Alexandra Uifalean
July 15th, 2019
Have you ever thought you could grow your music school business by simplifying your operations?
If you think about it, we spend so much time and energy on the administrative side of our businesses: scheduling lessons, managing students, class management, music lessons, reporting, keeping in touch with parents, etc. No wonder we end up exhausted, missing out on solid opportunities.
If only there were an efficient way to clear out your schedule.
Oh, you mean a music school management software?
Studies show 77% of high-performing projects use music school software. A stellar one can free your schedule and help you get the most out of your students. With the right software, you'll be able to focus more on other productive areas of your business that you've been neglecting and concentrate on the music!
We did a lot of asking around and it looks like finding one that matches both your budget and goals can be a challenging task.
Don't know where to start?
First things first: make a list of your needs and what you're looking for in management tool. Here's a checklist with what to consider when you search for school software.
Consider the following questions before making a purchase.
Now, let's explore each point in detail so that you have a clear picture of what kind of software works best for you.
Even though there is plenty of top software available out there, you should choose one that caters to your school's particular needs.
The best ones allow you to see what's happening in your music business at any time: from student records, lesson scheduling, attendance history to tracking students progress, billing, and reporting. Since you own a music school, the ideal software should have a 'Repertoire Tracker Add-On' feature. It will help you track the music your students learn and perform.
In this day and age, scheduling things beforehand is crucial, especially for music schools. Find software that acts as a catalyst and simplifies scheduling, and you'll make your life (and others) easier.
On your road to expansion, you'll end up scheduling more and more lessons. Make sure your software will be able to handle all that - and even more.
Most online music management software allows your business to scale with them. Being a cloud solution they have massive bandwidth to keep music school online all throughout the school year. If you host this on-premises it could become costly as you scale your music school. Find a software for music that is cloud-based and can be accessed from all over the world. Lessons and scheduling from the beach! Management never became so easy!
If you want to raise enrolments and keep a positive reputation, you need to be as efficient as possible. More often than not, we find ourselves drowning in paperwork. Not to mention invoicing or sending deadline reminders, which are crucial, yet so repetitive and boring.
What if you could use a music school management software to automate them so you can spend your time on better tasks?
By automating your school's processes, you can generate invoices and reminders, add custom messages, attract the best teachers, onboard new students and staff, collect fees, pay and schedule staff, and even coordinate events. When you replace slow, manual processes with an automated workflow, you end up improving experiences and boost ROI.
When looking for the right software, do yourself a favor and check the level of support the company offers. Reach out to their support team and see how fast they get back and how they treat their customers. Pay extra attention to the way they respond to your queries. Brownie points if they follow-up.
You should also check if they offer any self-help resources, such as tutorials or step-by-step guides. You might need them, especially in the beginning. If the company does nothing in terms of troubleshooting, then their software is worthless. If they won't be there for you when you're in need, investing money in their software makes no point.
Here's something to put you in the right mindset: your music school will either grow with you or outgrow. As your business moves forward, you need tools to support your expansion and keep costs as low as possible. You don't want a music school software that takes ages to pull reports or seems disconnected from your other systems.
Avoid the pain of transferring all records to a new system and training your staff to use it due to moving from one software to another. Choose a system that will propel you to new heights.
You'll want your music school software to integrate with your website with ease. Not only the school will score high in search results, but it will make it easy for potential students to find it. A cloud-based system that is well integrated with your website will lure in potential customers and persuade them to sign up for your educational services.
Out of everything, software should be user-friendly. It saves management and students a considerable amount of time. They will familiarize themselves sooner with it and will be able to use it in no time. You may think that the more features it has, the better will serve you. Wrong: too many features will look cluttered and users could end up distracted. When choosing the right class management software, simplicity is key.
When we designed Teach 'n Go, we focused on what schools and training businesses need and left out all the clutter and complexity. Its user-friendly platform keeps you in the loop with what's happening in your training business: from lesson scheduling, class management, attendance history, teacher assigning, course pricing, payments and billing to custom reports and much more.
Nowadays, when we carry the world in our pocket, everyone is looking for a mobile-friendly solution in (almost) every software. Keep in mind that your music teachers and students are always on the move, which means they need a tool to go through their schedule and other important updates while on the go.
In addition to being user-friendly, management software should be mobile-friendly and more importantly, cloud-based. Accessing a music school software while enjoying a coffee in the local park - doesn't sound so bad does it?
You want an app for music teachers that they are proud of - music lessons at their fingertips, and easy scheduling for the students - so they know when and where they have to be for all of their lessons.
Look, we get it. Financially, it may not be the right time for your business to make massive investments. But you don't have to'you can buy one that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg.
However, there's no place for cutting corners when it comes to class management software. Making sure you get the best value for money should be your top priority. That said, do your research and choose one with a top subscribing plan at a cost-effective price. The software should come with complete access and control over integrations in addition to all the add-ons. Always read the product reviews and testimonials and double-check you're paying only for the features you will be using.
Every music school is unique. That's why cloud-based systems should suit every school's unique processes. You should be able to customize the software to fit your operations and create simple workflows that management, teachers and students can adopt to be more productive. This is how your school's processes will improve and you'll be able to maximize profits.
Plus, customizing your music school management software means fewer mistakes and more control over your business. As a result, your music school will be ready to overcome business challenges and stand out from the crowd.
To understand how to tailor a system to fully match your school's needs and flow, think about the following questions:
1. What are your workflow needs?
2. What are your non-negotiable features?
3. How many users do you have?
The old ways of recording data and run processes in schools no longer work.
The right school management software allows flawless communication between teachers, students and parents, helping you spend less time on administration and more on growing your business.
Go for one that will make things easier in your music school, eliminating potential obstacles users may face and helping them complete their tasks on time. One that will save you a lot of time and help your business nurture the relationships with both existing and new customers.
Whatever you do, don't settle for less. Look for an all-in-one solution that can grow with your school to meet its future needs.
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Tip: Choose School Owner/Administrator if you're setting up a school for the first time on Teach 'n Go.
