What your booking software really costs you

Pick the system you use now. If its prices are public, the calculator fills in the plan a studio your size would need, plus the published card rate. Then check those numbers against your last invoice and processor statement and type over anything that differs. Your invoice is always more accurate than a pricing page.

Enter only card revenue, not cash, Venmo or Zelle, since those don’t carry card fees. To find your average charge, divide a month’s card revenue by the number of charges. The fixed fee per charge adds up fastest for studios selling many single classes.

• Software: the plan you actually need. The entry plan often leaves out packages or memberships, so the calculator uses the first plan that includes what a class studio sells.
• Add-ons and extras: anything paid on the side, such as a texting plan, a branded app, or a separate tool for messages or forms. These are easy to forget because they sit on other bills.
• Card fees: a percentage plus a fixed amount on each charge. Online and card-on-file charges can cost more than a tap at the front desk, and many studios’ charges are mostly online.
• Your time: the hours spent matching payments, chasing balances and answering booking texts. It never appears on an invoice, but someone pays for it. We keep it on its own line, so you can judge the money without it.

It compares running costs, not what each product does. A cheaper tool may not do what you need, and a dearer one may do more than you’ll use. For that side of the decision, read the side-by-side comparisons, each of which says where the other product is stronger.

It also leaves out one-time costs, such as setup fees or the hours a switch takes. BookYourMat charges no setup or migration fee, and the switching page explains who does what.