Sport School Manager

Sport School Manager is an operations platform for martial arts schools and other sports studios that need enrollment, classes, progression records and billing together. It is best suited to small schools starting with a free tier or established organizations that need unlimited students, structured grading and parent-facing administration. The central choice is whether its sports-school workflow outweighs the absence of accounting connections and forthcoming API access.

Overview

The platform follows a student from initial enquiry through trial booking, enrollment, attendance history and ongoing communications. That makes it a plausible single system for schools that would otherwise split admissions and member records between separate tools. Its scope covers karate, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, taekwondo, kickboxing, judo and Muay Thai, plus yoga, Pilates and gymnastics.

For rank-based programs, the grading system records ranks and sub-ranks alongside attendance, time in grade and technique completion, then uses those records to determine grading eligibility. This is a more specific fit for martial arts schools than a generic class scheduler, but less relevant to studios without formal progression.

Scheduling handles recurring classes, instructor assignments, room capacity, conflict detection and advance student bookings. Billing combines recurring Stripe subscriptions with manual collection, invoices, emailed receipts and payment reminders. Failed-payment recovery, membership freezes, refunds, payment reporting and flexible billing frequency add useful operational controls. There are no accounting integrations, so organizations needing billing data to flow directly into accounting software will need another process.

Key features

• Student and lead management: Track enquiries, trial bookings, enrollments, attendance history and communications in one student record. It suits schools with an active intake pipeline rather than only drop-in classes.
• Rank and grading tracking: Ranks, sub-ranks, attendance, time in grade and technique completion support eligibility decisions. This can replace spreadsheet-based progression records for martial arts programs.
• Class scheduling: Recurring sessions, instructor allocation, room-capacity checks, clash detection and advance bookings address the practical constraints of multi-class timetables.
• Billing operations: Stripe subscriptions cover recurring dues, while manual payments, invoices, receipts and reminders accommodate less automated collections. Failed-payment recovery, freezes and refunds help staff handle exceptions.
• Parent portals: Families get a dedicated channel for school administration, a useful fit for youth programs.
• Connections and security: Named services include Stripe, Vercel, AWS, Amazon SES, SMS gateways and optional Zoho Voice. API and custom integrations are coming soon, not current capabilities. Browser traffic uses SSL/TLS, stored information is kept in encrypted databases and automated backups run regularly. The stated privacy approach is aligned with Australian Privacy Principles and designed to be GDPR-friendly.

Pricing

Starter is a sensible entry point for a new or very small school, but it is capped at 20 students; an upgrade is requested at 21. That threshold can arrive quickly for a growing class program, so the free tier is a trial of the operating model rather than a long-term option for expansion. The School Plan removes the student ceiling and adds onboarding and priority help, making its $89 monthly price easier to justify for established schools that rely on the system daily. A 90-day trial gives larger organizations time to migrate routines before paying. The plans do not publish seats or other quotas beyond the Starter student cap.

Platforms

Sport School Manager runs on Android, iOS and the web, allowing staff and families to use mobile devices or browsers. The maker operates from Australia as a business name of the Malezan Family Trust, through trustee Malezan Pty Ltd.

Who it's for

Choose it if you run a martial arts school and want enrollment, scheduling, attendance, rank progression and recurring billing in one workflow. It also fits yoga, Pilates and gymnastics organizations that value capacity-aware scheduling and parent administration. Starter suits schools staying at 20 students or fewer; School Plan is aimed at growing or established schools that need unlimited students and higher-touch support. Look elsewhere if accounting integration or immediate API and custom-connection support is essential.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Rank, attendance and technique data are combined for grading eligibility, a focused advantage for martial arts schools.
• Pro: Scheduling includes room capacity, conflict detection and advance booking rather than only a calendar.
• Pro: Billing supports subscriptions and manual payments, with reminders, recovery, freezes, refunds and reporting.
• Con: The free plan stops at 20 students, making an upgrade likely as a school grows.
• Con: Accounting integrations are absent, and API or custom integrations are not yet available.
• Con: Priority support and dedicated onboarding require the $89-per-month School Plan.

Alternatives

Clubworx is a fit when a free plan for up to 20 active members should also include online booking, payment acceptance, messaging and a self-check-in kiosk across Android, iOS and web.

Gym Admin suits schools wanting a 50-active-student Starter tier with billing, attendance, rank tracking and student-app access, plus a $59 Pro plan.

DojoStack is better for a new or small school under 75 students that prioritizes belt tracking, parent portals and basic reporting; its Pro plan is $149 per month.

OLM is worth considering when transaction-based pricing is preferable to a fixed subscription.

Kozaru is an option for web-only schools seeking a 20-student free tier after a 30-day trial and AUD-denominated pricing.

Spoteca fits very small operations capped at 10 billable enrollments on its free tier, with per-enrollment Growth pricing.

Kombat Evolve is a paid alternative with Android, iOS, macOS, web and Windows coverage and a 100-member Starter plan at €59 per month.

GymMaster is a paid option with Android, iOS, web and API support, starting at $89 per month for 100 current members.

For broader comparisons, see Martial Arts School Software and Gym Membership Billing Software.

Verdict

Sport School Manager is a strong choice for martial arts schools that want grading logic, class administration and billing in one place, with a free path for up to 20 students and an unlimited-student paid plan. Its main reason to look elsewhere is the lack of accounting integrations and currently unavailable API or custom integrations.