Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2017	Aug. 31, 2017
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jul. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	AMSWA
Entity Registrant Name	AMERICAN SOFTWARE INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000713425
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--04-30
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Class A Common Shares
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		27,398,626
Class B Common Shares
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		2,329,098