Document and Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2017	Jul. 03, 2017	Oct. 31, 2016
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Apr. 30, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	AMSWA
Entity Registrant Name	AMERICAN SOFTWARE INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000713425
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--04-30
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float			$ 304.4
Class A Common Shares
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		27,392,081
Class B Common Shares
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		2,329,098