What is Training
Management Software?
A complete guide to training management software (TMS) – all your questions
answered and why Dante is different from other platforms on the market.
What is training management software?
Training management software makes the day-to-day running of your business easier and faster so you can focus on increasing revenue and growth.
A quality training management system (TMS) automates repetitive admin tasks, such as scheduling, bookings and delegate management. By cutting out the manual workload of these tasks, a software management platform makes your team more productive and your business more efficient – so you can spend less time updating spreadsheets and more time winning new clients.
On the commercial side of your business, a modern TMS should also provide online bookings, invoicing and account management to help you fill more seats, maximise attendance and get paid faster.
The biggest growth barrier for training service providers is admin work filling up your team’s day, which limits the number of courses you can run and customers you can handle. Training management software cuts the manual workload to a minimum so the size of your team never bottlenecks business growth.
Course Management
Take the manual workload out of course management
Create new courses in minutes and manage every stage of delivery from the same platform. Assign personnel, schedule dates and keep track of bookings to ensure attendance rates are high enough on every course.
Delegate Management
Maximise occupancy and engagement on every course
Manage delegates across courses with dedicates tools for refreshers training, group bookings, cancellations, transfers and more – to help you fill seats on every course and encourages customers to book again.
Course booking system
Monetise your website by taking online course bookings
Turn your website into a complete course booking system with an integrated checkout, payment gateway and customer portal. Convert web traffic into paying customers and fill courses with instant, automated bookings.
Training CRM
Increase repeat bookings by managing customer relationships.
Keep all of your customer data in one place and use it to nurture ongoing relationships. Identify high-value customers, prioritise their needs and provide tailored experiences effortlessly – to maximise revenue through repeat bookings.
Accounting & Finance
Manage the accounts and finance of your training business
Take the pain out of managing accounts and finances with automated invoicing, payment reminders, custom price agreements and plenty more. Integrate with your current accounting software to keep using the tools you trust.
Automation
Grow your training business without the extra workload
Drive growth and increase revenue without creating additional work or building a larger team. Build a more profitable training business by removing inefficiencies and growth bottlenecks that hold you back from expanding.
Training management software vs training management system
As you’re reading up on training management software, you’ll also encounter the phrase training management system. If you’re wondering whether there’s any difference between these two phrases, the short answer is: no.
Training software providers use these two phrases interchangeably to describe the same type of product.
Technically speaking, the term training management system implies that the product offers a complete solution with all or most of the features you need to manage your training business – for example, the course booking and finance features listed in the previous section.
At the same time, training management software could refer to any software product designed to help with training management, even if it only offers one or two features. However, modern training software providers are expected to deliver comprehensive solutions so the potential differences are meaningless.
In conclusion: training management software and a training management system are the same thing.
TMS vs learning management software (LMS)
As you’re reading up on training management software, you’ll also encounter the phrase training management system. If you’re wondering whether there’s any difference between these two phrases, the short answer is: no.
Training software providers use these two phrases interchangeably to describe the same type of product.
Technically speaking, the term training management system implies that the product offers a complete solution with all or most of the features you need to manage your training business – for example, the course booking and finance features listed in the previous section.
At the same time, training management software could refer to any software product designed to help with training management, even if it only offers one or two features. However, modern training software providers are expected to deliver comprehensive solutions so the potential differences are meaningless.
In conclusion: training management software and a training management system are the same thing.
TMS vs event management software (EMS)
Event management software helps you run and manage in-person events, such as conferences, expos and award ceremonies. Unlike learning management software, an EMS should provide all the features you need to manage registrations, attendees and personnel.
In this sense, an EMS makes a better substitute for training management software than an LMS because they’re designed specifically for running events. However, EMS systems are better suited for running one-off events than managing a series of events throughout the calendar.
An EMS will also lack some of the key features specific to running training courses, such as a built-in course booking system, delegate management and a training CRM. For companies that primarily run one-off events and hold the occasional, one-off training course, an EMS is the better choice.
However, training businesses will always be better off with a dedicated training management system.
