How to Choose Journal Management Software for Academic Publishing

Learn how to choose journal management software based on your publishing workflow, team needs, usability, features, scalability, and long-term goals.

TL;DR

• Choose journal management software based on your actual publishing workflow, not just its feature list.
• Consider the needs of authors, reviewers, editors, and administrators before choosing a platform.
• Separate essential features from nice-to-have tools to keep your selection focused.
• Evaluate the user experience to ensure the software is easy for everyone to use.
• Consider your publishing model, journal size, submission volume, and future growth before making a decision.

Choosing journal management software is an important decision for any academic publisher. 

The right platform should make publishing easier for your team, while giving authors, reviewers, and editors a straightforward way to complete their work.

Rather than choosing software based on features alone, start with how your journal actually operates. Consider your publishing workflow, team structure, journal model, and the experience you want to provide to everyone involved.

For publishers exploring a modern, fully hosted option, Alkademy Press brings key academic publishing activities into one environment. However, the first step is understanding what your journal needs before comparing specific platforms.

Start With Your Publishing Requirements

Map Your Current Publishing Workflow

Before looking at software, document how a manuscript moves through your journal. Start with submission and follow it through screening, review, revision, editorial decision, and publication.

Look for steps that currently require manual work, multiple tools, or unnecessary back-and-forth. This gives you a practical basis for evaluating whether a platform can support your existing process.

Identify Your Team’s Requirements

Different users have different priorities. An editor may need better visibility over submissions, while a reviewer needs a simple way to access manuscripts and submit feedback.

Consider what each group needs from the platform:

• Editors: Manage submissions, reviewers, decisions, and deadlines.
• Authors: Submit manuscripts, upload files, receive updates, and respond to revisions.
• Reviewers: Access assigned manuscripts, complete reviews, and communicate with editors.
• Administrators: Manage users, journal settings, permissions, and routine operations.

Define Must-Have and Nice-to-Have Features

Separate essential requirements from features that would simply be useful. This prevents your team from choosing software because it has an impressive feature list while overlooking something fundamental to your workflow.

Your must-have list might include:

• Manuscript submission
• Peer review
• Editorial decision management
• Journal publishing
• User management
• Reporting

Nice-to-have features can then be assessed after the core requirements are satisfied.

Consider Your Publishing Model

Your publishing model should also influence your software requirements. An open access journal with APCs may need payment and billing functionality, while a subscription-based publication may have different priorities.

Consider:

• Open access or subscription publishing
• APC-based publishing
• Single or multiple journals
• Publication frequency
• Expected submission volume
• Current and future journal growth

Evaluate the User Experience

Good journal management software should not make routine publishing tasks harder. The platform should feel clear and practical for everyone who uses it.

Author Experience

Authors should be able to submit manuscripts without unnecessary complexity. Look for a clear submission process, straightforward file uploads, submission tracking, and easy access to revision requests and editorial communication.

Reviewer Experience

Reviewers should be able to quickly understand what they need to do. Consider how the platform handles invitations, manuscript access, review submission, deadlines, and communication.

A complicated reviewer interface can make it harder to secure timely reviews.

Editor Experience

Editors need a clear view of the manuscripts under their responsibility. The software should make it easy to see what requires attention, assign reviewers, evaluate reviews, request revisions, and record decisions.

Administrator Experience

Administrators often handle the behind-the-scenes work that keeps a journal running. The platform should make routine tasks such as managing users, permissions, journal settings, and account access straightforward.

A good user experience across these roles can reduce friction throughout the publishing process and make adoption easier for the entire team.

Evaluate the Platform’s Technical Fit

Once you understand what your journal needs from a workflow perspective, assess whether the platform can support those requirements reliably. 

Technical fit matters because software that works well today should not create new problems as your journal grows.

Integrations and Compatibility

Check whether the platform works with the services your journal already uses or may need in the future. This could include DOI registration, payment systems, email services, analytics, indexing services, and other publishing tools.

Also check how integrations are maintained. A platform may support an integration today, but ongoing compatibility and updates are equally important.

Security and Data Protection

Academic journals handle manuscripts, personal information, reviewer details, and editorial correspondence, so data protection should be part of your evaluation.

Consider:

• How user data is protected
• How access permissions are managed
• How security updates are handled
• Where journal data is stored
• What happens if a security issue occurs
• Whether the provider has clear data protection practices

Reliability and Performance

Your journal platform needs to remain dependable when authors submit manuscripts, reviewers access papers, and readers browse published content.

Look for information about:

• Platform availability
• Page loading performance
• Infrastructure reliability
• System monitoring
• Incident response
• Backup and recovery procedures

Ask providers how they handle outages and technical problems rather than assuming reliability from the platform’s marketing claims.

Accessibility and Mobile Experience

Authors, reviewers, editors, and readers may access your journal from different devices. Test the platform on desktops, tablets, and smartphones to make sure important tasks remain easy to complete.

Pay particular attention to:

• Submission forms
• Reviewer interfaces
• Editorial dashboards
• Article pages
• Navigation
• Forms and buttons

Evaluate Publishing and Management Capabilities

Technical quality is important, but the platform also needs to support the practical work involved in running your journal.

Editorial Workflow Management

Evaluate how the software handles the stages between submission and publication. Editors should be able to monitor manuscripts, manage assignments, track progress, and make decisions without unnecessary manual work.

The platform should fit your editorial process rather than forcing your team into an unnecessarily complicated workflow.

Journal Content and Publishing

Look at how easily your team can manage published content, including articles, issues, metadata, author information, and journal pages.

Also consider how the platform handles the reader-facing side of your journal. Published content should be easy to organise, navigate, and access.

Reporting and Analytics

Reporting can help publishers understand what is happening across their journals. Look for useful information about submissions, editorial activity, reviews, publications, and other operational areas.

The goal is not to collect as many metrics as possible. It is to have enough useful data to identify bottlenecks, monitor activity, and make informed decisions.

Multi-Journal Management

If you manage more than one journal, consider whether the platform can handle them without creating additional administrative complexity.

Look for the ability to manage separate:

• Journal profiles
• Editorial teams
• Workflows
• Content
• User permissions
• Reporting

A platform that supports multiple journals effectively can make it easier to expand your publishing portfolio without creating a completely separate management process for every title.

Assess Scalability and Long-Term Fit

Choosing software for your current needs is important, but you also need to consider where your journal is heading. A platform that works for a small publication may become limiting as submissions, readers, users, or journal titles increase.

Supporting Journal Growth

Consider whether the platform can handle growth in submissions, users, published content, and website traffic without creating unnecessary technical work.

Look at:

• Storage capacity
• System performance
• User capacity
• Submission volume
• Publishing frequency
• Future infrastructure requirements

Adding More Journals

If you plan to expand your publishing portfolio, check how easily new journals can be added. You should be able to maintain separate journal identities, editorial teams, content, and workflows without creating unnecessary administrative complexity.

Adapting to Changing Publishing Needs

Academic publishing continues to evolve, so avoid choosing software that only solves today’s requirements. Consider whether the platform can accommodate new integrations, publishing models, editorial workflows, and technologies as your needs change.

Evaluate Support, Onboarding, and Training

Even good software can become difficult to use without adequate support. Find out what happens after you sign up and who you can contact when your team needs help.

Provider Support

Check how support works, including:

• Available support channels
• Response times
• Technical assistance
• Troubleshooting
• Account or platform support

Onboarding and Training

A good onboarding process can help your team become comfortable with the platform faster. Ask whether the provider offers setup assistance, training, migration support, or guidance for different user roles.

Documentation and Resources

Look for clear documentation that your team can refer to when questions arise. Helpful resources may include:

• Knowledge bases
• User guides
• Tutorials
• FAQs
• Training materials

Compare the Total Cost

Price matters, but it should not be the only factor in your decision. Compare what you receive for the cost and what your organisation will need to spend to keep the platform running.

Look Beyond the Subscription Price

Check exactly what is included in the advertised price. Some platforms may include hosting, updates, support, security, or other services, while others may charge separately.

Identify Additional Costs

Ask about potential costs for:

• Setup
• Migration
• Additional users
• Additional journals
• Integrations
• Customisation
• Premium support
• Additional storage

Knowing these costs upfront makes it easier to create an accurate budget.

Compare Long-Term Value

The best-value platform is not necessarily the cheapest option. Consider how the software affects your team’s time, technical workload, publishing efficiency, and ability to grow.

A platform that costs more but reduces manual work and technical administration may provide greater value over time than a cheaper system that requires significant internal resources.

Recommended: OJS Hosting Costs: What Does It Really Cost to Run an OJS Journal?

Journal Management Software for Different Types of Publishers

Different publishers have different priorities when choosing journal management software. 

A platform that works well for an independent journal may not provide the same level of flexibility or administration needed by a university or a publisher managing several titles.

