Complete School ERP. One Tenth the Price.

Chatmadi charges a flat monthly fee per school, not per student. Most school ERP software in India charges Rs.100 to Rs.250 per student per year, which means a school with 200 students pays Rs.20,000 to Rs.50,000 every year just for the software. Chatmadi charges one flat fee for the entire school regardless of how many students are enrolled within your plan tier. The Growth plan at Rs.500 per month covers up to 150 students, which works out to Rs.6,000 per year total. Competitors would charge Rs.15,000 to Rs.37,500 for the same number of students. The only thing that changes between plans is the student capacity. All features are included in every plan.

Each Chatmadi plan supports a maximum number of enrolled students. The free Starter plan supports up to 50 students. The Growth plan at Rs.500 per month supports up to 150 students. The Pro plan at Rs.1,500 per month supports up to 300 students. The School plan at Rs.4,000 per month supports unlimited students. All four plans include every feature Chatmadi offers: WhatsApp AI analysis, attendance management, fee management, exam results, report cards, payroll, timetable, transport, and all other modules. You choose a plan based on your school size, not based on which features you need.

The Starter plan is permanently free with no time limit and no credit card required. It supports up to 50 students and includes all core modules: student management, attendance tracking, fee management and receipts, homework and assignment management, exam and result entry, report card generation, staff management, timetable, and transport management. The one area where the free plan differs from paid plans is WhatsApp Business API integration. Features that require a connected WhatsApp Business number, such as auto-sending homework to parents, WhatsApp AI conversation analysis, fee balance auto-reply, and admission enquiry detection, require the Growth plan or higher. Everything else works fully on the free plan.

Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time from the Settings page inside your Chatmadi dashboard. Upgrades take effect immediately and you get access to the higher student limit and any additional features right away. Downgrades take effect at the end of your current billing period. If you downgrade to a plan with a lower student limit and your current student count exceeds that limit, you will need to archive some student records before the downgrade completes. Your data is never deleted when you change plans.

Yes. When you choose annual billing, you pay for 10 months and get 12 months of access. For the Growth plan, monthly billing costs Rs.500 per month, which is Rs.6,000 per year. Annual billing costs Rs.416 per month billed as Rs.4,992 per year, saving Rs.1,008. For the Pro plan, annual billing saves Rs.3,000 per year compared to monthly. For the School plan, annual billing saves Rs.8,000 per year. You can switch between monthly and annual billing at any time.

No setup fees, no hidden charges, and no long-term contracts. You pay only the monthly or annual subscription fee. There is no onboarding charge, no data migration fee, no training fee, and no charge for adding staff members to your account. The only additional cost that may apply is the WhatsApp Business API messaging cost, which is charged directly by Meta to your Facebook Ads account. Chatmadi does not mark this up or pass it through. You can cancel your subscription at any time with no cancellation penalty.

Chatmadi does not charge for WhatsApp messages. The messaging cost is paid directly to Meta through your WhatsApp Business API account. Meta charges per conversation. As of 2025, service conversations initiated by schools are free, and utility conversations such as fee reminders and result notifications are charged at approximately Rs.0.14 to Rs.0.30 per conversation depending on the template category. For most schools, the monthly WhatsApp API cost is between Rs.200 and Rs.800 depending on message volume. This cost goes directly to Meta, not to Chatmadi.

Multi-campus support is available on the Pro and School plans. Each campus operates as a separate workspace with its own student records, staff, classes, and data. School group owners can see an overview across all campuses from a central dashboard. If your campuses are small, you may be able to manage multiple campuses under one School plan. For large school groups with hundreds of students per campus, please contact us at hello@chatmadi.com to discuss a group pricing arrangement.

Chatmadi accepts all major payment methods via Razorpay, including UPI (Google Pay, PhonePe, BHIM), net banking from all major Indian banks, credit cards and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, RuPay), and Razorpay wallets. All payments are processed securely in India. For the School plan or multi-campus arrangements, bank transfers are also accepted. Contact hello@chatmadi.com for bank transfer details.

