--- title: "Sawyer Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra" description: "Is Sawyer the right Class Registration solution for you? Explore 319 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/163567/Sawyer/reviews/" page_type: "reviews" language: "en" --- Sawyer 4.5 (319) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/163567/Sawyer/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated September 16th, 2026 # Reviews of Sawyer Ease of use 4.2 Customer Service 4.6 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews TL Theresa L CPR InstructorHealth, Wellness and Fitness, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “It saves time which in my case is very important as I have a lot of materials to cover in a very short period of time so anything that helps me in that area is a plus.“ November 10, 2024 JH Jay H School Administrative ManagerPerforming Arts, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “I dislike that store credit/gift card balance is locked behind a higher subscription tier.“ November 9, 2024 JH Jay H School Administrative ManagerPerforming Arts, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “I love the ability to copy classes and semesters to more easily duplicate past schedules.“ November 9, 2024 EC Emiko C Owner and EducatorArts and Crafts, Self-employedUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “Widget is very glitchy on phones and freezes while scrolling.“ November 4, 2024 TL Theresa L CPR InstructorHealth, Wellness and Fitness, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “I also like that it allows the parents to contact me if necessary and vice versa.“ November 10, 2024 JH Jay H School Administrative ManagerPerforming Arts, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “Also no option for attendance records for adults?“ November 9, 2024 AS Angie S Executive DirectorArts and Crafts, Self-employedUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “It does almost everything I need for camp registration, payments, coupons, payment plans, class descriptions, etc.“ April 9, 2024 JH Jay H School Administrative ManagerPerforming Arts, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “This seems like a basic feature that should not be paywalled.“ November 9, 2024 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 319 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Stephanie W. Owner and teacher Education Management Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Sawyer is essential!" April 17, 2024 5.0 I recommend Sawyer to anyone who is seeking a more streamlined registration software for any type of class! Pros Sawyer has been SO incredibly user friendly and has allowed me to confidently market my classes and confirm registrations so much easier than using my old method of Google forms. Cons I would love to see more email integrations! Switched from [Google Forms](https://www.capterra.com/p/176571/Google-Forms/) Too many moving parts, confusing payment submission where people had the ability to ignore that option so I had to track them down for payment! Review Source JH Jay H. School Administrative Manager Performing Arts Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "User friendly and great support, but needs some improvement in select features" November 9, 2024 4.0 Overall I enjoy Sawyer and might recommend it over other similar platforms, depending on the needs of the organization. There are some key features that could be improved upon still. Support team is friendly, helpful, and very responsive! The additional webinars and resources provided are helpful too. Pros \- Very user friendly on the customer facing side. - The interface on both the customer and admin side is clear and pretty easy to navigate. - I love the ability to copy classes and semesters to more easily duplicate past schedules. - Class widget is convenient, especially with recent updates. Cons \- Appointments can only be made with minors, not adults, and they do not support small group appointments. - Reporting features could be clearer/more accurate, we've had issues with bugs causing inaccurate financial reports. - I wish there was a way to download registration reports for select classes all at once; the semester-wide registration report includes students who already withdrew, and going class by class is tedious and time consuming. - Class attendance can only be viewed for one student at a time instead of seeing full class attendance across multiple instances. Also no option for attendance records for adults? - I dislike that store credit/gift card balance is locked behind a higher subscription tier. This seems like a basic feature that should not be paywalled. - No way to mass edit activity information currently. Switched from [SmartRec](https://www.capterra.com/p/198905/SmartRec/) Too expensive and not particularly user friendly on the customer side. Review Source CF Caden F. Director - Designer Music Used the software for: 2+ years ### "An ideal platform to streamline the administration of our music activities" August 13, 2026 4.0 Pros I discovered a highly accessible tool that simplifies music class and workshop scheduling for me. The solution allows me to offer a quick online booking experience to families and ensures automated monthly payment tracking for me. Cons I sometimes regret the lack of customization when exporting accounting data. Additionally, I occasionally wait a bit longer than expected for customer support during peak enrollment periods. Review Source WH Whitney H. Owner Arts and Crafts Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A Total Betrayal of Small Businesses" March 18, 2025 1.0 ⭐ 1 Star – A Total Betrayal of Small Businesses I trusted Sawyer as a registration and billing platform for my business—what I did not expect was for them to use my client list to promote my competitors. Without my consent, Sawyer sent