Strategic Transformation Report - June 2026

Admissions Digital Transformation

A CRM-led Admissions operating model: Zoho CRM Plus from enquiry to contract, iSAMS from confirmed pupil onward.

Prepared for

Senior Management Team

Prepared by

Data & Insights

Date

June 2026

Status

For Review & Decision

01 Executive Overview

The Proposal

This report sets out the case for a Zoho-led Admissions front office, replacing offline and semi-manual processes with a structured online pipeline. iSAMS remains unchanged as Repton's authoritative MIS.

Core Recommendation

Adopt Zoho CRM Plus for pre-contract Admissions. Retain iSAMS for confirmed pupil records.

Use each system at the point in the Admissions journey it is best designed for. Zoho CRM Plus manages the full pre-contract journey - from first enquiry through to signed contract and deposit. iSAMS receives only validated, confirmed records once the Admissions process is complete.

System Split

ZOHO Enquiry, visits, registration, assessment, interview, offer, contract & deposit - stages 1 to 7

iSAMS Confirmed pupil and parent records, academic management and school administration - stage 8 onward

Not a system replacement

iSAMS remains the authoritative MIS for all confirmed pupil and parent records. This proposal does not change that.

Admissions is a pipeline

Admissions outcomes depend on visibility, prioritisation and pipeline control - tools a CRM is purpose-built for.

Manual input wastes time

Online structured data capture reduces avoidable manual entry, freeing Admissions staff for higher-value work.

Parents expect digital

Forms, contracts and document collection should feel joined-up, responsive and appropriate for a premium school.

Better leadership visibility

Zoho enables clearer tracking of demand, conversion, source, follow-up speed, data quality and revenue pipeline.

Decision Required

Director of Admissions - Action Required

Endorse Zoho CRM Plus for pre-contract Admissions

Approve use of Zoho CRM Plus to manage the pre-contract Admissions journey and Zoho Sign for e-signatures.
Confirm Admissions requirements and KPI priorities

Share all process requirements, preferences and key metrics with the Project Lead during the Design phase.
Name an internal Admissions CRM lead

Identify the person who will take ongoing ownership of the CRM, data quality and Admissions process adherence.
Review and approve at each phase

Provide sign-off at Design, Build, Automation and Reporting stages before each phase proceeds.

02 Strategic Context

Why Change?

Repton's Admissions function is being asked to operate as a strategic revenue pipeline while relying on infrastructure designed for administrative record-keeping.

Offline data capture

Registration forms distributed as PDFs or by email. Data must be manually transcribed by Admissions staff, creating errors, version confusion and audit gaps.

Avoidable manual input

Every family record requires handling twice. Transcribing unstructured data into a fixed system introduces inconsistency and consumes significant staff time.

Fragmented data flow

Family details, documents, communications and pipeline stage are spread across email, spreadsheets and the MIS. There is no single joined-up record.

Limited funnel visibility

No single view of the Admissions pipeline. It is difficult to connect enquiry records to applicants to confirmed starts, making forecasting and reporting unreliable.

No source attribution

Enquiry source is not captured consistently. Marketing ROI from open days, agents, feeder schools and digital channels cannot be tracked or optimised.

Parent experience opportunity

Families receive disconnected requests by email and PDF. Competing schools are raising expectations with digital portals and faster responses. First impressions matter.

Important Context

The current limitations do not reflect a failure of iSAMS. iSAMS is a capable, market-leading MIS trusted by over 1,700 independent schools. The challenge is that the pre-contract Admissions journey - which is a customer-facing, pipeline-driven, marketing and communications activity - is not the primary design purpose of a school management information system. This proposal is about creating a clearer boundary: a purpose-built CRM for the pre-contract journey, and iSAMS for everything from confirmed pupil onward.

03 Future-State Design

The Future Model

A structured pipeline from first contact to confirmed pupil. Each stage has a clear system owner, defined outputs and automated support.

Zoho CRM Plus - Stages 1 to 7 iSAMS - Stage 8+

Enquiry

Website, event, agent, direct

Visit / Open Day

Booking & follow-up

Registration

Online form + fee

Assessment

Schedule & results

Interview

Outcome recorded

Offer

Formal offer issued

Contract + Deposit

Zoho Sign + deposit

→

iSAMS Record

Confirmed pupil created

Zoho CRM Plus manages the pre-contract journey

iSAMS receives validated, confirmed records only

Contract signed & deposit confirmed — iSAMS record created

Pre-contract front office

Zoho CRM Plus

Enquiry capture and source tracking
Visit and open day booking and follow-up
Online Registration Form with structured data capture
Applicant, family and contact records
Admissions pipeline management, stage ownership, SLAs
Automated communications, tasks and alerts
Document collection and storage
Contract and e-signature workflow (Zoho Sign)
Dashboards, KPI reporting and revenue pipeline visibility

Official MIS - confirmed records

iSAMS

Confirmed pupil and parent records - the authoritative school record
Academic management: timetables, marks, reports, attendance
Wellbeing, SENCO, pastoral and safeguarding records
Parent and pupil portal from confirmed joining date
Fee billing, invoicing and financial administration
Statutory and compliance record-keeping
School administration after acceptance

04 Platform Ecosystem

The Zoho CRM Plus Ecosystem

Zoho CRM Plus is not a single application - it is an integrated suite of tools operating on a unified data platform. Every application shares the same contact and record data, enabling Admissions, marketing, communications and reporting teams to work from a single source of truth.

