What to Look for in Yoga Management Software

Running a fitness business takes a lot of work. A yoga studio owner must often wear several different hats. You’re CEO, bookkeeper, and marketer. You’re also cleaning staff, front office staff, and everyone else required to keep a yoga studio afloat.

To help fulfill these roles, many yoga studios rely on software to help. If you’re thinking about using studio management software in your yoga business, it helps to first understand what it does.

What Yoga Management Software Does

Yoga software is designed to handle a variety of tasks for studio owners. Some fall under the umbrella of customer management. Others are administrative tasks designed to help run the business.

• Client management software features can include membership management, class scheduling, and attendance tracking. This enables yoga studios to make sure each client has paid for their membership or yoga class. It also assists with scheduling classes. A client can go online to look at the class schedule and book the ones they want. Some software allows them to be filtered by the yoga teacher. This takes the responsibility of class booking of you and your staff.

• Business management software features help alleviate some of a yoga studio owner’s administrative tasks. The software might help the studio owner develop a yoga class schedule. Or it may enable you to bill your yoga students directly, also allowing them to pay for their membership or classes online. Yoga studios that sell retail products can also use software to track their inventory.  

Benefits of Using Yoga Studio Management Software

Whether you plan to open a yoga studio or have been running one for years, yoga management software can help relieve some of the more mundane tasks. Most people open a yoga business because they want to lead classes. Their primary joy comes from being a yoga teacher. But if you want to be in business for a long time, this requires adequately performing administrative tasks.

Yoga software helps studio owners perform tasks important for a fitness business. It aids in client management by taking some of these tasks off your already busy plate. Take scheduling software, for instance. Class scheduling features help you decide which classes to offer and when. Class booking features enable clients to schedule their classes online. This reduces the time needed for your staff to field phone calls and schedule classes manually. 

Using software also helps you keep all of your client information in one place. You can quickly see how many clients you have, who is paid up and who isn’t, which classes are most in demand, and more. 

Maybe you notice that your Tuesday night Yin yoga classes are often full while your Thursday morning Hatha yoga classes only have a few clients. Armed with this knowledge, you can make changes to your class schedules to improve attendance. You might decide to survey your Vinyasa clients and ask if there’s a better time for them to come in. When used in this way, studio management can help you grow your yoga business.

What to Look for in Yoga Management Software: 7 Questions to Ask

Many software options cater to yoga studios. Each has a different feature list, which can make it feel overwhelming to decide which is the right software for you. Here are seven questions studio owners can ask to assist with this process.

#1: Will the software grow with my yoga business?

Your yoga business will change over time. You want software that can grow with it. As your client list and yoga class options increase, the software needs to handle these expansions. So, don’t only think about where your studio is today when considering which software to choose. Think also about where it will be tomorrow.

#2: What types of administrative tasks does it do?

If you’re a yoga teacher in addition to a studio owner, you don’t have a lot of extra time on your hands. Choose yoga studio management software that handles the tasks you don’t like to do. Maybe you don’t enjoy the administrative task of collecting client payments. Look for software with this feature. Also, consider which tasks take up a lot of time but don’t necessarily have to be handled by you or your staff. Selecting software that can take care of these items can free up this time.

#3: How does it aid in membership management?

Membership management is critical for yoga studios. With the right software, you’re able to quickly see each client’s status. You can check their payment history, class attendance, and more. Some software aids also in membership management by sending clients automated reminders. Studies involving medical providers have found that automated reminders reduce patient no-shows and missed appointments. (1) Apply this to yoga studios and these reminders can improve the odds that your clients will show up to the classes they’ve booked.

#4: Does the software offer an online booking feature?

Online booking provides clients with maximum convenience. They’re able to sign up for the classes they want at any time, even if your yoga studio is closed. Providing class scheduling online also enables potential clients to easily see their options. This makes scheduling software important for marketing purposes.

#5: How easy is it to book classes?

The yoga management software you choose should be easy to use. This feature creates a positive customer experience. Can a client go in and easily sign up for classes? Is the software intuitive? You also don’t want software that crashes in the middle of the online booking process. Read reviews to see what other users think. If it is easy to use, this information can be used as one of your marketing tools. “Schedule your yoga class today – we make it easy to sign up!”

#6: Does the software include a yoga studio app?

Studio owners don’t just work from 9-5. Choosing software that includes a mobile app helps owners stay connected to their yoga business even when not onsite. You’re able to handle business and client management duties from anywhere. If it offers a mobile app for yoga clients, it’s even better. Your clients can handle class booking from their phone or tablet. Having a mobile app for clients is a good selling point for a yoga studio, setting you apart from other studios that lack this convenience.

#7: Do I have access to a help center?

Getting used to new yoga studio management software takes some time. You’ll likely develop questions along the way. Sometimes, you may even run into issues. Do you have someone you can reach out to for help with your yoga software? This is especially critical if it’s yoga scheduling software. If the scheduling function isn’t working correctly, every minute it is down is costing your studio money. 

Can You Use Gym Management Software Instead?

Software designed for gyms and other fitness businesses could potentially be used by yoga studios. The scheduling software, for instance, is likely to be similar. However, there are benefits to choosing software designed for a yoga studio.

This type of software is created to handle tasks specific to a yoga business. As an example, gym software typically doesn’t allow clients to check-in. Some yoga management software options offer this ability, which can make it easier to know when all your clients are ready for class to begin.

The only exception is if you offer more than yoga at your fitness studio. Perhaps you also have Pilates or other fitness classes. In this case, gym management software may be a better option. It would enable you to handle all your service offerings within one program.

Building a Successful Fitness Business

Studio management software can help you run your yoga business. Creating a strong foundation is also important for yoga studio success. This involves hiring yoga teachers who know how to lead a safe, effective class.

Yoga teacher training helps provide the skills and knowledge needed to perform this role. Training courses teach the benefits of each yoga pose and proper form. Students also learn how to break a pose down when teaching a yoga class, as well as ways to modify a pose if needed.

Whether you are interested in yoga instructor training or want your teachers to have it, an online training course provides greater convenience. ISSA Yoga & Wellness Academy offers a 200-hour online Yoga Teacher Training course. This course is approved by the Yoga Alliance and prepares individuals for the yoga teacher role.

References

Opon, S. O., Tenambergen, W. M., & Njoroge, K. (2020). The effect of patient reminders in reducing missed appointment in medical settings: a systematic review. PAMJ One Health, 2. https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj-oh.2020.2.9.21839