The Most Common Swim School Software Questions Answered
Finding the right swim school software can be a challenge.
With multiple options available, it can be confusing and hard to know where to start.
This article explores the most frequently asked questions about swim school software that can help you understand all of the things you must consider when thinking about finding the right software fit for your swim school.
Your Swim School Software Questions Answered
1. What is swim school software, and what does it do?
Swim school software helps swim schools improve business processes through digitization. From scheduling to managing invoicing/payments, good swim school software can help an operator save time and effort.
2. How can swim school software benefit my swim school or aquatic center?
A good swim school software can help by…
Save time by automating tasks that would be done manually
- Reduce overheads through automation.
- Improve customer retention!
- Improve the sales process/lead to sale ratios
- Improve communication with customers
- Improve the customer experience
3. What are the key features of swim school software?
Most swim school software will have key features around scheduling, payments, communication, skill tracking/attendance, and reporting.
A swim school software can be very detailed and each of the key areas above can have a lot of nuances. For example, some swim schools will calculate payments on a per-lesson basis for a full term, whereas others may do their invoicing on a recurring monthly basis.
A good swim school software has flexible settings that can fit nicely with your swim school’s unique business practices.
4. Does swim school software offer online registration and payment processing capabilities?
A modern swim school software will have an online registration feature.
Some important features to look for are payment system integration and the ability to schedule multiple bookings into one cart payment.
5. Can parents and students access their schedules and progress online?
Most modern swim school software will have a customer or parent portal where customers can log in and manage their schedule, view progress, and update their information.
7. Can the software integrate with other tools and systems, such as payment processors or attendance tracking systems?
In the modern technology space it’s rare that even small companies use just one piece of software. For example, you may wish to have your swim school software integrated with your accounting software or integrated with a payment gateway.
Therefore it is important that swim school software has an API that essentially allows it to be connected with other platforms more easily.
You may wish to also review integrations that a swim school software already has including payment gateways, accounting, and marketing systems.
8. What is the cost of swim school software, and are there different pricing plans available?
A good swim school software will typically cost between 150-250+ USD for a typically sized operator.
Usually, you will get what you pay for!
Developing good software is expensive as good software will have a number of developers on their team, quality assurance testers as well as customer success staff.
Also, things such as server costs and data security costs are also high.
A typically swim school software will typically be priced on a scale of active enrolments and potentially different modules/functionality.
The most important question to ask is what will be the return on investment? Will the savings in time, staffing costs, and improvements in customer retention well outweigh the cost?
The answer will be a resounding YES for a good swim school software.
9. Is customer support and training provided with the software purchase?
Customer support is vital when considering a swim school software
Is onboarding provided when you sign up?
Does the company have a support ticket system?
Does the company have a knowledge base and how-to videos?
What are the available support hours?
These are all questions that you should ask a swim school software vendor.
10. Is the software customizable to fit the specific needs of my swim school?
A good swim school software will have flexible settings.
For example, you should be able to enter your own branding, levels, skills, locations, pricing, certificates, etc.
11. Is the software compliant with data protection and security regulations?
Data security is an important consideration when considering swim school software.
Ask the following questions
- Where is the data stored
- What is the backup process
- How is the data secured?
- Is the data encrypted?
If you ask the company for a copy of their privacy document such as privacy management plan and privacy policy they should be able to provide that to you right away.
12. What are the system requirements for using swim school software?
Most modern swim school software is web-based.
Avoid older systems that need to be installed locally.
Web-based systems run through the browser and you only require a stable internet connection to run them.
13. Are there any additional hardware or equipment requirements?
Tablet devices are a good idea for the use of swim school software on the pool deck.
You may also use tablets for features such as an online check attendance check-in.
14. What other questions are important to ask software vendors?
It is always good to get references. Ask your software vendor if they can provide 2-3 reference contacts that you can speak to directly for feedback.
15. Can swim school software accommodate multiple locations or branches of a swim school?
Yes, modern software can accommodate multiple locations. This should include having all data for all locations in a centralized login as well as having specific location-based logins.
These are some of the common questions that individuals or organizations may have when considering swim school software. It’s important to research and compare different swim school software solutions to find the one that best meets your specific needs and requirements.
16. Can swim school software support direct debit?
Yes, modern swim school software will support direct debit as a payment method along with a range of other options such as one-time payments via credit/debit card and more traditional options such as Eftpos and bank transfer.
17. What is the best swim school software?
It pays to do your homework and spend time talking to vendors.
Consider the following in your research.
Organize a meeting with a vendor and ask lots of questions!
Ask for referrals from the vendor of happy customers!
Ask for a demo account where you can play around.
A good place to start is First Class Software which is a modern platform that has a strong focus on improving customer retention on top of day-to-day operational functions.
18. What other things should we consider before implementing a new swim school software?
It’s important to have a strong plan when updating your swim school software. Below are some key considerations to include in your plan.
Set up – Will you set the software up or can the vendor assist with some of the setup?
Training – What training is available? How much onboarding support is included?
Customer support – What support is available? What are the support options, ie, phone? Email? Chat?
Data migration – Do you have existing data? Can it be uploaded? Can the vendor assist with this process?
Launch strategy – How will you launch the new software to end users?
First Class Software is a modern swim school software that is ideal for medium to large swim schools. If you would like to know more about First Class go to www.firstclassretention.com/swim-school-software/