What makes Dante different from other training management systems?
Modern training management software is more advanced than ever but business owners constantly tell us their systems are too complex, expensive to set up and difficult to use.
Dante is designed to simplify training management so you can maximise growth by building a more productive business. We’ve worked tirelessly over the past three decades to optimise our system to include all of the features you need to manage courses without adding unnecessary complications. We set up and customise our platform to meet your business needs and integrate with your current software, enabling you to achieve more with your existing resources.
Training Management – Without Limits
Unlike other training management software providers, we don’t limit the number of courses, delegates, schedules, trainers or other resources you can manage in our TMS.
Many of our customers have tried other systems in the past and felt frustrated by feature limitations and additional fees holding them back from making progress. Dante is built differently so you can manage your training business without limits.
Complete Website Integration
Dante is fully customisable and ready to integrate with your website for course bookings, payments and managing every aspect of your training business.
Our team works with your web developers to fully integrate the system into your existing website or we can build a new fully-integrated website for you, entirely from scratch.
Simple Pricing, No Hidden Fees
Most software providers offer multiple plans with different prices, features and additional fees for each booking, registration or delegate added, which bumps up your monthly/annual software expenses.
Dante is different. We run two plans with a flat pricing model so you pay the same fee every month – with no hidden fees, no contracts or nasty surprises.
Enterprise-Grade Support
While other TMS providers only offer limited customer support on most plans, we deliver enterprise-grade support to all of our customers.
Phone support is included on every plan so you can pick up the phone and call our team if you need immediate assistance or send us an email for less pressing issues – the choice is yours.
Working with Dante as your TMS provider
Our team ensures the system is set up to meet your needs from day one and provides ongoing support to help you drive continued growth.
Dante takes the complexity out of course management so you can grow your business by running more courses, winning more customers and maximising the use of every available resource.
Who needs a
Training management system?
Dante’s training management software is designed for any organisation that provides training services, including:
- CPD training providers
- Commercial training companies
- Training departments for corporations
- Universities
- In-house training departments
- Extended enterprises that train clients, dealers, partners, and more
- Internal training: Where individuals within the organisation are trained as part of their employment or membership.
- External training: Where companies provide training services for paying customers.
An organisation managing internal training may have lower demands from a TMS but companies providing external training services need advanced features, such as an online booking system, online payment gateway, a training TMS, invoicing and finance management.
Dante provides plans for both scenarios. Our Essentials plan offers everything you need to manage internal training or streamline a new/small training business. Then, our Professional plan incorporates an online booking system, enhanced CRM, an advanced reporting engine and automation features to maximise efficiency.
Ultimately, team members who use the software on a daily basis will gain the most value from it. These typically include training managers and administrators, sales personnel, human resource staff and anyone involved in the organisation or sale of training courses.
The purpose of a training management system is to simplify processes and automate tasks so your team members can spend less time updating details or copy and pasting information.
Why use an online training management software?
Dante’s training management software is designed for any organisation that provides training services, including:
Easy Course Management
With Dante, you can schedule courses for up to one year in advance, without the risk of double bookings, thanks to real-time availability data for venues, instructors and other resources at your fingertips.
All Your Data In One Place
All of your data is stored in a secure location, including delegate profiles and communications with delegates, coordinators and customers – all of which can be accessed remotely anytime, anywhere, from any electronic device.
Automate repetitive tasks
By reducing the time spent on repetitive admin, your team can focus their attention on activities that drive revenue, such as repeat bookings and referrals. Likewise, automating the more routine tasks in your team’s workload reduces clerical mistakes and staff burnout.
Grow your training business
With customers booking places online 24/7, live updates on resource availability, automated invoicing and a training CRM for managing the customer journey, you can run more courses, fill more seats and increase revenue.
How to choose the best training management software for your business
Implementing a training management system into your business is a significant investment so you want to get this right the first time. This is why we work closely with every customer to ensure our system is implemented to suit the needs of their company.
