sync news Archives - realsmart /category/sync-news/ Beautiful School Websites Tue, 20 Oct 2026 12:16:16 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 https://cdn.realsmart.co.uk/realsmart/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/11095011/realsmart-white-no-strapline.png sync news Archives - realsmart /category/sync-news/ 32 32 195367599 What’s new in Realsmart Sync and ADAdmin: autumn 2026 /sync-news/sync-adadmin-autumn-2026/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 10:38:02 +0000 /?p=3025 Microsoft 365 licences assigned automatically, a clear view of Entra sync problems, Google Classrooms that are ready for pupils, login sheets by form group, and more.

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Realsmart Sync keeps your MIS, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Active Directory and Apple School Manager in step, and ADAdmin is where you manage it. Here is everything we have added since September. Most of it came straight from schools and trusts asking for it.

Microsoft 365 and Entra

  • Licences assigned for you. Under Entra settings → Licences, choose a Microsoft 365 licence for students and one for staff. The sync gives each new person the right licence, and can take it back from people who leave. The list shows the licences your tenant owns and how many are free.
  • Licence rules. Need a different licence for one group, such as the sixth form or the SLT? Add a rule for that group or person. A Who gets which licence page shows everyone, the licence they will get, and why.
  • See what went wrong, and how to fix it. A new Issues page under Entra sync groups problems into one line each, says in plain English what is wrong, lists who it affects and links to the fix. Each person’s page also shows their last Entra sync result.
  • Group email addresses on your own domain. Schools that want Microsoft 365 group email addresses on their own domain can now set this up themselves under Entra settings → Group email addresses, with no need to send files to us.
ADAdmin Entra sync issues page explaining four Microsoft 365 sync problems in plain English, at Oakfield Academy, a fictional demo school.
Each Entra problem on one line, with who it affects and how to fix it. Screenshot from a demo school; names are fictional.

Google Workspace and Classroom

  • Classrooms ready from day one. Google normally creates classrooms as “Provisioned”, invisible to pupils until the teacher accepts them. Tick Create classrooms as active and they are ready straight away. The Classroom tab also shows each class’s status, with a Make active button.
  • Classroom parents, faster. Filter the guardian list, approve every matching guardian in one action, and see plainly what “Couldn’t check” means.
  • A display name for one person. Change how one person’s name appears in Gmail, Classroom and Chat without changing the school-wide setting.
  • Groups without an email address. Nested groups can now be created in Google without an email address of their own.

Passwords and logins

  • Login sheets by form group. On the Export page, pick registration groups and download a CSV, or print one A4 sheet per group with each pupil’s name and username, ready to hand to form tutors. Printed QR login codes are grouped by registration group too.
  • Choose which mentors can reset passwords. Instead of all mentors or none, name the few who should be able to.
  • Stop one account signing in with a Don’t allow login option, without suspending it.
A printable A4 login sheet for registration group 7A listing pupils' names and usernames, from Oakfield Academy, a fictional demo school.
One sheet per registration group, ready for form tutors. Screenshot from a demo school; names are fictional.

For trusts

  • Add people from across the trust to a group. Trust admins can now add staff from the trust’s other schools to a group themselves.
  • Launchpad tiles in the order you want. Drag tiles into order for your school, or set one order for the whole trust and apply it to every school.
  • Faster trust pages. The trust overview pages now load quickly even for large trusts, and Quick run works properly for Google, Active Directory and Apple across a trust.

Timetables and calendars

  • Co-taught lessons, your choice. Some MIS systems list heads of department and teaching assistants on every lesson they oversee. A new Include co-taught lessons setting decides whether those lessons appear in staff timetable calendars.
  • SOS timetables, coming soon. Schools on SOS, our school MIS, will soon get lessons, periods and rooms in their calendars, straight from SOS’s timetable.

And a little colour

Everyone can now choose a colour theme for ADAdmin: Realsmart, Ocean, Grape, Orchid or Graphite, in light or dark mode. Find it in the top-bar appearance menu or under My profile → Appearance.

ADAdmin top-bar appearance menu showing light and dark mode options and five colour themes, in a demo school.
Pick a colour theme from the top bar. Screenshot from a demo school; names are fictional.

Help guides for all of this are in ADAdmin’s Help. If you want a hand setting anything up, email support@realsmart.co.uk.

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Microsoft 365 licences, handed out automatically /sync-news/microsoft-365-licences-automatically/ Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 /uncategorised/microsoft-365-licences-automatically/ Realsmart Sync can now give every new pupil and member of staff the right Microsoft 365 licence, with rules for groups that need something different and a page showing who gets what.

