A Business Manager's Checklist for Curriculum Tools

This one isn't about pedagogy, and it shouldn't have to be. Your job on this purchase is billing, procurement, and contract terms, not evaluating whether the worksheets are any good. That's someone else's call. Here's a checklist for the parts that are yours.

What a Business Manager Needs Beyond "Does It Work for Teachers"

By the time a curriculum tool reaches your desk, someone has usually already made the instructional case. What you need to confirm before signing off:

• Billing model. Card-based self-serve, invoiced, or purchase order? Each has different implications for your process and timeline.
• Contract terms. Is this an annual subscription, and what's the renewal process? Does pricing change year to year, or is it locked at signup?
• PO support. If your school or district requires purchase orders above a certain threshold, does the vendor actually support that billing method, or only card payment?

Card Billing vs. Purchase Order Billing: What to Ask a Vendor

Most vendors split into two lanes depending on purchase size, and it's worth knowing which lane you're in before you start the approval process.

Card billing typically works for smaller purchases and moves fast, since there's no procurement approval chain to route through. With ClassWeekly, the Individual Teacher, Small School, Medium School, and Large School tiers (covering up to 75 teachers) are self-serve through a card purchase via the "Get Started" flow.

Purchase order billing typically applies at larger purchase thresholds or when your district's procurement policy requires it regardless of size. With ClassWeekly, the District tier (75+ teachers, or multiple schools) works through a custom quote with PO billing available, requested through "Request a quote" rather than a card checkout.

Ask any vendor directly: does PO billing apply at every tier, or only above a certain size? That answer affects which internal approval process you'll need to route the purchase through.

Budget-Line and Fiscal-Year Timing Considerations

A few timing questions worth resolving early, regardless of vendor:

• Does the subscription renew automatically, or does it require a new purchase decision each year?
• If your fiscal year doesn't align with the school year, does the vendor prorate, or does the license run on a fixed annual cycle from purchase date?
• For a District-tier quote requiring PO approval, how far in advance does that process typically need to start, given your district's own procurement timeline (not the vendor's)?

Starting the PO process for a District-tier quote earlier in the budget cycle, rather than close to the start of the school year, avoids a rollout delay caused by procurement timing rather than the product itself.

A Procurement Checklist to Run Through Before Approving

1. Confirm which billing method applies at your purchase size (card or PO).
2. Confirm the exact annual price for your staff-size tier, including whether it's a promotional rate or a standard renewal rate.
3. Confirm whether the license auto-renews or requires a new decision each year.
4. Confirm what's included in the purchase (with ClassWeekly: the full K-5 library across Math, Reading, and Grammar & Writing, at every tier, with no reduced-content tiers).
5. If PO billing applies, confirm the vendor can accommodate your district's specific procurement documentation requirements.
6. Confirm who at your school is the point of contact for billing and renewal questions going forward.

Once these six are answered, the rest of the decision (whether the content is any good) belongs to whoever made the instructional case in the first place. Your part is making sure the purchase itself doesn't create a problem six months from now.

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Ready to move forward with billing? Get Started for self-serve card billing at the Individual, Small, Medium, or Large School tiers, or request a quote for District-tier purchase order billing.