# Welcome to Academium SMS

> Academium SMS Help › Getting started
> Web page: https://helpcenter.academium.com.ng/academium-sms/article/sms-welcome
> Last updated: 2026-10-06

Academium SMS is the school management system your staff use to run the school day: registers, students and families, fees, exams and report cards, staff and payroll, the school's accounts, and much more.

This help centre explains each part of Academium SMS in plain language: how to set it up, how to use it day to day, and what to do when something does not work as expected.

## Who uses Academium SMS

Academium SMS is used by **school staff**. Each member of staff signs in with their own account, and what they can see and do depends on their **role**.

Academium SMS comes with these roles:

| Role | Usually responsible for |
| --- | --- |
| School Owner | The whole school, including settings, branches, devices and the subscription |
| School Admin | Running the school day to day, setting up staff and their permissions |
| Teacher | Registers, marks, comments and timetables for their classes |
| Accountant | Fees, the family wallet, school accounts, payroll and tax |
| Receptionist | The front desk and prospective students |

Your school can also create its own roles, such as "Bursar" or "Head of Year", and decide exactly what each one can do. See [Staff roles and permissions](https://helpcenter.academium.com.ng/academium-sms/article/sms-roles-and-permissions.md).

> **Note:** Students and parents do not sign in to Academium SMS. Their records are kept by your staff. Families have a separate parent portal on plans that include online access.

## The three Academium SMS applications

Depending on how your school has chosen to run Academium, you will use one or more of these:

- **Server Edition**: installed once, on a computer at the school. It holds the school's records and serves everyone on the school network.
- **Client Edition**: for shared computers at school. It finds the school's server and lets several colleagues stay signed in, switching with a PIN.
- **Individual Edition**: for one person's own computer. It keeps working without a connection and sends your changes to the school when it can reach it again.

[How your school runs Academium](https://helpcenter.academium.com.ng/academium-sms/article/sms-how-your-school-runs-academium.md) explains how these fit together, and [Which application should I use?](https://helpcenter.academium.com.ng/academium-sms/article/sms-which-application-should-i-use.md) helps you choose.

## Finding your way around

- **The sidebar** on the left lists the modules you have access to. You can reorder and hide items, or narrow the list to one area such as Finance.
- **Search** (press **Ctrl + K**) finds students, staff, parents, classes and pages by name, even with a typo.
- **Your dashboard** shows what matters for your role, and **Catch Up** lists work that needs your attention.

If you are new, start with [Your first sign-in](https://helpcenter.academium.com.ng/academium-sms/article/sms-your-first-sign-in.md). If you are setting up a school, start with [Setting up your school: a checklist](https://helpcenter.academium.com.ng/academium-sms/article/sms-school-setup-checklist.md).

## With Academium Surepass

**Academium Surepass** is Academium's computer-based testing (CBT) and exam-practice app. Schools use it to run class tests and exams on computers in the lab, mark them automatically, and send the scores back into Academium SMS for report cards. Surepass uses your SMS classes, students, staff and subjects, so nothing is set up twice. See [Surepass and Academium SMS](https://helpcenter.academium.com.ng/academium-surepass/article/sp-surepass-and-academium-sms.md).

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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