Open Black Belt Reviews

Open Black Belt

Comments: We owned a small dojo for about 2 years. I initially signed up for free trials to review many different software platforms. We had about 40-50 students. We've since sold the business to a friend but I found that a lot of the platforms seemed to cater to larger dojos. They were usually out of our price range. I logged into Open Black Belt again to review the options and it looks different when compare dot what I saw 2 years ago. The price seems reasonable and you've added a lot of new features. At the time I was looking for a system that would help me keep track of attendance without manually entering it. I also wanted something that could help me take and track payments. The software as it sits now looks amazing. I ended up keeping track of everything manually but given what you have available at this time I think I would have signed up for the monthly payments. I like that you added a marketing piece as well. I'll pass your info along to the new owners.

Great Martial Arts software

Comments: Perfect for any martial arts or self defence school that needs to track things like ranking, attendance, scheduling, reporting, payments and billing... the list just goes on.

Pros:

I chose OBB when I first started my self defence school. It is easy to use and has heaps of features that help keep me organised. The attendance tracking is great, by the click of a button I can see how many classes a student has attended at any given time.

Cons:

Even though there are direct debit options integrated with the software it would be great if GoCardless was one of the options. Plus I am located in Australia so when I reach out to customer support I am usually waiting a day or two before I hear anything.

Was a great entry level member management option

Comments: I enjoyed the simplicity and minimalist design with open black belt. It was incredibly helpful to have a free option to go in and try it out before I purchased anything. I found it easy to add members and programs and communicate with my members. Ultimately, it lacked some functionality in the payment and point of sale areas. To put this in context, the payment options for recurring billing and such were just getting started with openblackbelt while I was a full member so that may have changed now. I had signed up with openblackbelt as I was tired of mindbody online (too many unused options for me) but the payment integration was still in progress and I was not able to wait to get everything worked out. The merchant processor (Signa pay I think) also lacked POS support so ultimately I had to have two separate programs. This simply became too much hassle to deal with on a consistent basis and I found another place that could do both pretty week.. Overall, I was pleased with openblackbelt. I needed something with a integrated POS option and recurring billing support in one spot, and that was something I had to find elsewhere.

A key part of our dojo!

Comments: Open Black Belt Pro has streamlined our student tracking and sign-in practices. We were using the classic "binder" method of storing registration forms and having students check off the date as they attended class. Now, with Open Black Belt, we store our forms in a box and use the "Self Check-in" system with barcodes. We purchased a laptop and barcode scanner gun primarily for this purpose. We are also able to use an iPad during class to make notes on students or to do check-in manually. All of our Senseis can access student information from home to check attendance to help prepare for gradings and other events. The "Customer Support" is second to none! Open Black Belt is constantly asking its users for suggestions and to try new additions to the system. Any time we have needed assistance for something Open Black Belt has responded quickly with easy-to-follow instructions. Joining OBB Pro has proven to be a wise, and affordable, investment for our dojo. We couldn't be happier with Open Black Belt.

Excellent do it all martial arts program

Comments: This program serves all my needs for my martial arts program! If I have had an issue, it has been resolved promptly, customer service is,quick and amazing!

Pros:

The ease of use, that it's designed specifically for the purpose of managing my system.

Cons:

Their app isn't ready... yet!

Average student software

Comments: I found the software useful and easy to use. However tech support did not address my concerns very well. Many attributes in the software seemed to be lacking, rank updates for example.

Cons:

I thought many of the software attributes and reports were not useful as constructed.

Software for the new school owner

Comments: We did the trial and it was nice, but not exactly what we needed in the long run. I would recommend this software for those just getting started for the first time in running a school. Easy to use and eases you into management software if you are not used to being in front of a computer.

Pros:

Easy to use

Cons:

Did not have some of the marketing tools that their leading competitors have

You can run your own martial arts organization without the help of the open black belt service

Comments: I run a small Capoeira group. As the director it is very challenging to stay organized, promote my classes, and maintain a high level of quality teaching classes. This service appeared to be a very useful tool to help me in all of these areas. Unfortunately open black belt just allowed to do a bunch of fill in the blanks about my group and my student's. I can organize my group with in a similar fashion using any free spreadsheet program out there. Open black belt could be a lot more effective if it offered some features that could provide new insight into how to organize and improve the various aspects of running a martial arts business.

Excelent, Easy to use software. I love it.

Comments: Layed out nicely. Does everthing I need it to do. Does everthing they claim it can do. I always had everything available at a quick glance and/or click.