Software for Independent Journal Publishers

Independent publishers often work with smaller editorial and administrative teams, making simplicity especially important. Look for software that reduces manual administration and provides essential publishing workflows without requiring extensive technical expertise.

Important considerations include:

• Easy manuscript submission and peer review
• Simple editorial management
• Reliable technical support
• Straightforward journal publishing
• Predictable costs
• Minimal technical maintenance

Software for Universities and Research Institutions

Universities and research institutions may manage journals across different departments, faculties, or research centres. They may therefore need stronger user management, reporting, integrations, and administrative controls.

Consider whether the platform can support:

• Multiple editorial teams
• Different journal workflows
• Institutional requirements
• User permissions
• Reporting and analytics
• Integration with existing systems

Software for Scholarly Societies

Scholarly societies often need software that supports both editorial operations and the broader needs of their academic communities. Ease of use for editors, reviewers, and authors is particularly important when participants may have different levels of technical experience.

Look for:

• Flexible editorial workflows
• Easy author and reviewer management
• Journal websites
• Publishing and archive management
• Reporting capabilities
• Support for the society’s publishing model

Software for Multi-Journal Publishers

Publishers managing several journals need more than separate journal websites. They need a way to manage multiple titles efficiently while keeping each journal’s content, teams, branding, and workflows organised.

Key considerations include:

• Centralised administration
• Separate journal configurations
• Role and permission management
• Multi-journal reporting
• Scalable infrastructure
• Consistent publishing workflows

The more journals you manage, the more important it becomes to choose software that can grow with your publishing operation without creating additional administrative complexity.

Alkademy Press: A  Journal Management Platform

If you are looking for journal management software that brings the main parts of academic publishing together, Alkademy Press provides a fully hosted environment for managing journal operations. 

It is designed to help publishers manage editorial work without having to piece together separate systems for different stages of the publishing process.

Manage the Editorial Workflow

Alkademy Press brings manuscript submission and peer review into a connected workflow. Editors can manage submissions, reviewers, revisions, and editorial decisions, while authors and reviewers have access to the tools they need throughout the process.

Publish and Manage Journal Content

Publishers can manage journal content and publishing activities within the same platform. This provides a central environment for organising articles and presenting published research through journal websites.

Manage APC Billing

For journals that charge article processing charges, Alkademy Press includes APC billing within the publishing workflow. This allows publishers to manage payment-related activities alongside their other journal operations.

AI-Assisted Editorial Workflows

Alkademy Press includes AI-assisted tools that can support editors during the early stages of manuscript screening. These tools can help identify potential issues and provide additional information for editorial consideration, while final decisions remain with the editorial team.

Manage Multiple Journals

Publishers managing several journals can use Alkademy Press to manage their titles from one platform. Individual journals can maintain their own content, teams, and publishing workflows while being managed within the same environment.

Common Mistakes When Choosing Journal Management Software

• Choosing Based on Price Alone: The cheapest platform is not always the most cost-effective. Consider setup, maintenance, support, integrations, and additional fees.
• Focusing on Features Instead of Workflow: A long feature list means little if the platform does not support your actual publishing process smoothly.
• Ignoring Technical Requirements: Check hosting, integrations, security, data management, scalability, and maintenance responsibilities before making a decision.
• Overlooking User Experience: Consider how easily authors, reviewers, editors, and administrators can navigate and use the platform.
• Failing to Consider Future Growth: Choose software that can accommodate increasing submissions, users, journal titles, and changing publishing requirements.
• Not Evaluating Support and Maintenance: Check what the provider offers for onboarding, technical support, updates, maintenance, and troubleshooting.

Questions to Ask Before Choosing Journal Management Software

Before making a decision, ask:

• Does the platform fit our current publishing workflow?
• Is it easy for authors, reviewers, editors, and administrators to use?
• Can it support our publishing model?
• What integrations are available?
• How are security and backups handled?
• Can it scale as our journal grows?
• Can we manage multiple journals?
• What support and onboarding are provided?
• What costs are included?
• Are there additional fees for migration, users, or customisation?
• Can the platform adapt to our future publishing needs?

FAQs

Final Thoughts on How to Choose Journal Management Software

Choosing journal management software should be based on more than a feature checklist. The right platform should fit your publishing workflow, be practical for your team, support your current journal operations, and give you room to grow.

Take the time to evaluate the user experience, technical requirements, support, scalability, and total cost before making your decision.

Looking for journal management software built for modern academic publishing? Explore Alkademy Press and manage manuscript submission, peer review, publishing, APC billing, and AI-assisted editorial workflows in one fully hosted platform.