eSoft Planner

Pros

The software works great with self access for our customer's. They can book online and directly get emailed an access code to the facility that works in the time frame they scheduled.

Cons

Just the visual aspect. It could use a face lift for easier use for the customer. But that isnt a huge deal.. I just think it would help customers with ease of booking.

Pros

Esoft planner is the best scheduling system we have ever used. We totally love it.

Cons

We love everything about Esoftplanner from the program all the way to the support

Pros

The online booking function saves us time by allowing instructors and clients to set up times at their convenience.

Cons

Lack of coupon codes, refer a friend credts, promotional/marketing options are lacking. Email marketing should have more options to make the email more inviting. Memberships should begin on the first rental not when purchased. Teams option fails miserably. Too many issues for admins and clients. The system could use updating, it's not super user friendly. I'm constantly walking people through steps on how to use the most basic function. It's confusing and overwhelming for people who don't have time to navigate the system. We have teams who rent for long term practices, having a monthly calendar that is clean and shows precisely what is projected each month would save time when finding days/times for these teams. No gift certificate option. The add account balance is a good idea but fails when I can't go back and see why a balance was added...even though a note section is offered, I can't see it to look back on. Not being able to adjust reservations that I've made on admin side is frustrating. I should be able to edit times and notes. Instead, I have to delete and start over. When instructors add availability, they cannot see what is happening in the facility or by month. They complain that adding time is tedious.

Pros

eSoft Planner is affordable, user friendly, and manageable (both from an employee and administrative role). Their support staff is also amazing! My contact agent [sensitive content hidden] is incredibly knowledgeable, responding quickly to all business concerns and questions. This platform has helped organize, structure, and prioritize our business goals, allowing us to be more hands-on with members and affiliates.

Cons

I wish this platform was more accessible from my phone. I also wish eSoft notified me when member cards expire (I normally receive this alert from my merchant, but sometimes this information gets overlooked due to the plethora of data)

Pros

Organization, no muss no fuss, has several features that I find extremely useful

Cons

certain aspects that I'd like to change like: time and DATE stamp to help resolve overbookings, zeroing out instructor availability the moment all the cages are reserved/booked at that particular hour, the ability to take different credit card processors, don't stand in the way of payments with the archaic batch transmission system, make emailing, uploading docs, cut and paste from other systems user friendly. Have weekend hours!

Pros

Focused, configurable, powerful software that does what I need.

Cons

Takes a bit getting used to for admin/employee and client. Needs an app.

Pros

Relatively easy to use, but the customer service is OUTSTANDING when I get stuck!!

Cons

Not mobile responsive. Very difficult to do anything administrative on my phone and very challenging for our members as well to complete tasks on mobile devices.

Pros

From contact to set-up to implementation and use, there is no better company or people. They have been so helpful with everything, including working with the credit card processors. I highly recommend esoft planner. They don't try to upsell or sell you something you don't need. They tailor it to you and your business needs.

Cons

There are some nice to haves as far as functionality that I wouldn't mind being included in the eSoft system. But as far as value for the price, eSoft Planner is the way to go. They charge what they should for their product, not over priced, not under priced, but priced just right.

Pros

[sensitive content hidden] !!! [sensitive content hidden] is hands down the most professional, knowledgeable, helpful, efficient, effective, swift, prompt, pleasant, wicked-smaht, etc etc customer support agent alive!!! He makes navigating eSoft Planner seamless!! He is available 24/7/365 and responds immediately to texts even!! The information he provides has alleviated any and all "self-induced-stress" due to "user-error" every single time!!! The software has taken even our business's complicated scheduling debacle and made it user-friendly and workable! It is with zero reservation that we recommend eSoft Planner to Power Your Passion!!

Cons

....I am a busy business owner and I do not have time to sit and THINK up an answer for this one!!! I love eSoft Planner!!

Pros

[sensitive content hidden] took my call today [sensitive content hidden] and he was outstanding ! They way he walked me
thought the process of resolving my issue. I was so impressed. I wish every customer service rep I spoke to on a daily basis could relate to my call the way [sensitive content hidden] did.
And for the record...I very seldom take the time to do something like this.
Dave Dohrman,
Foutch's Strike Zone

Cons

Been with them for appox 10 years and still using them...If I had a problem, I would
have been gone by now.

Pros

Using eSoft Planner has enabled me to efficiently manage my facility with a very small team. It has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for customers to navigate. It is also customizable which makes offering self-service options possible at my facility.

Cons

Some of the reporting and marketing features are a little hard to navigate and not as intuitive as the rest of the system.

Pros

very easy to enter information, train others on, allow information to be shared

Cons

Esoft has not provided upgrades to the software over the years.

