Feature Overview
A brief overview of each available feature and what they are used for:
- Users - For organizing and searching for any person who has a Kiln Fire account with your studio. Also includes Shelves and Waitlist functionality.
- Pieces - For tracking member pieces digitally from submission through firing, sending automated emails on status and collecting all necessary firing fees.
- Pickups - For managing one-time class/event pieces with contact information details, sending automatic pickup-ready notifications and handling all associated fee collection.
- Reservations - For building ways users can book studio time by specific stations (wheels, workspace, etc.) during designated availability.
- Kiln Firings - For tracking the status of each kiln load and automatically notifing users about where their pieces are in the firing process.
- Check Ins - For recording which members or students arrive to and use studio (for classes, reservations, member perks, etc.)
- Point of Sale - For customers who have purchased hardware to facilitate in-person purchases via Stripe integration.
- Supplies - For members-only purchasing of studio supplies like clay, tools, and other materials as needed.
- Classes - For managing all aspects of your studio's classes, including creating new classes, duplicating repeating ones, customizing forms and waivers, and assigning instructors.
- Discounts - For creating customized discount opportunities or special offers for your studio.
- Gift Cards - For allowing customers to purchase prepaid studio credit that recipients can redeem for things like classes, supplies, and studio time.
- Private Events - For booking and managing requests like birthday parties, corporate events, and private lessons.
- Invoices - For creating and automating payment tracking and reminders.
- Metrics - For visualizing and analyzing how your studio is doing in terms of anything Kiln Fire tracks – transactions, class registration, membership growth, etc.
- Studio - For general settings and app customization, including modifying membership settings, configure waitlist options, customize messaging copy, and create perks for users.
Definitions
USERS
Users are anyone at your studio who has a login for Kiln Fire using an email address and password.
A person needs to be a User in order to:
- Be a studio member
- Pay firing fees
- Make reservations
- Receive studio perks (called User Perks in Kiln Fire)
There are a few functionalities within Kiln Fire that do not require users (aka no need to create an account). Most are more one-time or one-off classes or events.
A person does not need to be a User in order to:
- Take a class
- Purchasing supplies
- Piece Pickups
Classes: The class functionality does not automatically create each participant as a Kiln Fire user. A studio can send out a Public Class Page where people can register for classes without becoming a Kiln Fire user (having to create a login).
NAVIGATE TO: Classes > Manage Classes > click into class > click Public Class Page link
Public Supplies Link: Studios can also send out a public supplies link to anyone.
NAVIGATE TO: Supplies > Manage Supplies > Public Supplies Link
Pickups: For a one-time class or event, a studio can send or show a QR code for a public piece collection link for specific groups.
NAVIGATE TO: Pickups > Manage Pickups > Collect Pieces (link)
MEMBERS
Members are anyone that signs up for a specific membership type offered at your studio.
USER PERKS
User perks are a way to give access and rewards to users of your studio. User perks are completely customizable and each studio may vary in amount and kind. Common perks include time in the studio, free firing, and discounts on supplies. They can be assigned through membership, classes, transactions, user tags, or by a studio manager manually assigning them.
NAVIGATE TO: Studio > User Perks > Create New Perk
USER TAGS
Tags can be used to help organize users and automatically assign perks. Tags can even be automatically assigned when a user registers by sending them a custom link.
NAVIGATE TO: Studio > User Tags, then Users > All Users > User Sign Up Links > User Self Sign Up, click Customize Link and select which tag(s) to use
ACCOUNT FUNDS
Account funds are an account balance that is held for a particular user in the Kiln Fire app. If a user has account funds, they are always used first before a credit card would be charged for things like membership fees, firing fees, class registrations, supplies, etc.
Users can get account funds in a few different ways:
- From a Gift Card - if a user receives a gift card from someone, they could add to their Account Funds and apply to class or something else in Kiln Fire.
- From a Studio Manager - sometimes a studio manager needs to and can give (or take away) users' account funds to spend at your studio. Some studios utilize this to compensate volunteers, make up for a mistaken charge, etc. Note: can sometimes complicate bookkeeping, so make sure to check with your accountant!
NAVIGATE TO: Users > All Users > select user you want to give funds to > under Account Funds, select Add, Remove, or Modify - Prorating membership - if a member downgrades from a more expensive plan to a less expensive plan in the middle of their typical billing cycle, their membership will automatically calculate a prorated amount of dollars to "refund" into Account Funds. Conversely, if a member signs up to join the studio at a future date, you can customize when you want the membership to start as well as have them pre-pay for their future membership. When you select pre-pay, their payment will be collected immediately upon sign up and put into the user's Account Funds. When it comes time for the membership to begin, the first month will be paid for out of those Account Funds.
- Firing Fee marked with firing issue - If a firing issue was marked by a staff member after the firing fee was already collected for a submitted piece, the staff member can "issue a credit" back for the price of that fee. Rather than a refund, this would go back to the use as a credit to their Account Funds.
- A user adding money themselves - users can log in and click Billing & Card to Add Funds into their Account Funds.
TEMPLATES
The term Kiln Fire uses for Classes that a studio offers over and over. Think of it as a framework you set up to be able to use for scheduling purposes to set that class at different times with minimal editing each time.