marketing emails directly to my customers, advertising other art studios that also use their platform. Let that sink in. I worked for years to build relationships with my clients, only for Sawyer to exploit that trust and undermine my business. This is not just a bad business practice—it’s an outright betrayal of the small businesses that keep their platform running. If you’re a business owner considering Sawyer, ask yourself this: ❌ Do you want your customers being marketed to by other studios? ❌ Do you want to build your business, only for Sawyer to redirect your clients elsewhere? ❌ Do you trust a company that treats your customer list like a free-for-all marketing database? Sawyer isn’t a neutral registration platform—they’re actively working against the businesses they claim to serve. If you value client trust, business integrity, and keeping control over your own customer relationships, look elsewhere. I know I will. Pros Excellent reporting and query capabilities Cons A Total Betrayal of Small Businesses- unethical and predatory Review Source Response from DaySmart Software March 27, 2025 Hi Whitney, I'm sorry to hear that you've had a negative experience with Sawyer. I know we were able to connect and are working together to making this right. Upon creating an account with Sawyer, customers are given an option to opt-in to receiving marketing and communications from your business as well as from Sawyer. Customers can of course opt-out of communication at any time from any of our marketing or promotional emails by clicking unsubscribe on any email they receive. Here is our help center article explaining more: https://help.hisawyer.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500008819322 We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience and feedback with us. We are here to support your needs and hope you continue to find value in working with Sawyer. GM Ginny M. Owner and Operator of Art Studio and Art Instructor Arts and Crafts Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Sawyer keeps me on track! " November 5, 2024 5.0 Very impressed, they keep me organized (which is nearly impossible)! It’s been a wonderful, but expensive, experience. Definitely worth every penny, at least for the first year, in my opinion. Pros Everyone at Sawyer was super helpful when I was first getting set up. Very easy to talk to, clear & concise communication. I couldn’t have opened up my studio classes without all of their help. The reports helped me tremendously when I was doing my taxes. Cons It is expensive for a business as small as mine. Some months it’s difficult for me to be able to cover the cost of the website plus my rent. I wish I could afford to pay for the Parties option. I think a lot more people would have been booking parties this whole time if they could have done it online. Just recently, after I create an activity, unless it’s brand new, I am unable to add more images to the activity when I try to edit it. It just uploads a solid black image Alternatives considered [Wix](https://www.capterra.com/p/169007/Wix/)[Squarespace](https://www.capterra.com/p/143461/Squarespace/) Reason for choosing Sawyer It was the one I was most familiar with as I had used it as a customer before & found it very user friendly Review Source LC Lesly C. Development Coordinator Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Good Software" November 7, 2024 4.0 Overall, it’s good, but a system with integrations to other trending applications would be better, though it may come with slightly higher transaction fees. Pros It is flexible in the option of weekly registrations and can be integrated with the teachers' roster. Cons It does not have CRM integrations or more complete profiles for tracking students or families. Additionally, orders processed by families must allow for late start in prorating and start date selection. Alternatives considered [NinjaOne](https://www.capterra.com/p/184229/NinjaOne/) Reason for choosing Sawyer Flexible option for day-by-day enrollment. Switched from [QuickBooks Enterprise](https://www.capterra.com/p/174984/QuickBooks-Enterprise/)[Salesforce Platform](https://www.capterra.com/p/268338/App-Cloud/) centralizing systems.............................. Review Source Karen (Kate) R. exec director Events Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Accounting and Payouts are not transparent" January 20, 2021 3.0 While I appreciate the ability to imbed registration on our website, there is no way to track click rates, their customer service is not at all educated on the software and we've gotten responses on average 3 weeks after the initial question is asked! Poor customer service, micropayouts are not transparent, and the cost for ticket items more than 70 usd is more expensive than eventbrite. Unfortunately I can not recommend this platform! Pros It can be imbedded on your website. Visually it is appealing to the purchaser. Cons Instead of paying out event registration income once, after the event, or one time at the end of each month, they pay out micro payments every 3 days. This renders keeping your checks and balances almost impossible, and we are currently paying extra payroll hours for our accountant to tally up each payment (We are talking about payouts as small as $1.25, when we are receiving as much as 10K a month with their platform). Can you imagine your accountant adding up all of those micropayments to hit 10K? It equates to hours of work. The whole process does not at all match industry standards and is very unrealistic for companies to handle. It's a hidden expense that makes the platform not worth the use. Switched from [Eventbrite](https://www.capterra.com/p/114949/Eventbrite/) We thought that Sawyer would be more user friendly. We were wrong! Review Source Response from DaySmart Software January 31, 2021 I am so sorry that you had a less than stellar experience at Sawyer, that