The COVID-19 pandemic has affected a lot of small businesses around the world and unfortunately, youth activity centers were not exempt. As the industry-leading cloud solution for class management, Jackrabbit Class, rallied around our clients by automatically discounting monthly subscriptions for everyone and fast-tracking features to help owners take their youth activity programs online.

Giving our clients the ability to go virtual (where possible) was an immediate focus for us as the coronavirus started to affect our industries. However, as much as youth activity centers needed to be ready to ‘go online’, they also need to be ready to rebuild and reopen their doors when that time comes.

5 Financial Tips for Reopening your Youth Activity Center with Jackrabbit Class 

Hearing that you can reopen your doors are the words every small business owner is waiting to hear. And when that time comes, you as a youth activity owner have to be ready – mentally, physically, and financially.

Here are 5 tips that will help you financially prepare for the good news of starting back with in-person classes again when the time comes.

1. Set up and utilize electronic payments

If you haven’t already started accepting electronic payments, aka ePayments, there is no better time to get that implemented and ready to roll. With physical doors being closed, taking payments online has kept a lot of businesses alive. Even when classes resume, giving parents the option to pay online is a great convenience to them and also helps greatly reduce time spent on collecting revenue.

2. Account credits versus refunds

There’s quite a difference between giving an account credit and processing a refund. When possible, issuing credit is preferable to processing a refund. Credits can be used toward future purchases or tuition, encouraging families to come back. Refunds take away from your bottom line and processing fees usually apply.

Of course, there are times when refunds are required and that is okay. But, a little bit of transparency from you to your families goes a long way. Keeping lines of communication open with your families will also prevent excessive chargebacks from sneaking up on you.

Trust me, when things get back to normal, parents will be anxious for their children to get back to activities. And the kids will be just as ready to see their friends again. We will get to the other side of this so keep that hope alive!

3. Clean up family accounts

Chances are, you need to do some spring cleaning on your family accounts before you pick up where you left off pre-COVID. If you have issues credits to a lot of families because you had to temporarily close, your dream is coming true very soon! The Jackrabbit team is working on one of the latest fast-tracked features that will literally become your B.F.F. – mass-applying outstanding credits.

In a matter of a few clicks, you can have those accounts as good as new when classes start back.

Not only does this help you efficiently manage family accounts but it also eliminates any confusion parents might have on how their credits are applied and what they owe for upcoming classes.

4. Be prepared to bill tuition as normal

Chances are, if you were hosting virtual classes, you experienced at least one of the following:

• • Parents requesting for their account to be on hold until classes resume in-person
  • Discounted tuition (at your discretion) for a different class format
  • Families sponsoring other families

All of which are completely understandable during this time. But, when classes are back in action, you will need to revert back to your normal billing process. While a couple of months ago, that felt like muscle memory, you might feel a little rusty your first time back at it.

If you need a refresher, no worries! Check out the how-to from our support experts.

Post tuition fees refresher

5. Understand financial reports

With the new ‘normal’ being anything but, having a tap on your youth activity center’s financial status has never been more important. As long as you are keeping your family accounts up to date, your Jackrabbit application can supply the information you need.

If you feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, reach out to your CPA and find out what you should be looking at.

Learn about Jackrabbit’s fully-integrated payment platform, Jackrabbit Pay.

What are your next steps before reopening your youth activity center?

Throughout the response to all the changes that COVID-19 brought to youth activity centers everywhere, the Jackrabbit team has continued to deliver reliable and powerful solutions to class management. Even if that really means virtual class management. Jackrabbit Class users saw almost no downtime and connected with students, families, and teachers instantly.

Ready to partner with a company that cares about your success as much as you do? Join the Jackrabbit family today with 30 days on us!

Redeem my first 30-days free!

If you are already a part of the Jackrabbit family but need some guidance before you swing open your doors, our support experts are ready to help! Sign up for a 45-minute personalized consultation with the best support team there is!

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