“I love manual processes”, said no one ever.

Especially owners of dance studios, swim schools, or gymnastics gyms. There’s a lot of work that goes into the daily operations of your youth activity center. The more you and your staff can automate, the better.

Before I start telling you the processes you should be automating at your youth activity center, I want to break down what automation really is.

What is automation?

Simply put, automation is the use of technology to complete a task with a goal of efficiency and reliability. Work that is automated is performed without involving people, which eliminates possible human error.

Let’s face it – we are human and very busy ones at that! Any help from a class management software solution, like Jackrabbit Class, allows you and your staff to focus on being visible and more interactive with families. No matter how big or small the automation feels, you know that time is saved and the results are accurate.

How does automation save time and money

Time is money – am I right? And the time you and your staff take to manually work on daily, weekly, and monthly tasks is money spent.

Let’s think about it this way because we know that numbers don’t lie. If you have 2 office staff members that can save 1 hour a day, 5 days a week, making $15 an hour each – that’s an annual savings of $7,800. Seems like a no brainer, huh?

With a class management system that can automate more, you will find yourself saving money and getting more done in the time you and your staff are on the clock.

Looking for the right class management software for your dance studio, swim school, or gym? Give Jackrabbit Class a try with your first 30 days free!

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5 processes to automate using Jackrabbit Class

Registration fees for new students

It’s pretty common to charge a registration fee to new students signing up at your youth activity center. Having that fee automatically post during the registration process guarantees that no one is slipping through the cracks. Families are aware of expectations immediately and there are no surprises later!

Discounted and prorated tuition

As new and existing families enroll for a new season, having a software solution that can calculate and post the correct tuition based on predetermined discounting and prorating rules is a team win! Constantly calculating tuition for multiple scenarios is bound to lead to mistakes – it’s just natural. Having a platform that does this for you allows you and the parents to rest easy and be confident in what’s posted.

Want to learn more about the power of discounting and prorating? (—>Check out our ultimate guide here)

Automated receipts for online payments

Accepting online payments nowadays is a must. But, taking that a step further in setting up automated receipts via email. Whether a payment is successful or a payment is declined, an automated email can cut down on a lot of unnecessary communication later. Chances are, a parent will receive an email for a declined payment, realize they forgot to update their account when they got a new card, and take care of it within 5 minutes of receiving the email.

Your list of phone calls to make just got shorter!

Skill progress emails for parents

Sharing skill progress with parents is a great way to keep them connected with your youth activity program. Receiving an email update when their child accomplishes a new goal gives parents an opportunity to celebrate this achievement with their swimmer, gymnast, or dancer. Having this tie to success in your program will keep them coming back for more, session after session.

Auto-sizing for costumes or apparel orders

Who wouldn’t want to enter measurements and click one button to have all sizes per costume or apparel item added? That’s hours of work saved between size selection and reporting to complete the order with the vendor while remaining completely organized.

Ways to automate processes in the future

Jackrabbit Class already has so many great automated features available today. But, that doesn’t mean it all stops here.

Our 2020 plan for enhancements includes even more automation and we couldn’t be more pumped for what’s coming out soon!

1. Set up tuition to post at the same time every week, month, or session.
2. Autodraft payments so you can schedule a batch and truly forget about it.
3. Automated emails to take family communication to the next level.
4. More flexibility on when registration fees automatically post for existing students or families.

A big thanks to our clients who submit great enhancement ideas that allow our team to create such a solid plan for the future of Jackrabbit.

Want to learn more about automation at your youth activity center? Read our recent blog on how to automate your front desk!

Read more about automation