My Music Staff Reviews - Page 2

There are quite a few things I like about MMS. The first is communication with my students. Being able to create lesson notes each week, schedule lessons on the calendar and do invoicing through the platform helps me to keep things organised. I also I like that it allows me to invoice my students and keep track of their payments easily. The library is very helpful. Now I don't lose things I loan out anymore and students (I believe) are notified when they have something that need to be returned.

I am not very happy with my website and wish there was more support on how to do this well. Being a sole proprietor I cannot afford to hire someone to do this and it isn't very intuitive (although better than many others I looked at, especially when you consider what you get with the package). More videos that give direction, suggest and examples of this would be helpful. Maybe reach out to some of the teacher who have created exception sites and ask them to share their secrets. We're teachers, we can't help ourselves. : ) It is a little thing, however; buttons for social media (like Facebook, Instagram Linkedin, etc) would be really nice on the site as well.

I have been using My Music Staff for a couple of months now. My favorite feature is the auto billing from the calendar. Students can change times or cancel lessons themselves which eliminates a lot of the administrative work. I love that I can email students or parents or both seamlessly. I use the online resources feature to upload audio or video customized for each student. It's easy to email notes to parents or students and also maintain private notes for myself. I also like that there is an easy check box for when students pay at the lesson. Just check the box, no need to enter a payment. I like the setting that a cancelled lesson automatically creates an open 'makeup' spot in my schedule that ask students can see and claim.

I offer tiered pricing for families. So the first student in a family is full priced, the 2nd is discounted, and the 3rd is more discounted than the 2nd. There isn't a good way to do that on this site. I can assign different prices per student, but if the 'first' child in the family cancels, but child 2 and 3 still do lessons, I have to manually adjust the price. I also don't like that the invoicing...

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First of all, the price is fantastic for a small business - you pay per teacher you're managing and the base subscription price is outstanding! Any equivalent scheduling software charges as though you are a large company and was many times the price for just me and my partner! The scheduling interface is easy and pretty intuitive, and I love that I can opt to allow people to change their own times...

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1. Most of my students pay on an automated monthly tuition model, and I would love to be able to set the month beginning/end dates for something other than the 1st. (mid month starts, 2nd pay period, etc) 2. While it is great to be able to message parents with notes, notifications of uploads, etc, it would be great if there were a way to group all those messages together instead of spamming them the day after the lesson. 3. Sometimes changes I make from my mobile device don't save properly (attendance is bad for this)

It is extremely simple and easy to use. I only use the Students, Family and Calendar portions of it, and it serves well beyond what I need it for. So easy to view schedule and filter and organize it based on location, teacher, student, etc. i LOVE , as do the parents, the 24-hour in advance automatic reminders auto-texted or e-mailed (your choice).

Besides a couple of very minor workflow impedances, it would be nice to integrate the calendar with an existing website, rather than only having the option to do so with the current website.

After trying a number of other systems which felt like a real pain, I must say I can't find a system anywhere near as good for even double the price. There's a learning curve but it's really nothing like many others out there. TOP PROS: - Invoice for a period for all students in one hit and then email in one more. - Calendar view is powerful: attendance, great filtering by student/teacher/and many...

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SMS INTEGRATION IS PATCHY - Fantastic for e.g. deleting a day. Except to send SMS messages needs to be activated in each profile manually which is slow - can't be turned on by default either - If the student doesn't have SMS turned on they don't get sent - Deleting lessons obscures the account: there is no longer record of that lesson even if it was previously included on an upfront invoice. - Marking...

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Hey Isaac! So glad to hear you've been enjoying My Music Staff. We've recently added the "¿Trial Student¿ status. A trialing student is functionally the same as an Active student but provides a way to segment your student list so you can easily identify which students haven¿t yet committed to lessons for the long term. You'll want to use this status rather than "Lead". This will allow you to schedule the students on the calendar. Parents and students do need to opt-in to receive SMS messages. This is to help studios comply with SMS marketing laws. This is why it's not enabled by default. We do agree that after receiving permission, you should be able to enable the feature in bulk so we've added this item to our to-do list. Thanks again for the great review!