Chatmadi works with both regular WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business API, but in different ways. For schools that do not have WhatsApp Business API, Chatmadi can analyse uploaded WhatsApp conversation exports. You export the chat from the WhatsApp app, upload the file to Chatmadi, and the AI reads it and extracts structured data. For schools with WhatsApp Business API connected, Chatmadi can send messages directly to parents, receive replies, and process incoming messages automatically in real time. The Growth plan and above include WhatsApp Business API integration. The Starter plan supports conversation upload analysis only.

You export any WhatsApp conversation from the WhatsApp app, which creates a text file containing all messages with timestamps and sender names. You upload this file to Chatmadi. The AI reads every message and extracts structured records: absence reports become attendance entries, homework completion messages become completion records, fee payment mentions are flagged for confirmation, welfare concerns are flagged for the class teacher, and admission enquiries from unknown numbers are added to the admissions pipeline. The AI identifies which student each message refers to by matching names against your student database. The entire analysis takes under 30 seconds for a full month of group chat history.

No. Chatmadi cannot access your personal WhatsApp messages. When you use the conversation analysis feature, you manually select and export a specific WhatsApp group chat from the WhatsApp app on your phone and then upload that exported file to Chatmadi. Chatmadi only reads the file you upload. It has no connection to your WhatsApp account, cannot see your other chats, and cannot access your device. When WhatsApp Business API is connected, Chatmadi can only read messages sent to the specific business phone number connected to your school, not your personal number.

WhatsApp Business API is a paid service offered by Meta that allows businesses and software platforms to send and receive WhatsApp messages programmatically. This means a software system can send messages automatically without someone manually typing and pressing send on a phone. The regular WhatsApp Business app you can download for free is for manual use and cannot be integrated with software. The API version allows Chatmadi to automatically send homework notifications, fee receipts, exam results, and PTM reminders to parent WhatsApp numbers, and to receive and process parent replies automatically. Meta charges for API messaging on a per-conversation basis. Chatmadi holds Tech Provider verification from Meta, which allows us to set up WhatsApp Business API for schools directly.

Parents receive messages on WhatsApp from the school's connected WhatsApp Business number, the same way they receive messages from any other WhatsApp contact. There is no app for parents to download, no portal for parents to log into, and no new platform for parents to learn. When a teacher assigns homework, Chatmadi sends a WhatsApp message to all parents of students in that class containing the homework description, attachments, and due date. When exam results are published, parents receive a personalised message with their child's score. Fee receipts are delivered as PDF files via WhatsApp. All communication happens in the WhatsApp app parents already use.

Yes. When a parent replies to a Chatmadi WhatsApp message, the reply is processed automatically. For homework, if a parent replies with words like "done", "completed", "hogaya", or "kar liya", the AI recognises this as a homework completion confirmation and marks the student as complete in the teacher's dashboard. If a parent sends a photo of completed homework, the photo is downloaded and saved permanently in the homework submission gallery. If a parent asks about their fee balance, the AI detects the fee query and sends an automatic reply with the outstanding amount. Replies that the AI cannot handle automatically are routed to the inbox for a staff member to respond to.

The AI currently understands messages in English and Hindi, including common Hinglish combinations such as "hogaya", "kar liya", "nahi aayega", and similar phrases that parents typically use in WhatsApp groups. Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and other regional language support is on the product roadmap. For schools where parents predominantly communicate in regional languages, the conversation upload analysis works best when messages contain student names in English or when the school can provide context. Outbound messages to parents can be written in any language by the teacher when composing templates.

The AI is designed to be high-precision. It flags records for teacher confirmation rather than automatically marking students absent without review. When the AI detects an absence mention in a WhatsApp conversation, it creates an unconfirmed absence record and shows a banner on the class teacher's dashboard asking for review. The teacher sees the original message, the identified student, the detected reason, and the date, and can confirm or dismiss the record in two clicks. This workflow means a false positive from the AI results in a two-click dismissal by the teacher, while a missed detection can be manually logged. The AI performs well on standard absence messages like "Rahul will not come today" or "Priya is sick" and improves as it processes more conversations from your school.

