Why Martial Arts Schools Are Upgrading Their Software
Operating a martial arts studio is about so much more than just providing classes for your students. The owner has to manage memberships, billing, attendance, progressions for each student, scheduling, communicating with members, etc. All at the same time. As your studio continues to grow, it’ll be more difficult and time consuming for you to handle these tasks manually. This is why many studios have turned to reliable martial arts software solutions to help them simplify these everyday operations.
The ideal martial arts software will allow you to maintain organization as you are able to improve on the overall experience. The overall experience of your students, parents, and your instructors/staff. Instead of having you spend hours and hours tracking payments or filling out reports in spreadsheets, you are now able to automate many of the repetitive tasks that could otherwise be hindering the growth of your business.
Martial arts studios are faced with much higher expectations for their customer members today. Parents are looking for more efficient ways to communicate with the company. Where students expect to be able to access their information in a straightforward way. Studio owners are also looking for improved methods of reporting and processes for automating day-to-day operations.
What is Martial Arts Software?
Martial arts software provides a way to manage a martial arts school’s operational functions. Such as, membership management, student attendance, billing, and all other student information.
Most of these systems will have numerous tools that help make it easier for martial arts school owners to manage their facilities. For example, automatic billing, class scheduling, tracking attendance, mobile app access, detailed reporting, communication options, and monitoring student’s ranks. Some additional functions include check-in kiosks, barcode scanning, and managing waivers.
While the main function of martial arts software is to provide convenience, it also helps to create more organized and streamlined operations at the martial arts school. Ultimately, enhancing the experience of the students and their families.
What Features Matter Most in Martial Arts Software
Every software isn’t equal, therefore a martial arts studio needs different attributes than traditional gym software.
1. Belt Progression
A martial arts software needs to have the ability to keep track of a student’s belt progression, testing requirements, milestones, and more.
2. Automated Billing
Automating recurring billing helps reduce the number of missed payments. Also, it decreases the amount of time staff spends processing payments each month.
3. Attendance Tracking
Collecting attendance data will allow you to recognize trends in student engagement and retention.
4. Mobile App Access
Students and their parents expect convenient access for scheduling classes, communicating with instructors, and managing accounts from their mobile device.
5. Class Scheduling and Student Management
A dojos schedule has to be organized with class schedules, instructor schedules, signed waivers, and member accounts organized.
6. Reporting and Analytics
Detailed reporting enables an owner to have an accurate understanding of the growth and retention, as well as attendance and revenue.
Why Better Systems Lead to Better Retention
Martial arts schools function quite differently from conventional gyms. Many martial arts schools rely heavily on their long-term student relationships, family memberships, and progression systems to sufficiently retain students over time.
Without solid systems in place that help with these processes, like, tracking promotional progress, following up with inactive students or managing memberships, it can very easily become overwhelming. Consequently, effective martial arts software plays a key role in retaining students and organization.
Software will also affect your school’s level of professionalism. Parents and students expect an easy way to communicate, collect payments, a digital waiver system, and a way to schedule their training sessions. Schools that are still using traditional, outdated, manual processes often find it difficult to meet those expectations from their customers.
The most successful martial arts schools don’t only focus on improving the quality of instruction they provide on the mat but also improve the way they operate behind the scenes.
Comparing Martial Arts Software Options
Many martial arts schools differ in what they prioritize when evaluating martial arts software. However, many school operators place emphasis on cost, automation, rank tracking, and overall value.
Rank tracking is critical for organizing promotions, tracking how students’ progress through the ranks, and keeping students engaged over time. Software platforms designed for more general fitness businesses may not effectively support these workflows.
RhinoFit provides an excellent option for martial arts schools by providing a complete solution specific to the needs of martial arts schools. All while offering one of the lowest cost solutions available. In addition to being affordable, schools using RhinoFit also receive access to powerful software features and functionality. To list, recurring billing, attendance tracking, scheduling, mobile app access, student management, and rank tracking without having to pay for expensive software upgrades.
Another benefit to using RhinoFit is that it is accessible for smaller schools. Qualifying academies with no more than 20 active members are able to utilize the free version of RhinoFit, which allows these new academies to build strong operational workflows earlier on in their operation.
Features That Help Martial Arts Schools Grow
The top platforms for martial arts administrative software assist schools in being more organized and having the capability to grow over the long term.
Some of the primary features that promote growth are:
- Automated recurring billing
- Attendance tracking & reporting
- Rank progression management
- Mobile applications for students & staff
- Schedule and appointment management
- Digital waivers and profiles for students
- Check-in kiosks & bar code access
- Reports and dashboards for retention and income
- Automated reminders
These functions will assist an organization to reduce the administrative burden while improving the student experience.
Why RhinoFit is One of the Best Martial Arts Software Platforms
Many smaller martial arts schools would like to have reliable operational systems. However, they want to avoid to pay the high cost associated with using a full-featured, comprehensive software platform or with using an add-on to their existing software. With RhinoFit, you have access to all of the same core functions at a lower price point than alternative solutions.
If you are a smaller academy that is considering using RhinoFit for school management purposes and are not ready to be put into a higher priced tier, you can start out using the free version of RhinoFit. Providing you with the same quality of tools and excellent management processes as any other larger academy.
Any martial arts school that has a total membership base of under 20 total accounts would qualify for the free version of RhinoFit and have access to the same level of products and services as any larger dojo.