Business Platforms software

Academic Journal Website and Manuscript Management System

Submission to peer review to publication, without an inbox full of attachments.

Typical timeline
7-14 weeks
Licensing
Unlimited users, you own it
Deployment
Cloud or your own server

Running an academic journal by email works for the first two issues. After that, the editor is tracking twenty manuscripts across three review rounds in a mail folder, reviewers are sent reminders by hand, version confusion creeps in, and authors write to ask about a status nobody can quickly determine. Meanwhile indexing bodies want structured metadata and a properly archived website, which an email workflow simply cannot produce.

This system gives a journal a professional publishing platform. Authors submit online and track status themselves. Editors assign reviewers, and the double-blind process is managed with automatic reminders and version control. Accepted articles are published into issues with DOI registration, structured metadata, full-text HTML and PDF, and the archive layout that Scopus, DOAJ, Crossref and Google Scholar expect. The public website presents the journal credibly — editorial board, aims and scope, indexing, author guidelines and current issue.

Modules

Take the whole system or start with the modules that hurt most — the rest can be added later without a rebuild.

01

Online submission

Author registration, manuscript upload with co-authors, ORCID, keywords, cover letter and declaration forms.

02

Peer review workflow

Single or double-blind review with reviewer invitation, acceptance, scored review forms, reminders and multiple rounds.

03

Editorial dashboard

Manuscript status board, editor assignment, decision recording, plagiarism report attachment and revision tracking.

04

Issue and volume publishing

Article scheduling into volumes and issues, table of contents, page numbering and article-level pages.

05

DOI and metadata

Crossref DOI registration, structured metadata export, citation formats and indexing-ready OAI-PMH feeds.

06

Journal website

Public site with aims and scope, editorial board, author guidelines, archives, indexing badges and article search.

07

Author communication

Automated status emails at every stage plus a self-service tracking page, which sharply reduces status enquiries.

08

Statistics and reports

Submission volume, acceptance rate, average review turnaround, reviewer performance and article download counts.

Who this is built for

  • Independent academic journals
  • University and college publications
  • Research institute journals
  • Multi-journal publishing houses
  • Conference proceedings organisers

What changes after you use it

  • Review process visible and chased automatically instead of by hand
  • Metadata and archive structure that indexing bodies expect
  • Authors track their own status, cutting editorial email volume
  • Professional public site that supports your indexing applications
You own the software. Source code, database and hosting are handed over at project close. There are no per-user licence fees and no annual renewal that switches the system off if you stop paying.
750+
Projects delivered
10+
Years of experience
4.9/5
Average client rating
18
Countries served
Why custom

Ready-made software versus a system built for you

Both are valid choices. Here is the honest comparison so you can decide which fits.

Off-the-shelf software

Fast to start and cheap in month one.

  • Live within days of signing up
  • Low entry cost, billed monthly
  • Your process must bend to fit the software
  • Per-user pricing grows with your headcount
  • Features you asked for may never arrive
  • Your data lives on someone else's terms

Custom journal system software

Slower to build, and yours permanently.

  • Built around how your business already works
  • One-time cost, unlimited users forever
  • New features added when you need them
  • Integrates with the tools you already run
  • Full source code and database ownership
  • Hosted wherever you choose
FAQ

Journal System software — common questions

What businesses ask before commissioning a system like this.

Can it handle double-blind peer review?
Yes. Author identity is hidden from reviewers and reviewer identity from authors, with files automatically stripped of identifying metadata. Single-blind and open review are also supported, configured per journal.
Does it support DOI registration?
Yes, through Crossref integration. DOIs are assigned and registered on publication with the required metadata deposited automatically, and reference lists can be deposited for citation linking.
Will the site meet Scopus or DOAJ requirements?
The technical requirements — structured metadata, persistent article URLs, OAI-PMH, machine-readable licensing, clear editorial policies and archive access — are built in. Indexing decisions also depend on editorial quality and publication history, which no platform can supply, but the site will not be the reason an application fails.
Can we publish several journals from one system?
Yes. A multi-journal setup shares the platform while each journal keeps its own website, editorial board, workflow settings and archive, with a publisher-level dashboard across all of them.
Is it better than Open Journal Systems?
OJS is capable, free and worth considering if your team can manage its administration and accept its interface. A custom system is worth it when you want a distinctive public website, a workflow matching your specific editorial practice, or a smoother experience for authors and reviewers. Migration from OJS with full archives is straightforward.

Get a demo of Journal Management System & Website

Tell me how your business runs today and I will show you exactly which modules apply, what it would cost and how long it would take.

Reply within one working day   Fixed written quote   You own the code