Choosing the right scheduling software can significantly impact a facility’s time management and increase cash flow. Two popular contenders for sports facilities are eSoft Planner vs Swift. Both offer features that streamline different aspects of the sports facility. In this comparison, we dive into the key features and offerings of each software. This analysis will help you make an informed decision for what software will best fit your business.
eSoft Planner vs Swift: Experience
eSoft Planner started in 2008 as a solution based on best practices to solve many problems our founder encountered when owning his sports facility. We have worked with thousands of facilities over the last 15 years and have adapted our software to fit their unique needs. Our software can easily adapt to fit the needs of any sport within the sports facility industry. It also works perfectly for other industries, including arts and music.
Swift’s team is comprised partially of athletes who worked at sports facilities. However, they are a recent addition to sports facility software – this is their 3rd year of business. Many of their tools and functionality do not come with the experience of interacting closely with a sports facility over a long period of time. Their main focus seems to be supporting baseball facilities, although they do offer services to other sports.
eSoft Planner vs Swift: Functionality
When comparing eSoft Planner vs Swift, one of the biggest aspects to consider is the functionality. Swift lets you manage rentals, lessons, camps/classes, packages, and memberships. eSoft Planner does all that – and more. We also offer retail, teams, and leagues. Another benefit is that we provide several additional features to help your business grow. We offer marketing services, access control, ticket purchases, and more. Swift has been working on adding similar features but does not have them available at this time.
Both eSoft Planner and Swift have mobile apps for individual facilities. The benefit for Swift is that all of their different types of services are offered on the mobile app. However, their functionality is not as extensive as eSoft Planner’s is. A true mobile app from Swift, up until recently, cost an additional $199 a month. Our app is much more affordable, especially for smaller, family-run businesses. Learn more about the pricing differences here.
Conclusion
Although both Swift and eSoft Planner have strong benefits and disadvantages, eSoft Planner is the more fitting choice for sports facilities of all types. eSoft Planner offers over a decade of experience, functionality to fit many industries, and more affordable pricing. Request a custom demo of our software to learn more about how we can power your passion. Also, join our community on Facebook and LinkedIn!
Instructors with strong followings and clientele often have issues with booking clients. eSoft’s individual instructor lesson booking software is designed to be affordable and customizable. For those wondering about how this system can fit into their lives, read more to get top questions about this software answered.
1. What Should I Look For In Lesson Booking Software?
A good lesson scheduling app should make your life easier! First, it should automate processes like sending reminders and notifications to clients/instructors. Next, allow instructors to set their own schedule to book whenever they are available. It should be able to collect payments from clients ahead of time, reducing the risk of cancellation and driving business. Lastly, it should include any features that pertain specifically to your industry.
2. Who Could Benefit From It?
This program is mainly for instructors who are looking for an affordable program to help with clients scheduling and tracking their lessons. Any type of instructor can use it – from sports to arts and photography! If you need help booking clients, it’s perfect for you.
3. What Are The Benefits of Lesson Booking Software?
There are multiple benefits! First, it saves instructors time – they don’t have to worry about messaging back and forth with clients, as they can book online at any time. Clients will also get automated message reminders. Also, it saves instructors money. In fact, some businesses reached a 30% to 45% revenue increase with scheduling software. It reduces the risk of cancellations and requires upfront payment.
The software is completely customizable. It can be branded for each instructor’s own business. It has features that can’t be found anywhere else – like back-to-back availability and location priority. These will force clients to book lessons one after another to reduce the waste of time. Lastly, instructors can see detailed reporting on their lessons and revenue.
4. Will This Help My Customers?
Yes! The software makes it easier for clients to schedule and reschedule appointments at any time or place they want. They can access their schedule on their phone. Also, they will get automated reminders so they don’t need to worry about remembering when/where their lessons are! They can store payment methods to make the check-out process quick and simple. Lastly, they should be able to view a detailed payment history.
5. How Do Clients Book Appointments?
Clients will be able to access your app via your website or any social media accounts. Then, they will create their own family profiles and sign off on liability/registration waivers. Once their account is fully created, they can book and pay for lessons on their own time 24/7.
6. Can I Schedule Group Lessons With This Software?
Absolutely! Instructors can choose to offer group and/or individual appointments for clients to book. This allows your clients to do the booking themselves, reducing time spent booking clients yourself.
