Studio Management Software Breakdown
Don’t get me started on my rant, cuz I have opinions lol
After working with many different studio management software programs, as a bookkeeper, I’ve found my favorites, and my definitely not so favorites. Here’s the major/upcoming studio management software programs and how they stack up from a financial standpoint:
Coming in last: Dance Studio Pro…now known as Studio Pro. They snag you on the cheap monthly price, but what you don’t know is that you have to use their merchant services, unless you want to pay an extra fee to DSP, on top of what Stripe is charging, which currently sits at 1.35% of the transaction amount. So, essentially you have to use their merchant services (at 3.15% + $.35 for credit card processing), which for most studios, costs more than most other studio management software programs. Additionally, their reports are close to worthless- they have one report that shows the fees that are charged per transaction, and a different report that shows how the income is broken down, but these dates aren’t consistent between reports, and it’s near impossible to get an accurate number breakdown of your income and processing fees. I once tried to do this down to the penny, and it took 3.5 hours to accomplish one month. Oh, and they mention on their website that they export to quickbooks- not technically a lie, but not really truthful either. They export customer information to quickbooks, not any financial information, and to be honest, what dance studio wants every student entered in their quickbooks individually? That’s kind of the whole point of having a studio management software
Rating: 1/10
Next up: Jackrabbit. Honestly, they’re not too bad. Their interface is quite confusing, and there are way too many settings, and things get jumbled easily, but in regards to my job, they work fine. They export to quickbooks, although I have heard of people having issues with deposits not matching up to what the report says, which I’ve also experienced, but I figured out a way to fix that (DM me if you need that walkthrough- I have a short video I can send to you). Price per month is based off number of students you have, which is a downside for many studios, ranging from $49/mo to $249/mo. You have an option of what merchant service you want to use, with SafeSave charging between 2.6% and 2.99% + $.30, and Jackrabbit pay at 2.89% + $.35 for credit card processing. All in all, I’m not going to rage over them, but I’m also not really raving over them either.
Rating: 6/10
Next: Studio Director. This is kind of a tie to Jackrabbit. The name makes a little more sense than Jackrabbit, and their interface is a little better, but wouldn’t describe them as flawless either. For the most part, the exports to quickbooks are successful and work fine. The exports don’t include refunds, which can get confusing for someone that’s not used to working with quickbooks. Pricing is also based off of how many students are in the program, ranging from $39-$329. They use PaySimple as a merchant service, with credit card fees currently at 2.49% + $.29. Again, not a software I’ll rant about, either positive or negative.
Rating: 6/10
Coming in on top: EnrollmentHive. This is a new program that very few studios use, but in all my interactions with it, it has been pure perfection. Their reports are absolutely flawless, customer service is top notch, and the interface is simple and easy to use. They export to quickbooks, which includes refunds (you can refund straight from the software), and it’s easy to match up these things in quickbooks. The reports include sales tax, if that’s applicable in your area, processing fees, and breakdown of income. They use Stripe for processing, and don’t upcharge this amount. They have a variety of pricing options, depending on what features you want included in your package, starting at $75/mo, with the option to add on additional feature a la carte, which is something I haven’t seen any other management software programs offer. I will rave about them all day long. LOVE
Rating 10/10
Choosing a software that works for your business is an absolutely crucial decision to make for your studio, and finding one that does everything you want, doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, and doesn’t cause any frustration for your customers is everything. I hope I was helpful in showing you a quick breakdown of the major programs out there right now.
If you have any additional questions, please reach out- I’d love to help!