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Creating Microsoft 365 accounts is only half the job. Without a licence, a new pupil can’t open Outlook or Teams, and a new teacher can’t install Office. In most schools, someone assigns those licences by hand every September, and again every time someone joins mid-year.

Realsmart Sync can now do it for you.

Setting it up

  1. In ADAdmin, go to Microsoft Entra settings → Licences and choose Check licences now. You’ll see the licences your Microsoft tenant owns and how many are free.
  2. Under Which licence each person gets, choose a licence for Students and one for Staff, or Don’t give a licence.
  3. Check the country (it’s United Kingdom unless you change it).
  4. Turn on Assign Microsoft 365 licences.

After each sync, Last licence sync tells you how many people were licensed, swapped to a different licence, waiting, or couldn’t be done.

ADAdmin Entra licences table showing free licence counts in the Microsoft tenant and which licence students and staff get, at Oakfield Academy, a fictional demo school.
Your tenant’s licences, how many are free, and which licence students and staff get. Screenshot from a demo school; names are fictional.

Safe by design

  • Staff come first. If you run short of licences, staff are licensed before pupils.
  • We only remove what we gave. Licences you assigned yourself are never taken away.
  • Take their licence back is Off unless you turn it on. Microsoft deletes a mailbox 30 days after its licence is removed, so think carefully before switching this on for leavers.

Rules for groups that need something different

Under Advanced, turn on Use licence rules for groups and people. Then give a group or one person a different licence, for example a fuller licence for your senior leadership team. Rules are checked from the top, and the first match wins. Members of groups inside groups count too.

Who gets which licence lists everyone, with the licence the next sync will give them, why, and what they had last time. You can also set a licence for one person there.

ADAdmin Who gets which licence page showing a staff member moving to a new Microsoft 365 licence because of a group rule, at Oakfield Academy, a fictional demo school.
See who gets which licence, and why. Screenshot from a demo school; names are fictional.

Before you start

  • It’s off until you turn it on.
  • Your Microsoft app needs permission to read your organisation’s licences. The help guide shows how.
  • Governors, observers and admins only get a licence if a rule gives them one.
  • Don’t use it alongside Microsoft’s own group-based licensing for the same people.

Want us to check your set-up first? Email support@realsmart.co.uk.

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Groups inside groups, now in Google and Microsoft 365 /sync-news/nested-groups-google-microsoft-365/ Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 /uncategorised/nested-groups-google-microsoft-365/ Put one group inside another in ADAdmin and the link stays live as your MIS changes. Google gets a true nested group, and Microsoft 365 gets the people, kept in step.

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Some groups are really several groups put together. “Year 11 Revision” is everyone in 11A, 11B and 11C. “All support staff” is the TAs, the office team and the site team. Keeping a group like that up to date by hand, every time someone joins or leaves, is a job nobody wants.

In ADAdmin you can now put groups inside groups, and the sync keeps them in step for you.

Adding a group to a group

  1. Open the group in Groups and go to its Members tab.
  2. Under Groups in this group, search with Add a member or group…. Groups are labelled Group.
  3. Add the groups you want.

It’s a live link. When your MIS moves a pupil into 11B, they join Year 11 Revision too, with nothing for you to do.

ADAdmin group Members tab showing the Year 11 Revision group containing registration groups 11A, 11B and 11C, at Oakfield Academy, a fictional demo school.
Year 11 Revision is everyone in 11A, 11B and 11C. Screenshot from a demo school; names are fictional.

What happens in Google and Microsoft 365

  • Google Workspace supports groups inside groups, so the inner group becomes a member of the outer one. You can choose its Google role: Group default, Member, Owner or Manager.
  • Microsoft 365 groups can’t contain other groups, so the sync adds the inner group’s people directly, and keeps that list up to date as they change.

The group’s Cloud tab shows who has actually arrived in Google or Microsoft 365, so you can check at a glance.

A diagram: in Google the class groups sit inside the group; in Microsoft 365 the 87 pupils are added directly.
Google keeps the groups; Microsoft 365 gets the people. Illustration; the pupils are fictional.

Changing your mind

  • Convert to individuals copies the current members in as fixed members and breaks the link.
  • ✕ simply removes the link.

Both groups need to be in the same school. Questions? Email support@realsmart.co.uk.

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Logins ready for day one: release early accounts during the summer /sync-news/release-early-accounts-summer/ Wed, 05 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 /uncategorised/release-early-accounts-summer/ Create accounts for new staff and accepted pupils during the summer freeze, so they can sign in before September, with a preview first and nothing else changed.

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Over the summer, Realsmart Sync pauses most changes so your systems stay steady while the MIS is rolled over. That’s the right thing to do, but it used to mean new staff and new Year 7s couldn’t get a login until term started.

