Best Administrative Software for Schools: Managing Enrollment, Grades, and Attendance in One System

School administrators manage several connected processes every day.

A new student needs to be enrolled. That student needs a record in the school’s system. Teachers need the student on their class rosters. Attendance needs to be recorded. Grades need to be entered. Report cards need to be produced. Parents need access to important information.

When these tasks are handled in separate systems, staff may have to move information from one platform to another or manage several different logins and workflows.

That is why many schools look for administrative software that connects enrollment, student information, attendance, grades, and reporting in one system.

Gradelink is a Student Information System (SIS) built around this model. The platform includes student information, enrollment and admissions, attendance, classes and scheduling, Teacher Gradebooks, report cards, administrative reports, and Student/Parent Access. More than 2,000 schools around the world trust Gradelink for managing school information and day-to-day operations.

For schools comparing administrative software, the important question is not simply how many features a platform has.

The better question is: Can the software connect the student information workflows that administrators and teachers manage every day?

What Is Administrative Software for Schools?

Administrative software for schools is a system that helps school staff manage student information and important school operations in a centralized platform.

A school administrative system may include tools for:

• Enrollment and admissions
• Student records
• Attendance
• Classes and scheduling
• Teacher gradebooks
• Report cards
• Transcripts
• Administrative reports
• Parent and student access
• Communication
• Tuition and billing
• Discipline and behavior
• Medical records

A Student Information System is one of the main forms of school administrative software.

Gradelink defines an SIS as comprehensive software for managing school data, including enrollment and admissions, grades, student data, communication, and more. The Gradelink SIS is designed to make day-to-day operations easier for administrators, teachers, and parents while keeping important information accessible.

The value of an SIS is not just having all these features available.

It is having them organized around the school’s student information.

The 3 Core Workflows School Administrative Software Should Connect

When evaluating administrative software, schools should start with the workflows that create and use student information throughout the school year.

For this reason, enrollment, attendance, and grades are three important areas to examine.

1. Enrollment and Student Intake

Enrollment is the starting point for a student’s school record.

If families submit applications online but administrators then have to manually recreate the information somewhere else, the school is still dealing with a disconnected process.

Gradelink offers EnrollMe, its online enrollment system.

EnrollMe allows new and re-enrolling families to submit information online. Families can add or update contact information, agree to school terms and tuition or fee structures, and make registration payments online. Administrators can then log into Gradelink to review applications. Approved applicants can be moved from the pending area into the main student information area.

The basic workflow is:

Online application → Application review → Approval → Student information

Gradelink’s EnrollMe documentation also includes workflows for reviewing applications, managing enrollment sessions, enrolling new students, re-enrolling students, generating enrollment reports, and importing information from enrollment applications.

What should schools look for in enrollment software?

When comparing administrative software, ask:

• Can families apply online?
• Can returning students re-enroll online?
• Can administrators review applications within the system?
• Can approved applications be moved into the student information system?
• Can the school customize enrollment forms?
• Can the school collect registration payments online?
• Can administrators generate enrollment reports?

Gradelink’s current pricing information describes EnrollMe as an online enrollment system that supports student applications, re-enrollment, and document collection for private schools.

That makes enrollment a connected part of the broader student information workflow.

2. Attendance and Daily Student Tracking

Once students are enrolled and assigned to classes, attendance becomes one of the most frequent administrative tasks.

Teachers need to record attendance. Office staff need to review it. Administrators may need attendance reports. Parents may need notifications or a way to report an absence.

Gradelink supports both daily attendance and class-based attendance.

The attendance system allows instructors to take attendance and makes attendance reports available to the school office. Principals and office staff can see students marked absent or tardy and make updates or corrections when needed.

Daily attendance

Gradelink’s daily attendance tools include commenting and tracking for customizable attributes such as:

• Tardies
• AM/PM absences
• Medical excuses
• School holidays
• Lunch count

The system also provides attendance registers and attendance reports.

Class-based attendance

For schools that take attendance by subject or period, Gradelink supports class-based attendance.

This allows schools to track attendance for individual subjects across multiple periods during the day.

That distinction matters when comparing school administrative software because not every school follows the same attendance model.

Attendance reporting

Gradelink provides several attendance reports, including attendance registers, attendance per class, detailed attendance reports, custom attendance reports, daily attendance, and total-school attendance.

Administrators can also create custom attendance reports based on a term or date range and export the results to Excel.