7. What Do I Do If I Have Multiple Instructors, Locations, or Types of Appointments?
The software is customizable, making it easy for someone to put in all of the above! It includes categories that you can change for each type of appointment. Also, it’s easy to add instructors and locations. There are options for instructors to add location priority, so they don’t have to worry about going back and forth to different locations for multiple appointments. They can also choose to book appointments back-to-back, so there aren’t any long breaks between appointments.
8. How Long Will It Take to Set Up Lesson Booking Software?
The set of processes is up to you. It can take as little as a week. Once set up, you will have hyper care/close support from an Implementation Specialist for the first six weeks of use. The Implementation Specialist will be the go-to person to train you and set up the software using video meetings.
Conclusion
If you’re an instructor looking for a new and affordable way to book clients that you don’t have to do yourself, look no further than eSoft Planner’s customizable lesson booking software.
If you are on the lookout for a web-based lesson scheduling app that fits all of your needs, learn more about eSoft Planner.
eSoft Planner is flexible, affordable, simple, and perfect for small businesses and instructors. Request your free demo today. See how we can help you consolidate effort, save time, and increase revenue.
Pickleball is exploding both as a sport and as a business. Pickleball is currently the fastest growing sport in the United States, with participation nearly doubling just last year. Facilities with courts will miss out on large amounts of revenue if they haven’t considered running their own pickleball leagues. Take advantage of this growth and add pickleball to your facility today with pickleball club management software.
Improve Efficiency and Seasonal Revenue With Pickleball Club Management Software
Businesses centered around pickleball need to ensure they are efficiently scheduling their court time. With outdoor courts, that court time and demand will be seasonal. It is especially important to manage efficiency, as facilities geared towards specific sports are almost always seasonal. With eSoft Planner’s software, you can offer peak and non-peak pricing based on the time of day or year. That way, you can earn more money when filling spots with higher demand.
Streamline Your Pickleball Facility with eSoft Planner’s Pickleball Club Management Software
With eSoft Planner’s management software, you can:
Lower admin costs by allowing clients to book their own rentals and lessons
Offer 24/7 registration for summer camps/beginner classes and even leagues
Become more efficient while spending less time managing the facility’s schedule
Improve communication and reduce cancellations with automated email/text reminders
Conclusion
With the massive growth of pickleball as a sport within the last few years, it would be a great benefit to your business to add it to your facility. It will help your facility grow, especially with the community pickleball currently has. Finally, with the help of eSoft Planner, it will lower admin costs and improve efficiency, even in the off-seasons.
Want to learn more about how adding pickleball club management software can benefit your facility? Talk with eSoft experts today. Also, if you would like to consult with experts on how to improve your sports facility, visit Sports Facility Expert now.
Are you an existing facility looking to add new products or services? Are you a new facility wanting to add memberships? Do you need to add a promotion for new business? eSoft Planner’s new feature for preselling memberships is perfect for both types of facilities.
A facility’s membership will have the option to be sold before the start date. The fees will be paid approximately a month before the membership’s start date. It provides opportunities for supportive customers to get it first, and at a discount.
Promotion For New Business: The Features
A new feature in preselling memberships is that you can set a specific date for the membership to start. That way, you get to choose which day (usually the 1st or the 15th) works best for your facility. Also, staff will be able to buy these memberships for any customers, in case they run into any issues with purchasing the membership themselves.
Promotion For New Business: The Benefits
One of the main benefits of memberships is that it brings in consistent revenue. With preselling memberships, we can improve cash flow before offering products or services. This extra cash flow allows you to potentially save or invest in expanding the product or service. It is also a good tool for improving customer awareness, especially for newer facilities.
One of the powers of preselling memberships is the ability to offer special promotions. Oftentimes, facilities will discount a standard membership in order to create the fear of missing out in their new possible customers. This allows them to sell more memberships in advance, which, in return, increases cash flow and improves confidence in your business model.
Conclusion
eSoft Planner’s new feature for preselling memberships is a great promotion for new businesses. Not only will it increase revenue, but it will also be easy and accessible for your staff and customers to utilize.
Want to learn more about how preselling memberships can work as a good promotion for your business? Talk to eSoft experts today. If you’re looking for some other ideas on how to improve your business, learn more about our new access control features here or our event tickets options here. Finally, if you want to consult with experts on how to improve your sports facility, visit here.