Now you can release early accounts: create logins for new starters during the freeze, so they’re ready on day one, or even before.

Where to find it

During the summer freeze, a Release early accounts card appears on End of year, Incoming learners and Incoming mentors.

Preview first, then release

  1. Choose Build preview to see exactly who would be created. Nobody is created yet.
  2. Check the list. A preview older than 24 hours needs rebuilding, so you’re always looking at fresh data.
  3. Choose Release. A confirmation shows the numbers before anything happens.
  4. The card then lists the new usernames, lets you send the accounts to Google and/or Microsoft 365, and shows when each account exists there.
ADAdmin Release early accounts preview listing five new staff waiting while sync is frozen, at Hollin Bank Academy, a fictional demo school.
Nobody is created until you choose Release. Screenshot from a demo school; names are fictional.

Who is included

  • New staff starting in September.
  • Accepted pupils from your pre-admissions. Pupils who have only applied or been offered a place wait until term starts.

Released accounts get their role groups (such as Students or Staff) straight away. Classes and year groups follow when the sync resumes in September. Leavers, in-year changes and edits to existing accounts all wait for the resume too.

ADAdmin released-accounts list showing each new staff username and whether it exists yet in Google and Microsoft Entra, at Hollin Bank Academy, a fictional demo school.
See when each account reaches Google and Microsoft 365. Screenshot from a demo school; names are fictional.

Good to know

  • Usernames are permanent and already include the year the pupil joins, so nothing changes in September.
  • To release new staff, your school needs Import pending mentors (future-starting staff) turned on. It’s off by default.

Want a hand getting new starters ready? Email support@realsmart.co.uk.

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Choose exactly what syncs: group types for Google and Microsoft 365, and whose passwords Google gets /sync-news/choose-group-types-and-password-sync/ Thu, 30 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 /uncategorised/choose-group-types-and-password-sync/ Pick which kinds of group reach Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, preview them before you save, and choose which user types have their passwords synced to Google.

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Your MIS holds a lot of groups: registration groups, year groups, houses, subjects, teaching groups and more. Not every school wants all of them in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. A Year 7 pupil doesn’t need to see forty groups in their Gmail, and a busy staff Teams list is hard to use.

You can now choose exactly which kinds of group are synced.

Pick your group types

You’ll find this in Google Workspace → Settings (in the Sync section) and in Microsoft Entra settings → Provisioning. With Sync groups on, Group types to sync lets you tick:

  • Teachers of
  • Houses
  • Registration groups
  • Role groups
  • Year groups
  • Subjects
  • Groups (everything else, including any group without a type yet)

Leave them all unticked to sync every type, which is how it works today. So nothing changes until you choose.

See it before you save

As you tick and untick, Groups that will sync shows the matching groups by type, so there are no surprises. You can still switch off a single group with Sync this group to Google or Sync this group to Entra on its own page.

Unticking a type stops new groups of that type being created. It doesn’t delete groups that are already in Google or Microsoft 365.

Trusts can use Apply across MAT to give every school the same choice in one go.

ADAdmin Entra provisioning settings choosing registration and year groups to sync, with a preview of the 35 groups that will sync, at Oakfield Academy, a fictional demo school.
The preview shows exactly which groups will sync. Screenshot from a demo school; names are fictional.

Choose whose passwords Google gets

In the Google Passwords settings, Sync passwords to Google is still the school-wide switch. New beside it is Skip password sync for these user types, where you can tick Students, Staff, Admins, Governors or Observers.

ADAdmin Google password sync settings skipping staff and admin accounts, at Oakfield Academy, a fictional demo school.
Pupils’ passwords sync; staff keep their own. Screenshot from a demo school; names are fictional.

For example, you can keep pupils’ passwords in step with Realsmart while staff manage their own Google passwords. New accounts still get their first password, so nobody is left unable to sign in. If you untick a type later, their current password goes to Google at the next sync.

Questions? Email support@realsmart.co.uk.

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Summer Google Classrooms on your terms, and last year’s back in bulk /sync-news/summer-google-classrooms-end-of-term/ Thu, 23 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 /uncategorised/summer-google-classrooms-end-of-term/ Choose whether Google Classrooms are archived at the end of term, left active, or archived at the start of next term, override it for any group, and reactivate last year's classrooms in bulk.

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Every July the same question comes up: what should happen to this year’s Google Classrooms? Some teachers want them archived the moment term ends. Others need them open over the summer for coursework or revision. And in September, someone always needs last year’s class back.

ADAdmin now lets you decide, school-wide and group by group.

