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School business manager skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Aldo Musacchio Ph.D.,

Thomas Gainey Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical school business manager skills. We ranked the top skills for school business managers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 15.1% of school business manager resumes contained k-12 as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a school business manager needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 school business manager skills for your resume and career

1. K-12

K12 is a term that incldues all 12 years of education in the US education system. It includes the education offered at the primary stage, middle stage, and secondary stage. It includes children of ages as young as 5 to 18 years. The grades included in K12 are Kindergarten, the initial 5 stages, grades 6 to 8, and 9 to 12. This system is followed specifically followed in the US and may vary in other countries.

Here's how school business managers use k-12:

Managed an international K-12 boarding school.
Collaborated with Oklahoma legislators to develop rules and regulations for K-12 online learning.

2. Professional Development

Professional development means to have the essential training certification or education with the purpose of earning and having a successful career. Every job requires a different set of skills. However, new skills may be needed in the future. Professional development, in this regard, helps people to develop and polish the skills and become efficient workers.

Here's how school business managers use professional development:

Trained new staff and facilitated monthly meetings and quarterly professional development.
Invested in professional development and awareness by attending relevant training courses/seminars.

3. Payroll

Payroll is the sum of all the compensation that an organization has to pay to employees at a specified time. Payroll is managed by the finance or HR department while small business owners may handle it themselves. Payroll isn't fixed as it varies every month due to sick leaves, overtime, etc.

Here's how school business managers use payroll:

Utilized PeopleSoft for recording payroll.
Work with charter schools providing back office support to include Human Resources, Payroll, Benefits, and Retirement Services.

4. Financial Reports

Here's how school business managers use financial reports:

Provide financial reports for department chairs, School Site Council, and site administration.
Prepared and submitted monthly and annual financial reports.

5. Public Schools

Public schools are available for everyone. They are funded and controlled by the government. With state guidance, each school board determines the curricula, finances, and jobs for schools within its borders. The government also decides on academic standards and standardised tests.

Here's how school business managers use public schools:

Supervised the facilitation of Diplomas Now turnaround grant in 3 Detroit Public Schools.
Administered $13 million operating budget covering three public schools.

6. Cash Control

Here's how school business managers use cash control:

Submit supporting documentation to cash control unit to initiate insurance and patient refunds process.
Ensured Front Office associates follow proper cash control procedures.

7. Food Service

The food service industry is a vast industry comprising of restaurants, caterers, cafeterias operating in institutions and any other business offering a meal not prepared at home. Foodservice operators require necessary utensils for preparing food for the consumers, foodservice distributors are the people who take care of this need for them.

Here's how school business managers use food service:

Prepared bid documentation for custodial services, food service, transportation services, and IT services.
Created purchase orders, accepted, and organized food service deliveries.

8. School Administration

Here's how school business managers use school administration:

Supported school administration with daily activities.
Provided support and other services for school and community activities; collaborated with school administration and departments.

9. POS

POS is an abbreviation of "Point of Sale" which is the time and place where a customer completes a transaction. It can either be a physical shop that consists of POS terminals or a virtual shop. A POS system helps simplify the retail functions and track important sales data.

Here's how school business managers use pos:

Increased productivity by updating hardware and software and installing and maintaining an updated POS and inventory management system.
Monitor appropriate levels of testers to ensure availability to service clients at POS and minimize company expenditures.

10. Contract Vendors

Here's how school business managers use contract vendors:

Reviewed and expedited all contracts and school purchases by utilizing contract vendors and online purchasing accounts.

11. Financial Transactions

The type of agreement held between two parties (buyer and seller) regarding an exchange of funds for an asset, is termed as a financial transaction. The financial transaction is the exchange of products, services, cash or credit, information, and other things of value among two separate entities for a common goal.

Here's how school business managers use financial transactions:

Review and provide approval for division financial transactions including payroll allocations, travel reimbursements and purchases made through the procurement system.
Checked financial transactions are correctly recorded and in accordance with regulations and ensured receipts accurately recorded from Canada Students Funding Agency.

12. Financial Aid

Financial aid refers to cash released to an educational institution to help a student pay the school fee. The issuance of financial aid, whether scholarships, grants, or loans, aims to make access to education affordable to all students irrespective of their backgrounds.

Here's how school business managers use financial aid:

Assisted the owner with enrolling students for the school, helping out with financial aid when need be.
Work with students and parents in getting financial aid information approved and finalized.

