PraxiSchool

Benefits:

Fairly easy to use the basics. Encompasses all our schools needs.

Drawbacks:

There are so many different tabs to choose from, sometimes it is difficult to know where to look for something. There are somethings that should be a quick find but you end up digging around quite a bit before you find it.

In sum:

The customer service is excellent. They go above and beyond to give support to their customers. Support staff are always available.

In sum:

If you are looking for a complete school system you can stop looking, you have found it with PraxiSchool! From enrollment, to classes, to transcripts, to full email capabilities, to lunch money to full general ledger (including payroll) and accounts receivable! The program is very user friendly and easy to follow and learn, but a complex, comprehensive system! Ed Arthur is GREAT!!! I can't say enough good things about him. If you have a suggestion to add or change something he is all ears and happy to accommodate! He spent countless hours working with me getting our system up and running and doing a full conversion. The customer service can't be beat! I have used by School Minder and ACS/Headmaster. PraxiSchool beats both of these systems hands down. I can always get help when I need it. The cost is also very, very reasonable! You definitely get a huge bang for your buck! If you are looking for a complete school system, please give PraxiSchool a look, you will be very glad you did!

Benefits:

The price was within our budget and the features were just what we needed.

Drawbacks:

It is complicated to navigate and the look of the transcripts are not formatted like the public schools are.

In sum:

We are using Praxipower for student enrollment, attendance and transcripts. It has made it easier to send records to other schools when they are requested.

Benefits:

The ease of set-up, high quality training and detailed resources for help. It also fits in our budget.

Drawbacks:

Occasionally, I might have to refresh the page for an update.

In sum:

I have now used 3 different school database systems. This one holds weight with the top of the line products used in my area, by overly funded public schools. One caveat, we are not using the finance side of the program.

In sum:

I love PraxiSchool. It is so much fun to see all the wonderful things we can do with it! It is easy to use,the layout is wonderful, and the support staff is the best!! I would recommend PraxiSchool to any school looking for a new system.

Benefits:

We had nine separate databases operating at my school and we combined them into Praxi. Not only does Praxi handle everything for admin and the classroom, but it handles library, donors, lunch, communications, after school and finance. My parents are happy that they have one place to go to pay bills, see grades, demerits, calendar, announcements, etc. Admin loves it because we all have access to the same information and if the littlest piece of info changes (e.g. an email), it updates in the system and we all have access. The support that Praxi gives is unparalleled. Any software adoption has challenges as change is never easy, but Praxi made it as easy as it could be. Praxi was available for any training we needed - even if we needed a refresher. The online support is available to help and they make sure your question is answered while looking at your screen so you are using your data. At one point I had to wonder if we were the only school using Praxi because their response is so timely. (Of course, they have hundreds? Thousands? of schools.) They helped us every step of the way and they are still there for any questions big or small. The versatility of the reporting is also beyond anything I have seen and I have had experience with many databases. We can generate a report using any piece of data in Praxi and output it in a PDF, Excel sheet or email it. And you can't beat the price. Lots of value with an affordable price.

Drawbacks:

Praxi does not currently have the ability for us to put hyperlinks in the Announcements page, but I'm told they have that on the "to do" list.

In sum:

We combined nine databases into one. Ease of use and versatile. Support is fantastic and so is the price! Both parents and the school loves having one database to which everyone has access.

Benefits:

Access to tech support

Drawbacks:

The glitches and hang ups at times with it being a smaller company and a progressing company.

In sum:

I have had a good experience learning this program with lots of help from tech support!! I never hesitate to call and love talking with Ed and Jennifer. They never make me feel stupid with my questions. As I use the software I get more familiar with it and am not afraid to learn new things.

Benefits:

I originally liked the idea that I could use it to write my lesson plans. I thought it would be helpful for the assignments I listed in my lesson plans would transfer to my grade book.

Drawbacks:

The system is unappealing in appearance. It looks antiquated and cheap. Every task that I try to complete involves multiple steps. The help I requested was unsuccessful at solving the problem. The training was poor.

In sum:

I have completed several class in educational technology. I have worked for a software company with a successful IEP, medicaid, and billing software. I know how software should work. I would never recommend this program to anyone.

Benefits:

It reminded me of software I worked with in the late 90's, except that everyone got their own login and could access the software from any computer with internet access.

Drawbacks:

We cancelled after 5 months. It seems like this software is on a dying, almost obsolete platform and the interface is obtuse at best. After our first on-boarding call, several email containing questions were met with zero answers. Calls were met with techs that didn't know how to navigate the software. The only person who knew enough about the software was our tech, and she was so busy with other clients it was hard getting and maintaining her undivided attention. It always felt like she was on the other line with another client during our calls or chatting online with several people at once. During our calls she explained to us her frustrations with other clients and lamented the fact that she never gets any rest since she's the only one there who knows enough to help anyone. I'd be scared to approach this company until they seriously overhaul their software interface or at the very least train more staff to support their current client base.

In sum:

None.

Benefits:

There is literally any function you could think of for a private school.

Drawbacks:

The attendance function is a little difficult confusing.

In sum:

It has helped us to be far more organized!