How to choose after-school and academy software
An after-school centre runs children, families, teachers, classes and fees. Many tools were made for a whole school or for a gym, not for a centre like yours. This guide lays out the questions that tell the tools apart, with examples from the vendors' own pages, with source and date. It recommends no product.
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1. Families: can siblings sit on one account?
The fees at your centre are paid by a family, not by a child. Ask to see three siblings on one invoice, and how sibling discounts are applied.
Examples cited to the vendors' own pages
- Kinderpedia (Classes, attendance and enrolment)
Among its modules: attendance tracking, a timetable, an admissions CRM, family management and billing across family accounts.
- in2 (Classes, attendance and enrolment)
Its academy guide describes a child and parent module with notifications, progress reports and online payment, plus check-in and check-out attendance and scheduling. Sibling or family billing is not stated.
- Rekaz (Classes, attendance and enrolment)
Staff record attendance in Rekaz and follow each trainee's record and subscription. The academy chooses which registration and contact details to collect.
2. Fit: sport, tutoring, or school?
Some tools are marketed to sports academies, some to language and music schools, some to schools and childcare, some are general booking tools. Read who the vendor says the tool is for, not only what it could technically do.
3. Attendance, timetables and teachers
Ask how attendance is taken from a phone, how clashes between classes, rooms and teachers are prevented, and who is told when a child is absent.
Examples cited to the vendors' own pages
- Teach 'n Go (Classes, attendance and enrolment)
Timetables with clash prevention, teacher scheduling, attendance, student and parent records, and online booking. Family or sibling billing is not stated.
- Rekaz (Classes, attendance and enrolment)
Staff record attendance in Rekaz and follow each trainee's record and subscription. The academy chooses which registration and contact details to collect.
4. How parents reach you, and how you reach them
WhatsApp, an app, or a portal? Is the app in the stores or installed from the browser, and does it carry your brand? Ask what each channel costs.
Examples cited to the vendors' own pages
- Rekaz (WhatsApp)
It supports WhatsApp messages about bookings and subscriptions: confirmation, reminder, cancellation and renewal, within the available templates.
- in2 (WhatsApp)
Built-in WhatsApp is marked "coming soon" on the pricing page.
- Teach 'n Go (Parent app)
A student and parent portal. Teachers and admins can check schedules and attendance from a phone. A store app is not stated.
- Kinderpedia (Parent app)
Available as a web platform and a mobile app, with a parent-teacher communication app. Whether it is a store app under the centre's own brand is not stated.
5. Fees and payment methods
Ask which currencies it accepts, which payment methods your parents really use, and about instalments. The payment gateways named may not work in your country.
Examples cited to the vendors' own pages
- in2 (Online payments)
Its release notes list Paymob (August 2025) and OMT (November 2025) among its payment options.
- Kinderpedia (Online payments)
Card payments from families are processed through Stripe and paid out to the centre's bank account.
- Teach 'n Go (Online payments)
Online payments with PayPal or Stripe.
- Rekaz (Online payments)
It provides an academy website where clients view programmes, register and pay online.
6. Arabic inside the product
Open the admin screen, the parent portal and the receipt in Arabic yourself. Many tools list Arabic among dozens of languages without saying anything about right-to-left layout.
Examples cited to the vendors' own pages
- Teach 'n Go (Arabic)
An Arabic interface is offered, one of 24 languages; each user picks their own. Right-to-left layout is not stated.
- Kinderpedia (Arabic)
The system is offered in more than 40 languages, and the site says it works with Middle East schools that use Arabic as their primary language. Right-to-left layout is not stated.
- Rekaz (Arabic)
It says the whole interface, from the admin dashboard to the client booking portal, is available in Arabic.
7. The shape of the price
Published prices come in different units: by client count, by student count, per centre, or yearly in riyals. Work out the cost for your own centre at your number of children today and in a year.
Examples cited to the vendors' own pages
- in2 (Published price)
Per month at list price: Starter $99 (up to 100 active clients, 1 branch), Advanced $189 (300), Pro $329 (600, 2 branches). Enterprise by quote. The page also shows prices 10% and 15% lower without saying which billing term they apply to. Branded app +$175 a month; extra branch $100; each extra 100 clients $60.
- Teach 'n Go (Published price)
Teach 'n Go: €69 or $79 a month for up to 100 live students. Teach 'n Go Pro: €99 or $109. More students cost more. 14-day free trial, no card.
- Kinderpedia (Published price)
From €49 per centre a month billed yearly (€61 billed monthly). Essentials €99 (€124), Professional €199 (€249). Business Plus by quote for 500+ students. A trial can be started.
- Rekaz (Published price)
Monthly: Individuals SAR 99, Advanced SAR 299, Premium SAR 499. Yearly: Advanced SAR 2,999, Premium SAR 5,999, VIP SAR 14,999 (Individuals yearly: TO CONFIRM). A branded mobile app is SAR 9,200 a year extra.
8. Setup and moving your data
Who imports your current lists? It may be free, paid, or a file you prepare yourself. Ask for the number in writing.
Examples cited to the vendors' own pages
- Teach 'n Go (Setup and data move)
Optional one-time fees: onboarding pack €500, a training session €150, data migration €150.
- Kinderpedia (Setup and data move)
Support grows with the plan: self-onboarding on Starter, in-app support on Essentials, assisted onboarding on Professional. The pricing page lists no separate setup fee.
- Rekaz (Setup and data move)
Existing trainee data can be imported. Its setup team reviews the file and the required fields before the transfer.
9. Children's data
Children's data is the most sensitive thing stored. Ask in writing for the country of the servers, who can see a file, and how a departed student's data is deleted. We give no legal advice: ask your own adviser.
10. Before you sign
- Ask for a demo on your own classes and fees, not the vendor's sample data.
- Ask for the price and every extra in writing, in the currency you will pay in.
- Ask for a full export of your data and for how long it stays available.
- Start with a trial on one class before you move the whole centre.
Read next
Sources
- https://kinderpedia.co/en/
- https://joinin2.com/a-comprehensive-guide-to-sports-academy-management-software/
- https://rekaz.io/home/academies-and-sports-clubs
- https://www.teachngo.com/features-new/overview
- https://joinin2.com/pricing
- https://joinin2.com/release-notes-portal/
- https://www.teachngo.com/
- https://www.teachngo.com/language-pages/arabic
- https://rekaz.io/home/en/blog/high-end-salon-revenue-35
- https://www.teachngo.com/pages/pricing
- https://kinderpedia.co/en/pricing
- https://rekaz.io/home/en/pricing