Martial Arts Software: Belts, Contracts and Trials

Parents ask why their child wasn't tested for the next belt, and the software should answer on screen. That is one of four jobs a gym app may skip: count attendance toward each belt, bill a family with three kids, hold a term contract the law may regulate, and follow a trial class to the first belt test.

Quick answer

• Ask each vendor to promote a student from white to yellow belt while you watch.
• Look up whether your state's health club law names martial arts schools.
• Check whether your state requires a month-to-month option next to term contracts.
• Give every trial-class link a source tag, then copy it onto the enrollment.
• Ask each vendor for a sample student export and open it.

What a demo has to prove at a school

Ask for a sandbox account and enter your own belt system, not the vendor's sample data.

Gymdesk's help article says you can set promotion requirements per rank from sessions attended, hours trained, days in rank, days trained and skills. A student who meets them all shows as ready in its promotion report.

The article doesn't say whether staff can promote a student who hasn't met them. That's a demo question for every vendor: can the head instructor override a requirement, and is the override logged?

Does your state call a dojo a health club?

New York's law does, and New Hampshire has a separate law just for martial arts schools. This is not legal advice, and I'm not a lawyer; each state and province writes its own rules, so read yours or ask an attorney.

New Hampshire's law says every school "shall offer a month-to-month membership option and a monthly membership option to any new prospective student." The availability of month-to-month memberships must also appear in any ad or marketing material that describes other options.

The same section bars any term contract (one paid in full and in advance) longer than 3 years. The option of a contract up to 3 years opens only once the student has been enrolled for at least a year. Any buyer may also choose a shorter term contract, in line with the school's other courses. The section names no shorter limit for a student enrolled under a year.

A New Hampshire school also registers with the state's Department of Justice every year and posts a $50,000 bond. One exemption from the bond is a school that takes fees monthly only.

New York's Health Club Services Act covers contracts for instruction in "martial arts (including judo, karate, and self-defense)," per the Attorney General's page. A contract that doesn't comply is void and unenforceable.

In Canada, Ontario's guidance on joining a gym says prepaid "personal development services" can include martial arts classes. Its Consumer Protection Act covers a contract that requires $50 or more in advance, and those contracts must end after one year. A renewal needs a notice 30 to 90 days before the contract expires. The page was last updated August 12, 2021.

Cancellation rules for gyms, and the history of the FTC's click-to-cancel rule, are in gym management software.

What the vendor pages print

Each vendor counts something different, so a "cheapest" ranking would mislead.

• Kicksite's pricing page lists $49 a month up to 25 students, $99 to 50, $149 to 100 and $199 above 100. It says the first 30 days are free, offers discounted annual pricing on request, and doesn't print the processing rate.
• Spark Membership's pricing page prints one number: "8-Week Free Trial, Then Just $199/Month," plus free student data migration. It lists no tiers and no fees.
• Zen Planner's MMA gym page (its martial arts address redirects there) says it starts at $99 a month, scaled by active members, and you never pay for prospects or staff. It names belts, stripes and testing events.
• Gymdesk's costs are in Gymdesk pricing.

Read the terms too. Kicksite's terms of service require a written 30-day cancellation notice, and once that process ends you lose access to the service. Annual plans renew every 12 months unless canceled before the next payment date, with no refund for canceling early.

The same terms describe a 14-day free trial that bills you unless you cancel before its last day, while the pricing page says 30 days. Ask which one applies before you start. The terms describe no data export after you cancel.

From trial class to first belt test

Trial booked

source tag saved

Attends trial class

marked present

Follow-up call

one named person

Enrolls and signs

contract and waiver

First belt test

attendance met

Trial booked

source tag saved

Attends trial class

marked present

Follow-up call

one named person

Enrolls and signs

contract and waiver

First belt test

attendance met

Name one person who follows up after every trial, including the no-shows.

How many trials replace the students who quit?

Replace the 5 percent, 70 percent and 40 percent with your own last three months from your software. If the software can't produce them, you've learned something about it.

Tag one trial link and test it

1. Open your trial-class booking page and copy its link.
2. Add ?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=kids-trial to the end for your Facebook ad. These UTM tags are labels in the link that name where the visit came from; use & instead of ? if the link already has a ?.
3. Make a second link with ?utm_source=google for your Google Business Profile's booking button.
4. Book a test trial from each link on your phone.
5. Open the lead in your software and look for the source. If it's blank, the booking tool drops the tag. Ask the vendor to fix it, or choose one that keeps it.

Then check that the source stays when the lead becomes an enrollment. Gym advertising covers what to do with the numbers once they're counted.

Ask every vendor

• Show me promoting a student who hasn't met the attendance rule, and where it's logged.
• Send me a sample student export, and say how soon after cancel I get it.
• Put the card processing rates in the quote.

Prices and rules checked on 2026-10-25.