How can I possibly choose just one thing? Before My Music Staff, keeping track of missed lessons was next to impossible. I had separate notebooks and online files and word docs for attendance, lesson notes, expenses, payments for books and payments for lessons - now it's all together - neat and tidy, organised and at my fingertips (and my teachers') at the studio, at home and on the go! And that's just the beginning...

I do wish My Music Staff was setup to take Electronic Funds Transfers in Canada - as that is a new form of payment I am implementing in my school. I also would like to be able to add my business logo as a header for emails with an automatic signature. I realise I can use placeholders to do this job but it is a little laborious when you're in a rush.

I really like how this software program allows me to stay organized and gives me a very professional look with my clients. From invoices to curriculum to client information to the dreaded year end taxes, I am able to keep detailed information and have it right at my finger tips when needed. My personal studio has 40 students with 26 different families to account to and communicate with. I use My...

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I get frustrated with some of the backtracking I have to do to personalize the calendar and the invoices. But, I don't see how that would be avoided as my studio is unique and each year is different. I do appreciate that I can personalize each student and each year.

It covers every single part of running a successful teaching practice. It takes care of my scheduling, it streamlines weekly practice assignments, it has a practice log for students, it lists repertoire completed and ongoing with performance dates, it keeps my accounting in order, it makes my income tax return easy, it gives out student tax receipts, it lists student names and addresses so families...

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Very small little things that I haven't even bothered to message in. One is that the assignment notes are linked to the name of the event, so when for example Lucy comes for an extra lesson, which is ID'd as an extra lesson, the practice notes will transfer from Lucy's last extra lesson, not from her last regular lesson. Similar thing happens when the student comes for a make up lesson - the notes...

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Hey Susan! Thanks for the great review. Right now, you have "Find past lesson notes for events in the same Event Category only" enabled. Here's how to change that: 1. Click "Settings" in the top right-hand corner and select "My Preferences". 2. From the "Personal" tab, scroll to the very bottom. 3. Uncheck "Find past lesson notes for events in the same Event Category only". 4. Click "Save". Now, the lesson notes will copy forward from their last lesson regardless of the event category :)

For years I kept track of scheduling on one sheet of paper from a weekly calender that I photo-copied and kept in a binder. Used a pencil so I could easily make changes. Attendance and income/expenses separate book. While it does take a little time to enter things manually, everything is streamlined and simpler than other software I have tried. I have looked at a few systems for teachers and this...

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Webpage templates are pretty limited. More options would be fabulous! Text operations seem to be somewhat limited and quirky within the software on my iPad Pro. I rarely use a computer these days so a little more functionality there would be terrific. Line spacing and text options seem to be very limited within the templates and I have been very frustrated with the limitations. I make it work, but more in this area would be better.

I like that I don't have to have my home website named something strange like "teacher's helper"--instead I can have my own domain name and a super easy to use website creator (and nice templates to choose from). The "portal" for parents is automatically added to the website. This way, I can use my own domain name in marketing materials. I have been in business for 20 years and grew exhausted checking out different software packages, none of which were specifically for the music teaching business. As for functionality, I like the bulk attendance.

Most of it is great. Would like to see continued addition of reports, or the ability to select more options for report content. More uploads--for example, when I put together my schedule for a new semester, it's time consuming to add each lesson in one by one. Being able to type everything in on a spreadsheet and upload it would be great. I find it confusing the way the lesson rates and duration and categories work together. Perhaps this could be simplified somehow--I have to remember which screens to go in to change the students time and category. It gets more confusing when you have siblings at different rates, or when you are discounting lessons for other reasons.