Instructors with strong followings and clientele often have issues with booking clients. By making use of a instructor lesson scheduling software, it can help with client scheduling and lesson tracking. Read more below to find out all the ways it can help you and your business!
1. Lesson Scheduling Software Saves You Time.
Lesson scheduling software makes it easier for clients to schedule. They can go to a system to schedule or reschedule their own bookings, without having to text or call instructors to ask them to change it every time. It also allows you to automate texts and emails to clients to remind them about appointments. Overall, it saves instructors and business owners a lot of time previously spent organizing client appointments on their own.
2. Lesson Scheduling Software Saves You Money.
Lesson scheduling software can reduce the risk of cancellations by requiring upfront payment. It also lets you offer different priorities and pricing to different clients based on their “Client Grouping.” Something else it takes off your workload is it allows clients to safely tokenize their payment method to be stored on their client account. This will streamline payments and will also make booking streamlined for your users.
3. Lesson Scheduling Software Allows For More Customization.
Anyone who uses lesson scheduling can use this software! Instructors who teach sports, arts, music, and more will find advantages in adding this software to their business. This software is also fully customizable! Each feature can be turned on or off. It has categories you can edit to the types of lessons you offer. You can also change pricing based on season or time of day. Also, you have detailed lesson and financial reports that you can look at and filter by several categories.
4. Lesson Scheduling Software Helps Instructors.
eSoft has special features that can be turned on to help instructors manage scheduling and notifications. You can use back-to-back availability, so instructors never have to wait hours between sessions. They can go straight from one lesson to another. It also lets you turn on location consistency, so instructors don’t have to change locations from session to session. They can stay in the same spot!
Conclusion
Many robust software programs offer systems that are expensive and include extra features that you would never use that they charge you for. That is why we created an individual instructor program at eSoft Planner to be able to offer instructors an affordable scheduling app that can be branded to help launch their own businesses.
If you are on the lookout for a lesson scheduling app with a web-based app that fits all of your needs, learn more about eSoft Planner.
eSoft Planner is flexible, affordable, simple, and perfect for small businesses and instructors. Request your free demo today. See how we can help you consolidate effort, save time, and increase revenue.
Small business sports facilities are investing in new technology to streamline and automate their operations. One of the newer and more popular business strategies is offering a 24-hour access control membership to the space for athletes to train.
The benefits are simple – Lower Admin Costs and more time available for your customers to book.
Not only can you offer codes to customers for each individual rental they reserve, but you can also offer them Priority and Status by combining the use of an access control system with a simple membership program. There are 2 simple Membership models that you can adopt when using access control as the selling point.
1. Priority and Status Memberships
This is the simple idea of allowing customers to purchase a membership that gives them special priority/status/pricing, etc. Think about the standard Silver and Gold memberships: A silver member may be able to schedule up to 6 hours a month and only able to schedule 7 days in advance. The benefits that these are giving them include access to the facility and the ability to schedule a week in advance, whereas a non-member would have to pay for each booking and only be able to book 3 days in advance.
Then, you offer the premium/gold membership and allow them unlimited access to the facility and the ability to book 2 weeks in advance. The possibilities for this type of program are endless.
2. Open Access Memberships
Another membership Model to think about especially if you are limited by the population and community around you would be the open-access membership. Charge a set price each month. Also, allow each customer to have their own key fob or code to gain access to the facility
Conclusion
Both of these membership models are best when setting them up as auto-renewing memberships. The subscription business model is still considered one of the best models out there. Consumers are now aware of this and often balk at subscription services, as they know the value depends on their usage. So, you may want to price these memberships low enough to increase their perceived value so that you would be able to sell enough memberships to be profitable.
For additional consulting about possible membership options and to learn about all the possibilities, go here. If you want to learn more about how eSoft and access management can help your facility, request a demo or read more about access control here.
When it comes to sports scheduling, there are many problems and few solutions. If you’re in charge of scheduling everything from tournaments to practices and games, then you know about the headaches that come with managing all those moving parts. You also probably know that finding a sports scheduling app that offers affordable pricing, ease of use and powerful features is next to impossible.