Set your school’s default

In ADAdmin, go to End of year → End of term — Google Classrooms and choose what happens to classrooms when the year ends:

  • Archive at end of term: tidy, and pupils can still see their work.
  • Leave active: the classroom stays open in Google over the summer.
  • Archive at the start of next term: open for the summer, tidied away in September.

Override it for any group

Each group’s Classroom tab can Inherit school default or choose its own option. The group’s own choice always wins. So Year 11 revision groups can stay open while everything else is archived, or the other way round.

Whatever you choose, each group starts the new year with a fresh classroom, so new pupils don’t land in last year’s class.

ADAdmin End of year setting for what happens to Google Classrooms at end of term, at Oakfield Academy, a fictional demo school.
The school default, which any group can override. Screenshot from a demo school; names are fictional.

Bring last year’s classrooms back in bulk

Under Google Workspace → Classroom, the Last year’s classrooms card shows how many are archived and how many are active. Choose Manage to see every group’s previous classroom with its Status in Google.

ADAdmin Last year's classrooms table with several archived classrooms selected to reactivate, at Oakfield Academy, a fictional demo school.
Tick the classrooms, choose Active, and apply. Screenshot from a demo school; names are fictional.
  1. Tick the classrooms you want, or use Select all.
  2. Under Set selected classrooms to, choose Active (reactivate) or Archived.
  3. Choose Apply to selected or Apply to all.

The change runs in the background and works during the summer freeze. Nothing is deleted, every change is logged, and you can switch them back at any time.

This is for schools that use Google Classroom. Questions? Email support@realsmart.co.uk.

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Realsmart Sync: the glass-box sync engine for schools /our-blog/mis-sync-for-schools/ Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:26:08 +0000 /?p=2538 One MIS feed, every platform — Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Active Directory and Apple School Manager — kept in perfect step by a sync engine you can see straight through. Preview every change before it happens, watch it land, audit it afterwards. That’s why we’re glass.

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Every school runs on its MIS, and every school relies on Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Active Directory and Apple School Manager. Keeping them all in step by hand takes hours of repetitive admin every week, and it only takes one typo to break a login on the morning of an exam. Realsmart Sync is the MIS sync for schools: it connects your MIS to every platform you run and keeps the whole lot in perfect step — automatically, visibly, reversibly.

It works with SIMS, Arbor, Bromcom and every other MIS supported by Wonde, and it was built in the UK for UK schools and multi-academy trusts.

Why “glass box”?

Most school sync tools are black boxes: you press the button, cross your fingers, and find out at 8:45am what actually happened, if anything at all! Realsmart Sync is a glass box. Before anything runs, you can read the exact plan it will execute. While it runs, you can watch every action land. Afterwards, every change is written to an audit trail. Nothing is hidden, nothing is hand wavy and nothing irreversible happens without you typing it out in full.

  • Preview mode on every platform: run the real sync logic and see the full process outlined with nothing applied
  • Live dashboards: every success, error and retry message grouped by type, with plain English “what to do about this” guidance
  • Read-only live checks: interrogate Google and Entra data directly from a user’s record, no admin console needed, it’s all in one place.
  • Append only audit and logs: who changed what, when, and from where for full accountability.
  • Reversible by design: deletions are soft and restorable, Classroom archiving can be undone, merges keep full history
School MIS sync status dashboard showing grouped sync issues and platform health for Google Workspace and Microsoft Entra
The sync status dashboard: every issue grouped by cause, with fix/retry/ignore controls per row and per-platform health tiles below.

One MIS feed. Every platform. Per-school control.

Each integration is a toggle of a switch, not a project. Turn platforms on or off per school, and flip any platform into preview mode at any time. The sync keeps on planning, but stops touching your data until you flip it back.

Per-school sync service toggles for Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra, Active Directory and Apple School Manager
Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra, Active Directory and Apple School Manager — enabled per school, each with its own live/preview mode.

Google Workspace sync for schools

Everything your Google environment needs, provisioned from the MIS, see our dedicated MIS to Google sync page for the full story.

  • Accounts created, updated, suspended and restored straight from the MIS data.
  • Organisational unit placement driven by templates (/Students/{YEAR}, teaching vs non-teaching staff, suspended OUs) With a live preview of where every member will land
  • Group sync with full Google group settings (posting, moderation, discovery) controlled per group
  • Google Classroom provisioned from your timetable, with end-of-term archiving policy and a fallback owner so a course is never orphaned when a teacher leaves
  • Guardian invitations for Classroom managed in bulk
  • Full timetables synced to Google Calendar, per user, with one click re-sync ability
Google Workspace OU path templates for schools with live placement preview
OU path templates with a live placement preview — see exactly where all 1,558 members resolve before you save.
Google Classroom provisioning policy for schools with fallback owner and between-year transition setting
Classroom provisioning: school-wide transition policy, a protected fallback owner, and on-demand sync runs.
School timetable synced to Google Calendar shown inside a learner user record
A learner’s full timetable, synced to their Google Calendar — visible on their record with per-user sync status.

Microsoft Entra & Microsoft 365 sync

Provision Microsoft 365 for your whole school from the same MIS feed. Users, groups, Teams and licences, all visible in the same glass box.

  • User provisioning with your UPN domain, straight from the MIS
  • Group and Teams synced, plus administrative units by year and role
  • Automatic Microsoft 365 licence assignment by SKU. New starters are licensed before their first lesson!
  • Default password policy for learners and staff, as complex as you want to set it
  • Live permission tests that verify every granted scope (read users, manage groups, assign licences) in seconds

Active Directory sync (on-prem)

A lightweight connector runs on your Windows Server and takes its orders from the same glass-box engine. So your on-prem environment gets the same visibility as your cloud. Find more details on our Active Directory sync page.

  • OU mapping for staff and students, teaching vs non-teaching, leavers, home folders and profile paths with wildcards
  • Year group and intake year mapping, plus attribute mapping onto AD fields
  • Password sync down to AD, with an encrypted queue and a full per-user update log
  • A preview export showing the exact rows the connector will apply, downloadable as CSV
  • Exclusions and a test mode that runs the whole sync without writing a thing
Active Directory password sync queue and update log for schools
Password updates queued for the on-prem connector. Values encrypted end to end, every push logged per user.

Apple School Manager sync

Managed Apple IDs without the spreadsheet wrangling, see our Apple School Manager sync page.

  • The full OneRoster CSV bundle built automatically from your MIS data
  • Uploaded to Apple over SFTP on demand or via a daily schedule
  • Test the connection, build the export, preview every CSV and upload, four separate, easy and visible steps
Apple School Manager sync operations panel with SFTP test, generate, preview and upload steps
Apple School Manager without the spreadsheet wrangling: test, build, preview, upload.

Proof before you press go

This is the heart of “glass”. Anyone can promise a school MIS sync; we show you the plan first, computed by the same code that runs live.

School sync preview showing planned provisioning actions before anything is applied
Sync preview: the complete plan — drillable to individual rows — with nothing applied.
Connection and permission test results for Google Workspace and Microsoft Entra school sync
One click tests the live connection and every permission for Google and Entra. Read-only, nothing here changes any data.

Moving to Realsmart from another sync tool? or even from no tool at all! Cloud reconciliation audits the Google estate you already have and lines it up with your MIS before the sync ever goes live. It sorts every account, group and Classroom into four piles (already lined up, needs a decision, only in Google, only in Realsmart), spots systematic naming differences, and proposes matching rules you confirm once, instead of matching hundreds of items by hand.

Cloud reconciliation audit for onboarding a school with an existing Google Workspace estate
Guided matching: the audit is read-only, the wizard detects naming patterns, and nothing changes until you confirm at the end.
Per-user cloud tab showing live data reported by Google Workspace and Microsoft Entra
Every user record has a Cloud tab: what Google and Entra report for this person right now, via read-only live checks.

Built for multi-academy trusts

Realsmart Sync is trust native, not school software with a workaround bolted on. Explore all our MAT features.

  • A trust-wide overview: every school, every platform, user counts and sync health at a glance
  • Find a single person across every school in the trust, with per-school status and one click log tracing
  • A cross-trust activity timeline that follows one person’s accounts through every school, we know staff can switch schools in a trust.
  • A guided merge wizard for duplicate people across schools. Compare fields, preview consequences, and undo from the merge history
  • Per-admin school access: full or reduced, reviewed and changed from one screen
  • App defaults pushed to every school’s launchpad in one action
  • Shared Google domain “trust authority” so schools stop undoing each other’s work
Multi-academy trust sync overview dashboard with per-school users and sync status
The MAT overview: five schools, 7,286 users, health per school — one screen.

End of year, without the fear

Summer is where school sync tools break schools. Ours freezes instead: after your final provision date the window closes, summer MIS churn is held, and everything resumes automatically for the new year. Reconciling new classes, moved year groups and leavers in one pass. Before any of it happens, you can run the entire end of term as a dry run for peace of mind.

  • A visible provisioning window with editable freeze and resume dates
  • School wide Classroom archiving policy, overridable per group and reversible
  • End of term tidy-up for protected users and groups, with Classroom-ownership warnings and type-to-confirm deletion (soft, restorable, logged)
  • Stale orphan review for cloud accounts that no longer exist in the MIS
End of school year sync dry-run preview showing exactly what will happen
“Preview, what will actually happen”: a dry run of your whole end of term against today’s data. Nothing runs until you confirm it.

