AMES vs DuetStudio

AMES provides connected activity management and enrolment software for swim schools, dance studios, martial arts academies, gymnastics clubs and other class-based operators. It includes class scheduling, occupancy visibility, waitlists, mobile booking and enrolment across multiple classes or siblings. Staff can record attendance and absences, generate credits and let parents book replacement sessions subject to availability rules. AMES Pay accepts cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay through Stripe Connect, and GoCardless Direct Debit for recurring class fees. Parent updates, reminders, message history and automated absence and credit notices are part of its communications workflow. Listed integrations include Google Calendar, Xero, QuickBooks, Gmail, Outlook, Facebook, Instagram and Google Reviews; custom API integrations can be built during onboarding. AMES says it helps import existing member data, configure the system with a team and provide support after launch. Standard charges a transaction fee on successful payments collected through AMES, starting at 1.25 % per contact, with no monthly platform subscription or setup fee. Payment-provider processing fees and certain communications and AI services cost extra.

DuetStudio is a web-based studio management service for private music teachers, covering scheduling, lesson notes, practice assignments, invoicing, and a student portal. Teachers can set one-off or recurring lessons, track attendance, manage cancellations, and send automatic morning-of email reminders. Notes can be shared with students and parents or kept private. Students use an emailed magic link without a password to see upcoming lessons, assignments, practice logs, and shared notes; they can log practice time and track completion. Online invoice payments run through Stripe, while teachers can list Venmo, Zelle, or Cash App details. DuetStudio says it takes no share of lesson payments. The free plan includes manual invoicing; Pro costs $120 a year, billed annually, and adds automatic invoicing, a music library, practice analytics, repertoire tracking, and a public booking page. Organization costs $208 a year, billed annually, requires at least two seats, and is marked coming soon. The responsive web app works on phones and tablets, but there is no native mobile app. Students must currently be added manually because import is unavailable.