You set up your yoga studio for one major reason: you love teaching yoga. Why not turn this passion into your profession, right? We know that it’s easy to get lost in the admin aspect of running a yoga business: class scheduling, registration, attendance, credit card processing, sales, marketing, accounting and so much more.
Fortunately, this is where yoga studio management software dives in to the rescue, acting as a comprehensive solution to your business management needs.
There are a tonne of yoga studio management softwares on the market today with varying capabilities. With that in mind, we set out 5 key tips to ensure you choose a yoga software that meets each and every one of your studio’s requirements – without the need for compromises or workarounds.
1. Automation, Automation, Automation!
The more tasks you automate, the more time you will save to spend on doing what you love most: teaching yoga. Before you even book a demo of the yoga studio management software you’re considering, you should make a list of the time-consuming tasks you want to eliminate. For example, the following automations may be critical to your decision:
- Sign up, registering, waivers.
- Class, course and appointment booking.
- Booking cancellation management and waiting lists.
- Class, course and appointment scheduling.
- Payments.
- Client communication including reminders and updates.
- Studio check-in.
Be sure to carry out a demo of the yoga studio management software you intend on purchasing in order to determine whether the software will automate these admin tasks that currently take up your time. Now that you have created a list of the core automations your yoga studio needs, you’ll be less likely to be side tracked by irrelevant features.
By watching a particular software in action you may also identify a need for various manual ‘work arounds’ on your part to get the result you wanted, indicating that the software is not a perfect match for you.
Don’t settle for a yoga software solution that doesn’t cater to your core needs, your studio management tools should work for you not against you.
2. Do Your Background Research
Purchasing yoga software for the first time or switching to a new software provider may pose multiple questions from your side. Although it may seem like a no brainer, we really advise researching customer reviews to determine the answers to these questions before making a decision to purchase. We would also recommend that you find out about the level of support on offer.
Be sure to check out credible software comparison sites such as Capterra, who offer a really strict review system from yoga studio owners who have been in your shoes before. Confirm that the company has been responsive to clients in the past so that you can put your mind at ease and ensure you are making the right decision.
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Discover more Don’t be afraid to ask if the provider offers a ‘new customer success program’ or a ‘switching support program’ which you could take part in.
3. Adapt to Mobile
The future of the health and wellness industry is mobile and any yoga software provider who doesn’t have mobile as part of their core strategy isn’t worth your time.
Studies show that adults are spending approximately 2.8 hours per day on their mobile device. This stat is bursting with opportunities for yoga studio owners who want to take communication with clients to the next level! Thus, your software provider should enable you to not only embrace this trend, but take advantage of it in the management of your business. Mobile is particularly powerful when it comes to solving the booking and payment headache for your studio.
If your intended or current software provider has not adapted its product to take advantage of the mobile age, you should be wary of signing the dotted line. Just ask their sales rep straight up, “what is your strategy for mobile”? If they can’t answer this question in a couple of minutes, you have all the information you need.
4. Avoid Long Term Contracts
In the modern cloud based software world, we believe there is no need for long term, inflexible contracts. Setup time on most software systems tends to be quick and and inexpensive for the software business. For this reason, we believe all software companies should make short term contracts available to their clients.
If a company really believes in their product, they should not have to tie you into a long term contract in order to retain your business. The quality of the product and the customer service on offer should ensure that you remain loyal to the business in the long term, not a contract which forces you to stay.
Here at Glofox, we offer three different pricing options to fit different yoga studio owner’s requirements: monthly, quarterly and annually – The choice is always yours!
5. Watch the Cost of Adding Users
Some yoga software companies charge based on the number of users that you have on the software system. This may not cause any issues at the start when your yoga studio is small or just starting up. However, as your yoga studio grows and scales, you may wish to add more and more clients and create individual profiles for each of your yoga teachers.
This may lead to a higher cost per month than you originally anticipated and budgeted for. Be sure to check the yoga software provider’s usage policy before you make the decision to purchase and work this cost into your budget and business plan for growth.