Chatmadi covers all the modules that standard school ERPs in India include: student management, attendance, fee collection, exam results, report cards, staff management, payroll, timetable, transport, and parent communication. For most schools using basic ERPs, spreadsheets, or a combination of WhatsApp and manual entry, Chatmadi is a complete replacement. The one area where Chatmadi currently differs from legacy ERPs is that it does not include library management or hostel management. If your school has an active library system or hostel, you may need to keep a separate tool for those specific functions while using Chatmadi for everything else. Chatmadi does include a UDISE compliance export for government reporting.

Chatmadi is a web application that works on any device with a browser: desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile phone. The interface is fully mobile-responsive and designed to work well on Android phones, which most Indian school teachers use. You do not need to install anything. Open chatmadi.com in the Chrome browser on your phone and log in. All features including attendance logging, homework assignment, and fee collection work on mobile. A dedicated Android app is on the product roadmap. Parents do not use Chatmadi directly. All parent interaction happens through WhatsApp.

Yes. Chatmadi is a multi-user platform with role-based access control. Each staff member gets their own login. The system supports five roles: School Owner, Admin, Principal, Class Teacher, and Subject Teacher. Each role sees only the data relevant to their work. A class teacher sees only their assigned class, a subject teacher sees only their assigned subjects, and admin sees everything. Multiple users can be logged in and working simultaneously without any conflicts. There is no limit on the number of staff members you can add to Chatmadi on any plan.

Chatmadi does not require biometric machines. Attendance is managed through three methods. First, WhatsApp conversation analysis: when parents message the class group about their child's absence, Chatmadi detects these messages and creates unconfirmed absence records for the teacher to review. Second, manual logging: the class teacher can log an absence directly from their dashboard using a simple modal that shows all students in their class. Third, if your school has biometric data in a spreadsheet or export format, it can be imported. The class teacher is the only person who can confirm or enter attendance for their class, which prevents data entry errors from other staff.

Yes. The Holistic Progress Card format mandated under NEP 2020 is supported in Chatmadi's report card module. The HPC format evaluates students across cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains rather than just exam marks. Chatmadi supports co-scholastic activity entries, self-assessment sections, peer assessment entries, and competency-based evaluation fields as required by the National Curriculum Framework stages: Foundational, Preparatory, Middle, and Secondary. Schools can configure their HPC template to match their specific board requirements. CBSE-affiliated schools can generate HPC report cards that comply with the latest board guidelines. Report cards are generated as PDFs with school branding and can be sent directly to parents via WhatsApp.

Yes. The report card module allows customisation of the template including your school logo, principal signature, school stamp, header and footer text, and the arrangement of sections. For CBSE, ICSE, State Board, IB, and IGCSE schools, board-appropriate templates are available as starting points. The School plan includes fully custom report card templates where Chatmadi can configure a template that exactly matches your existing paper report card format. For Growth and Pro plans, the standard templates with your branding applied are used. All report cards are generated as downloadable PDFs.

A teacher creates a homework assignment by entering a title, description, due date, and selecting the class and subject. They can attach files such as images, PDFs, Word documents, or PowerPoint presentations up to 10MB each, and add a YouTube video link with auto-thumbnail preview. They can also add an external reference link such as a Google Drive document. When the homework is saved, if auto-send is enabled, a WhatsApp message is sent to all parents of students in that class containing the homework description and all attachments. Parents can reply "done" when their child completes the homework and the system records the completion automatically. A homework calendar view shows all assignments across the week with overload warnings when three or more items are due on the same day for the same class.

