Sahel EDU

How to move from Excel to school management software without losing data

Many schools manage their students, marks and fees in Excel workbooks, and it works as long as the school stays small and one person looks after the files. The move to software succeeds if you prepare your files, import in stages while checking before writing, and keep a short period of double entry. This guide gives the method, useful whichever software you choose.

What Excel does well, and where it stops

A spreadsheet is flexible, known to everyone and holds no surprises: a class list or a fees tracker takes minutes to build. For a small roll, it is a good start.

The limits show with size: several versions of the same workbook, one person who alone knows how it works, no different rights by role, no trace of who changed what, and a report card that depends on fragile formulas.

Several copies of the same file, with no way to know which is right.
No rights: everybody sees everything, or nothing.
No history: impossible to know who changed a mark.
A workbook lost with the computer, for lack of a backup.

Preparing your files before migrating

The time saved on cleaning is multiplied at import. A clean file imports in minutes, a messy one costs a day.

Do this work calmly, outside the start-of-year rush, and keep an untouched copy of each file before changing it.

One sheet per subject area: students, staff, classes, fees, marks.
One row per person, one column per item of information, no merged cells.
First name and surname in two separate columns.
Dates in a single format, for example day, month, year.
Classes always written the same way (“Form 3 A”, never “form three a” elsewhere).
Old student numbers kept in a separate column.

Importing in stages and checking before writing

Do not import everything at once. Begin with classes, then students, staff, fees, and last the histories (marks, payments) if you want to carry them over.

At each stage, look at a preview before confirming: the errors of an import are much easier to fix before writing than after.

Duplicates spotted before the import (same name, same date of birth).
Empty required columns flagged line by line.
Unreadable or inconsistent dates (a birth date in the future, for instance).
Classes unknown to the software, to be created before the students.
Totals checked after import: number of students per class, compared with the workbook.

The period of double entry

For a limited period, for example one sequence, keep the workbook and the software running side by side. At the end, compare the results: averages of a few classes, totals of fees collected, number of absences.

If the figures match, you can stop the workbook. If they differ, look for the cause: it is almost always a coefficient, a mark converted to another scale or a forgotten payment.

A short period, announced to the team, with a date to stop the workbook.
A few precise checks, written in advance.
One person in charge of settling differences.
The workbook kept afterwards as an archive, read-only.

Training the team by role

Everyone needs to learn only their own part: the teacher enters marks and takes the register, the Bursar collects and reconciles, the school office registers students and issues documents, the head of school checks and publishes. Half an hour on a phone, with their own data, beats a long presentation.

One session per role, on everyday tasks.
A contact person per building or per cycle to answer questions.
A one-page memo with the three essential steps.
A review after two weeks to clear any blockages.

With Sahel EDU: a guided import that writes nothing without your agreement

Sahel EDU has an import centre. For each subject area it supplies a blank form and a filled example in Excel, in French, English and Arabic, and accepts headings in all three languages. It shows a line-by-line preview without writing anything, flags duplicates and errors, and creates no duplicate when run again.

Mid-year imports exist too: timetable, marks, payments, Quran recitations, absences already counted, assignments, parent-student links, fees. Students keep their old student numbers. The school can export its data to a spreadsheet at any time.

If the team would rather not do this work itself, an assisted service exists, described on its own page.

Blank form and example in Excel, in three languages.
Line-by-line preview, nothing written before confirmation.
Duplicates flagged, re-running creates no duplicate.
Mid-year imports: marks, payments, absences and more.
Export of the school’s data to a spreadsheet.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to import everything at once?

No. Start with the classes and the students, then staff and fees. The histories of marks and payments come afterwards, if you want to carry them over.

What should be done with old student numbers?

Keep them in a separate column. In Sahel EDU they are carried over at import with the students, and the software then assigns student numbers itself.

How long should the Excel workbook run alongside?

For a short period, one sequence for example, long enough to compare a few results. After that, keep it as an archive, read-only.

Can an import damage existing data?

In Sahel EDU the preview changes nothing, and re-running an import creates no duplicate. Keep a copy of your original files all the same.

Can I try the import with my own files?

Yes. The free trial lasts 30 days, with no commitment. The price is then negotiated with each school and can be read on the Pricing page.

Try Sahel EDU for free

Try Sahel EDU free for 30 days, no commitment. Afterwards, the price is negotiated with your school and confirmed in writing.

Book a private demonstration See pricing How the trial works