10 ways Hostel Management Software improves institution’s efficiency

The traditional hostel management software system is getting new faces as HEIs modernize the educational system with the passage of time. No more are educational institutions managing their hostel facilities manually in a labor-intensive environment. This has resulted in poor resource utilization and impacted the overall efficiency of academic institutions.

The system of managing and administering housing, mess, and other facilities in institutions is ineffective as it is attributed to the following problems:

Problems in the existing Hostel Management Software

• Chaotic hostel administration
• Manual allocation of facilities
• Wastage of resources
• Increase in staff workload
• Lengthy waitlists for approvals and sanctions
• Difficulty in retrieving hostel records of assets & inventory
• Tedious and time-consuming work
• Inaccuracy of data
• Different data processing for registration form verification
• Data duplication & errors

It is, therefore, time to evaluate the traditional system of managing hostels and implement a hostel management system on the website and mobile devices to improve the hostel services for students, administrators, and staff of hostels.

How Hostel Management Software can help Institutions

Using hostel software, simplify and streamline hostel administration efficiently in 10 great ways:

1.  Hostel Setup

• Create various categories of hostel rooms
• Create blocks & floors with details

Hostel management software for higher education helps log all of the information regarding the dorm rooms. This includes information on things like how many rooms, their categories, blocks, and floors with details about their capacity and features.

2.  Registration

• Register students/staff/guests online
• Assign multiple students to hostels

We are all aware that the manual way of handling the hostel introduces several flaws in the process of managing it. The hostel performs routine tasks such as registering students with other users, assigning students to hostels, recording in and out times, and checking room availability, among others.

Hostel admins can quickly record information about the hostel, including information about the rooms, the type of hostel, the hostel warden, and managing room assignments. Additionally, it entails receiving and keeping track of applications for dorm rooms, assessing and rating those applications, and classifying them as qualified or ineligible.

The automation of these processes will ultimately improve the institution’s accuracy and efficiency. Additionally, automation increases staff productivity and allows them to focus on other core activities.

3.  Student Accounts

• Capture profiles of students
• Maintain daily attendance records with entry and exit timings

Student data such as personal information, check-in and check-out times, and payment information are critically essential. Timings for arrival, departure, and attendance are critical and may be used as evidence in any fatal case. This data needs the highest level of security because it cannot be changed or deleted.

4.  Room Allocation

• View details of hostels, rooms, and student occupancy
• Automatic room allocation based on room type and the number of occupants in each room, waiting list & other parameters
• Add/Drop/Delete/Swap/Transfer students in each room

Hostel admins can quickly view information on the end-to-end hostel scenario under centralized dashboards. They can customize various settings and configurations to check the number of occupants, and waitlists, and add, drop, delete or swap students based on availability.

In addition to student information, the hostel management software can register staff information too. This makes it easier to contact the appropriate staff member who was assigned the task and allows you to learn every detail about them.

5.  Fee Payments

• Manage hostel fees including deposits, expenses & refunds
• Maintain hostel bills collection, mess bills linked to student’s hostel fees

The tedious task of calculating and collecting hostel fees is made easier and faster by the hostel management system features. As the fees can be calculated and viewed batch and user-wise. Hostel admins can check on students who have fallen behind on their hostel fees and notify them to pay their fees.

The online system can not only calculate students' hostel fees, but it can also keep a record of payment status, update payment status in real time, and generate payment receipts. It gives administrators access to the list of defaulters and allows them to remind them of payments via automated messages and emails.

6.  Vacation

• Drop or transfer students when they vacate the room
• Delete student records from the database upon vacation

The hostel system is engineered to handle student transfer efficiently. With workflows set, it gets super easy to handle transfers with complete exit formalities. The system can be defined to delete student records from its database upon vacation.

7.  Asset, Repairs, and Maintenance Management

• Automatically assign and track maintenance tasks to housekeeping staff based on requests
• Assign costs to repair works

Students are assigned various assets to ensure a comfortable stay in the hostel. Keeping track of these assets is something that the warden must do. Hostel management software streamlines inventory work by providing automated asset tracking.

Warden will exhale a sigh of relief as all necessities are met with a few clicks. With robust form builders, they let the hostel admin create detailed forms to store information such as asset category, availability, and assign a date, and make them accessible only to authorized users.

8.  Visitor/Guest Tracking & Management

• Capture and maintain hostel visitors’ records
• Automatically generate hostel gate pass
• Simple & faster check-in & check-out of visitors from the premises

Any hostel management must prioritize student safety. Following authentication procedures for all visitors and maintaining an accurate record of visitor data is an important aspect of student security.

9.  Mess Management

• Create menu items & prices, control the cost & run the mess efficiently
• Access student information including mess joining, change & discontinuation, hostel room & warden

Managing the mess and the canteen is a difficult task. Using technology, you can ensure a timely supply of groceries, create a weekly menu, and assign staff duties for the kitchens and household.

10.  Reports

• Generate various kinds of reports on student information, discipline information, Warden information, Mess information, Fee collection, and more.

The housing management system also provides a variety of reports, such as a block list, room allocation list, mess report, joining report, and so on, to ensure that the hostel runs smoothly on a daily basis.

Final Words

Creatrix Campus offers comprehensive and cost-effective Hostel Management Software and all other modules of Campus Management Solutions to manage hostels and other facilities in higher education institutions. Our module integrates with other key modules such as attendance, courses, asset & inventory, finance, and accounts to manage hostels efficiently and economically. Talk to our experts for a customized solution.