Hey Sheila! Thanks for taking the time to provide just fantastic feedback :) Our development is community driven. We depend on the awesome suggestions and feedback that we receive from our members. If there's something more you'd like to see in the reporting, let us know! You can always send your feedback and suggestions to support@mymusicstaff.com

I have used My Music Staff for several years (four, I think). Implementing this software has revolutionized my work flow in big ways. I can manage multiple calendars, create invoices, and receive payments in simple steps. I have used two other studio management softwares and by far, I love the ease of My Music Staff the best. The developing team at My Music Staff has done a great job of making this...

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There are a few more advanced features I would love, such as allowing different policies for different kinds of events. But this is a very minor issue that I don't feel I'm entitle to for the money I pay to use this software.

I don't generate invoices until I have my schedule set. Once I have my schedule for the month/semester/etc figured out, I create invoices and send them to parents. I love that this program makes it easy to create and send invoices based on the schedule. What used to take me HOURS now takes minutes. I also like how it tracks payments, adjustments, etc in the program so that even parents can see. No...

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I wish there was an phone app that would allow me to work offline. I frequently work in practice rooms that block out cell phone signal, so I can't load students' notes when I teach. Also, It took forever to figure out how to navigate through the site at first. Lastly, I wish I could figure out how to automatically send my students their lesson schedule for the month (not essential since it is listed in the invoice, but I would like to have the kids get a list of lesson times in the email).

There are a lot of things I love about MyMusicStaff but the one thing that is the best is the ability to automatically bill families in the beginning of the month. It is the greatest thing. I used to do it by remembering myself or the families and I would always feel like I am undercharging or overcharging. But this way I know that it is exactly right. It is so easy to set it and forget it and see that money coming in every month.

Sometimes it seems like the software is a little glitchy. Sometimes it charges twice and you have to do some tricks to get the amount that the family owes you to be correct. When the software works, it really works well but then when it does not it is kind of a pain to get it to be correct.

MMS software is laid out in an organised manner, so it is very easy to use. I use it for invoicing families (using the automatic invoicing option) and scheduling lessons and find it very useful tool for both. I record lesson notes from each students lesson and upload resources to the online resources section. Which is a one stop shop for all your students to access sheet music, backing tracks and anything...

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I would love if there was an option for families to choose email settings. Like whether or not they want receipts emailed, or if the want event reminders etc. It would also be great if you could have an option to attach receipt to the lesson notes when emailing, to reduce the amount of emails they are receiving.

I love the fact that my studio found this software. I have been given the responsibility of being the studio manager for a piano studio in California. I love the calendar feature where you can filter different teachers, studios or student lists. My organization runs three studios, one in California and two on the East coast. I love the ability of emailing straight from the application. It allows me to keep in touch with all students, parents and teachers at any time.

Sometimes, the technology does get hard sometimes and the scheduling portion can have glitches and put scheduling in the wrong place. Sometimes I have trouble organizing with the app. There are issues with scheduling conflicts at the studio when the times don’t overlap. That could stand to have some updating.

Hey Cody! Thanks for the great feedback :) It looks like your studio has conflict detection disabled. To enable this feature: 1. Click "Settings" in the top right-hand corner and select "Studio Settings". 2. From the "Options" tab, click "Check for scheduling conflicts when adding/editing calendar events". 3. Scroll to the bottom and click "Save Options". If you need a hand, we're here to help! Our team can be reached at support@mymusicstaff.com or by phone at 1-888-732-6134.

I especially like the attendance notes. It informs our students (parents) what is to be expected at the next lesson. This is especially good for parents who are not particularly musical, to remind the child specifics of the practice material. I also like the auto reminder sent for next day classes. This gives the student an opportunity to cancel class in time to qualify for a make up class. And, if a class had been verbally cancelled, but the teacher did not log it as such, (s)he is reminded that the class has been cancelled.

