Choosing software for your martial arts school is one of the most impactful operational decisions you'll make. The right platform saves hours each week, reduces student churn, and creates a more professional experience for your members and their families. The wrong one creates daily friction that compounds into real revenue loss.
This guide walks you through everything you need to evaluate before signing up with any platform.
Start with Your School's Actual Needs
Before comparing platforms, write down the 5 things that take the most time in your weekly operations. For most school owners, these are:
1. Collecting tuition and handling billing issues
2. Tracking which students are ready for belt testing
3. Following up with trial students who didn't sign up
4. Managing class schedules and attendance
5. Communicating with students and parents
Your software should directly address these five pain points. Evaluate platforms based on how well they solve your specific friction points, not on feature count.
Belt Tracking: The Martial Arts-Specific Non-Negotiable
Generic gym software doesn't have belt tracking. This is the single most important differentiator between martial arts-specific software and general fitness platforms.
Good belt tracking includes:
Zen Planner has the deepest belt tracking in the market. Kicksite covers most schools' needs at a lower price. WellnessLiving and Mindbody have inadequate belt tracking for schools where promotion management is a core function.
Billing: Automation is Everything
Manual billing is the second-biggest time drain for most school owners. Good software handles:
Every major platform covers basic recurring billing. The differences emerge in family billing complexity, failed payment handling, and how gracefully it handles exceptions.
Trial Management: Your Revenue Funnel
Your trial class booking flow directly impacts student acquisition. Look for:
Spark Membership has the strongest trial funnel tools. Kicksite and Zen Planner both handle this well. WellnessLiving's marketing automation is an asset here.
Pricing: What to Actually Expect
Budget $79–149/month for a capable single-location platform:
Payment processing fees (2.6–2.9% per transaction) are additional and often represent as much as the monthly software fee for schools with high transaction volume.
Before You Commit
1. Take the free trial seriously. Configure your belt system, set up one billing scenario, and run through the trial booking flow. Most platforms offer 14–30 day trials.
2. Talk to another school owner using the platform. Forums like Reddit's r/bjj or local school owner groups are good sources.
3. Ask about data portability before you sign up. If you need to leave, can you export all your member data, billing history, and belt records?
4. Verify current pricing directly with the vendor. Software pricing changes frequently, and third-party listings (including ours) may lag behind.