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What users are saying

Tuition sure is an EASIER way to run your studio! -- Russell Bunker NCTM, Perham, MN

 

I really enjoy using TS2000!  It  makes my billing much easier and my parents are impressed with how organized I am! -----Marcia Colonius

 

I swear by Time Signature, put out by Casa de la Musica.  It does absolutely everything I need with bookkeeping and studio management. There's nothing like software designed by another piano teacher to meet your requirements.

The  new 2000 series is the best! 

 ----Carol Thompkins NCTM, Montana State Technology Chair and president of the local music teachers association.

 

Greetings, from Eau Claire! Just to let you know that I purchased a new computer over the weekend, installed your program and it works like a charm! Now I'm as excited about the program as you are!

I cannot believe the difference it has made. I can run beautiful statements and my students are totally impressed at my "coming of age..."

----Louise White-Roach, Eau Claire, Wisconsin

 

My personal observation since implementing this program is that parents and students alike tend to view me as a true professional. The response has been most gratifying.

                --Florence Blattner, Arkansas

 

Independent Reviews

American Music Teacher Magazine July/August 2000, p. 43

Clavier Magazine Independent Review  July/August 2000, p. 60 by Elizabeth Reed, NCTM

Music Educators Marketplace

 

This is an informative, educational presentation for teachers, parents, 

and students.   The files are large; allow few minutes to download and browse.  

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TimeSig Presentation MTNA 2008

 This Power Point presentation was prepared for MTNA 2008 Convention in Denver.

 

Time$ig

by Mary Lou Iverson, NCTM 

The working schedule of a music teacher is arduous, demanding, and just plain busy. Not only must the skills of the teacher be improved by practicing and studying on a daily basis, the music studio must be kept organized as well. Discipline and organization are the keys to success in performing as well as teaching; they give us freedom to express ourselves and teach without the cumbersome burden of chaos. They also make plenty of room for enthusiasm.

A music teacher will relate to these fictitious studio scenarios:

1. Jason has a lesson scheduled at 4:30 PM, but his mother called and said he was sick; could she switch him to another time?
2. There is a pile of music that must be reviewed and evaluated for assignments.
3. Where are the contest entry blanks? And just when is the deadline! The birthday is important for the category. Somewhere in the studio it must be recorded, or is it?
4. Kristy is supposed to play for church on Sunday but lost her music...can she get another copy? No Xeroxes please.
5. Amy needs the Bradley Video for beginners; it is out of the library. Who has it? They forgot to check it out. Also the Mozart book is missing. ???
6. Tuesday morning music teachers' meeting scheduled for College of St. Catherine. Now, which Tuesday was it?
7. The recital for this month has a deadline. Must get those entries in. And don't forget to pass through the recital charge to the student's account.
8. There are 6 students preparing for Theory II; how much are those entry fees? And where's the list of those students?
9. And when will I have time to practice! 
10. Inquiry received: are there any more places for new students?. Family moving from Denver wishes to study here. Referral.
11. And don't forget! Grandma is paying for Jon's lessons so the statement is supposed to be sent to her. She lives somewhere in Boston.
12. Remember to record the music that is passed through to students. And separate out the costs of the music that I kept for my studio...that is a tax deduction.
13. At the end of the year, I have to have a record of income/expenses for the tax preparation. HELP! Just how many lessons did I give and how much did I receive? My tax accountant says I do not have adequate records! Besides, that is the one job I hate. Why can't I just teach!

In my years of teaching, I kept many kinds of records by hand so that information that I needed to operate a quality studio was readily available. Progress notes on each student were kept in a recipe box. A file folder was also kept for each student. The contest lists were separate. Schedules were worked out. Expense records were kept independently if at all. Many times pass through music and supplies were just never recorded due to lack of time and organization.

The world of technology had reached the music world via computer for theory and composition. Why then was a studio management program for the independent studio blatantly missing? That's how it all started....the development of studio management software. It was the brainchild of Jerry Iverson, president of a national cost accounting firm. He had developed sophisticated accounting software himself. He was also my tax preparation expert who each year said there had to be a better way! In our early efforts to use technology, there were several different computer programs used to track information: a word processor for progress notes and tracking performance events, an accounting program for billing, and a calendar scheduling program for routine scheduling. Still another program was used for the data base, mailing labels and addresses and telephone numbers of students. We reentered- entered data for use in each program. It was awkward to say the least. When the idea of Time Signature came up, it seemed that it would simplify my studio operations, making more time for what I do best....teach. It was a dream of using technology; however, if I were going to use Time Signature, it had to be very easy to use. So it was with these things in mind, we contacted a software designer/engineer, Karen Christian. It was a team effort that made Time Signature: accountant, music teacher, and software designer.

Now years later, Time Signature is used by teachers all over the United States and Canada. Management of the high tech studio is here! The software capabilities allow the data to be entered one time and used in various capacities.

On first glance, you will notice that the software is divided into four major sections: Student, Studio, Billing, and Reports. The initial set up of the software includes identifying and setting parameters of your studio: the official name and address, the length of term you are teaching, the specific instruments for which you provide lessons, and the financial transactions. The program comes with 11 predefined codes for payments, lessons, supplies, recital fees, studio fees (if applicable), and a category for "other." You can then subdivide these to be specific and individualized for your own circumstances.

The next step is to create the Student Profile. This includes the student's name, address, phone number both home and work; mother/father, school student attends, grade and any special comments you may wish to include. The person who pays for the lessons is also specified in this screen. One or more students may have the same payer. Certainly, the student's address and the payer's address need not be the same. It is at this time you also schedule the student's lessons with the automatic scheduling feature. The scheduled lessons are then shown on the Lesson Screen.

On a typical teaching day, for example, a useful tool is the Daily Schedule screen. In addition to student lessons, you may have also entered your own personal appointments. To move a student from one time slot to another, simply use the Alt M function. One of the reports, the monthly studio schedule, has a list of student birthdays as well as the schedule.

Once printed, the Daily Studio Schedule can be used to jot down items that need to be recorded: music passed through to the student, library loans, payments received, absent/present status of student; notes regarding the progress. It takes very little time at the close of the day to update the student files. Simply code the lessons as to the status of completion: tuition lesson, absent, sick, etc. Enter any financial transactions at that time also. Progress notes are entered on the lesson screen for each lesson given. You may want to set up your transactions to include a library loan/return function so that you can track these items. Be creative; there are many ways in which to use this software.

As a student performs throughout the term, the information can be stored in the Performance Events Section. It becomes a permanent file, remaining active from term to term. You may also consider entering test scores, books that have been completed. This information can be printed by using the Student Profile print out menu option.

Simple, easy to use pop up menus help sort through the students at once, going from one to the other quickly. Helpful hints on the use of certain key strokes are listed on the bottom of the screen. These remain consistent throughout the program. If you forget, a useful chart is provided in the Users Manual for easy reference. The Helpful Hints section in the Users Manual is a teacher to teacher chat....the how-to of daily operations. A section also is included on fees verses tuition.

At statement preparation time, simply select this menu option in the billing section, the payers you wish to bill and the dates you wish to include. The statements can be fitted into windowed #10 envelopes--no need to address them! If you need labels, print them by selecting this option. Statements are professional quality. Our music organizations have encouraged music educators to become more professional; the function of statement preparation presents a dignified approach to the collection of fees and/or tuition.

Time Signature actually organizes the management functions of a music studio into one specialized operation. It truly revolutionizes the way teachers manage their music studios! With the time saved, you can take some time for yourself or teach additional students. The Time is yours!

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