Getting Started with Dance Studio Manager

Add a New Family and Student

1. Go to the Families link in the left menu and click Add New.
   • Note: If you don’t plan to use the Online Client Portal, you can disable the username and password requirement for families:
     • Go to Settings > Global Settings > Common (about the 4th section down).
     • Find Enable login for Online Client and set it to No.
     • Scroll down and save.
     • You can reactivate this later if you want to use the portal.
2. Enter the first and last name of the Guardian. Only one guardian name is required. Other fields are optional.
3. After saving the guardian, click the blue Action button in the upper right corner to add a student.

Change Dance Studio Manager Mode

If your school includes adults or both adults and children:

• Go to Settings > Global Settings > Common > DSM Mode.
• Switch to Adult or Combined mode.
• Note: If you select Adult mode, the Families link will disappear from the menu.

Add Instructors

It’s best to add instructors before creating classes, as you’ll need to assign instructors to classes.

1. Go to the Instructors link in the left menu and click Add New.
2. Assign a username and password for the instructor.
3. Choose whether this user is an Administrator (full access) or an Instructor (limited access).
4. Only the username, password, first name, and last name are required. You can add more details later.

Note:

• Administrators have full access to DSM.
• Instructors cannot access financial or report features.
• We can customize instructor access if needed. Contact us at info@dancestudiomanager.com for details.

Add Classes

When adding a new class, you’ll see pre-loaded options for class names, levels, locations, programs, and billing schedules.

• To add or edit these options:
  Go to Settings > Categories, then click the button next to New Category to edit the lists.
  If you don’t use locations, programs, or levels, you can add an option like N/A (Not Applicable).
  See our Categories Settings Guide for more info.

1. Go to the Classes link in the left menu and click Add New.
2. Select Group Class (private classes will be covered separately).
3. Enter a class code of your choice.
4. Fill out the rest of the form and save.

A Few Notes About Classes

Optional Fields

• Fields like Min/Max Age and Max in Class can be turned off if you don’t need them.

  • Go to Settings > Global Settings > Required Fields.

  • If disabled, these fields will still appear on the form but will not be required.

Payment Methods on the Class Form

When adding a class, you’ll see two payment method options:

1. Billing Schedule

• This option is used to automatically bill students in the class on a regular basis.

• It connects to the Finance section (left menu).

• All students enrolled in the class will be billed based on this schedule.

• To add your own billing schedule (e.g. bi-monthly, weekly):

  • Go to Settings > Categories.

  • Click the button next to New Category.

  • Select Billing Schedules from the dropdown.

2. Sales Items

• Use this if you sell passes or packages for classes.

• It connects to Sales Items in the Settings menu.

• Once you save a class with Sales Items as the payment method:

  • Go to Settings > Sales Items.

  • Create the passes or packages students will use for that class.

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Set Up Your Discounts

1. Go to Settings in the left menu.

2. Click on Fees and Discounts.

3. There are many ways to customize discounts.

   • For help, watch our YouTube video guide.

Need Help Setting Up Discounts?

If you’re having trouble setting up your discounts, feel free to reach out — we’re happy to help!
Contact us at: info@dancestudiomanager.com

How Discounts Are Applied

Click the bold “X” under the Action column to reverse the tuition charges

Discounts are applied when you go to:
Finance > Tuition > Run Global Tuition

You can view the list before running tuition to make sure everything looks correct.

If you make a mistake after running tuition:

Go to Finance > Charge History