Parent absence reporting

Gradelink also supports parent absence reporting.

When the feature is enabled, parents can report absences from their Gradelink web login or mobile app. Administrators can receive notifications and, for schools using Daily Attendance, review and apply the appropriate attendance information.

This gives schools a connected process:

Attendance entry → Administrative review → Reporting → Family access or absence reporting

3. Grades, Gradebooks, and Academic Records

Grades are another major part of school administration.

Teachers enter assignment scores. Those scores contribute to course grades. At the end of a term, the school may need report cards and transcripts.

An administrative system should make that process easier to manage.

Gradelink’s Teacher Gradebooks are designed to combine the familiar structure of a traditional gradebook with automatic calculation of final grades and display of points, letter grades, or percentages.

Teachers can:

• Set assignment titles and due dates
• Set assignment weights
• Use points, letters, or percentages
• Add homework, quizzes, tests, projects, and other assignments
• Use custom grade codes
• Add comments
• Give extra credit
• Mark assignments as excused, absent, or incomplete
• Attach files to assignments
• Copy assignments to other classes
• Configure automatic lowest-score dropping

Gradelink also allows teachers to switch between courses from the Classes menu and supports team teaching by allowing multiple teachers to access a class when configured by an administrator.

From gradebook to report card

The gradebook is only one part of the academic workflow.

Gradelink’s report card tools allow teachers to conclude their classes, after which administrators can generate report cards by selecting students and terms. The system supports customized report card profiles and allows report cards to be downloaded as PDFs or published online for parents and students.

Gradelink also states that grades are added to transcripts automatically when a class is concluded. Administrators can also manually add grades to a transcript when needed, such as when a student transfers from another school.

This creates a useful academic workflow:

Teacher gradebook → Final grades → Report card → Transcript → Parent/student access

That connection is important when evaluating administrative software because the gradebook should not exist as an isolated teacher tool.

How Enrollment, Attendance, and Grades Connect in an Integrated SIS

The strongest way to evaluate administrative software is to look at the entire student information workflow.

Consider what happens to one student during a school year.

1. Enrollment

A family submits enrollment information through the school’s online enrollment process.

2. Student Information

After approval, the student’s information can be brought into the school’s main student information workflow through Gradelink’s EnrollMe process.

3. Classes and Scheduling

The student is connected to classes and schedules. Gradelink supports student scheduling, teacher schedules, block scheduling, class calendars, and class management.

4. Attendance

Teachers record daily or class-based attendance. Administrators can access attendance information and reports.

5. Grades

Teachers manage assignments and grades through Teacher Gradebooks.

6. Academic Records

The school’s grading information can support report cards and transcripts.

7. Parent and Student Access

Parents and students can access information such as grades, assignments, attendance, schedules, and other available information through Gradelink’s Parent/Student Access tools.

The important point is that these activities all revolve around the same student information.

That is what makes an integrated SIS different from using a collection of unrelated school software tools.

Fragmented School Software vs. an Integrated SIS

Schools do not always need to replace every application they use. But when core student workflows are spread across disconnected platforms, administrators should consider how information moves between them.

The advantage of integration is not that every school will eliminate every other software product.

The advantage is that core student information can be managed in a system designed to connect these workflows.

What Gradelink Includes for School Administration

Gradelink goes beyond the three core workflows in this article.

The current feature set includes:

• Student information
• Enrollment and admissions
• Attendance
• Classes and scheduling
• Teacher Gradebooks
• Report cards
• Administrative reports
• Student/Parent Access
• Communication
• Discipline and behavior
• Medical records
• Educational standards
• Tuition and billing
• Teacher pages and school news
• District and diocesan reporting

This matters for buyers because a school may start by looking for enrollment, attendance, and grade management but later need additional administrative capabilities.

Parent and Student Access Is Part of the Administrative Workflow

Although enrollment, grades, and attendance are the focus of this article, families also need access to information.

Gradelink’s Parent/Student Access tools allow parents and students to view information such as:

• Class and assignment grades
• Due dates
• Upcoming homework
• Attendance
• Student schedules
• School and class calendars
• Teacher-posted file attachments

The Student/Parent Mobile App provides access to schedules, class and assignment grades, attendance, upcoming homework, and more.

Gradelink’s redesigned Parent and Student Portals were rolled out to all Gradelink schools in 2025 and were designed to work across computers, tablets, and smartphones. The updated interface includes areas for attendance, grades, schedules, and service hours.