Enter eSoft Planner: your low price solution for your sports scheduling needs! eSoft offers adaptable pricing based on how much power you need. So, if you have just one league or sport, we can help with some of the lowest rates and best user experiences in the sports scheduling industry. Even better, we don’t force anyone into signing unreasonably long contracts. We know the eSoft difference is something truly special! In addition, you don’t need to worry about customer service either – since we are consistently ranked #1 in this area among all sports software providers in the country. We’ve been helping organizations across America schedule their programs since 2007. There’s no problem we won’t be willing to assist you with.
eSoft Planner offers affordability and adaptability. With a la carte pricing, you aren’t forced into high rates; pay for what you need and want.
You can choose the features that work best for you and get the most bang for your buck. With multiple modules to choose from, you can tailor the software to your business no matter the sport, hobby, or layout of your space.
The software is easy to use and can be customized to fit the needs of any facility or sport. It’s designed around your business, not the other way around. Then, you don’t have to pay for features you won’t use or train staff on features they won’t need.
eSoft Planner is a favorite sports scheduling app among trainers, coaches, organizations, and academies across the country.
eSoft Planner is a favorite sports scheduling app among trainers, coaches, organizations, and academies across the country. After 15 years of leading the industry, eSoft boasts a growing list of satisfied clients. As the ultimate sport scheduler software, it helps optimize, streamline, and grow sports / training businesses across the country. There are eSoft Sports Software clients in every state in the country (and many more countries around the globe), and the number is growing every day!
The eSoft Sports Software is a powerful and easy-to-use tool that allows you to manage your entire sports business. It’s the only software in the market that offers both unlimited, consultative customer service from dedicated U.S.-based experts, as well as no pricing increase for growth or expansion. We’re here for you every step of the way.
There are a number of benefits to using eSoft as your sports scheduling app. One of the most important is that it helps you save time, money, and resources. It streamlines your business processes and reduces admin time and report creation. Also, the eSoft Sports Software allows you to create custom reports that can be exported in any format (PDF, Excel, Word, etc.) for easy sharing with your clients or other stakeholders. It’s just another key example of the power and convenience of eSoft Planner.
The system is flexible, powerful and so affordable you don’t have to think twice before buying – Whether it’s swimming pools, courts, fields, or something totally unique.
eSoft Planner is flexible, powerful and so affordable you don’t have to think twice before buying – Whether it’s swimming pools, courts, fields, or something totally unique.
Whatever your needs are, eSoft Planner can help. It schedules leagues, tournaments, and practices. Further, it can track inventory, sales, revenue, etc…
Whether you are looking for a way to track your players and their progress or just need a simple way to schedule games and practices, eSoft Planner has the tools you need.
Clients love the service they receive from their account managers and other support staff at eSoft. eSoft Planner is consistently ranked #1 in customer service.
eSoft Planner has been trusted by thousands of sports organizations. Clients love the service they receive from their account managers and other support staff. In fact, eSoft Planner is consistently ranked #1 in customer service across the entire industry.
The executive team and employees at eSoft have a personal interest in the success of their clients. It makes relationships stronger and more meaningful than any other business in the sports planning space. Further, eSoft’s staff is comprised of former trainers, athletes, and facility owners, giving us unique insights into the industry and what it takes to help our clients succeed.
If you’re a coach or owner of a sports organization, you’ll find that eSoft Planner is the perfect solution for your needs. We offer flexible options to fit any size of business and budget. Also, our software is extremely easy-to-use, yet powerful enough to meet the demands of any coach or business owner. eSoft Planner is the industry standard for sports organizations and has been trusted by thousands of clients over the last decade. Clients love the service they receive from their account managers and other support staff, which is why eSoft is consistently ranked #1 in customer service across the entire industry. The executive team and employees at eSoft have a personal interest in the success of their clients. Therefore, relationships are stronger and more meaningful than any other business in the sports planning space.
The Problem With Sports Scheduling and Our Solution.
Sports scheduling and management require a lot of time and attention to detail. The problem with sports scheduling is that it can be hard to find an affordable solution that works for everyone. Our solution solves this problem by providing an affordable, flexible, and powerful software program. It has been trusted by thousands of sports organizations nationwide. Also, it aligns with the varied, diverse landscape of needs that confronts so many coaches, owners, and trainers.
