A stress-free way to manage your brand new camp

Top productivity tools for new camps

Managing a summer camp is stressful. Dozens of children are running around, screaming, laughing, and crying. Glitter is everywhere, toys are lying around, and plenty of outdoor dangers like bugs and animals are ready to wreak havoc across the campgrounds.

Camp managers have enough to worry about without also worrying about the overall management, performance, and efficiency of the camp.

From coming up with the concept of a summer camp to gathering all of the necessary data, keeping employees productive, and planning the day-to-day, there’s a lot to do.

Camp directors need access to top productivity tools to hold everyone accountable and ensure everything runs smoothly and efficiently.

1. Bizplan —  for creating strategic business plans

When starting a summer camp, a number of thoughts, ideas, and possibilities will be going through your mind. That’s why you need a tool like Bizplan to get all of your ideas in one place.

Bizplan is an intuitive business planning service that can help collect all of this business data and formalize it into an actionable plan.

Every business has to start somewhere — summer camp is no different. But these ideas can’t become a reality without an effective, consistent, and comprehensive business plan. 

Imagine trying to bake a cake without a recipe and without any prior cake-baking knowledge. There are some obvious ingredients — eggs, butter, flour, sugar, and so on. But without a plan in place — a recipe, you could say — that cake isn’t going to taste good.

And summer camp won’t be all that fun or functional without a business plan either.

2. Trello — for quick and easy online project management

Trello is one of the best project management tools out there. Basic plans are free, but upgraded plans come with a number of innovative features that make managing projects, keeping track of employees, and monitoring business a breeze.

Trello is a camp manager’s best friend.

There are dozens of things to keep track of — from camp schedules to employee payroll to health standards and more. Trello provides peace of mind, keeping all key members accountable when situations arise.

3. JotForm — for intuitive registration management and data gathering

JotForm is a great platform for creating all-inclusive registration forms. The JotForm interface is easy to use, simple to navigate, and intuitive.

These professional forms simplify the registration process for camp managers because they’re easily adaptable and customizable.

This platform leads consumers on a journey and asks questions that even the most business-savvy might not think of.

When it comes to summer camp registration forms, there’s a lot of information to cover. Imagine trying to sit down and come up with all of these questions on your own.

What if a camper has a specific medical condition — like an allergy — but the camp manager didn’t include a question about allergies in the registration form? Then that camper might be in for a nasty surprise come Taco Tuesday.

Camp directors — and campers — can’t take that risk. This platform takes away those questions and fears.

4. Square — for hassle-free payments 

Most summer camps aren’t free. But every small business owner knows that collecting payments, gathering financial information, and keeping this data safe isn’t as quick and painless as one would hope.

That’s where Square comes in. 

Square is a helpful, intuitive, and robust financial platform that initiates credit card transactions and works as an easy-to-use point of sale (POS) system. Small businesses — like those starting their journey into summer camps — can use this system to track payments, manage financial information, simplify data gathering, manage transactions, and keep track of customers.

Without platforms like Square, summer camp directors would have to find another, more costly solution to facilitate payments, keep track of taxable purchases, manage inventory, and more.

And nobody has time for that.

5. TeamUp — for keeping everyone on track

TeamUp is a shared calendar unlike any other. This platform makes it easy to manage employees, keep everyone on the same page, and layout a succinct camp schedule.

Camp managers can create a calendar for the week’s activities and excursions. This calendar can then be shared with employees and camper families so that everyone knows what’s coming up and what to prepare for.

This fun management tool brings camps into the digital age — and that will make your camp even more reliable in the eyes of customers

From opening day to closing, these productivity tools can smooth operations, increase productivity, and ensure campers are having the best time possible.

Editor's note: This is a guest post from the kind folks at JotForm.