Administrators can also control what parents and students can access within Gradelink. Available settings include attendance comments, GPA, attendance alerts, student schedules, academic alerts, published report cards, school news, and teacher pages.

This gives schools control over the information families see while keeping the information connected to the school’s SIS.

Administrative Reports Matter When Schools Need More Than Student-by-Student Data

A school administrator may need to look at information across an entire class, grade level, or school. Gradelink provides administrative reporting tools that include items such as:

• Classes by attendance
• Classes by average grade
• Family directory
• IEP tracking
• Lunch reporting
• Security activity logs
• Staff roster
• Standards-met-by-teacher reports
• Volunteer service-hour tracking

Gradelink also maintains a larger report library that includes enrollment/admissions, report cards, school attendance totals, school averages, student schedules, transcripts, tuition and billing, top attendance, uncompleted attendance, current grades, current assignments, and other reports.

This is important when choosing administrative software because the value of student data comes from being able to use it for actual school operations.

What Should Schools Check Before Choosing Administrative Software?

A software demo can look impressive. But school leaders should test the platform against real workflows.

Grades

Ask:

• Does the system include a teacher gradebook?
• Can teachers use different grading methods?
• Can assignments be weighted?
• Can teachers use custom grade codes?
• Can grades support report cards and transcripts?

Gradelink’s Teacher Gradebooks support points, letters, percentages, assignment weighting, custom grade codes, comments, extra credit, and other grading functions. The Gradelink SIS also includes report cards and transcripts.

What About Setup and Support?

Implementation is another important part of a school software decision.

For Gradelink, most schools can be up and running in as little as 5–10 days, depending on how quickly the required data is provided.

Gradelink also provides staff training and access to help resources. Its current features page lists training for staff members, unlimited access to its help website, how-to articles and videos, and automatic software updates. The Gradelink support community also provides separate training resources for administrators and teachers.

For a school changing administrative systems, these details are worth checking before signing up.

A platform can have the right features and still create problems if the implementation process does not fit the school’s timeline or staff needs.

How Gradelink Fits the Buyer’s Checklist

For a school comparing administrative software, Gradelink can be evaluated against the three core workflows in this article:

The important distinction is that these capabilities are part of Gradelink’s broader SIS environment rather than being presented as unrelated standalone products.

Why Schools Consider Gradelink for Administrative Software

Gradelink positions its SIS around connecting administrators, teachers, parents, and students in one system. The current school software offering includes student and parent access, Teacher Gradebooks, attendance, classes and scheduling, report cards, student information, tuition and billing, medical records, discipline, educational standards, and other school-management functions.

For schools specifically looking to connect enrollment, grades, and attendance, Gradelink provides a clear workflow:

EnrollMe: Online applications and re-enrollment.

Student Information: Approved student information becomes part of the school’s SIS workflow.

Classes & Scheduling: Students are connected to their school schedules and classes.

Attendance: Teachers record daily or class-based attendance and administrators can access reports.

Teacher Gradebooks: Teachers manage assignments and grades.

Report Cards & Transcripts: Academic information is used for report cards and transcripts.

Parent/Student Access: Families can access grades, assignments, attendance, schedules, and other available information.

That is the type of connected workflow a school should look for when evaluating administrative software.

Is Gradelink the Best Administrative Software for Your School?

There is no software platform that is automatically the right choice for every school.

The right decision depends on the school’s enrollment process, attendance model, grading system, reporting requirements, existing technology, budget, and staff needs.

But if a school is specifically looking for an SIS for mid-sized schools that connects enrollment, student information, attendance, grades, report cards, scheduling, and parent/student access, Gradelink has these capabilities within its platform. The best way to evaluate Gradelink is to test it against your school’s real workflow.

In conclusion

The best administrative software for schools should not be judged only by the number of features it lists. It should be judged by how well those features connect to the work a school actually performs.

• Enrollment creates the student information.
• Classes and scheduling connect students with their teachers.
• Attendance records daily participation.
• Teacher Gradebooks manage academic work and grades.
• Report cards and transcripts turn academic information into formal records.
• Parent and Student Access gives families a way to view relevant information.

Gradelink brings these workflows together through its Student Information System. So for schools looking for administrative software that can manage enrollment, grades, and attendance in one system, Gradelink is worth evaluating.