Here are the key steps to follow when choosing a TMS:
Identify your goals#1
Before choosing a TMS for your company, make sure you have a clear understanding of your goals.
For example, are you looking to reduce the amount of manual admin work, improve communication efficiency or increase course completion rates? Or, perhaps, your existing platform is too complex or lacks features you need to take your business to the next level.
Whatever your objectives are, make sure you pick a solution that satisfies those needs.
Set a timeline with milestones#2
With all the research, testing, and negotiation involved, it can take months to find the right training management system for your business. During this time, it’s easy to lose sight of what your goals are – especially when you’ve got sales teams telling you what you need.
Set a timeline with fixed milestones to ensure your targets are met throughout the implementation stage and beyond. Common milestones include implementation dates, completion deadlines and evaluating results on a monthly or quarterly basis.
Consider your future needs, too#3
The purpose of a TMS is to help your training business grow by streamlining processes so you can generate more revenue. As your company grows, your demands from a TMS increase and you need to know that your software can continue to drive further growth and meet your needs as they develop.
Make sure your TMS can continue to deliver what you need in the future and calculate how much your system will cost as you upgrade or increase usage (many platforms charge for usage, too).
Choose the right plan#4
Most TMS providers sell their platform across complex plans and pricing models. This is why it’s so important to understand what you need from a training management system – so you can choose the right product and the right plan.
To make life easier, we run a simple pricing model of two scalable plans for businesses at different stages of growth – no complex pricing or hidden fees.
Check the implementation process#5
A training management system is a large software product that acts as the core of your business. This requires an implementation process that includes a demo/free trial, training, data import, customisation and potentially more.
Check with providers about their implementation process, how much this is going to cost you and the time frame you’ll be looking at.
Ask about customer support#6
With a TMS implemented at the heart of your business, technical issues can grind progress to a halt. You need fast, responsive customer support from your provider so ask about this before you sign up for anything.
Check what support is provided on each plan (email, live chat, phone, etc.) and determine whether this will be enough on the day you run into problems.
3 mistakes to avoid
when choosing a TMS
Implementing a training management system into your business is a significant investment so you want to get this right the first time. This is why we work closely with every customer to ensure our system is implemented to suit the needs of their company.
Here are the three things to avoid when choosing a TMS:
Not checking the small print
Customer price agreements allow you to apply a course-specific or global discount. Meaning all bookings will automatically have their discount applied
Not knowing how much it’s going to cost
Set a customer’s credit limit and track their bookings to ensure they don’t overspend without you knowing
Chasing the wrong features
Each customer can have an individual payment terms with automated emails once a payment is due
Training software management FAQ
FAQ
What is training management software?
Training management software streamlines the day-to-day running of your training company so you can increase profitability and grow your business.
Features typically include course scheduling, delegate management, resource assignments, online course booking and other tools to automate or speed up admin tasks that normally take minutes or hours.
Who uses training management software?
Advanced training management systems are designed for training providers that run courses at in-person venues. However, companies that need to manage internal training programmes throughout the year can also benefit from a TMS while a range of authorities may also require one – eg: universities, local authorities, etc.
How much does training management software cost?
Training management software varies in pricing and most providers offer several plans at different price points. Many TMS providers charge a range of additional fees so make sure you understand the full cost before signing up. Dante is priced differently. We run two plans with simple pricing, no hidden fees and rolling monthly contracts so you can cancel at any time – take a look at our pricing page for more info.
What's the minimum contact length?
Zero months! Both plans are rolling monthly contracts that you can cancel at any time at no cost – it’s our job to keep you happy and make sure you’re making the most out of your Dante System.
Is training management software difficult to use?
Some training management systems are difficult to use for a variety of reasons: poor usability, bloated features, etc. Dante has refined its software for 30+ years to address the changing needs of today’s training businesses in a system that’s equally powerful and easy to use.
Can I try Dante’s TMS for free?
Yes. You can book a demo or sign up for a free trial to try Dante for free with no credit card details required. If you want to proceed, you can speak to our team about the implementation process and customising the software to meet your needs.