Everyday admin, minus the drudgery

  • Bulk actions across any selection of users: status, passwords, 2FA, QR login cards, roles, group membership
  • Password rules, expiry and 2FA enrolment per school, for staff and students independently
  • Imports that can’t hurt you: user import with column mapping and row by row validation (nothing queues until every row is clean), plus password and cohort imports with matched/unmatched previews
  • One-click CSV exports. Users, logins, groups, emails, AD and Apple bundles, plus a daily snapshot of exactly what your MIS has sent
  • A read only browser for your Wonde origin data, so you can tell in seconds whether an issue is in the source or the sync
  • A read only, scope limited API with per-token permissions for your own integrations

All of it, in one price

Everything on this page is one product. Google, Microsoft, Active Directory and Apple included. MAT tooling included. The preview engine, the audit trail, the end of year automation, all included. No per-platform modules, no add-ons, no “enterprise tier” for the safety features every school deserves. Most schools recover the cost in saved admin time within the first term, and keep the peace of mind forever.

See your own data in glass. Â鶹ӳ»­ a demo and we’ll connect your MIS in preview mode, you’ll watch the full plan for your school appear without a single change being made. That’s the point. Questions first? Get in touch.

Frequently asked questions

Which MIS does Realsmart Sync work with?

Realsmart Sync connects to your MIS through Wonde, so it works with SIMS, Arbor, Bromcom and the other management information systems Wonde supports. If Wonde can read it, we can sync it.

Can we sync to Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 at the same time?

Yes. Each platform is an independent, per-school toggle many of our schools run Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra, Active Directory and Apple School Manager side by side from the same MIS feed, and each platform can be in live or preview mode independently.

Do we need to install anything?

For Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 and Apple School Manager… nothing. They’re cloud-to-cloud. For on-prem Active Directory there’s a lightweight connector that runs on your Windows Server and authenticates with a school specific token.

Is it safe to try alongside our current setup?

Yes, that’s exactly what the preview mode is for. We connect your MIS, the sync composes a full plan for your school, and nothing is applied until you switch the platform to live. If you already have a Google environment, cloud reconciliation lines it up with your MIS first so the sync adopts your existing accounts instead of duplicating them.

What happens at the end of the school year?

The provisioning window freezes over the summer on a final provision date that can be set by you, Google Classrooms are archived according to your policy, and sync resumes automatically for the new year, with a full dry-run preview available before any of it happens.

Does it support multi-academy trusts?

Fully. A trust-wide overview, cross school user search and log tracing, duplicate merging with undo, per-admin school access and trust-wide app defaults are all built in, one subscription, every school.

All screenshots in this post show our demonstration trust and test data.

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The most powerful School MIS sync is about to take the next step /our-blog/the-most-powerful-school-mis-sync-is-about-to-take-the-next-step/ Fri, 03 Jul 2026 14:05:25 +0000 /?p=2527 In modern day schools, data is everywhere, but managing it effectively is often a manual, limited, time-consuming burden. Many sync tools on the market simply “copy and paste” information from your Management Information System (MIS) to your cloud platforms, often leading to messy organisational units, groups and user issues. At Realsmart, we’ve built something different. … Continued

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In modern day schools, data is everywhere, but managing it effectively is often a manual, limited, time-consuming burden. Many sync tools on the market simply “copy and paste” information from your Management Information System (MIS) to your cloud platforms, often leading to messy organisational units, groups and user issues.

At Realsmart, we’ve built something different. Our school MIS Sync tool is already widely considered the best in the market because it doesn’t just move data, it gives you a high-level web interface to control exactly how your data is shaped, managed and delivered.

One tool for every platform

Most schools struggle with fragmented basic systems. They need to manage users in Google for learning, Active Directory for local networks, and r for iPads. Our tool is the ultimate “multi-sync” solution, taking data from your MIS and seamlessly provisioning it across the entire tech stack:

  • Google Workspace for Education: Automate everything from user creation to Classroom management.
  • Active Directory (AD): Say goodbye to manual provisioning; we sync MIS data directly to your AD instance, automating OUs and account movements.
  • Microsoft Entra: Keep your Microsoft identity management in perfect sync with your MIS records.
  • Apple School Manager: Automatically provision staff and students and create Apple Classroom classes with a few clicks.

Solving Real School Problems

We don’t just provide a school MIS sync; we provide a way to make teaching and learning smoother. Our “Smartadmin” dashboard allows trust and school admins to solve immediate problems that standard sync tools ignore:

  • Classroom Automation: No more class codes; Classrooms are automatically created and updated based on MIS teaching groups.
  • Timetable Integration: Sync staff and student timetables directly to Google Calendars, including room details.
  • Empowering Teachers: Any teacher can reset student passwords instantly, preventing technical hiccups from derailing a lesson.
  • Security & Identity: Set custom password policies and upload MIS photos to Google Profiles for a professional, secure environment.

