School management systems are designed and developed to help educational institutions better manage routine operations. Such operations include enrolling students, managing student data, producing reports, managing attendance, fees and finances and facilitating communication between students, parents and staff.

School management systems are broadly classified based on whether they are on-premise or cloud-based. On premise solutions are hosted on computers or servers within school premises while cloud-based solutions are remotely hosted and accessible via the World Wide Web. While both on-premise and cloud-based solutions have their pros and cons, cloud-based solutions have become increasingly popular in Nigeria and across Africa owing to the increase in internet penetration.

A review of the top 5 cloud-based school management systems in Nigeria was carried out and the findings are as follows:
1. Quick School Manager (www.qschoolmanager.com)
2. School Focus (www.schoolsfocus.net)
3. Blue Bic (www.bluebic.com)
4. SAF SMS (www.safsms.com)
5. School software Pro (www.schoolsoftware.com.ng)

Quick School Manager
Quick School Manager is a cloud-based school management system that easily automates all school activities, saves time and money and makes managing educational institutions easy and efficient.
Quick School Manager is easy to use and has features for automating routine school activities. It also has modules for managing students, staff and parents and facilitating communication across all school stakeholders.
With over 50 “how to” videos showing how to perform most tasks, it is relatively easy for new schools to get up and running with Quick School Manager.
- Website- www.qschoolmanager.com
- Free plan: Yes (Free for 30 students and below)
- Pricing model: Annual subscription
- Price plans:
• QSM Pro – N144,000 per annum (unlimited students)
• QSM Pro Plus – N180,000/annum (unlimited students)

Schools Focus
School Focus is a school management system whose aim is to build reputable school brands, raise productivity and manage school operations more efficiently. They offer better and easier class management, better communication and insight, help in reducing the school’s workload. Their goal is to provide a one stop solution for schools and to help them adopt a digital-oriented culture with greater ease. They also provide schools with a free school website and assist in school marketing.
- Website- www.schoolsfocus.net
- Free plan: Yes (Free for 50 students and below)
- Pricing model: Per student
- Price plans:
Standard Advanced Premium
Termly N350 per student N550 per student N750 per student
Yearly N1,000 per student N1,500 per student N2,000 per student

BlueBic
BlueBic empowers Educators to build fast-growing, efficient, and stress-free schools, by combining all tools necessary for running a modern school into one platform that is simple, flexible, and reliable.
Via a comprehensive dashboard and robust notification system, BlueBic provides easy access to the information school administrators need and prides itself on simplicity, flexibility and reliability.
BlueBic provides a wide range of features targeted at specific personas such as teachers, students, parents and administrators.
- Website: www.bluebic.com
- Free plan: None
- Pricing model: information unavailable
- Price plans: information unavailable

SAF SMS
SAF SMS prides itself as the school management system that is simple, affordable and flexible. It aims to drive students’ learning experience, enhance parents’ engagement, improve teachers’ productivity and reduce cost while raising efficiency. SAF SMS has modules and features for records management, finance management, grading, assessments, timetables, expenses and inventory to name a few.
- Website: www.safsms.com
- Free plan: None
- Pricing model: information unavailable
- Price plans: information unavailable

School Software Pro
School software Pro is an all-in-one solution for schools (primary and secondary), groups of schools as well as colleges, polytechnics and universities. The product’s aim is to manage the entire lifecycle of a student from admission to alumni.
School Software Pro has 53+ features to Teach, Learn, Examine and Manage Employees, Students, Parents and Administrators.
- Website: www.schoolsoftware.com.ng
- Free plan: None
- Pricing model: Annual and termly subscriptions
- Price plans:
200 students & below Unlimited students
Termly N65,000 N100,000
Yearly N170,000 N270,000

Bluebic school management software is a software that assist schools better manage their data and keep track of both the educators and the students day-to-day progress. it helps educators better manage their time by reducing the amount of time they spend on paperwork and redirect their time to where it is most needed (educating the students). It also involves the parents/guardians by giving them access to view their wards records and by doing so they will be able to keep track of not only the students academic progress but also their social and extracurricular school activities.
As well as facilitating the collaboration between the school, educators and parents/guardian www.bluebic.com also allows schools to collect fees, keep track of attendance, generate E-report and online assessment with a click of a button