Overview

AMES is activity-management and enrolment software for operators running recurring classes, from swim schools and dance studios to martial arts academies. It suits providers that want bookings, payments, attendance and parent communications connected rather than managed in separate workflows. Its transaction-based Standard plan has no monthly platform subscription, but payment-provider and service charges should figure into the decision.

Founded in 2020 in the United Kingdom, AMES says it serves independent teachers through multi-location enterprises. Online registration, a parent portal and mobile booking flows support family enrolment, while staff roster management extends the system beyond booking classes alone.

Key features

Bookings and class administration

Class scheduling combines occupancy visibility and waitlists with multi-class and sibling enrolment. That is useful for operators managing finite class capacity and families booking several activities, though these features are aimed at structured class programmes rather than every kind of appointment business.

Payments and attendance

AMES Pay supports card, Apple Pay and Google Pay through Stripe Connect, as well as GoCardless Direct Debit for recurring class fees. Staff can record attendance and absences, issue credits and let parents book replacement sessions subject to availability rules. Linking absence records to credits and replacement bookings can keep routine make-up administration in one workflow; replacements remain dependent on the operator's availability rules.

Parent communications and integrations

Parents can receive updates, reminders, and automated notifications about absences and credits; message history keeps communications connected to the workflow. The listed integrations include Google Calendar, Xero, QuickBooks, Gmail, Outlook, Facebook, Instagram and Google Reviews. AMES also says custom API integrations can be built during onboarding, a useful option for operators with specific connections to arrange.

Security and onboarding

AMES states that it supports UK and EU GDPR compliance, PCI DSS through Stripe Connect, TLS 1.3 and AES-256 encryption, and immutable audit logs. It also helps import existing member data, configure the system with the team and provide support after launch. Those provisions matter to operators moving an established programme, though the work of configuring a system still requires involvement from the team.

Pricing

AMES uses a freemium model with a free plan and a free trial. Standard has no monthly platform subscription and no setup fee; it charges a 1.25% transaction fee on successful payments collected through AMES as its standard starting rate. The fee is assessed per contact, with blended member bands: 1.25% for the first 150, 1.00% for the next 350, 0.75% for the next 1,500 and 0.50% for the next 8,000. At 10,000 or more members, terms are custom.

The lack of a fixed platform subscription may suit a new or variable-volume operator wary of recurring software costs. It is not a complete account of payment costs: provider processing fees are separate, and SMS, phone services including number rental, and metered AI also incur separate charges.

Platforms

AMES is available on Android, iOS and the web, giving families mobile booking options and operators a web-based way to manage activity operations.

Who it's for

AMES is best suited to swim schools, dance studios, martial arts academies, gymnastics clubs and other class-based providers that need enrolment, capacity, recurring fees, attendance and family communication to fit together. Its stated range includes independent teachers as well as multi-location enterprises, with custom terms applying from 10,000 members. A business looking only for a simple booking page, or one unwilling to account for transaction and service charges, may prefer a different cost structure.

Pros and cons

Connected class workflow: Scheduling, enrolment, attendance, absence credits and replacement bookings address linked tasks for recurring classes.
Flexible payment methods: Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Direct Debit cover several ways families pay, including recurring fees.
No monthly platform subscription on Standard: This avoids a fixed platform bill, but does not remove transaction, provider-processing or service charges.
Member-band pricing needs forecasting: The effective rate changes across contact bands, and terms become custom at 10,000 or more members.
Separate service charges: SMS, phone services and metered AI can add costs beyond the transaction fee.

Alternatives

For camp-focused operations, Simply Camps has a free plan with a 2% platform fee on payments and a plan at 99.00 USD per month for up to 250 enrolled campers; it may suit a camp that prefers camper-based plan limits to AMES's contact-band transaction pricing. eCamp is a free, open-source camp-management option under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0, a better direction for readers who want public source code and are choosing camp software rather than a class-operations platform.

CampOrganizer charges 0.25 EUR per participant per event or 1.00 EUR per participant per day without a fixed monthly subscription, so it may fit an event-based camp better than recurring class operations. Stageo offers Essential and Enterprise plans with all features included and email support, but no published prices; it is an alternative for readers comparing a paid platform with those plan terms.

SixSevenBall Camp Management has a web-only free tier capped at one team and 12 players, plus a 29.00 USD per month Pro Coach plan for up to five teams and 100 players. It is a narrower option for coaches whose needs fit those team and player limits. For activity clubs, ClassForKids starts at 34.99 GBP per month on its Year-Round plan, with a 2.5% transaction fee from the stated rate and unlimited classes; it may suit clubs willing to pay a monthly fee for that plan structure.

Cogran offers camp and program software at 899.00 USD per year for up to 500 annual registrations, which may fit a camp tracking registrations against an annual allowance. Bunkhouse starts at 99.00 USD per month for up to five active sessions, with unlimited campers, staff users and email and no per-camper fees; it may suit camps that prefer a fixed monthly fee and session limit.

Readers comparing adjacent categories can also browse Camp Management Software and Music Lesson Scheduling Software.

Verdict

AMES is a strong fit for class-based activity providers that want enrolment, payments, attendance and parent communication to work as one operation, and its Standard plan avoids a monthly platform subscription. Choose it when that connected workflow matters more than having a simple flat software bill; look elsewhere if transaction and separate service charges make costs hard to forecast or if your business is primarily camp- or event-based.

	AMES	Summer Camp Portal
Free trial	Yes
Platforms	Android, iOS, Web	Web
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Online registration	Yes	Yes
Payment processing	Yes	Yes
Parent portal	Yes	Yes
Activity scheduling	Yes
Staff roster management	Yes
Communication channels		email
Camp types supported		summer

AMES vs Summer Camp Portal

AMES

Summer Camp Portal