Getting Started with Ardent SMS
Set up your school on Ardent SMS in under 30 minutes. This guide walks you through provisioning, configuring, and inviting your team.
Getting Started
If you are a school administrator who has just received an invitation from your school group, start at Accepting Your Invitation instead.
What you will set up
By the end of this guide your school will have:
School profile configured
Academic year and terms created
Staff invited
Students imported
First invoice generated
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure you have:
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Admin Credentials | Email and password provided during school registration |
| School Logo | 400×400px PNG or SVG with transparent background |
| Academic Calendar | Term start/end dates for the current year |
| Student Roster | CSV or Excel file with student demographics |
| Staff List | Email addresses for all staff to be invited |
Estimated Time
| Task | Time |
|---|---|
| School profile + academic year | 10 minutes |
| Import student roster | 5–15 minutes |
| Invite staff team | 5 minutes |
| Configure fee structures | 15–20 minutes |
| Total | 35–50 minutes |
Setup Steps
Quick Setup Roadmap
Log in to School Portal
Access school.ardentsms.com with your admin credentials. You will land on the Ardent Dashboard.
Configure School Profile
Upload logo, enter school identity, GPS address, contact info, and school type.
Set Up Academic Calendar
Create the current academic year, add terms with dates, and configure the period structure.
Create Classes & Sections
Define class levels (KG–SHS) and create sections for each class.
Import Students
Download the CSV template, populate it, and upload to bulk-create student records.
Invite Your Team
Send email invitations to staff with their assigned roles and permissions.
Configure Fee Structures
Create fee components, build a fee structure, and generate your first invoices.
Platform Overview
Ardent SMS is a multi-tenant platform. Each school gets an isolated database schema — your data is never mixed with another school's. The platform consists of five web applications and three mobile apps sharing a common backend.
| App | Who uses it | URL pattern |
|---|---|---|
| School Portal | Admins, teachers, staff | school.ardentsms.com |
| Parent Portal | Parents and guardians | parents.ardentsms.com |
| Student Portal | Students | students.ardentsms.com |
| Staff Mobile App | Teachers and staff | iOS + Android |
| Parent Mobile App | Parents | iOS + Android |
| Student Mobile App | Students | iOS + Android |