Class Manager

Overview

Class Manager is a management platform for dance studios and other businesses that run classes. It suits operators who want to combine class administration with family self-service rather than handle every booking and payment themselves. Its wide operational scope is balanced by a meaningful caveat: some administrative work still requires the web version.

Businesses can organize seasons, duplicate classes, and distinguish schedules with images and color coding. Families can view schedules, book places, and pay through a portal, while staff can manage attendance and recurring charges. See Dance Studio Management Software and Class Scheduling Software for category comparisons.

Key features

Scheduling, booking, and attendance

Recurring classes, room and instructor management, and waitlists cover core scheduling needs. Cloning classes and setting up seasons should help studios reuse arrangements rather than rebuild them each time. The member portal puts schedule viewing and booking in parents’ and students’ hands, a practical fit for businesses that want to reduce staff involvement in routine enrollment. Digital attendance tracking replaces paper registers, keeping attendance within the same system.

Billing and payments

Recurring billing and automated overdue-payment reminders address routine collections. Stripe AutoPay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay are supported, giving families multiple ways to pay. The trade-off in the Free plan is that online payments carry a flat service charge, so the lack of a monthly subscription does not mean payment processing is cost-free.

Staff, integrations, and security

Staff roles and permissions let owners restrict which features individual staff can access, a useful control for businesses with several employees. Zapier triggers cover customer, student, invoice, order, lead, booking, and payment events, allowing these workflows to connect with other services. Class Manager’s terms describe it as a data processor and commit it to technical and organizational measures to secure personal data.

Pricing

The Free plan costs nothing and has no monthly subscription. It includes recurring classes, attendance tracking, waitlist management, room scheduling, instructor management, and a member booking portal. The plan’s stated terms include a flat service charge for online payments, with tailored pricing available for high volumes.

This structure may suit a studio that wants the core class-management workflow without a recurring software bill, especially if its online payment volume is modest. Businesses processing high volumes should weigh the service charge against tailored pricing. Free training and premium support are among the offered features. No other plan prices or seat, booking, or attendance-history caps are given.

Platforms

Class Manager is available on Android, iOS, and the web. Its dedicated mobile apps provide views for owners, staff, and families, but the apps are not a complete substitute for the web version: detailed reporting and class creation are among the advanced tasks that require web access. Owners who need to handle those jobs away from a computer should factor in that limitation.

Who it's for

Class Manager is a strong fit for dance studios and other class-based businesses that need recurring schedules, attendance, billing, and self-service family bookings in one system. The company says businesses in the UK, United States, Australia, and elsewhere use it, making it relevant across those markets. It is less suited to administrators who expect to complete all advanced management work from a phone.

Pros and cons

• Broad class operations: Scheduling, rooms, instructors, waitlists, attendance, and member booking sit alongside recurring billing.
• Family self-service: Parents and students can view schedules, book classes, and pay without staff handling every step.
• No monthly subscription: The Free plan avoids a recurring software charge, though online payments incur a flat service charge.
• Mobile administration has limits: Detailed reports and class creation require the web version, which can constrain owners and staff working away from a computer.

Alternatives

Choose Kananas if a free tier capped at 50 contacts is enough, or if a paid annual plan starting at $99 a year for 250 contacts better matches your scale. Stepsi offers a Plus plan at €30 a year for up to 100 active members and a Grow plan at €60 a year for up to 250, for studios comparing member-based tiers.

StudioPartner is another option for businesses that can work within its free plan’s 30-student limit, four membership plans, and 90 days of attendance history. DanceBiz is a paid alternative with a free trial and apps for Android, iOS, macOS, web, and Windows.

Experience Dance is worth considering if a web-only platform and a Pro plan at $50 a month fit your needs; that plan includes a registration portal, Stripe billing and tuition management, and agreements and waivers. ClassJuggler has a paid plan for emerging schools at $44.95 a month and a separate customer-portal add-on at $10 a month.

OttoDance is an alternative with a free plan and an organization-funded option priced according to transaction volume. The Studio Director offers paid plans with a free trial.

Verdict

Class Manager is a sound choice for class-based businesses, particularly dance studios, that want scheduling, attendance, family booking, and recurring billing under one roof without a monthly subscription. Its main drawback is that online payments carry a service charge and some advanced administration remains web-only. Choose it if those compromises fit your workflow; look elsewhere if full mobile administration is essential.