Initial Configuration
The SchoolsBuddy team will set up the Partner Integration ManageBac's data feed once your ManageBac site is ready. You will be able to see the API key used in your ManageBac account under Settings> Integration > Partners > SchoolsBuddy - please don't make any changes to this token as it will disrupt the regular sync updates.
By default, we will not import student email address and student photos. Kindly indicate if these are required during the implementation process.
Please note - The Managebac API gives access to all students and we have no way to block selected students from being imported to SchoolsBuddy.
Nightly updates
We operate a one-way sync from ManageBac to SchoolsBuddy. Data is synced every twenty-four hours between 1:00 - 3:00am in the default timezone for the server region (UTC in EMEA, UTC -5 in US, UTC +8 in Asia). Our support team can trigger a one-off sync if you need to update your data by occasional request, but the usual updates are frequent enough to take care of most day-to-day needs.
Most of the time, you will not need to make any user updates in SchoolsBuddy; you can continue to manage your student body in ManageBac (or other system which updates ManageBac - e.g. OpenApply) and SchoolsBuddy will receive updates.
When you need a quick change, your school's Super Admin users can edit Parent records in SchoolsBuddy (for example, to change an email address so you can include them in communications) in the Reception> Users roster. This does not override the data sync, so the data should still be updated in ManageBac (or source system) as it will be overwritten if not updated in the source system.
Names
While ManageBac supports 5 name tags for students currently, SchoolsBuddy only support 3 - first name, last name and other name. SchoolsBuddy can be configured to show either ManageBac's preferred name or other name in the first name or other name fields for ease of use.
Gender
Gender is not required in ManageBac but it is required in SchoolsBuddy as some activities may be restricted to one gender. Please update Gender before integrating with SchoolsBuddy.
Date of Birth
Date of Birth is not required by ManageBac or SchoolsBuddy, but if it is not available SchoolsBuddy will auto-populate this field with a default date 01/01/1970 .
Attendance sync
Attendance sync is not set up by default so please contact help@schoolsbuddy.com to enable it. Class attendance is not available currently - only homeroom attendance. You will be able to view absence in ManageBac for the AM and PM registers on the SchoolsBuddy register, so teachers will know whether to expect somebody to attend the club. Attendance data is synced twice daily at roughly 9:30/10:30am and 2:30pm in your timezone. For more details please see Absentee Alerts / MIS Absence
Single Sign-on with Accounts Portal
We will configure ManageBac SSO by default. If you would like to turn this off you can do so in your SchoolsBuddy account under Settings > FariaOne.
If you have a linked account in the Accounts portal you will not be able to sign into this account in SchoolsBuddy - only your primary account will be recognised in the portal when you click the ManageBac SSO button. This can be troublesome for Staff parent users in particular. Our recommendation is to contact Support with your email addresses to link up your SchoolsBuddy accounts and log in with your primary account. See Staff Parents to see how you can switch between accounts in SchoolsBuddy.
FAQ
Q: What if we need to update any student /parent/ staff details?
A: Update the details in ManageBac as usual. These will sync to SchoolsBuddy within 24-48 hours. If you need to make urgent changes you can also edit details directly within the Reception > Users section of SchoolsBuddy (as a Super Admin user).
Q: Will students automatically be removed when they leave?
A: Yes, as long as they are marked as "graduated" or "withdrawn" in ManageBac. If the record has been deleted from ManageBac entirely, you will also need to manually delete them from SchoolsBuddy.
Q: Will parents automatically be removed when their student leaves?
A: Parent accounts will be archived unless the student has a sibling at the school who still has a SchoolsBuddy account.
Q: Will Staff automatically be removed when they leave?
A: Yes, archived staff will be removed from SchoolsBuddy. If they are external staff (a coach or bus monitor), who you have added manually, an Organisation Super Admin user will need to delete their account manually in SchoolsBuddy.
Q: Can SchoolsBuddy import student photos/avatars from ManageBac?
A: Yes, if they are not imported automatically please contact Support team and they will enable this.
Q: Can SchoolsBuddy hold Medical information?
A: Medical information can be entered directly into SchoolsBuddy from the Reception > Users section. If you already have a lot of information please contact us to inquire about importing the information. Unfortunately Medical information is not available to sync from another Faria product currently.
Q: If we are no longer using a Grade created in ManageBac will this be removed from SchoolsBuddy?
A: Disused grades will not be removed automatically. Please contact SchoolsBuddy with the name of the Grade and we will remove it from view.
Q: Will teacher's classes be imported directly to SchoolsBuddy?
A: Teacher's classes will be imported for the purpose of creating Parent-Teacher Conferences and Communications. If there is more than one teacher associated with the class, make sure "Show on Reports" is checked in ManageBac for the lead teacher.
Q: If I disable access to ManageBac accounts, can parents still login to SchoolsBuddy?
A: Access to SchoolsBuddy is independent so parents will be able to log in and see any details that have been synced from ManageBac. Currently there is no way to disable access to SchoolsBuddy temporarily. For example, a student's new homeroom and grade information could still be found in SchoolsBuddy over the holidays if it has been synced from ManageBac and parents are logging in to view activity options.
More questions? Please review our general guide Data & Integrations if you haven't already, or get in touch with the Onboarding Team.