced integration with ManageBac.
How do I sign-up for SchoolsBuddy?
We recommend you first schedule a personal demonstration with one of our sales team, who will then be your main point of contact when you wish to sign up. Alternatively, you can always phone on +44 (0)1903 959565 or email hello@schoolsbuddy.com
What user types can access SchoolsBuddy?
Students, Parents, Teachers, Administrators/Coordinators and External staff can all access SchoolsBuddy. Student access is optional.
Help & Training
Where can I get additional help?
If you have support related questions, you can visit the Online Support section. If you have additional questions, please email or call us on +44 (0)1903 565 959
What kind of support do you offer?
We provide support by e-mail and telephone. We also provide free one-on-one online training sessions for your key users during the setup phase to help them get acquainted with SchoolsBuddy and to walk through all key parts of the system.
Technical
Where is SchoolsBuddy hosted?
SchoolsBuddy is hosted on Azure Web Services with servers located in Ireland, Hong Kong and the US.
Are my files backed up?
Yes, files are backed up in real-time on redundant RAID storage locally, and disk images are backed up daily at the data centre. Records are also encrypted and backed up off-site at a separate facility three times each week.
Can I export my information from SchoolsBuddy?
SchoolsBuddy benefits from an in-application integration with Microsoft Power BI enabling reports and other data to be filtered and extracted from the system.
How secure is SchoolsBuddy?
SchoolsBuddy is ISO 27001 compliant, demonstrating a commitment to data security at every level of our organisation. All data between your computer and our systems is encrypted end-to-end with SSL by default. Other uploaded assets and backups are also stored and transmitted using encrypted connections.
While your site is publicly accessible to prospective applicants and families, a password-protected account is created for each family automatically once they submit any information via an application or enquiry form. SchoolsBuddy’s Admissions Dashboard for staff is not publicly accessible.
Please click HERE for more information on SchoolsBuddy’s Security and Compliance.
Billing
When are invoices raised and due?
Invoices are raised annually based on your renewal month.
Invoices are issued to your school’s designated Billing Contact by e-mail 30 days before your renewal date. For instance, if your account renews on November 15, your school’s Billing Contact will receive a PDF invoice via e-mail by October 15. Our standard payment terms are net 30, which means that invoices are due within 30 days from the date of issue.
If you require an early invoice, please feel free to contact us at accounts@schoolsbuddy.com
What payment methods do you accept?
Depending on the location of your school you may be billed in GBP, in which case we kindly request invoices are paid by bank transfer, although cheques are accepted where a bank transfer is not possible. We do not currently accept payment by card for GBP transactions.
Where a school can be billed in USD there are additional payment options including payment via card and via your online account.
Instructions for paying by bank transfer or cheque can be found directly on the invoice.
How do I submit my purchase order?
Please email the purchase order to accounts@schoolsbuddy.com.
Once we receive the purchase order, we will generate a new invoice that includes the purchase order number.
Something on my invoice is incorrect. How do I adjust this?
If you notice a discrepancy, please contact us at accounts@schoolsbuddy.com.
I need a quotation before I can pay the actual invoice. Whom can I contact?
Quotation requests can be sent to accounts@schoolsbuddy.com. Please allow 1-2 business days for the quotation request to be processed.
I have documentation I need SchoolsBuddy to complete before I can issue payment. Whom can I contact?
Documentation requests can be sent to accounts@schoolsbuddy.com.
How do I obtain a receipt for the invoice payment?
A receipt will be generated automatically within 3-5 business days of receiving payment. Receipts will be emailed automatically to the school’s Billing Contact and will also post to your Billing page*.
For schools in China, we will provide Fapiao upon receiving payment. Schools need to provide an official name in Chinese, Tax ID and mailing address for sending the official tax receipt.
* This is not yet available for schools in the UK being invoiced in GBP
How do I update our school’s Billing Contact?
Schools also using ManageBac can modify their Billing Contact by logging into their account and navigating to Settings > Billing. Schools that do not use ManageBac can contact: accounts@schoolsbuddy.com
Please note that one Billing Contact is allowed per account and that this person will receive the initial invoice as well as any correspondence about that invoice.
Are there penalties for late payment?
Invoices that are more than thirty days outstanding incur a late payment interest rate of 2% per month until payment is made.
In the very rare case that a school is more than sixty days past due, SchoolsBuddy reserves the right to suspend an account. We do everything possible to avoid this situation, and so long as the school remains communicative and provides an anticipated date of payment within 10 business days, we will not suspend the account.