Upper Hand vs Paperbell

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Dash

SmartRec

An all-in-one employee app that's both powerful, affordable and easy to use, especially for the mobile workforce.

DaySmart Recreation transforms the management of recreational organizations through its comprehensive cloud-based software. We empower sports facilities and parks & recreation agencies to stay ahead by streamlining their operations with one powerful solution. 

SmartRec by Amilia is an all-in-one recreation management solution. Manage and grow your community with software for sign-ups, bookings and schedules. 

Upper Hand is the leading scheduling software for sports and fitness businesses. Let clients browse programs and availability online and book classes, lessons, training sessions, and more. Get paid how you want with customizable payment options, and eliminate double booking conflicts.

Absence Management

Address Book

Alerts/Notifications

Appointment Management

Appointment Scheduling

Attendance Management

Attendance Tracking

Attendee Tracking

Automated Scheduling

Availability Management

Billing & Invoicing

Booking Management

Calendar Management

Calendar/Reminder System

Capacity Management

Class Management

Class Registration

Class Scheduling

Client Management

Client Portal

Client Profiles

Color Codes/Icons

Commenting/Notes

Commission Management

Communication Management

Contact Database

Contact Management

Credit Card Processing

Customer Accounts

Customer Database

Customizable Branding

Customizable Fields

Customizable Forms

Customizable Reports

Customization

Data Import/Export

Data Security

Discount Management

Document Storage

Dues Management

Electronic Payments

Email Management

Email Marketing

Email Reminders

Employee Management

Equipment Management

Event Calendar

Event Management

Event Registration

Event Scheduling

Event Ticketing

Facility Asset Management

Facility Scheduling

Financial Management

Financial Reporting

For Dance Studios

Forecasting

For Gyms

For Martial Arts

Forms Management

For Yoga/Pilates Studios

Franchise Intranet

Group Registration

Group Scheduling

Hybrid Trainer

In-person Trainer

Instructor Management

Inventory Management

Invoice Management

Lead Management

Member Accounts

Member Communication

Member Database

Member Directory

Member Management

Member Portal

Membership Management

Membership Renewals

Member Types

Mobile Access

Mobile App

Multi-Location

Multiple User Accounts

Online Booking

Online Payments

Online Registration

Parent Portal

Payment Processing

Performance Metrics

Personalization

Point of Sale (POS)

Program Management

Progress Tracking

Real-Time Data

Real-Time Reporting

Real-time Scheduling

Real-Time Updates

Recurring/Subscription Billing

Upper Hand

Web-based

iPhone

iPad

Android

Mindbody

SportsEngine

LeagueApps

EZFacility

Kicksite

Start - For independent coaches and trainers

Grow - For single facilities and expanding programs

Scale - For franchises and multi-location operations

Owner

I requested for multiple memberships per account.

Still has too many steps for calendar view to see full view of instructors

Operations Coordinator

The other thing is only being able to completely block users from booking/registering for things instead of picking and choosing what can be done on the client facing side vs the admin.

You can create memberships, individual events, recurring events, camps, cage rentals, etc.

The best feature, and reason for switching over for our company was the ability to add a card on file.

Basketball Trainer

There isn’t a calendar that list all the available times for the month for clients to choose from.

Director of Sales & Marketing

While we do like many of the features, the way we were told they would work is not happening.   When we bring issues to Support, there is mostly no fix and we are told there’s nothing that can be done to fix it OR they don’t know why it doesn’t work.

Operations manager

Each participant needs to purchase packages and they can’t be shared for all the kids in the family

Operations Manager

Ease of use for administrator, lots of features for tracking finances and automated emails to clients.

Chief of Staff

The wording is not every day language so it is hard to implement things without reaching out to customer service.  

Soccer coach

For private trainings, the amount of options for events are numerous.

We still use software for private training business since it’s not as user friendly for upper hand.

Ease for parents to register for our camps and programs improved for our business.

I like that we can use it to book and pay for lessons

However, the software clearly still has bugs, and is run by developers, not consumers.

Schedule is easy to use and view as well as creating events is a breeze if you need to add something quickly.

Business Owner

At one point I asked if I could also make changes to the site which was very enlightening for me.

Owner/Lead Performance Coach

Scheduling, pricing, and customer service

Director of Marketing

Not able to move credits around very easily

The ease of use in scheduling, payments, setting up memberships

Assistant Club Director

I like the modern layout in the back office.

Inability for one-time guest check out.  

Trainer

Really nice way to have all your clients in one system.

Gave me a good look at the back side of the website.

Different things are managed in different places - to cancel a lesson you have to go to the contacts tab, to mess with a membership you have to go to the membership tab (can't do it from the contacts page), to see what people owe you have to go to reports.

owner

I love the improvements that the make and they listen to what we as customers want.

I've been  with Upperhand since 2017 , couldn't  run my biz without it , ive tried!

Marketing • Business Developer

What I like the most is its functionality and versatility

Some of my customers have trouble figuring it out.

Upper Hand has been great when it comes to learning the system and running with it.

It wasn’t as easy for me as it was for them.

Program Director

General Manager

The set up was process was well executed.   

It doesn’t seem really easy to use for all.

There are some features that do not fit our business, such as there is no option for automatic family discounts and memberships.

Owner & Director of Operations

The lack of customization creates lots of issues for my business and how we schedule.

I enjoyed my conversation with their sales rep and thought the product was decent.

Some of these bugs force me to lose clients and lose business.  

I like being able to set up automatic payments for customers.

Marketing Coordinator

You have to do multiple links for the same event.

Co-Owner

After several bug issues we just figured out we had a group of clients not being charged the last two months.

Their credit cards were dumped out of the system.

Product is very easy to be implement, as very intuitive and visual

To top it off my business partner called left a message and they didn’t even bother to get back w us.

We also use UpperHand to create a new website which has been great overall.

Features

Customer Support

Ease of Use

Calendar View

Training and Learning Curve

Scheduling

Booking Sessions

Camp and Clinic Management

Small Business

Freelancers

Large Enterprises

Mid-size Business

Everfit

Turn your ambition into reality with Everfit—the all-in-one platform powered by AI to scale your fitness business into the future!

My PT Hub

My PT Hub is the all-in-one software and app trusted by 130,000+ personal trainers, fitness coaches and nutritionists to successfully manage and grow their fitness businesses.  

Built by coaches, for coaches, My PT Hub boasts 15+ powerful features and unlimited clients, at no extra cost!

Simply.Coach

Simply.Coach is a cloud-based enterprise-grade coaching management platform, designed to digitize the entire coaching journey and help coaches focus on growth.

Paperbell is the simple way to sell coaching online. Get your own gorgeous, social-friendly website with scheduling, payments, messaging and more built right in. The proof is in the profits: coaches have collectively earned over $24 million using Paperbell!

Upper Hand vs Paperbell Comparison (2026)

Upper Hand

Paperbell

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives