# Trying the demo school

> Academium SMS Help › Getting started
> For: Individual Edition, Server Edition
> Web page: https://helpcenter.academium.com.ng/academium-sms/article/sms-trying-the-demo
> Last updated: 2026-10-06

The demo lets you explore Academium SMS with a sample school before you set up your own. It is available from the **Server Edition** and the **Individual Edition**.

## What the demo contains

The demo school has **two years of records**: pupils, staff, fees, results and accounts. That way there is something to look at on every screen.

## Starting the demo

1. Open the Server Edition or Individual Edition on a computer that has not been set up yet.
2. On the welcome screen, choose **Try a Demo**.
3. Enter your name, email address, school and your position there.
4. Enter the code sent to your email address. Use an address you can open straight away.
5. Choose **Open the demo** to go in as the school owner, or pick another role, such as a teacher or accountant, to see Academium as they would.

You can switch role at any time from inside the app.

## Coming back to the demo

When you open Academium again, you can:

- **Continue in the demo.** It opens as the school owner. The sample data has been reset, so anything you changed last time is gone.
- **Set up my own school.** This removes the demo and takes you to sign in or register.
- **End the demo and start over.** This removes the sample school and returns Academium to a fresh install.

## Good to know

- Nothing you do in the demo affects a real school.
- Some things cannot be done in a demo because they need a real school account, such as locking or wiping devices, or subscription changes.
- Setting up your real school clears the demo away.

## Common issues

**"The demo could not be set up."** Choose **Try again**. If it keeps failing, you can still set up a real school; that is not affected.

**"The demo is unavailable."** A report has been sent to the Academium support team automatically. Nothing is wrong with your computer, and setting up a real school still works as normal.

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Need a server computer, a Windows licence, a school network or a computer lab? **Academium Plus**, from the same company as this product, supplies and sets them up, with a **free quote**: https://my.academium.com.ng/support