The pain
Parents complaining your portal "doesn't work on their phone."
StageSide
StageSide is phone-first. The same data renders into a clean mobile app for parents and a dense desktop dashboard for you.
For Studio Owners
Stop losing parents to bad UX.
Jackrabbit and Studio Director were built when "mobile" meant a flip phone. StageSide is what you'd build today if you started a studio in 2026.
The day-to-day
You know exactly what's broken. Here's how StageSide fixes it.
The pain
Tuition stragglers eating your nights and weekends.
StageSide
Auto-pay tuition + costume + comp fees through Stripe. Payment plans for families that need them. Late-fee policies you set once.
The pain
Comp day descending into running-late chaos and lost-parent texts.
StageSide
Live running order, on-deck push notifications, share-to-grandparent links. Parents stop pinging you for "where are we now."
The pain
Spending fall onboarding on a Google Form and a spreadsheet.
StageSide
Online registration with studio approval. Forms and waivers signed digitally. Roster auto-populated to your classes.
The pain
Reporting season meaning you export 14 spreadsheets and call your accountant.
StageSide
One screen. Revenue, retention, enrollment, attendance, growth. Export ready for tax.
The pain
Worrying about a teacher DMing a 13-year-old or a parent screenshotting something they shouldn't.
StageSide
Adult ↔ minor 1:1 messages blocked at the database. All messaging logged and exportable. Built for the kind of compliance posture school districts demand.
vs. The legacy tools
What's different about StageSide.
| Feature | StageSide | Jackrabbit / Studio Director |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile-first parent experience | ✓ Phone-first design | Desktop app with a parent portal bolted on |
| Live comp-day timing | ✓ On-deck push notifications | No support |
| Safe-chat for minors (DB-enforced) | ✓ Postgres trigger | Frontend toggle, easy to bypass |
| Dancer-owned data history (can't delete) | ✓ Consent workflow | Studio owns + can wipe records |
| Online registration + studio approval | ✓ Mobile registration flow | Yes (Jackrabbit), but slow desktop UX |
| Stripe + auto-pay billing | ✓ Stripe Connect | Their own payment gateway, higher fees |
| Built for 2026, not 2008 | ✓ Modern stack | Two-decade-old codebase |
Onboarding takes 30 minutes. Not 30 days.
We sit with you, your dancers, and your fall schedule. By the time we hang up, your studio is live on StageSide.