I wish there was an entry to list the specific instrument being taught at each class. We can list the instrument in the student information section, but it'd be more convenient if it were right there on the calendar. Many instructors teach multiple disciplines and knowing which is being taught at a given class would make it easier for us to book the right room and/or the right substitute.

Hey Jack! You can actually create custom event categories. This would be a great way to detail what instrument is being taught. We'd be happy to walk you through the steps. Send an email to support@mymusicstaff.com or click "Help" in the top right-hand corner of your account and do a quick search for "custom event".

The scheduling platform is fantastic. I used to send countless, lengthy, endlessly-threaded emails to schedule lessons for my large private voice studio. The MMS scheduling system has saved me so much time, reduced clutter in my email box, and put the responsibility of cancelling/re-scheduling lessons into the hand of my students. Any schedule adjustment made by a student prompts an immediate, automated notification to me, which keeps me informed without having to initiate and handle the scheduling issue myself. As my studio has continued to grow, the billing / accounting aspect of the software has been very helpful as well. It helps me keep better records of payment, especially when methods of payment range from checks to cash to paypal and credit card.

There is a glitch in the system with website page editing that I hope MMS is able to fix. Although I love the ease with which I am able to build the website through MMS, I am frustrated by the ongoing issues with editing. I also would love to see the Repertoire section open up to allow students to submit and organize their own repertoire on the MMS platform, rather than requiring the teacher to do it all.

It has features that I didn’t realise I would need. It’s the best blends of resources for music teachers and management software.

The experience on phones feels clunky and difficult to navigate. All my staff use it on their phones and would prefer an app that is more condensed for just their day of teaching.

It does everything I need it to do in terms of scheduling, billing and expenses and has other features that I use sometimes such as lesson notes, file sharing, newsletters and lending library. It also has a website included, blog and online signup.

It would be good if students were able to edit/comment on their lesson notes. Also if there could be a blog or newsletter that is not public but only accessible by your clients with the ability for them to comment.

The ease of use to link with pupils. With the ability to create lessons notes as you teach and email them for assistance with practice is a great benefit for both teacher and pupil. The Lesson reminders. the lesson reminder have a two fold benefit in that they reduce the number of no shows for lessons and ensure that pupils remember to let you know if they cannot attend to allow you the scope to offer...

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I have not really found any down sides to the software.

Easy to use, works well with multiple users, gives the students and families online access to their account, provides an auto-pay option, manages billing easily, great customer service - so much more I could add.

Wish the online registration widget could be a bit more attractive for new student registrants.

I love the billing process with My Music Staff! Before using MMS, I spent hours creating and sending invoices and then I would have to chase down payments every month. Now it creates and sends the invoices automatically each month and parents pay me on time, because they receive reminders and it is so easy for them to push a button and pay online. I was so surprised in my first month with MMS when parents were sending me payments while I was out enjoying my time off with family - I completely forgot that invoices had gone out already, and I was able to sit back and let MMS do all the work.

The only improvements that could be made to MMS is in the website section. I love the design and look of MMS, and that is one of the reasons I chose to use it. It looks so much better and it is so much easier to use than some of their competitors like Music Teacher's Helper. I even love the designs of MMS's ads on facebook and instagram, and the designs of their new printables. While the design for MMS is the best I have seen, the website template designs are not good. The designs look outdated and the personalization features are no where near Wordpress, Squarespace, or other website design companies. This issue is not a big deal breaker for me, because so many of the other features on MMS are fantastic, however it is the only section of MMS that I don't use.

This app is very easy to use. You can sign up and then begin setting your studio up immediately. I teach out of my home and typically have 25-35 students each year. I was able to add all of my student and family accounts and set-up my schedule very quickly. The best thing about this package is what it has done for my invoicing process. It has cut down 75% of my work time for processing invoicing,...

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One of my studio parents also does administrative work for me. She has two separate accounts, her admin account to do business and her personal account for her children's lessons. It would be nice if there was a way to compact that into one account for her.