Campus Technology

LINQ Launches K–12 Business Operations Platform

• By Matt Jones
• 04/19/23

K–12 district business solutions provider LINQ recently announced the launch of a comprehensive platform to help districts manage business operations, according to a news release. The K–12 Business Platform can help schools address issues like staff shortages, cybersecurity threats, funding, student meal debt, supply chain issues, and more. The intended audience of K–12 districts, CEOs and CIOs, state agencies, nutrition directors, HR leaders, and superintendents—and others who oversee key operations—can use the platform to streamline business and nutritional operations and reduce time spent on menial or repetitive tasks, the news release reports.

The goal of the unified platform is to optimize efficiency and improve integration of various digital technologies related to finance, payments, nutrition, forms, and automation services. The news release cites the Asana 2022 Anatomy of Work Global Index to say that 57% of the workweek is usually dedicated to busywork.

“Districts across the nation, state by state, have been plagued by unprecedented challenges impacting day-to-day business operations,” said LINQ Executive Chairman Tim Clifford. “We at LINQ have recognized the need for a foundation and platform that enables actionable, real-time insights and operational efficiencies that alleviate those challenges from the nutrition department to the finance department, the state to the district, districts to parents and families, and everywhere in between.”

LINQ acquired a variety of K–12 software platforms during the Business Operations platform’s development, including Titan and Colyar in 2020 as well as Alio and Script in 2021. LINQ has a presence in 37 U.S. states and more than 4,400 school districts around the country.

The platform can help districts manage compliance reporting, control transactional processes, streamline workflows, centralize financial and nutritional management, and provide real-time data so that district leaders can make insightful decisions. Parents and families can use a mobile- or browser-based app for free or less-expensive meals and to monitor student spending on campus.

“Some of the greatest challenges educators and district leaders have faced over the last years are the significant inefficiencies and access to real-time insights that can help them better serve and communicate with families,” said Clifford. “Until now, there has never been a holistic approach to school business operations management that was designed with the day-to-day lives and responsibilities of K–12 school business staff in mind. K–12 education has evolved, and LINQ has evolved to continue to meet the growing needs of our district and state partners.”