The fee management module lets you configure a fee structure for each class with different components such as tuition fees, transport, library, sports, computer lab, and examination fees. You can set installment schedules: monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly. Late fee rules can be configured with a grace period, a fixed or percentage-based late fee amount, monthly accumulation, and a maximum cap. When a fee payment is received, the office staff records it with the payment mode, amount, and reference number. A PDF receipt is generated automatically and can be sent to the parent's WhatsApp in one click. The module includes a day-book view showing all collections for the day grouped by payment mode, an aging report showing overdue fees at 30, 60, and 90-day intervals, and CSV exports. When a parent sends a WhatsApp message asking about their outstanding balance, the AI detects the query and auto-replies with the current amount due.

Chatmadi records and tracks fee payments but does not currently process online payments directly within the platform. Fee payments are recorded manually by office staff after receiving payment through bank transfer, UPI, cash, or cheque. The payment mode is logged with each transaction. For schools that want to accept online payments, the fee structure module includes fields for your school's UPI ID and bank account details that are shared with parents in fee reminder messages, so parents can pay directly to your account and inform the office. Full integrated online payment collection via Razorpay is on the product roadmap.

Chatmadi can generate three types of official student documents: Transfer Certificates with sequential numbering in four format options, Bonafide Certificates confirming student enrollment, and Student ID Cards with photo, name, class, and school details. All three documents are auto-populated from your student database. You do not need to type anything. Each document includes your school logo, principal signature image, and school stamp, which are configured once in Settings and applied to all future documents. Documents are generated as PDFs that can be downloaded or sent directly to the parent's WhatsApp. A log of all issued documents is maintained with the issue date and document type.

Yes. The payroll module covers the full monthly salary cycle for school staff. Each staff member has a salary structure that includes basic salary, HRA, travel allowance, medical allowance, and any custom allowances specific to your school. PF and ESI deductions are configured per staff member based on eligibility. Each month, the payroll run computes the net salary based on the configured structure and any leave deductions for that month. Payslips are generated as branded PDFs and can be sent to staff WhatsApp numbers. The compliance module tracks PF, ESI, and Professional Tax liabilities by month for statutory filings.

The Admissions Pipeline is a CRM-style tool for managing school admission enquiries from initial contact to enrollment. Enquiries move through six stages: Enquiry received, Contact made, Visit scheduled, Visit completed, Application received, and Enrolled. Each enquiry has a contact record with parent name, phone, child's details, and notes. When a new parent messages your school's WhatsApp number asking about admissions, Chatmadi automatically creates a pipeline entry so the lead is not lost. Staff can schedule follow-up reminders for each enquiry and add notes after each interaction. A weekly summary shows new enquiries, stage conversions, and overdue follow-ups.

Chatmadi supports CBSE, ICSE, ISC, State Board (all states), IB (International Baccalaureate), and IGCSE. Board selection is configured during school setup and affects report card formats, co-scholastic entry fields, grade scale options, and examination management workflows. CBSE schools get the NEP 2020 HPC report card format with the correct evaluation domains. ICSE and ISC schools get the traditional subject-wise format with appropriate grade scales. IB and IGCSE schools get international format report cards. State Board schools can configure formats specific to their state curriculum. A school can also run multiple sections with different boards if your institution offers both CBSE and State Board streams.

UDISE stands for Unified District Information System for Education, which is the Government of India's database of all schools and their student data. Every school in India is required to submit updated student data to the UDISE portal annually. This data includes student demographics, class information, enrollment status, and various compliance fields. Manually entering this data into the government portal is time-consuming and error-prone for schools with hundreds of students. Chatmadi generates a UDISE-compliant CSV export with 18 data columns in the exact format required by the government portal. You download the file from Chatmadi and upload it directly to the UDISE portal, with no manual data entry required. This feature is available on all plans.