Pros

Its easy to manage and it does exactly what we need it to. When I need help with anything the employees are always pleasant, knowledgeable and solve any issues we have.

Cons

sometimes, customers complain about not being able to book online from their cell phones.
I wish I was able to view the calendar weekly and monthly instead of only daily

Pros

Good product for the money. Helps with tax info also

Cons

Not very user friendly. Users have trouble navigating the site initially

Pros

Customer Service is fantastic. Milan is our account manager and he is a quick responder and has resolved any and all questions/issues that have come up. Very simple software to use all around. Enjoy the product.

Cons

Not being able to refund through eSoft and having to do it through Authorize.net

Pros

It is very easy to use, and the support is second to none.

Cons

We haven't seen anything that either we can't figure out or get support for.

Pros

Price and matches all my requirements for my business

Cons

The program doesn’t notify me someone canceled

Pros

Overall, it is pretty easy to use. As someone that has never been tech-savvy, it is user-friendly and does not take long to learn how to use the software. Similarly, I can train staff members in a short period of time on how to use the software, which allows me to focus much of their training on other important areas that come with the job description at our facility. I like the ability to input only a few items on a users profile for quick setup purposes as well. I rarely fill in the other areas in the profile setup but do like the option of filling it out or not. Additionally, I love being able to reserve multiple facility locations and dates instead of going day by day to do it.

Cons

Prior to working with [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] on the issue, it was particularly frustrating dealing with different package types, but I later learned that a lot of that was set up incorrectly and it was unnecessary. The package types only applied to specific clients depending on which packages they purchased. She helped me change things around on our back end and set it up correctly. I really don't have any complaints about the software. As mentioned, it is fairly easy to use and does not present any issues for me.

Pros

The POS system works well and we love the Account Balance capability to use for concessions and other items while at our pool.

Cons

It does not integrate with Quickbooks and we are limited in the time periods of the memberships and the amount of payments members can make toward member dues. We use Quickbooks to manage membership dues payments.

Pros

The most common tasks are now adding and deactivating users, and that effort is very straightforward. Setting up swim memberships, prices, fees is a very customized experience and has many features that we do not use, but it really does suit our needs.

Cons

I think the standard reports take some time to build because they are generated on the fly. I wish we could do custom reports that can build via cron and be available quickly. Also, there isn't a way to inject custom html or css, but I understand the risks with supporting other people's code.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing eSoft Planner

Reasons for Switching to eSoft Planner

Pros

As a side job, I helped schedule appointments using esoft for a sport facility, and I loved how simple and easy it was to use. I liked the way the software notified our customers to inform them of their upcoming appointments. I also liked the way customers could book their own appointments in the system without having to call the establishment. Customers can easily add money to their account using a credit card. It's that simple!

Cons

What I liked least about the software was that our trainers had to block off a cage in order to put in their availability. I wish the trainers could have their availability posted without having it take up several blocks of time. I'd like to have multiple trainers available at a certain time, but if I do that, then each trainer would have to be booked in their own cage, and that just doesn't seem efficient.

Pros

The initial cost. As of recent, last year or so, we have been able to make some changes on profile pages that were not possible to make previously that has really helped. Love the tech support. The ladies are great!

Cons

The look does not mesh with our web site. Needs the ability to be more adaptive on design to customers websites. If I were a new user, which I am not, I might find it difficult to use in comparison to other facility managers out there, but for me, I like the software.

Pros

The ease of use as well as helping to keep continuity year-over-year, as well as the ability to keep up with technology.

Cons

The reporting can be a bit cumbersome, and it absolutely needs an "export all data" function. While we do not want to work only from spreadsheets, they have their own uses.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing eSoft Planner

Reasons for Switching to eSoft Planner

Pros

The Package Creation and membership combination is a great way for our business to increase revenue and overall customer satisfaction to create customized training plans for our customers. Group Lessons features, team features, and overall facility organization is great with the way it is designed.

Cons

Lack of a mobile presence and easiness to use with a mobile device. It is also a blocky old interface that needs a facelift. The marketing component could be improved with more features. There are a good amount of glitches that occur from time to time but this can happen with any software.

Pros

Scheduling classes is One of the futures that it is very helpful for the line of business I am in. Organizing the type of classes to offer it is Another important/helpful future.

Cons

The Group classes and the Private classes can't be Displayed Simultaneously on the same View Page of the classes offered when Clients log in or just check out the classes offered without having an account. Clients/potential clients should be able to see All the classes offered by my business. When editing a class description I should be able to Edit All logistics of the class and Not Only dates= I have to delete the Whole class and redo the Logistics of it.