So you’re ready to take your yoga studio business to the next level. First of all, way to go! Shopping for studio management software is the first step to making your business better and/or bigger. You need tools that will help you thrive while also making the experience for your customers as easy as possible. 

That being said, every studio is different and each studio owner has different goals in mind. So choosing a software solution is an important decision that takes careful consideration. 

Here’s how to determine which studio management software is best for your studio.

The Studio Software Must-Have Features

Let’s start with the basics. If a software solution is lacking any of the following features, you can immediately rule it out as an option for your studio:

• Online Scheduling & Booking
• Appointments
• Employees Scheduling
• Sales Transactions
• Sales Reports
• Marketing
• Business Management
• Cloud-based
• Compatible on all devices (Computers, tablets, phones) and major operating systems (iOS and Android)
  

Remember, these are basic features that should come with every quality studio software. These fundamentals will allow you to run your business online easier than running it offline only.

How to Determine Which Solution is Right for Your Studio

The following are questions and considerations to guide you through choosing your ideal studio software.

How long has the software company been in business?

This will help you understand how experienced and trustworthy the company is. Typically, the older a software company is the more reviews that are available.

Does the company meet Payment Card Industry (PCI) security standards?

PCI compliance protects cardholder information and ensures that it’s stored, processed, and transmitted securely. Your software needs to meet these standards if you plan to accept payments via credit or debit cards (and you should plan to accept these forms of payment for the convenience of your customers).

Does the software have features that are important to your business? Does it have additional features that you do not need for your business?

There’s a cornucopia of features included in each software solution, and they vary from package to package. Sometimes these features are super useful, and sometimes they aren’t– yet they’re included in the total cost, so you could end up paying for features you don’t want or need.

So what’s important to your business?

• Do you want to be able to sell class passes and products online, in-store, or both?
• Do you want to manage your inventory through the software?
• Do you want to manage staff payroll through the software?
• Do you value intuitive and easy-to-understand sales and performance reports?
• Do you want to send targeted emails and track promotions?
  

If there are additional features that you don’t want but are included in the total cost of the software, you need to weigh whether the features the software has that you do want are worth paying for more or if finding another solution would be more prudent?

How much does the software cost?

Not every software company is totally transparent about their costs. Sometimes there are hidden fees or loosely explained sliding scales that may make the cost greater than anticipated. Make sure you are aware of these additional costs– ask if you don’t know about the cost of:

• Set-up or onboarding fees
• Monthly or annual costs
• Flat costs versus fluctuation as your studio grows
• Rates of the integrated merchant account
• Cost of add-on features

How supportive is customer support?

Onboarding and learning any new software is an undertaking of its own. You need to be confident that the software company you choose to work with will provide close and custom guidance to make the onboarding as easy as possible. Will you work with just one customer service agent or multiple? Will they be accessible 24/7 or only doing certain business hours? If only during business hours, what time zone does customer support operate from?

Conclusion

When it comes to choosing the right studio software solution for your business, you should view each software through this critical lens. You deserve software that puts you and your unique needs first– a solution that’s affordable and considerate of you as a customer.