School software projects fail at implementation far more often than at the product, so the deciding question is usually who does the configuration, how long it takes, and what happens if it is wrong. SchoolDeck includes implementation, migration and training in every tier with no set-up fee.
Almost every failed school software project we have seen was a competent product implemented badly. The demo was fine. The configuration was handed to the school with a spreadsheet template and a deadline, nobody at the school had time, and the go-live slipped past the point where anyone had energy for it.
The right-hand column below is what to ask them, not what we claim about them. We publish SchoolDeck and do not track other vendors’ current feature sets; anything material should be verified with the vendor directly.
Compare on the implementation, not the demo. Ask who configures your fee heads and grading scheme, whether it is included or quoted, how long from data handover to first live register, and what happens if the school’s own data arrives late — which it will.
| What you are comparing | TurtleDock | SchoolPad |
|---|---|---|
| Who configures the year | We do, with your office — fee heads, calendar, grading, formats | Ask precisely who fills in the fee structure: them, or you |
| Implementation cost | Included in every tier. No set-up fee | Ask whether implementation is included or quoted separately |
| Migration of existing data | Included, validated before go-live | Ask what happens if your data arrives dirty, and who cleans it |
| Time to first live register | Two to three weeks for a school; four to six for a group | Ask for a date, and what it depends on |
| Training | Three desks trained — front office, accounts, teaching | Ask who is trained, for how long, and what it costs |
| Go-live sequencing | Attendance first; fees at the next month boundary | Ask whether fees can start mid-month, and how books close if so |
Schools ask how long implementation takes. The better question is what order it happens in, because the wrong order produces a go-live that technically happened and practically did not.
Implementation being included does not mean the school does nothing, and vendors who imply otherwise are setting up the failure.
If a school cannot give those, we say so before starting rather than after.
Phrased the way they arrive, answered so each one stands on its own.
The school’s own data arriving late or incomplete, by a wide margin. It is also predictable, which is why we ask for it in week one in whatever state it exists rather than waiting for it to be tidied.
Yes, and schools do. The one thing to protect is the month boundary for fees, so the books close cleanly in one system rather than half in each.
Checked by the Implementations desk on 7 September 2026. Corrections go in the page, dated, rather than quietly.
Pricing is on the page, in the open, with the counting rule written next to it. Nobody has to book a call to find out what it costs.
See pricingForty minutes with an implementation engineer — your classes, your fee heads, your grading scheme, entered as we go. No slides, no sample school.