A big update is coming to our school MIS sync tool

While we are proud of being the “best-in-market” solution, we aren’t standing still. We are constantly evolving our product based on the bespoke requirements of our schools.

We are excited to announce that a major update is coming soon. This update is designed to make the sync even more powerful, providing deeper flexibility and even more control for Multi-Academy Trusts managing dozens of schools from a single dashboard.

Take a sneak peek below at some of the screenshots coming directly from our team of developers.

Our new smartAdmin dashboard
school MIS Sync status page

Just to highlight some of the new features we have built into the new version of smartAdmin:

  • A more powerful Dashboard: All of the important features straight to your fingertips, New and suspended users displayed, instant suspend actions. Actions that allow you to sync now to all or single services.
  • End of Year Management: An area to manage all of the end of year processes, this includes sync postponement date, resume date and a step by step guide on performing an end of year tidy up
  • Wonde data interrogation: take a closer look at all of the Wonde data that is coming directly from the MIS to help troubleshoot missing users or identify what is available. 
  • Advanced Features: Create your own API connections into realsmart and use your own data how you please. Build your own apps that access your own data, with the help of realsmart. 
  • Merge Users: Got a returning user? Need to merge a newly created account with an older one? We’ve got the tool for you. 
Realsmart Sync dashboard shown in light modeRealsmart Sync dashboard shown in dark mode
You can now switch between light and dark mode, take a look for yourself.

This is just a small selection of what is coming but we think you will agree that it all sounds quite exciting.

A few legacy features

FeatureThe Realsmart Advantage
ControlA flexible dashboard to manage what is sent to Google, Apple, Microsoft not just a copy.
TransparencyComplete logs on every piece of data sent and received.
SpeedContinuous ad-hoc syncs throughout the day for instant changes.
ValueAll of our tools come under a single price, you choose how little/much you want to use. Might as well get your money’s worth.

If you’re looking for a web application that allows you to easily manage all of your users, groups and more then Realsmart’s school MIS sync is the engine that makes it happen.

Stay tuned over the summer for more news on how the most powerful sync tool on the market is about to get even better.

The post The most powerful School MIS sync is about to take the next step appeared first on realsmart.

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How to Connect Your MIS to Apple School Manager /our-blog/connecting-your-mis-to-apple-school-manager/ Fri, 15 May 2026 13:55:33 +0000 /?p=2515 Managing student and staff data across multiple platforms can be a time-consuming challenge for schools. At realsmart, we’re always looking for ways to make your workflows smoother and save your IT teams valuable time. In this guide, we’ll cover how to connect your MIS to Apple School Manager via SFTP and upload your data, providing … Continued

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Managing student and staff data across multiple platforms can be a time-consuming challenge for schools. At realsmart, we’re always looking for ways to make your workflows smoother and save your IT teams valuable time. In this guide, we’ll cover how to connect your MIS to Apple School Manager via SFTP and upload your data, providing a clear process from start to finish. That’s why we make it incredibly simple to integrate your school’s data directly with Apple School Manager (ASM) using a secure SFTP connection.

By connecting realsmart to ASM, you can automate the creation of Managed Apple IDs, streamline class rosters, and ensure your school’s devices and learning materials are always assigned to the right people from day one.

Here is a quick overview of how to get your realsmart system talking to Apple School Manager.

(For the complete step-by-step technical guide, please check out our full support article: )

Step 1: Generate SFTP Credentials in Apple School Manager

First, you’ll need to tell Apple School Manager that you want to securely import data using SFTP.

  1. Log into your Apple School Manager account with Administrator privileges.

  2. Navigate to your Setup Assistant (or Data Source settings) and choose the option to set up an SFTP connection.

  3. Apple will automatically generate a set of SFTP credentials for you. Make a note of the SFTP URL, Username, and Password provided.

Setting up apple school manager for your MAT

Step 2: Add Your Credentials to realsmart

Once Apple has provided your secure SFTP details, you need to input them into realsmart so our system can do the heavy lifting for you.

  1. Log into your realsmart admin console.

  2. Navigate to the ASM integration settings.

  3. Enter the SFTP URL, Username, and Password exactly as they appeared in Apple School Manager.

  4. Save your configuration.

Scheduling Apple Syncs for Your MAT

Step 3: Uploading Data and Reviewing the Sync

With the connection established, realsmart will compile your MIS data—such as students, staff, and classes—into the correctly formatted CSV files and push them directly to ASM.