is never our intent nor our goal. We continue to evolve our products because of feedback like this and would love to connect on how we can improve if you're open to it. MR Marleny R. Creative Executive Assistant Arts and Crafts Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "User Friendly for Art Studios & Camps " February 17, 2025 4.0 I am pretty happy with using Sawyer but wish the fees they took out were less. Pros It’s pretty easy to use. I like that I can easily view my upcoming events in the calendar and quickly add new events and publish updates. Cons There is a slight learning curve with learning how to post classes and use certain features. Review Source CS Christie S. Director Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great Registration System" November 4, 2024 5.0 Sawyer has been great to work with. We have been through a few scheduling sites and this has been the best so far! Pros I love the flexibility in the scheduling. Cons I would like a more efficient way to see when we have waiting lists, would love if that were listed on student schedules and on class rosters. I also would love if when you click "upcoming", the first day of classes would pop up if we were not yet at that time block (example, when checking in May for September classes). Switched from [Regpack](https://www.capterra.com/p/124427/Regpack/) Expensive and had payment processing issues. Review Source LB Lilian B. Artist Teacher Arts and Crafts Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Sawyer has helped me better manage my business" October 29, 2024 5.0 It provides me flexibility for accepting payments online from my customers and their families to register when it is convenient for them. Pros Customer Support and help. They are always available to help and address our concerns and special requests in a manner I have not experienced elsewhere. Cons Although their software is extremely versatile and they continue to improve it, it does not offer me (a one-man operation) the precise, simple, user friendly, efficient flexibility. However, they have offered me several alternatives to customize they services to my individual needs. Review Source AR Australia R. Controller Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Review from the Controller" November 11, 2024 5.0 Very responsive. I love the financial reports and the quick turn around when there is a discrepancy or a request for reimbursement. Pros Easy to navigate. Clear and concise. Accuracy is a must for me. Your reports are always accurate and timely. Cons I am very pleased with Sawyer's services. No complains. Review Source SC Stefania C. Founder and Director Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Easy and professional" November 7, 2024 5.0 Pros easy to use for providers. Helps with finding new customers Cons I would improve the calendar function, is not easy for parents who always ask providers the dates of classes. Review Source TL TR L. Instructor Education Management Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Easy tool to use daily " November 11, 2024 5.0 Very good tool to assist with daily tasks Pros Easy to use for daily tasks and simple setip Cons Nothing, it works as it should, all the buttons and screens display what should be there and no added or unnecessary information. Review Source JS Janine S. Owner/Director Arts and Crafts Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Wish Sawyer had the same features for adults... " January 28, 2022 4.0 Well I'm terribly frustrated I'm also very grateful because I needed something quick and I was not able to pay a web designer to develop this deep of the system. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship to it, I want more features for adults and I want more flexibility in general. Pros Because I was not a web designer and didn't have backend experience, I needed a platform that I could basically input information into, I wish however it was more customizable. I also was drawn to Sawyer because I wanted to create memberships as well as classes and this gave me the opportunity to do both. Cons There are more things I dislike them like unfortunately. Some of them small like wishing I could customize the color other than red, some of them huge in that the forms are rigid meaning I can't have a different form intake for a member from my students. I need more flexibility and options for my businesses I was hoping everything could live under one umbrella. I find it almost impossible to navigate and find things with ease, it is not user friendly and various features are buried inside other futures and I'm constantly going back and forth trying to find things. I get super frustrated with having to pull up FAQs and directives online. The window doesn't stay open when you move from one area of the website to another so I constantly have to keep it searching for the same information. Some days it's brutal and I feel like I spend way too much time on this program. Reason for choosing Sawyer I don't have a web background and I had a limited budget to get my business started rather quickly, this seemed like it had enough built out that I could use it for multiple registration needs as well that's the template for both. Review Source JL James L. Executive Director Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "YNOT Summer Camp" April 23, 2024 4.0 Better than life was, prior. It gives us a more professional face forward, plus helps us manage the fee recovery of our events. Pros The ability to set up events for automatic online registering and not having AR at the end of the summer, or at the end of a semester. Cons Inability to speak with someone, without buying some annual package. Why not offer technical "spot help" for a flat fee per instance? My IT guy can be reached almost 24/7 and he does alot of things over the phone or via remote connect to my laptop for $20 to $100 per whack. Reason