5 features and benefits of class management software [free checklist]

A class booking system is a great example of a platform that can boost efficiency across your lesson-based business. With tools that cover booking, scheduling, payments and communication, you can not only manage these areas from one location, but you can also create a better user experience for your staff, students and parents.

Each business has different needs, so it’s important to find a class scheduling system that ticks all your boxes. To get you started, here are five top features and benefits to look out for during your research stage:

1. Have full visibility over your lessons and facilities
2. Streamline bookings and billing with student account management
3. Improve performance by tracking students’ times
4. Maintain regular communication with inbuilt email
5. Share student progression with other teachers via notes

1. Have full visibility over your lessons and facilities

Spreadsheets and paper-based timetables are good stop-gaps in the short term but can quickly become unmanageable, making it hard to keep track of lessons, payments and attendance.

Switching from a spreadsheet to fully digitised class registration software removes these pain points, providing better lesson visibility via a colour-coded calendar and the ability to switch seamlessly between locations if you operate out of more than one facility.

Unlike manual processes, a course scheduling system makes it much easier to plan your lessons, allowing you to add, move and edit single or recurring classes, set class capacity, designate teachers and assign resources, increasing your overall business efficiency.

2. Streamline bookings and billing with student account management

Being able to effectively manage your customer accounts not only simplifies your processes and saves you time but also creates a better customer experience, increasing the likelihood of retention.

As well as managing your lessons, your class booking software can also manage your customer data, linking all family members to one billing account, sending automated emails when events are triggered (such as overdue fees) and highlighting upcoming, previous and regular bookings at a glance.

By introducing a customer portal, parents or students can manage their own memberships, including bookings, payments, health issues and more, giving you more time to spend across other areas of your business.

3. Improve performance by tracking students’ times

A major benefit of a flexible class scheduling system is the ability to record times and personal bests for each student so they can continue to refine their skills.

As well as helping students stay motivated, time tracking is also great for coaches as they can instantly access past results and strategise ways to improve. Parents that want to view their child’s progress can also access these results via their online account (or customer portal).

Performance tracking doesn’t just have to be time-based either - for example, yoga studio software could track breath count and flexibility (such as sit and reach test), while gym scheduling software could track weight and reps.

4. Maintain regular communication with inbuilt email

Digitally connecting with your customers (past and present) is crucial in this tech-driven day and age to keep them involved with what’s happening in your business. With email continuing to reign as the most effective channel for marketing, it’s a tool you don’t want to ignore. Some class booking software includes an inbuilt email platform, so you don’t even need to employ a third-party service.

Email marketing has endless uses, from mass emails to all customers to hyper-targeted emails sent to a small selection of students. Examples of inbuilt emails you could send via your course scheduling system include:

• Monthly newsletters
• School holiday program bookings
• Facility closures and reopenings
• Class-specific emails (such as reminders)
• Postcode-specific emails, for example, if you open a new facility or service a new area
• Inviting students from your waiting list to enrol into a class
• Re-engagement with past customers encouraging them to rejoin
• Triggered emails such as overdue fees, new course bookings or missed lessons

5. Share student progression with other teachers via notes

With classes management software, you can write short notes about individual students (such as key areas of focus or what stage they're at with a certain skill) which is visible to other staff members. This is particularly useful when teachers are covering shifts, as they have full visibility over each student’s progression.

Another benefit of notes is if a parent approaches a replacement teacher about their child’s nonprogression, the teacher can look at the class booking system on their tablet and check the student’s notes left by the previous staff member.

Choosing the right class registration software can be a difficult decision, which is why it’s important to make a list of your most important features prior to setting up demos with your shortlisted companies. To get started, download this free checklist that includes some of the top features to look out for. Alternatively, you can print off this blank checklist and add your own.