Choosing school timetabling software: a buyer's checklist

Timetabling software ranges from long-established desktop programs to new web-based and AI-assisted tools. Prices and pricing models vary just as widely. This checklist will help you compare them on what matters to your school or college.

Start with your own requirements

If you haven't built a timetable before, how to build a school timetable walks through the whole process. Before you look at products, write down:

Your size and type: primary, secondary, all-through, sixth form, FE college, multi-academy trust
What makes your timetable hard: option blocks, setting, split sites, many part-time staff, a two-week cycle, specialist rooms
Who will use it: one experienced timetabler, or several people who need to share the work
Your MIS, and how timetables need to get into it
Your timeline: when you need next year's timetable done

What to look for

1. It meets your hard constraints, every time

The software must guarantee that no teacher, room or student is double-booked, and that availability and room needs are respected. Ask how it handles a timetable that can't meet all your rules. The right answer is that it tells you clearly, not that it quietly breaks one.

2. It works on your actual problem

Every product handles a simple timetable. Ask to see yours, or one like it: your number of students, your option structure, your part-time staff. A demo on the supplier's sample data tells you very little.

3. It shows you how good the timetable is

A timetable with no clashes can still be a bad one. Look for clear reporting on student gaps, teacher workload, and room and staff utilisation, so you can judge and compare results.

4. It handles change

You'll change the timetable during the year. Check how easy it is to make a change without rebuilding everything, and to compare versions.

5. It fits your data

Check how data gets in and out. Can it import from your MIS, or from spreadsheet exports? Can it export timetables back, and as PDFs for staff and students?

6. Scenarios

Can you try alternatives, like a different class size limit or a new staffing plan, and compare them side by side?

7. Support and training

Find out what support is included, how quickly you get a response in July and August, and whether training costs extra.

Pricing models you'll meet

Timetabling software is priced in several ways:

Annual school licence: a fixed yearly fee per school, sometimes with extra modules such as options or cover charged separately
Per pupil per year: common for web-based tools, scaling with school size
One-off licence: a single purchase, sometimes with optional paid support or upgrades
Per user per month: common for general scheduling tools
Enterprise contracts: for universities and large colleges, usually through procurement frameworks and often multi-year

When you compare prices, work out the total cost over three years, including add-on modules, training, data migration and support. The cheapest licence isn't always the cheapest option.

Questions to ask every supplier

Can you show us our own timetable, or one like it, in the software?
What happens when our rules can't all be met?
How do we make changes mid-year?
How does data get in from our MIS, and back out?
What's included in the price, and what costs extra?
What support do we get during the summer timetabling peak?
Can we try it before we commit?

Where Timez fits

Timez is a web-based timetable generator for schools and colleges. It imports your data from CSV exports, guarantees every hard constraint, and works to cut student gaps, teacher gaps and lunch congestion. Every timetable comes with analytics on room and teacher utilisation and student gaps, and you can keep separate projects to compare scenarios.

If you're comparing options, request more information and we'll show you Timez working on a timetable like yours.