APAAR stands for Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry. It is a 12-digit unique academic ID assigned to every student in India, similar to Aadhaar but specifically for education. The APAAR ID is linked to the Academic Bank of Credits and will eventually store all of a student's academic records digitally throughout their education. Schools are required to generate APAAR IDs for all enrolled students by verifying student data against Aadhaar through the DigiLocker system. Chatmadi currently supports UDISE data export which is a prerequisite for APAAR ID generation. Full APAAR ID generation workflow with DigiLocker integration is on the product roadmap. Schools can track APAAR ID status in student profiles.

The Holistic Progress Card is part of the National Education Policy 2020 framework and is being progressively made mandatory for schools affiliated with CBSE and schools following the National Curriculum Framework. CBSE has been guiding affiliated schools to transition to HPC-aligned assessment since 2023. While full implementation timelines vary by board and state, schools that adopt HPC now are ahead of the compliance curve. The HPC evaluates students across three domains: cognitive skills, affective development, and psychomotor abilities, rather than just academic marks. Chatmadi's HPC implementation covers all four NCF stages: Foundational (ages 3 to 8), Preparatory (8 to 11), Middle (11 to 14), and Secondary (14 to 18).

Yes. Chatmadi is built on enterprise-grade infrastructure with multiple layers of data protection. All data is encrypted in transit using TLS 1.3 and encrypted at rest. The database is hosted on Supabase Pro, which implements row-level security, meaning the database itself enforces that each user can only read or write the data their role permits. The application is hosted on Vercel Pro with automatic HTTPS, DDoS protection, and global CDN. Data is stored in India. Chatmadi does not sell, share, or provide school data to any third party. Staff access is role-based: a class teacher cannot see another teacher's class data, and a subject teacher cannot see fee records.

All Chatmadi data is stored in India. The database is hosted on Supabase infrastructure with servers in the Asia-Pacific region. Application hosting is on Vercel's global network with the origin server in the Asia region. Student photos and homework attachments are stored in a secure storage bucket with access restricted to authenticated users from your school. WhatsApp Business API interactions are routed through Meta's infrastructure as required by the WhatsApp API terms. Chatmadi does not store WhatsApp messages beyond what is needed for the school management records created from them.

Yes. Data portability is a core commitment. You can export student data, fee records, attendance records, exam results, and staff data as CSV files at any time from within the Chatmadi dashboard. Homework attachments and student photos can be downloaded as ZIP files. If you cancel your subscription, your data remains accessible for 30 days after cancellation so you have time to export everything before the account is closed. Chatmadi will never hold your data hostage.

Access is controlled by the role assigned to each staff member. School Owners and Admins can see all data across the entire school. Principals have read access to all data but cannot modify attendance or financial records. Class Teachers can see only the students in their assigned class: their attendance, homework, exam results, fee status, and PTM notes, and can log absences and assign homework for their class only. Subject Teachers can see students in their assigned subjects and can assign homework and enter exam results for their subjects. No role can see data from classes or subjects they are not assigned to.

Most teachers can complete their core tasks: logging attendance, assigning homework, and viewing student profiles, within 30 minutes of first using Chatmadi. The interface is designed for non-technical users and uses clear language without jargon. The most commonly used features are accessible from the dashboard with one or two clicks. Teachers who are comfortable using WhatsApp on a smartphone will find Chatmadi straightforward. For more advanced features like homework rubric grading or subject completion logging, most teachers are comfortable within their first week. Chatmadi includes an in-app AI assistant called Madi that answers questions about how to use any feature.

Yes. Chatmadi is a web application that works in the Chrome browser on any Android or iOS phone. There is no app to install. Teachers open chatmadi.com in their browser, log in with their phone number or email, and access their dashboard. The interface is optimised for mobile screens. Logging an absence, assigning homework, and viewing the class attendance calendar all work well on a standard smartphone screen. For tasks that involve entering multiple rows of exam marks, a tablet or laptop is more comfortable but not required.

