Should I Move My Classroom Management Software Over to iClassPro?
Whether you run a youth gymnastics studio, a swim school, or even a circus arts program, you almost certainly need software to manage your classes, students, and staff.
For more than a decade, iClassPro has been the leading class management software, and for good reason—it has a wide range of applications and a high level of customizability.
With so many other classroom management tools entering the market, knowing which is right for your small business can be difficult.
To help you make an informed decision about migrating your classroom management to iClassPro, we’ll give you an honest review of our experience managing several iClassPro accounts for our clients at The Boutique COO.
In this article, we’ll discuss how the platform layout looks once logged in, key features we’ve found to be the most helpful, and some common issues we’ve encountered as we used the platform.
What is iClass Pro?
iClassPro is the world’s leading class management software solution for children's activity centers.
Small businesses use iClassPro to manage their classes, camps, private lessons, group courses, drop-in classes, and other occasional parties (like birthdays, school events, etc).
The platform is fully equipped with all the relevant features you’ll need to schedule payments, track SMS reminders, sign waivers, and much more.
It’s a one-stop online portal that keeps small businesses engaged and connected with the families they work with.
Small Businesses That Are Best Suited for iClassPro
In our experience implementing iClassPro into several small businesses, we have found that it best suits businesses offering class-based services for younger kids.
The iClassPro platform is packed with class management features and was built explicitly for industries such as gymnastics, cheer, dance, music, art, & swim schools.
Since iClassPro has been around so long, it has a robust platform to facilitate millions of registrations. If you’re a business owner or school operator with multiple locations, this platform can be a reliable choice for running your operations.
Fair Warning: Steer Clear of iClassPro for Classroom Management if you don’t have this
With all its capabilities, iClassPro comes with a high learning curve.
Business owners who decide to purchase iClassPro often complain about the interface feeling cluttered or convoluted, and they’re not wrong—it can sometimes feel quickly overwhelming.
Adding this classroom management tool will likely be extremely challenging, especially if you're already strapped for time or not as tech-savvy.
If that sounds like you, consider outsourcing the implementation and ongoing management to a virtual assistant trained in using iClass Pro (like The Boutique COO virtual assistants!) to avoid delays in getting up and running.
Walk-Through of the iClassPro Platform Layout
Customers using your iClassPro will typically land on your customer portal. This portal will give them easy access to class bookings, account updates, payments, school news, etc.
Here’s a sample of how your business could look to your customers:
Example of the iClassPro customer portal UX
On the other hand, as the business owner, you’ll always be logged in to your Office Portal. This is the one that has been described to be rather outdated and lacking intuitive navigation:
Example of the iClassPro office portal UX
3 Features We Love About iClassPro
Once logged in, the first thing on your radar should be establishing the “Programs” available in your business.
There are currently (as of September 2024), three types of overarching labels that will sort your programs:
Appointments are used to show one-off or recurring private or semi-private lessons with a specific instructor.
Classes, like Appointments, can be used to schedule private or semi-private lessons but are typically ongoing engagements with a specific instructor.
Camps, as opposed to Classes, are limited-time engagements with a particular class size and multiple assigned staff members.
Since each type of program has different features, the first strategic decision you’ll need to make is where your programs fit best.
1. Save Time By Having Customers Cancel & Reschedule Appointments Online
Appointments offer the most customizability of the program types. They can be recurring lessons on a set schedule with a custom fee or one-time events like evaluations or placement tests.
Unlike Classes or Camps, you can allow customers to cancel or reschedule an appointment through their portal. This saves business owners and instructors time managing their calendars and rebooking private lessons.
2. Set Up Classes Much Faster Using Dynamic Class Names
Beginners using iClassPro will likely use the traditional “Class Name” text field. However, if you work with The Boutique COO virtual assistants, we’ll likely use the advanced booking features to set up Dynamic Class Names, significantly speeding up your setup process.
We’ll work together with you to identify variables and include the desired tags in the Dynamic Class Name Pattern field, such as [[program]]: [[level]] [[schedule]] with [[instructor]].
Once those dynamic fields are set, you can easily divide Classes into skill levels, locations, age groups, instructor(s), schedules, and more.
3. Robust Options to Mix & Match Camp Types
Class-based businesses run various events, from private lessons to summer programs and holiday functions. The Camp Types feature allows you to set up multiple sections of camps in the Customer Portal and customize the titles.
If using the Camps program type, you’ll also be able to set class sizes ahead of time and limit enrollment. You can even allow people to mix & match camp sub-sections or opt for a fully structured camp with full enrollment as the only option.
3 Common Challenges Setting Up iClassPro
The Boutique COO virtual assistants have worked with many businesses that use iClassPro daily. In those experiences, we’ve encountered some common challenges that these owners share.
If your business shares these challenges and needs help, book a free strategy chat with us to get help from a virtual assistant trained in using this platform.
1. Setting Up the iClassPro Enrollment Process
Where most people get hung up is in optimizing their enrollment process.
All the sorting tools above (and there are more within the platform) help organize things. This helps us on the back end, where we’re pulling reports to analyze business growth and the strength of each program, but also for the customer since the Customer Portal is organized by those categories and levels!
As you open enrollment, you’ll surely notice that families will often create multiple profiles, thinking they didn’t have one, or because they couldn’t remember their login information — your best bet is to search iClassPro with the primary phone number or email address. If no matching Families/Students appear, you can create one from scratch.
You’ll first Add a Family using the New Family Wizard on the Families page, then use the New Student Wizard to add the student’s information. If you encounter a duplicate entry later, you can always Merge the two files & select the correct default information.
iClassPro has its own very extensive support menu. We’ll help you navigate the process end-to-end and ensure you get as much value as possible from the tools you use!
2. Program Label Naming Conventions
Deciding the labels for your programs will be critical to making this platform easy for your customers to use.
We recommend being relatively specific with them so your clients can quickly understand the programs you offer when they login to make their bookings.
Here’s an example of how a swim school chose to name their program labels so their students could easily find what they were looking for:
"Swimming for Beginners"
“Intermediate Swim"
“Advanced Swimming”
IMPORTANT: For each label you make, you can set up default discount codes, blackout dates, skill trees for student development, etc., so use that as a guide on how specific (or broad) you need to be to avoid duplicating work too often.
3. Organizing One-Off Charges for Proper Financial Reporting
Each class or camp in your business must be assigned to a “Program” so that all income related to enrollments in that class and/or camp will be reported as income in that Program.
One challenging part about this requirement is that charges unrelated to classes or camps must still be attached to a “Program.”
For our clients, we’ll typically set up "Non-Class/Non-Camp programs" where we can log these charges. This way, it won’t appear in the Office Portal or Customer Portal but will help track finances properly.
Need Help Integrating or Managing iClassPro for your business?
Consider working with our virtual assistants to avoid feeling bogged down when integrating and managing iClassPro into your business.
Several our US-based virtual assistants at The Boutique COO are already trained in using iClassPro. So we’ll be able to take on all these tasks for you in a fraction of the time.
This way, you can focus on the tasks that matter: giving your newly enrolled students the best possible class & camp experience.
