Several features quietly depend on earlier steps — you can't create classes until the academic year is set, and report cards can't publish without a term calendar. Follow these in order and nothing will be blocked later.
This walkthrough expands the first-time setup checklist into a step you can follow at the keyboard. Every step links back to the matching reference section if you want more detail.
Open Settings. At the top, enter the Current academic year as 2025/26 and choose the Current term, then press Save. This is the default for every class, import and gradebook from now on.
Open Settings → Term calendar. Add each term with its name (e.g. "Term 1"), start date, end date and number of school days. This is required before any term's report cards can publish, and it's what attendance rates are measured against.
In Settings → Subjects, create every subject you teach (Mathematics, English, Integrated Science…). Renames apply everywhere, including history; a subject can't be deleted while classes still use it.
In Settings → Grade scales, press Add scale, name it, and add rows (min score, max score, letter, remark) — for example 80–100 → A → "Excellent". This is what appears on report cards.
Open Settings → Conduct traits. These are the behaviour categories (e.g. Punctuality) that teachers rate at term wrap-up and that appear on report cards. Adjust them to match how your school reports conduct.
Open Classes → New class, enter the Label (placeholder JHS 1A), pick the required Level (the form can't be submitted without it), set the Academic year (pre-filled), optionally pick a Homeroom teacher, and press Create class. Repeat for each class — or let the CSV import create them for you in the next step.
Add teachers first (so they're available as homeroom and subject teachers), then students, then link parents. One at a time via Add user, or in bulk via Bulk import.
Open Bulk import. Step 1 — pick a CSV (columns given_name, family_name required; parent_phone, parent_name, code, class_label optional; ≤500 rows, ≤2 MB). It auto-advances to the preview.
Full column reference and the four steps live in the manual.
Open Apps and confirm which apps each role may use. New users typically also need their apps ticked on their own user page before the app shows up in their portal.
You don't have to run the school alone. Open Settings → Admins ("School admins"), fill Full name, Email and optionally Phone, and press Invite. They appear in the Current admins table, where you can Deactivate or Reactivate them later.
Finally, open Print cards, filter to Last 7 days, Select all, and Print cards. Cut and hand them out — your school can now sign in.
Email us and a real person on the Simusim team will get back to you. School staff can also reach us through their school's usual support channel.