  1. Trigger the data upload from your realsmart dashboard.

  2. Head back over to Apple School Manager.

  3. You should see that ASM is processing the newly received files. Click to review the SFTP data to ensure your user accounts and class structures look correct.

  4. Once you’re happy with the preview, confirm the sync to create your accounts and classes!

Viewing your scheduled MAT tasks in Realsmart.

Let Us Help You Get Set Up!

Automating your data sync between realsmart and Apple School Manager removes the headache of manual data handling. If you get stuck along the way or would like a hand configuring your SFTP connection, our team is always here to help.

Read the full technical documentation here:

Or, reach out to our support team directly to get in touch:

*** Happy syncing!

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Announcing Custom Google OUs: Unlock Granular Control with Our School MIS Sync Services /our-blog/custom-google-ou-school-mis-sync-services/ Fri, 20 Mar 2026 13:35:36 +0000 /?p=2428 Managing a school’s digital environment is no small feat. Thousands of students and staff rely on Google Workspace for Education daily. IT administrators must apply the right safety policies and app permissions to the right people. They need to do this without spending hours on manual data entry. To do this successfully, it’s important to … Continued

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Managing a school’s digital environment is no small feat. Thousands of students and staff rely on Google Workspace for Education daily. IT administrators must apply the right safety policies and app permissions to the right people. They need to do this without spending hours on manual data entry. To do this successfully, it’s important to Align Google Workspace with your school’s unique DNA and existing IT systems.

That is why we proudly announce our new Custom Google OU (Organisational Unit) feature! Moreover, this feature will help you align Google Workspace with your school’s existing IT systems and unique DNA.

You can now easily differentiate YouTube access between Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 5. You can also apply specific Chromebook policies for staff versus students. Our latest update puts the power of granular control directly into your hands, making it easier to ensure your school’s unique DNA matches your Google Workspace and IT systems alignment.

Our settings page

What is the Custom Google OU Feature?

Previously, syncing users from your MIS to Google Workspace streamlined account creation. Now, we are taking our School MIS Sync services to the next level. By the way, you can align Google Workspace more closely with your school’s unique DNA and existing IT systems thanks to these improvements.

Administrators can automatically map specific groups or roles from your MIS. These map directly into custom Organisational Units (OUs) within Google Workspace. Do you add or move a student in your MIS? Our sync instantly places them into the correct Google OU. They will automatically inherit the specific policies you set for that unit, ensuring that Google Workspace fits your school’s unique DNA and integrates smoothly with your existing IT systems.

Why This is a Game-Changer for Your School

1. Ultimate Safeguarding and Policy Control Not all users need the same access. You might want to restrict certain apps for Year 7s. At the same time, you can keep them open for Year 13s and staff. Automating your custom OUs lets you apply tailored security settings precisely where they belong. This transition truly aligns Google Workspace policies with your school’s unique DNA as well as existing IT systems.

2. Zero Manual Intervention Say goodbye to manual tasks in the Google Admin Console. You no longer need to drag and drop users into different OUs every term. Our automated School MIS Sync services read your live MIS data. The system does the heavy lifting for you multiple times a day. In short, you can seamlessly align Google Workspace with your school’s unique DNA and existing IT systems.

3. Accurate, Real-Time Updates Students frequently change classes, move year groups, or leave the school. Your MIS immediately registers these changes. Our sync spots the update and instantly adjusts their OU status in Google Workspace. This ensures your digital safeguarding remains 100% accurate and up to date. Furthermore, Google Workspace stays aligned with both your school’s unique DNA and any existing IT systems you already have in place.

How to Get Started

Are you an existing realsmart customer using our MIS to Google Sync? You can start using Custom OUs right now, and align Google Workspace with your school’s unique DNA and existing IT systems from the start.

We created a comprehensive guide to configure custom mappings in your admin dashboard. Check out the full documentation here: s. This resource will ensure Google Workspace is aligned with your school’s unique DNA and fully integrates with existing IT systems.

Not Using realsmart Yet?

Many schools still manually provision Google accounts or struggle with clunky data exports. It is time to automate the alignment between Google Workspace, your school’s unique DNA, and your existing IT systems.

Our industry-leading School MIS Sync services integrate seamlessly with major MIS platforms. These include SIMS, Bromcom, Arbor, and more. The system automatically provisions users, Google Classrooms, timetables, and Custom OUs. We save IT teams hundreds of hours every single year. Your school’s data remains secure and perfectly organised, all while keeping Google Workspace in harmony with your school’s unique DNA and existing IT systems.

Click here to book a free demo to see how we can transform your IT management today while making sure Google Workspace aligns with your school’s unique DNA and existing IT systems.

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