Why a unified ecosystem matters

One record, shared across teams

A family enquiry created in CRM is instantly visible to Admissions, marketing and data teams. There is no need to copy, export or reconcile records between separate tools. Everyone works from the same live record.

Joined-up communications

Campaigns sent via Zoho Campaigns, live chat conversations handled in SalesIQ and email communications all connect back to the same CRM record, giving a full picture of every family's engagement history.

End-to-end pipeline visibility

Zoho Analytics draws on data across all applications - CRM pipeline stages, form submissions, email open rates, document status and contract signatures - to give leadership a single, complete Admissions dashboard.

Automation across the journey

Triggers and workflows operate across the full suite. A form submission can automatically create a CRM record, send a welcome email, assign a task and alert the Admissions team - without any manual intervention.

Consistent data at every touchpoint

Because all tools share the same underlying data model, there are no siloed records, no version conflicts and no manual reconciliation. Data entered once flows everywhere it is needed.

Already licensed by Repton

Repton holds an active Zoho CRM Plus licence. The full suite of applications described here is available within the existing licence, with Zoho Forms and Zoho Sign as complementary additions. No new procurement is required to implement this model.

Zoho CRM Plus — integrated application suite

Practical Use Cases for Repton Admissions

Build a custom Admissions pipeline and bring all Admissions data into a central, purpose-built hub for managing admin, communications and reporting.

Build the online registration form so parents can submit applicant, parent, school, medical, document and payment details directly into CRM.

Send open day invitations, follow-up emails, reminder emails and targeted nurture emails to prospective families.

Create automated email journeys, such as: enquiry received → brochure email → visit invitation → reminder → follow-up task for Admissions.

Schedule and monitor Admissions-related posts across social channels, such as open day promotion or deadline reminders.

Send parent feedback surveys after visits, open days or completed Admissions cycles.

Add live chat to the Admissions pages so prospective parents can ask quick questions and be captured as leads.

Track how parents interact with Admissions webpages, such as where they click, how far they scroll and where they drop off.

Build dashboards showing enquiries, registrations, conversion rates, source performance, open day attendance and forecasted pupil starts.

Send offer letters, acceptance documents or parental declarations for digital signature.

05 Reporting & KPIs

Measurement & Reporting

The shift to clean, purposeful data capture and centralised data storage fundamentally changes what the Admissions function can measure. When quality data is captured at every stage of the pipeline and stored in a central space, performance becomes easier to measure, analyse and ultimately, more visible.

Provides live, built-in reporting from the Zoho Admissions system, with dashboards and CRM-linked analysis across the Zoho platform.

Power BI

Provides wider reporting by combining Zoho data with other internal datasets, supporting advanced modelling and executive-level analysis.

The KPIs below represent the core metrics that the new model is designed to generate. They are grouped by reporting category and are intended as the baseline framework for both operational tracking and senior leadership visibility. These will be refined during the Design phase in collaboration with the Admissions team.

Example KPIs

KPI Area	Primary KPI / Metric	What This Measures	Example Breakdown
Admissions Demand	Total Enquiries	The level of interest being generated for future entry points.	By year group, school section, boarding/day, domestic/international, enquiry source
Enquiry Source	Enquiries by Source	Where prospective families are coming from and which channels generate demand.	Open day, website, agent, feeder school, referral, relocation, digital campaign
Funnel Progression	Enquiry-to-Visit Rate	The proportion of enquiries that progress to a visit, tour or open day.	By source, entry year, year group, Admissions owner
Application Conversion	Enquiry-to-Application Rate	The proportion of enquiries that become formal applications.	By source, year group, boarding/day, domestic/international
Application Quality	Application-to-Offer Rate	The proportion of completed applications that result in an offer.	By year group, assessment outcome, school section
Offer Conversion	Offer-to-Deposit Rate	The proportion of offers that convert into a paid deposit or confirmed place.	By year group, source, boarding/day, domestic/international
Overall Conversion	Enquiry-to-Confirmed Start Rate	The end-to-end effectiveness of the Admissions process.	By entry year, year group, source and applicant type
Pipeline Forecasting	Forecasted Starters vs Target	Whether confirmed and likely starters are on track against pupil number targets.	By term, academic year, year group and school section
Capacity Planning	Places Filled vs Available Capacity	How full each year group or entry point is expected to be.	By year group, boarding/day, house, gender where relevant
Lost Applicants	Withdrawal / Decline Reasons	Why families leave the process or choose not to accept an offer.	Fees, competitor school, relocation, timing, assessment outcome, no response
Admissions Efficiency	Average Response Time	How quickly the Admissions team responds to new enquiries or key applicant actions.	By Admissions owner, enquiry source, stage
Parent Experience	Admissions Journey Feedback	How families rate the Admissions process and communication experience.	Survey score, feedback theme, stage of journey