Before a Parent-Teacher Meeting, Chatmadi generates a preparation card for each student whose parents are confirmed to attend. The preparation card is a structured briefing that the teacher reads before sitting down with the parent. It contains a 2 to 3 sentence summary of the student's overall status, 4 to 6 specific talking points backed by data (for example, "attendance has dropped from 92% last term to 78% this term" or "Maths performance improved significantly after the October unit test"), and 2 to 3 sensitive areas to handle carefully. The AI generates this by pulling data from the student's full history: exams, attendance, homework, PTM notes, safety alerts, and fee records. Teachers who use this feature report being genuinely better prepared for difficult parent conversations.

No. This restriction is enforced at the application level in every server action, not just in the user interface. A Class 5B teacher logging into Chatmadi will only ever see Class 5B students. They cannot navigate to another class's attendance, homework, or student profiles. When a teacher attempts any data operation, the system checks their assignment before processing the request. This prevents accidental data entry in the wrong class and maintains data integrity across the school. Only Admins, School Owners, and Principals can view all classes.

No. Parents do not use Chatmadi directly. All parent interaction happens through WhatsApp, which parents already have on their phones. Parents receive homework notifications, fee receipts, exam results, report cards, and event announcements as WhatsApp messages from the school's number. They can reply to homework notifications to confirm completion, send photos of completed work, ask about their fee balance, and respond to PTM RSVP requests, all through WhatsApp without any app download or account creation. This is one of Chatmadi's core design principles: parents should not need to learn a new platform.

For parents who do not use WhatsApp, Chatmadi still manages all the school data: attendance, fees, and results, without any impact. The WhatsApp features are additive, meaning they enhance communication for parents who use WhatsApp but do not prevent the school from functioning for those who do not. Teachers can manually record attendance and homework completions for students whose parents are not reachable via WhatsApp. Fee receipts can be printed and handed over. For PTM RSVP, teachers can manually mark attendance for parents who confirm by phone call. The core school management functions work completely independently of WhatsApp.

Parents receive updates through WhatsApp when key events happen: homework assigned, exam results published, report card generated, and fee receipt created. There is no parent portal where parents can log in and check records independently. This is intentional design. Most Indian school parents prefer receiving updates via WhatsApp push notifications rather than having to remember a login for another portal. The school controls what information is shared with parents and when. A parent portal with read-only access to attendance and results is on the product roadmap.

MyClassboard is one of India's most widely used school ERPs, trusted by over 3,200 schools. It is a comprehensive platform with strong academic management, communication, and fee collection features. The key differences with Chatmadi are price and WhatsApp intelligence. MyClassboard charges per student per year. A 150-student school pays approximately Rs.22,500 to Rs.37,500 per year. Chatmadi Growth plan covers 150 students at Rs.6,000 per year flat. On features, both platforms cover the standard ERP modules. Chatmadi adds WhatsApp conversation AI: automatically reading group chats and extracting absence records, homework completions, and admission enquiries, which MyClassboard does not offer.

Entab CampusCare is a premium school ERP used by thousands of schools across India and holds approximately 15 to 20% of the Indian school ERP market. It is well-established with strong biometric integration, detailed reporting, and a long track record. Chatmadi differs in two ways: price and WhatsApp AI. Entab CampusCare pricing is typically Rs.200 to Rs.300 per student per year, making it one of the more expensive options. A 300-student school could pay Rs.60,000 to Rs.90,000 per year. Chatmadi Pro for 300 students costs Rs.18,000 per year. On capabilities, Entab has stronger biometric hardware integration for schools that have installed biometric attendance systems. Chatmadi has WhatsApp AI features that Entab does not offer.

Fedena is a popular open-source school management system used by educational institutions globally. It offers a wide range of modules and has been adapted for Indian schools. Fedena's pricing varies significantly depending on the version and hosting. The cloud version typically costs Rs.100 to Rs.150 per student per year. Chatmadi differs in its WhatsApp-native approach: Fedena treats parent communication as a notification channel, while Chatmadi reads incoming WhatsApp conversations and extracts structured school data from them. Chatmadi also has AI features such as student journey reports, PTM preparation cards, and homework completion detection that Fedena does not currently offer.

