By Anna Toma, Rise SA Team
Last week we discussed the latest School Forum, feedback from Accountants, Bulk Mailing/Enrollments simplified and more. If you have missed a Weekly Update#18, here is the link to it.
In this Weekly Update you will find the interview with Nastasha Fourie, Bursar at Koos Sadie PS. They came aboard at the end of last year. Nastasha has recently completed training in RSM.
Nastasha is sharing her feedback on the training, the rise system vs Excel spreadsheets, the Communicator, 043-Form submission and her overall experience. Below is a full text of the interview:
1) From the Bursar's perspective, how do you find the Rise system?
Rise School is a fantastic accounting system for school's. It is easy to use and user friendly, especially for Bursars who do not have an accounting background.
2) How did you find the training with our Accountant?
Natassja was very helpful and still assists whenever I need help with anything. I enjoyed my training with Natassja.
Was it easy to follow and understand?
It was very easy to follow and with Natassja's help I understood everything very quickly.
Did everything make sense to you?
Yes, everything made sense.
3) In terms of RSM school functionality, how did you find it?
The RSM school functionality is very helpful and saves us a lot of time. All learner information is now loaded on our system and easily accessible.
Is it useful for schools?
It is very useful for school and can be accessed easily, no need for keeping lengthy Excel spreadsheets anymore.
What did you like the most?
I like the fact that all information regarding the school administration can be kept on one system.
What did you find useful in RSM for the day-to-day running of your School?
Bank statements can be updated daily.
Do you maybe have any suggestions for improvements?
The only suggestion I have is with regards to the statements. I would like to be able to change the form into a format that the parents are used to.
4) What do you think of the Rise Communicator?
The Rise Communicator can work as a very effective tool with regards to communication with parents. They are able to receive information on the cell phones immediately which makes the daily inquiries (telephone calls and emails) much less. Unfortunately, we have not been able to get all our parents to download the app yet, but are very excited about future communication with parents.
Has it improved your School's communication with parents?
I have noticed that parents prefer to use the chat function rather than to phone, which helps when you can't assist them immediately.
5) How has your overall experience been with support, training & Rise SA Team?
I can't express how much I appreciate Natassja's support and training. She has really helped me a lot and I am excited to use RSM.
6) Have you submitted the 043-Form from the system? How did you find it?
I submitted my first 043-Form from RSM in June. I was surprised at how much easier it made everything for me. It cut my workload in half as I did not have to use my own cash book and the WCED's excel spreadsheet. Natassja helped me to put new entries which I required on the 043, everything added up and was perfect.
Anything else that you would like to add?
I am extremely happy that I attended a Rise School Accounting Session and was able to convince our school to use RSM. I wish I had started using it sooner. During this difficult time it has helped me immensely as it is an easy system to use and not time consuming at all. I can also work from home when required as the system is online.
Our next School Forum is coming up in 2 days at 10h00 on Wed, Aug 26.
Last week we discussed the latest School Forum, feedback from Accountants, Bulk Mailing/Enrollments simplified and more. If you have missed a Weekly Update#18, here is the link to it.
In this Weekly Update you will find the interview with Nastasha Fourie, Bursar at Koos Sadie PS. They came aboard at the end of last year. Nastasha has recently completed training in RSM.
Nastasha is sharing her feedback on the training, the rise system vs Excel spreadsheets, the Communicator, 043-Form submission and her overall experience. Below is a full text of the interview:
1) From the Bursar's perspective, how do you find the Rise system?
Rise School is a fantastic accounting system for school's. It is easy to use and user friendly, especially for Bursars who do not have an accounting background.
2) How did you find the training with our Accountant?
Natassja was very helpful and still assists whenever I need help with anything. I enjoyed my training with Natassja.
Was it easy to follow and understand?
It was very easy to follow and with Natassja's help I understood everything very quickly.
Did everything make sense to you?
Yes, everything made sense.
3) In terms of RSM school functionality, how did you find it?
The RSM school functionality is very helpful and saves us a lot of time. All learner information is now loaded on our system and easily accessible.
Is it useful for schools?
It is very useful for school and can be accessed easily, no need for keeping lengthy Excel spreadsheets anymore.
What did you like the most?
I like the fact that all information regarding the school administration can be kept on one system.
What did you find useful in RSM for the day-to-day running of your School?
Bank statements can be updated daily.
Do you maybe have any suggestions for improvements?
The only suggestion I have is with regards to the statements. I would like to be able to change the form into a format that the parents are used to.
4) What do you think of the Rise Communicator?
The Rise Communicator can work as a very effective tool with regards to communication with parents. They are able to receive information on the cell phones immediately which makes the daily inquiries (telephone calls and emails) much less. Unfortunately, we have not been able to get all our parents to download the app yet, but are very excited about future communication with parents.
Has it improved your School's communication with parents?
I have noticed that parents prefer to use the chat function rather than to phone, which helps when you can't assist them immediately.
5) How has your overall experience been with support, training & Rise SA Team?
I can't express how much I appreciate Natassja's support and training. She has really helped me a lot and I am excited to use RSM.
6) Have you submitted the 043-Form from the system? How did you find it?
I submitted my first 043-Form from RSM in June. I was surprised at how much easier it made everything for me. It cut my workload in half as I did not have to use my own cash book and the WCED's excel spreadsheet. Natassja helped me to put new entries which I required on the 043, everything added up and was perfect.
Anything else that you would like to add?
I am extremely happy that I attended a Rise School Accounting Session and was able to convince our school to use RSM. I wish I had started using it sooner. During this difficult time it has helped me immensely as it is an easy system to use and not time consuming at all. I can also work from home when required as the system is online.
Our next School Forum is coming up in 2 days at 10h00 on Wed, Aug 26.