06 Delivery

Implementation Roadmap

The programme is structured across two phases. Phase 1 delivers a strong core foundation to get Admissions live quickly. Phase 2 builds on that foundation with deeper automation, reporting and continuous improvement once the platform is in use. This phased approach reduces delivery risk and makes the transformation practical and achievable.

Phase 1

Foundation Build

Get Admissions live on a strong, well-structured core platform.

Step 1

Design & Build CRM Foundation

Define and build the core CRM operating model, modules and fields.

Basic Admissions operating model
Set workspace layouts, views, permissions and security protection
Family, Contact and Document module design
Create basic fields and IDs for each module
Set up module and contact relationships
Define Admissions stages and build Pipeline module
Set up document storage module and record linking

Step 2

Data Capture & Integration

Build primary Admissions Zoho Forms, signature documents and CRM integration rules to capture structured Admissions data directly into the Admissions workspace.

Build all key enquiry, registration, and scholarship application forms using Zoho Forms.
Build Zoho Sign templates for Scholarship/Bursary Award forms and the Repton School Contract.
Build identity resolution and record-linking logic.
Create internal record approval workflows and notifications.
Set up Form-to-CRM mapping and upsert rules.
Configure Zoho Sign, add templates and signing status tracking.
Build email templates and set up messaging in Zoho Forms and Zoho Sign.

Step 3

Enable Zoho Applications

Configure the primary Zoho applications that will support Admissions communications, engagement tracking, digital signing, analytics and campaign activity.

Zoho Campaigns for open day invitations, follow-up emails and nurture communications
Zoho Marketing Automation for enquiry journeys and automated follow-up sequences
Zoho PageSense for Admissions webpage behaviour tracking
Zoho SalesIQ for Admissions webpage chat and enquiry capture
Zoho Social for Admissions-related social scheduling and monitoring

Step 4

Reporting & Analysis

Create the core reporting layer needed to monitor Admissions activity, pipeline progress, data quality and early performance from the first version.

Configure and connect Zoho Analytics workspace for Admissions reporting and dashboard development
Build homepage dashboard with primary KPI visibility
Build and schedule basic reporting

Phase 2

Advanced Build

Build on the foundation by adding deeper automation, stronger insight and wider reporting capability once Admissions is live.

Step 1

Process Enhancement

Refine and strengthen the Admissions operating model using feedback from the foundation build.

Refine Admissions stage definitions and ownership rules in the CRM
Add more detailed business rules and validation logic across key CRM records
Strengthen iSAMS handover controls and readiness checks
Improve document workflow and exception handling
Add escalation rules for incomplete or delayed records
Refine applicant, family and contact relationship handling
Standardise BAU review and improvement processes

Step 2

Advanced Automation & Communications

Add more sophisticated workflow automation and parent communications across the Admissions journey.

Build advanced workflow automations in the CRM and Zoho Marketing Automation
Add SLA and overdue follow-up alerts
Create chaser workflows for missing actions, documents or signatures
Develop more advanced enquiry and nurture email journeys using Zoho Campaigns and Zoho Marketing Automation
Improve open day, visit and post-visit follow-up communications
Expand campaign/source attribution and response tracking
Add more personalised messaging based on applicant stage or enquiry type

Step 3

Advanced Reporting & Insight

Extend reporting beyond the foundation dashboards into deeper analysis, profiling and wider group-level reporting.

Build advanced Admissions KPI dashboards in Zoho Analytics
Develop funnel, conversion and stage-movement reporting
Build source, campaign and enquiry-quality analysis using CRM, Zoho Campaigns and Zoho Marketing Automation data
Create applicant, family and feeder school profiling
Add trend analysis across entry years, year groups and applicant types
Develop revenue, offer and acceptance analysis
Extend reporting beyond Zoho Analytics into Power BI where wider group-level reporting or cross-system analysis is required
Connect Admissions data with other internal datasets where appropriate

Step 4

Optimisation & Continuous Improvement

Use live usage, reporting and stakeholder feedback to improve the platform over time.

Review live process performance using Zoho Analytics and CRM activity data
Prioritise user feedback and Admissions team improvements
Refine Zoho Forms, CRM layouts and user experience
Improve data quality rules based on live issues
Add further integrations where they create clear value
Expand dashboards and reporting based on SMT/Admissions needs
Maintain a BAU improvement roadmap for future enhancements