Young Ninjas USA

Background

Young Ninjas in Los Angeles, California, teaches children the noble traits of ninja warriors without the contact and heavy competition. During the course of a session, the kids learn martial arts basics and a fitness routine, along with life lessons through an age-appropriate and play-based curriculum.

The objective of the staff is to make a positive impact on each child while having fun. Along the way, students learn self-confidence and self-defense as they block, kick, and strike their way to becoming focused, disciplined, and respectful martial artists and good citizens.

Young Ninjas offers 50 afterschool classes each week to children from ages 3 to 10, as well as 40 summertime activities.

The Problem

The first issue for the Young Ninjas staff was that they were using an excel document registration and only accepted cash and checks for payment. This required too much work and too much paper, according to the owner, along with the additional liability of having cash and checks exchanging hands before someone eventually deposited the funds.

Next, the payment process proved an inconvenience to many parents who did not carry cash or a checkbook. This issue is a growing dilemma for afterschool programs that use a paper enrollment process because four out of five households do not use checks anymore, and only 11 percent of people carry cash on a regular basis.

Finally, managing class rosters after payment was a cumbersome ordeal for the employees at Young Ninjas. The staff had difficulty controlling class sizes, updating information, and issuing refunds to parents.

The Solution

Young Ninjas needed a modern process for enrolling children into their award-winning classes, and our software provided the convenience they wanted. SimplyAfterschool’s technology moved their registration online, which allows parents to enroll their children 24/7; previously, Young Ninjas could only register students during business hours.

Second, merchants who only accept cash and checks lose numerous sale opportunities, so SimplyAfterschool switched Young Ninjas to its credit and debit card system. Now, parents can enroll their children and pay for the course on any personal electronic device or home computer. With a few clicks, students are signed up, and payment is instantly transferred to Young Ninjas.

Next, once parents submit their payment, SimplyAfterschool’s technology manages all aspects of the course rosters and tracks any changes through a paperless process that saves time and trees, and saving those things save afterschool program’s money.

The Results

Young Ninjas has used SimplyAfterschool for three sessions. The owner says that he now saves several hours a week in enrollment and roster maintenance time by using the SimplyAfterschool software, and parents love the ease of the process.

“It is very quick and super easy for them to use, and they get their payment receipt emailed to them right away with the dates of the classes.”

In addition, Young Ninjas has been able to increase revenue by adding additional purchase options through “Camp Add-Ons”, which gives users the ability to sell class-related merchandise from the same dashboard where parents enroll their children.

“About 25 percent of parents that sign up with us end up purchasing T-shirts and other gear,” he continues, “and offering coupons is another great feature.”

Furthermore, SimplyAfterschool’s software provides a waitlist feature that Young Ninjas appreciates greatly.

“We love that when parents pay for the class, the system immediately adds their children to a roster with all of the student’s and parent’s information,” he says. “We also love that the class will close at the number we desire, and then automatically creates a waitlist for us. It’s a piece of cake.”

Needless to say, the staff at Young Ninjas is pretty excited about their partnership with SimplyAfterschool.

“It’s a different ballgame now. We never knew we had a problem until we came across SimplyAfterschool!”