for choosing Sawyer Cost. Targeted vertical. Ease of programming. Review Source JT Joel T. Director Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Sawyer Used to be Good" April 14, 2023 3.0 We have lost more business than gained in the past few months as sawyer seems to be melting down into dysfunction. They used to be good. They changed their pricing/business model to charge businesses and their customers BOTH directly. At the same time their service and functionality (along with down time) has cratered. We are frantically looking at other options as Sawyer has now lost more business for us than it has gained due to their dysfunctional, confusing system on the front end. Pros Sawyer is easy to implement and their customer service is helpful at first.They might be good if your customers all use the same main stream web browser (whichever one happens to work that day) and they are registering kids for classes without parent involvement or too many details. Cons There is no option to add a second adult/parent to a family account.The program doesn't work with Duck Duck Go or many web browsers consistently. Review Source Response from DaySmart Software April 17, 2023 Hi Joel, We are sorry to hear that you've had a negative experience with Sawyer. Our VP of Provider Experience has reached out to speak directly with you as we would love the opportunity to discuss more in depth. We do hope to expand our list of supported browsers in the future as we already work with the most commonly used options such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback with us and look forward to connecting directly. Kind regards, Sawyer Support CM Cheryl M. owner Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Easy online registration for customers" April 15, 2024 5.0 I enjoy the platform and my customers do too. Pros My customers can learn about all of our programs in one place and register for them easily. I can track registration at a glance and make changes as needed. Cons Rosters are difficult to read when printed and it's an important part of our camps. Review Source AC Amy C. Owner/Operator Arts and Crafts Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Easy to use and implement" February 7, 2022 5.0 I have really loved the payment reminders and that the site automatically deposits the money into my accounts. I don't have to think about that. I think it is easy to email and ask for help, or sign up and get a zoom appointment. Pros I loved working face to face (via zoom) with the Sawyer Team. It was nice being able to put a face with a name. \[SENSITIVE CONTENT\] was extremely helpful and eager to solve my problems. I appreciated that Sawyer did everything, including tidying up my website a little. All I did was answer questions and give approval and Sawyer did the rest. Cons I have a different class/session schedule than most outside educators. In order to make my sessions work for my clients we had to wiggle somethings around and call somethings different from the terminology I had previously been using. For example, All private lessons can only be found on my kids page, even if you're an adult, and there is no way to request a semi-private lesson for two people. I also have clients who only want to take one month of sessions confused when they have to go to the "Semester classes" page. I also wish there was a way for clients to pay Venmo or Cash without ME having to be the one that fills in their registration forms. Review Source MD Magdala D. Afterschool Program Education Management Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Disappointing Experience with Sawyer – Not Recommended" September 4, 2024 1.0 Disappointing Experience with Sawyer – Not Recommended We were initially excited about Sawyer because it promised that everything we needed could be done easily. Unfortunately, once we started using it, we found that many of the promises were not fulfilled. One of the biggest frustrations was the inability to change a date on an activity without deleting all enrollments, changing the date, and then re-entering the enrollments manually. This process is incredibly time-consuming and unnecessary. Another major issue was the transfer to our bank account, which took almost a month to show up. This delay is unacceptable, especially when managing finances. Setting up discounts was another nightmare. The software doesn't allow the use of decimals, which forced us to lose a few dollars just to match the rates on our flyers. This is a basic feature that should work flawlessly. Finally, the rosters are terrible. They are overly complicated and don't make sense at all. We encountered many more issues that only added to our frustration. Overall, I do not recommend Sawyer to anyone. It has too many flaws that make it difficult to use and manage effectively. Cons Review Source Response from DaySmart Software September 19, 2024 Hi Magdala, I'm sorry to hear that you've had a less than stellar experience using our software. We value the feedback and would love an opportunity to make this right. I know that you've been in touch with Mollie, our Head of Customer Support to address some of the issues you were experiencing. We do offer daily bank transfers instead of the default of weekly which you originally had and additional flexibility when adjusting activity enrollment dates that we can go through together in more depth. Looking forward to turning this experience into a win. Kind regards, Dana Browne VP of Provider Experience SJ Summer J. Director Sports Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Works great for camp registration that fills up fast!!" September 21, 2022 5.0 Plan to keep using it for years to come. Pros I love how easy it is to use for both the admin side and the parent side. I also love that the item will be held in your cart for a certain amount of time while you finish registration questions and payment- this