With eSoft Planner, you can easily manage clients, classes, courts, guest passes, inventory, merch, and customers without spending hours on the phone or at a computer. Then, you’ll have more time for coaching, hiring, marketing, and growing your business!
You can even utilize the software’s marketing capabilities to send email updates, point to blogs and social media, and promote client achievements.
Affordable, Flexible, and Powerful
Sports scheduling has never been easier. eSoft Planner offers a low-price, high-power system that is customizable, user-friendly, and easy to use. It works with any sport or activity and can be used by organizations of any size. Due to that, sizes range from a single team up to the biggest leagues in professional sports. If you need an affordable solution for your sports scheduling needs, then look no further than eSoft Planner!
eSoft Planner is the simplest, easiest way for sports teams and organizations to schedule their games. It’s loaded with powerful features that let you easily manage your team schedules, player availability, game results, and more. To learn more, check out some of the capabilities below:
Another key aspect to consider is that as your program grows, your subscription rates will stay the same. Perhaps even better, our software is so robust, that we can actually personally tailor it to your exact needs. One sport, multiple sports, inventory management, marketing capabilities, and more! The sky is the limit, as we’ll never engage in practices that hinder your bottom line and/or your ability to grow.
Conclusion
Countless reviewers, clients, and coaches have found that eSoft Planner is the best option for sports scheduling. Given the unique variety of needs in the sports and training industry, we find that clients’ reasons for choosing the software are as robust and wide-reaching as the software itself. Whether it’s the ease of adding new trainers or clients, the powerful field/court reservation mapping options, seamless barcode-integrated guest passes, or one of the many other proprietary capabilities that have made eSoft the authority in the industry, there is almost a certainty that eSoft Planner will help you take your team, league, group, or academy to the next level. For more information, feel free to request a demo or give us a call and speak with a dedicated expert today.
As the sports scheduling market grows, you’ll want to lean into software that is built with you in mind, operated by companies that prioritize you. From time and time again, eSoft earns clients from under-committed competitors for this very reason. Finally, now is the time to experience the most robust, client-focused, sports scheduling and planning software in the country.
There’s some big news in the world of Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and more peer-to-peer payment methods. Starting January 1, 2022, any seller of goods or services receiving more than $600 per year will receive a 1099-K and be required to report that income on their taxes. This is a game-changer for small businesses that use those platforms for all kinds of payments.
Not only will the taxes increase on the business, according to an article covering the update, facility owner workload just increased. Owners/managers will need to print all transaction reports, sort through and distinguish each transaction from the peer-to-peer payment apps, and gather invoices and receipts as supporting documentation for the IRS.
That is a lot of additional work, right in time for the busy season.
Alternative Payment Methods – Credit Cards (But Without The Crazy Fees)
With credit card companies forcing facility owners into 2-3 year contracts, constantly changing their rates, and requiring monthly minimums – all topped with horrible customer service that will keep you on the phone for hours – payment methods and processing seem like a hopeless case.
But here’s our approach…
CardConnect/CardPointe
eSoft Planner’s partner CardConnect/CardPointe is the fix that facility owners are looking for.
Here are the benefits our team negotiated for facility owners in need of a new payment method:
2.75% Flat Rate for Visa, Mastercard, and Discover
No Monthly Minimums
No Contracts
PCI Compliance Check Ins from eSoft Planner – yearly reminders for facility owners
Customer Support through eSoft Planner – no bouncing from person to person, we can answer your questions.
eSoft Planner is flexible, affordable, simple, and perfect for small business owners. Request your free demo today to see how we can help you consolidate effort, save time, increase revenue, and grow your business.
Plus, Follow us on Facebook to stay current on industry news and the latest from eSoft Planner.
The temperatures are rising, the sun is coming out, and your facilities are slowing down. It may be your first instinct to sit back and relax, but this is the perfect time to evaluate your business. Ask yourself, what performed well this year, and what could have performed better? Could facility management software have increased our performance?
Here are a few things to consider:
Did your packages and memberships sell?
Are your instructors generating enough revenue to support your staff expenses?
Did you see results from your marketing practices?
Am I using the right Sports Facility Management Software?
If you answered no to any of these questions, it may be time to make a change.
Overall, these fixes come down to facility management. Instructors need to be scheduled efficiently to ensure the facility hits – and hopefully surpasses – its revenue goals. A lack of sales with packages and memberships can come down to selling processes, and time restrictions for your staff to make the sale. For example, is staff only selling during open business hours? Marketing can come from a lack of information and consistency within the practices set by the facility management.