For schools currently managing with spreadsheets and WhatsApp, the switch to Chatmadi typically saves 5 to 10 hours of staff time per week. The most immediate savings come from attendance recording (no more copy-pasting from WhatsApp groups), fee receipt generation (no more Word template editing), report card creation (no more Excel-based mark sheets), and homework tracking (no more manually checking who has submitted). Beyond time savings, Chatmadi provides data that spreadsheets cannot: absence pattern detection, homework completion rates by class, fee aging analysis, and student welfare trends. The Starter plan is free, so the comparison is between your current manual process and a structured system at zero cost.

Yes. Chatmadi works for coaching centers, tuition institutes, IIT-JEE academies, NEET coaching centers, and any educational institution that manages students in batches or classes. During setup, you select Coaching or Tutoring as the institution type and the interface adjusts accordingly. The attendance, homework, exam results, fee collection, and parent communication features are all relevant for coaching centers. The board-specific report card formats are replaced with custom result formats appropriate for coaching assessments. WhatsApp communication works the same way: send batch notifications, homework assignments, and test result messages to parents via WhatsApp.

Yes. Chatmadi supports preschools, playgroups, Montessori schools, and daycare centers. The student management module handles the younger age groups, and the attendance system works the same way. For preschools, the homework module is typically used for activity suggestions sent to parents rather than formal homework. The fee management module handles nursery fee structures including one-time admission fees, monthly tuition, and optional charges. Parent communication via WhatsApp is especially relevant for preschools where parent engagement is high and daily updates are expected. Report cards for preschools use developmental milestone formats rather than marks-based assessment.

Yes. The free Starter plan supports up to 50 students, making it suitable for very small schools, new schools that are growing, single-teacher coaching centers, and home schools. There is no minimum student count. All features available in the Starter plan work the same for a 5-student school as for a 50-student school. As your school grows beyond 50 students, you can upgrade to the Growth plan at Rs.500 per month.

Most schools complete initial setup in under 2 hours. The setup sequence is: create your school account, enter school details (name, board, academic year), add your classes and subjects (10 to 20 minutes depending on school size), add staff members and assign them to classes and subjects (15 to 30 minutes), and import or add students (bulk CSV import takes under 10 minutes for 300 students). WhatsApp Business API connection is an additional step that involves phone number verification with Meta. This process can take 24 to 48 hours if you are setting up a new number. For schools that already have a WhatsApp Business account, connection is faster. After initial setup, most daily workflows take under 2 minutes each.

Chatmadi requires an internet connection to function as it is a cloud-based application. Data is stored on our servers and accessed through your browser. For schools in areas with unreliable connectivity, Chatmadi works on a 4G mobile data connection. Most tasks such as logging attendance or assigning homework require minimal data transfer. There is no offline mode currently. If your school has frequent power cuts or internet outages, attendance logging and homework assignment can be done retrospectively when connectivity is restored. The system accepts past dates for attendance entries.

Chatmadi does not have a direct integration with Tally or other accounting software. Fee collection data can be exported as a CSV file which can then be imported or reconciled with your accounts software manually. For schools that use Tally for accounting, the fee day-book export from Chatmadi provides a daily transaction summary in a format that can be entered into Tally. A Tally integration is on the product roadmap. If accounting software integration is critical for your school, please contact hello@chatmadi.com to discuss the timeline.

Yes. Chatmadi supports bulk student import via CSV file. If you can export your existing student data from your current software as a spreadsheet or CSV, you can clean the data to match Chatmadi's column format and import it. The import template is downloadable from within the platform and shows all required and optional fields. Commonly available fields from other ERPs such as student name, date of birth, gender, class, parent contact, and admission number all map directly to Chatmadi fields. Historical attendance records, fee history, and exam results from previous software cannot be bulk imported currently but can be referenced in their original format while new data is captured in Chatmadi going forward.