was a huge game changer for our camp which sells out in minutes. Cons The only feature I do not like is that if I have a parent register multiple kids for multiple camps, and down the road needs to cancel just ONE of the camps for one of the kids. In both the parent portal, my staff admin side as well as the receipt for tax purposes it will still show that camp that was canceled. I’ve talked with Saywer staff about this and I am hoping that this can be changed in the future. Review Source AB Aoife B. Owner Performing Arts Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Excellent service!" January 27, 2022 5.0 I received a cold-call from a Sawyer rep right at the perfect time in my business’s development. The support was excellent, so help and friendly. Pros As the \[SENSITIVE CONTENT\] of my business, I appreciate having support in the business end of things. Sawyer understands what parents/caregivers want when searching and register for programs for their children. Platform is easy for customers to use, and easy for me to learn to administer. Excellent support from Sawyer staff. Cons Sometimes I have trouble uploading photos to my account because they are in the wrong format. Reason for choosing Sawyer I liked that this company was founded by moms like me. Review Source KG Kimberly G. Founder and Managing Director Education Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Owner and Manading Director" April 22, 2024 4.0 Overall, my experience with this product has been great. I appreciate the quick response time from customer service when I run into any issues. I would like to capture better data from my reports. It's sometimes difficult to capture what I'm looking for. Pros I like that the system streamlines my registration process for families. It's helpful to have the attendance lists generated from the registration process. I like that I can communicate with families individually, or as a class with messaging. I like that the system sends me confirmations of new registrations. Cons The wait period of receiving payouts, and not receiving payouts on the weekends. Review Source MG Megan G. Director Fine Art Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Sawyer - a perfect fit for our dance school" July 21, 2019 5.0 It has been great for our company. I feel it presents us as a more professional group because of how it looks and operates. It has made our job so much easier as directors. Pros I like how easy it is to set up. They do all the inputting of information and then send you the code to embed on your website. I like that as a parent, it retains my information from year to year so registering my child is quick and painless. I like how they handle all the gathering of money. For the first time, all our accounts paid their tuition and I didn't have to track anyone down. Cons It's hard to get reports of how many kids have registered or print lists by ages. I would like for them to work on that capacity. The last software we used, you could print all kinds of reports but I have a hard time getting what I want on Sawyer. Reason for choosing Sawyer It didn't charge us a monthly or yearly fee. We are a small school and could not afford the other company's prices. With Sawyer, we could raise our tuition a tiny bit to cover their cut and it works perfect. Switched from [Akada](https://www.capterra.com/p/92427/DanceWorks/) Danceworks is outdated and expensive. Review Source KK Kristin K. Barn Manager Sports Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Didn’t work for us " February 4, 2022 1.0 My overall experience was not good. The learning curve was too long and steep. And that wasn’t completely the fault of Sawyer. I took over, rather I was thrown head first into, running the barn. So nothing had been defined. I had to define every aspect of the program and the same time as I was hiring people and learning the business. Now that I have been running the business for a year, I am more comfortable with it but Sawyer still wouldn’t be the best option for us. I also had a lot of trouble getting help. Pros I didn’t like anything about it. I liked the “promise” that it could be amazing. But the implementation was too cumbersome for us Cons It was confusing, it wasn’t self explanatory. It was cumbersome. Setting up new classes and camps for a new “semester” was tedious. There was no option to do the same as the current semester and change the dates. I think this was the biggest draw back for me. My classes are the same from semester to semester, so to have to enter them all manually each time was a huge pain in the ass. Reason for choosing Sawyer Only option at the time. Review Source Response from DaySmart Software February 7, 2022 Hi Kristin, I'm sorry to hear that you had a negative experience with Sawyer. Being thrown into an experience, as it seems like you were, is never easy especially learning new software. I know our team tried working with you directly to remedy these issues but ultimately you made the decision to cancel your services in August 2021. We would love another opportunity to support your needs and hope you give us a chance to improve your experience working with Sawyer. RR Ruby R. Arts Education Coordinator Arts and Crafts Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Sawyer Review" April 18, 2024 5.0 My overall experience is very positive. It's obvious that Sawyer is aware of how difficult coordinating programs can be and it shows in how user friendly the platform is. I also love that we can duplicate camps now! Being able to do that was so helpful this year! Pros The ease of use and the customer support. I also appreciate the webinars. Cons The dashboard can be a little difficult to navigate. I do fine now but when I first started using sawyer it wasn't always clear where everything "lived", if that make sense. The website looks great though. Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.