Find the Right Solution
Finally, if now is the time to make a change, the right facility management software is likely the solution. There are plenty on the market that can handle your rentals, camps, and daily classes, but make sure they can do so much more. The right software will open up 24/7 sales/purchase capabilities by allowing clients to purchase rentals and memberships anytime online. Also, your system should track marketing information like emails and phone numbers. Lastly, the system can cut down on expenses – no more paying staff to answer phones or handle the schedule. It is all done for you!
Using the off-season is CRUCIAL to implement a (new) system effectively for you and your staff. The convenience of the software comes once it is fully adapted through education and testing for each facility. Do the research, learn the software, and test before your business ramps up again.
eSoft Planner is flexible, affordable, simple, and perfect for small business owners. Request your free demo today to see how we can help you consolidate effort, save time, increase revenue, and grow your business.
Sports facilities have to go through shifts and follow trends, just like every other business. The key is to maximize each trend and market shift for growth and revenue opportunities. Potential clients no longer want to be limited to a facility’s schedule. Instead, they expect easy access whenever they can fit it into their busy days. This is why the 24-hour fitness facilities are taking off. If you want your facility to stay at the top of its game and offer a great first impression, 24/7 facility access to equipment and machines will put you ahead of your competitors.
To many, though, this seems like an intimidating thing to offer. Questions like: Who will work those late night/early morning hours? How will I ensure proper care is being taken with equipment and machines? How much more staffing expenses will this rack up?
Don’t stress. Before you fall down the black hole of questions and concerns, know there is a solution. Third-party access control companies can handle it all for you… through digital technology.
24/7 Access Abilities
There are plenty of third-party systems with a variety of capabilities, but here are the basics. The system you choose will allow you to set access restrictions for memberships and rentals. Think of it like those commercialized 24-hour gyms like Anytime Fitness, Planet Fitness, etc. Based on your needs/wants, you can choose a system that uses key fobs, barcodes, an app on the client’s phones, or even fingerprint technology to give access to members and renters. Based on membership levels and rental packages, you can design your access system to give different varieties of access and permissions within the facility.
Depending on what your facility offers, this can be as simple or as complex as needed. Some facilities will require reservations. Though others will allow a first-come, first-serve policy with the machines and equipment. A feature that many facilities like is the time restriction feature of access control software. Facilities can set limits that allow access to begin 10 minutes before the rental/space reservation and will last 10 minutes into the reserved time. When the client misses their reservation, it is canceled and will not allow interference with any other reserved spots. This keeps clear guidelines in place and restricts the ability to abuse the freedom that digital access offers.
Security System
Not having someone to monitor the 24/7 facility access can make some owners nervous. However, these third-party systems thought ahead and provide systems within the digital technology to ensure safety and security within the facility. Many systems have a camera connection that will turn on security cameras every time someone enters the facility. The scanning procedure also allows facility managers to know exactly who is entering and exiting the facility at exact times. Facility owners will always be able to keep an eye on the machines, equipment, and client behavior as necessary.
24/7 Revenue Opportunities
Many of you are probably wondering – why is it so important to use software like this? Why can’t we just extend our hours and have staff in the facility for more hours during the day? Well… you could, but why add those unnecessary expenses and continue to limit the revenue opportunities. These systems help cut facility staff expenses AND it opens up more time to make money for the facility. Use an access control system with or without staff in the building. Running 24/7 provides more opportunities for booking rentals and reservations. This means more money without the expense of hiring a person to open the door.
Overall, 24/7 facility access is where the industry is moving. Gain the advantage over your competitors and hop on the trend while it is still early. Lay out a list of what you need, do your research, and extend those hours of operation.
Consider another added feature in this process – compatibility with facility management software. For instance, eSoft Planner is teaming with a third-party access control system and implementing it in the upcoming new version. You limit expenses and maximize revenue with everything done in a single app. Keep that in mind in your search for the perfect fit.
eSoft Planner is flexible, affordable, simple, and perfect for small business owners. Request your free demo today to see how we can help you consolidate effort, save time, increase revenue, and grow your business.
Plus, Follow us on Facebook to stay current on industry news and the latest from eSoft Planner.