13. DOE

DOE, DOX, or design of experiments is a term used to refer to a part of applied statistics whose main focus is to conduct and observe controlled tests with the ultimate goal of understanding and explaining how information and results might vary under different hypotheses and circumstances and how such variables affect the results and tests. Design of experiments is used in marketing, politics, various sciences, and, of course, experiments.

Here's how school business managers use doe:

Manage a DOE yearly budget of over 4 million dollars Manage funds for special school events.
Administered educational tests utilizing tools as DOE protocol and oversees quality assurance.

14. Financial Data

Here's how school business managers use financial data:

Interpret financial data and communicate key messages to school principal.
Partnered with external accountant on budget administration; tracked expenditures, analyzed financial data, and prepared Board of Directors reports.

15. Human Resources

Human resources is a set of people in a business or a corporation that are designated to locate, interview, and recruit new employees into the company. They are also responsible to maintain the integrity of the employees and help them sort their problems out. They try to introduce and manage employee-benefit programs.

Here's how school business managers use human resources:

Managed daily operations of accounting/finance and human resources department.
Delivered innovative marketing and public relations strategies as well as Human Resources structure, talent acquisition, and effective management processes.

What skills help School Business Managers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on school business manager resumes?

Aldo Musacchio Ph.D.

Professor, Program Director of the MBA, Brandeis University

I think experiences or experiential learning in which they worked in teams with real companies using the hard skills that the market values. Summer internships doing data analytics or business development at a startup stand out. But also working on field projects at your school with a company in which you can display that you used your data analytics or digital marketing skills goes far.

What soft skills should all school business managers possess?

Thomas Gainey Ph.D.

Chair and Professor, University of West Georgia

Soft skills are critical as many workers continue to work from home or at least work more of a hybrid schedule. The ability to work effectively with other individuals, sometimes from a distance, has never been more critical. Those individuals who exhibit excellent communication, teamwork, and interpersonal skills will likely be in high demand.

What school business manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. Kim Roberts

Professor of Operations Management, Website

Business professionals lead organizations by focused efforts that revolve around products/services, processes, and people. Business professionals work to ensure the firm's products and/or services meet customer expectations, with an eye toward an ever-changing market. They manage processes that produce or support the firm's products. This requires the ability to analyze data to make informed decisions, to drive continuous improvement, and to solve problems through critical thinking. Successful business professionals must also create climates that promote teamwork and foster collaboration.

What technical skills for a school business manager stand out to employers?

Jennifer McCreight

Associate Professor of Education, Hiram College

Tech skills have increasingly played a central role in K-12 classrooms, as educators have at their fingertips devices and applications that are incredible assets to learning - from accessibility features, to interactive presentations that gather real-time info on students' understanding of content, to the ability of the students themselves to create videos, podcasts, and more. Teachers entering classrooms must be able to recognize the powerful gains that can be made in students' learning as a result of incorporating technologies, and know when and how to use it to support them. And of course, recent graduates entering classrooms will be expected to move between the platforms of Zoom or Google Meet, to bring in learners who may be at home, and to engage them actively in learning experiences - which is no small task!
Just as importantly, though, as we come out of the pandemic and reckon with children's and adolescents' increased use of screens, educators may also find that we need to use technology in classrooms more sparingly when possible. They will continue to ask themselves, even more urgently than they did pre-pandemic, whether technologies add to educational experiences or complicate them. Graduates will be faced with these questions as they move into their own classrooms, and we joyfully adjust to the eventuality of more in-person learning. This will be a wonderful challenge to face - that is, determining what innovations have resulted from the constraints of the pandemic, and what we will be happy to let go of when we are able. I am sure educators will embrace these conversations with zeal!

What hard/technical skills are most important for school business managers?

Dr. Elizabeth Homan Ph.D.

Professors, Department Chair, Catawba College

Organization, written and oral communication, adeptness at social media. Ability to use and manipulate data.

Do you want to know more?

List of school business manager skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a school business manager resume and required skills for a school business manager to have include:

K-12
Professional Development
Payroll
Financial Reports
Public Schools
Cash Control
Food Service
School Administration
POS
Contract Vendors
Financial Transactions
Financial Aid

DOE
Financial Data
Human Resources
Oversight
Internal Account
Student Data
Academic Performance
Training Programs
State Board
Bank Deposits
School Management
QuickBooks

Financial Statements
Student Attendance
CPS
CPR
Student Enrollment
Conflict Resolution
Data Analysis
Administrative Functions
Teacher Training
Asset Inventory
Fixed Assets
Budget Process

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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