Pros:

Ease of use. Very easy to use, interact with and understand.

Cons:

I can't think of any cons. It did exactly what I needed it to do.

Great tool for a busy dojo.

Comments: Open Blackbelt has been the cornerstone of running my dojo. It's simple yet functional interface makes it easy to use on all my devices and there have been no problems since I started using it some time ago. Highly valued and recommended.

Pros:

Easy interface

Cons:

None

Great management software to stay on top of student info, attendance, and communication!

Comments: We have been using Open Black Belt for well over a year and a half now and it is nice to see the growth and constant updates to it. Without it, it would be difficult to run a school and be as efficient as it allows us to be. Three of the most useful features for us is access to emergency contact info (should we ever need it), Student Check In (this helps us stay on top of attendance and promotion requirements), and being able to send out mass emails (so that we can keep everyone on the same page). We know there is other software out there, we have been reached out to and have gone through demonstrations with them. We just don't see a need to change what we currently have working for us.

More than capable of running a Dojo

Comments: I cam across this applicatiobn by chance and although it is not exactly easy to use since the user interface is a bit too techy it is more than capable of running a dojoo.
Overall I think in its current version it is worth its score and with a bit more effort it could easily move to 4/5. Thank you for taking your time to build this app.

Pros:

Straight forward rationale behind it with good features and performance.

Cons:

Poor user interface or rather it should be less techy.

Solid and Simple

Comments: If you want a simple, solid martial arts management software, Open Black Belt fits the bill. Not overloaded with too many features you won't use.

Pros:

Simple and not over-filled with too many bells and whistles.

Cons:

At the time there was no integration with MailChimp.

Super fast response and great product

Pros:

The ability to list rank. It was great to be able to log attendance so you can see their attendance as a promotion factor.

Cons:

Inability to maintain belt progression. I - received blue belt 6/1, 1st stripe was received on 7/1 etc

Great Software and service

Comments: I was using mind body but it just didn't really fit for our gym. Got a call about this at the perfect time. Not only is it 1/4 of the price but it has better features and the credit processing is way cheaper

Pros:

Attendance log

Cons:

No mobile app yet.

Open Black Belt is great

Comments: I am a big fan of Open Black Belt(OBB)
Their software is set up for the perfect workflow when involving the details of running a gym. Overall the best product of it's kind.
Whether it be the bulk emailing, keeping track of your students, or tracking inventory, OBB makes everything much more efficient.
I have also had the privilege to work directly with OBB involving advertisement, and they are great to work with. Very professional, and they genuinely want to help out.

Loved it until the changes

Comments: Absolutely adored the software, especially the mindset behind it. Stopped using it when my "free" version suddenly had to be paid for.

Pros:

Excellent functionality

Cons:

Misleading regarding pricing/membership

Great customer service

Comments: The customer service representatives at Open Black Belt have been great. We've had several different issues come up, and they are very responsive. OBB also have been really good about implementing suggestions for new reports or functionality. This is a great product that add a lot of value to our business.

Top Notch Customer Support

Comments: After test driving several different MA student databases, this one has been one of the easiest and straightforward systems I've seen. Most importantly, they have given the BEST customer support by far compared the others I've tried. Response is almost always immediate.

Big money saver!!

Comments: Huge saving on merchant part, unbelievable rate and pretty easy to use.
Many features including mobile app on managing part and fast response when asked thru chat box. But It is still work in progress.

Pros:

Huge Saving on merchant part

Cons:

Managing part needs improvement

Only if it had a calendar

Comments: I would be so onboard with this software if there was a calendar function. I'm currently with zen planner and love that function

Customer support is lacking

Comments: I have tried this software before but features were limited. I attempted to give it another shot. I contacted support twice trying to gain access but no response.

Open BB for school of 100 students

Comments: So far, Open Black Belt has been a positive experience. Most other companies have billing "included" and a much higher price. I don't need billing software, so it would have been a waste to pay more money per month for a feature I'm not using.

Helpful for every and any business

Comments: I was able to find everything I needed. Capterra saved me countless hours and present their pages clean and easily read. If i had to research the vendors it would have taken me weeks. Instead now I am ahead of my deliverable goal and was able to make an educated decision. I would highly recommend

Pros:

information easy to read. organized well. aids in decision making. comparison tool.

Cons:

some reviews are lacking

Good experience

Comments: The software is a good solution for management innyour martial art school. I would recomend improve in it for manage several schools simultaniously.