Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to your questions about MatGoat, the management software for BJJ and martial arts academies.

General Questions

What is MatGoat and who is it designed for?

MatGoat is management software designed specifically for BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) and mixed martial arts academies. Unlike generic gym software, MatGoat understands the unique needs of martial arts academies: belt ranking system with stripes, class attendance tracking with different modes, private technical video library, automatic student alerts, and membership management. It's built for instructors who want to spend more time on the mat and less on paperwork.

Does MatGoat work for other styles besides BJJ?

Yes. While MatGoat is optimized for BJJ and MMA academies, it also works perfectly for judo, karate, taekwondo, muay thai, and other martial arts. The belt system is fully customizable: for adults it includes white, blue, purple, brown, and black with up to 4 stripes each. For kids, we have a more detailed system with gray, yellow, orange, and green belts with their variations.

Do I need technical knowledge to use MatGoat?

No. MatGoat is designed to be as intuitive as using your smartphone. The interface is simple, and we offer video tutorials, comprehensive documentation, and technical support to help you. Most of our users set up their academy in less than 15 minutes.

Can I use MatGoat if I have a small academy?

Yes. The Basic plan is published at $40/month and includes up to 50 students. Published prices exclude VAT or applicable taxes.

Can I manage multiple academies or locations?

Yes. MatGoat allows you to manage multiple academies from a single organization account. Each academy can have its own teachers, schedules, class types, and settings. Teachers can be assigned to specific academies with customized permissions.

Does it include a lead and trial-student CRM?

MatGoat manages students, invitations, registration, and attendance, but it does not currently publish a dedicated lead and trial-student CRM pipeline. If this workflow is essential, request a demonstration before signing.

Attendance Tracking

How does attendance tracking with the tablet work?

We send you a fully configured tablet that you place at your academy entrance. Students search for their name and check in with a tap on the screen. The system automatically records date, time, and class type. You can also add quick notes about each student during check-in. You can view attendance in real-time from any device.

What is pre-registration mode?

Pre-registration mode allows students to sign up for a class before arriving at the academy, for example from home. When they arrive, they check in on the tablet to confirm their attendance. It's useful for knowing how many students to expect in each class and managing capacity.

Can I differentiate between participants and observers?

Yes. MatGoat distinguishes between three types of attendance: participants (counts as 1 class), observers (counts as 0.5 classes, for students who attend but don't fully train), and graduation classes (count as 3 classes). This allows more accurate tracking of each student's progress.

Can I see attendance statistics?

Yes. You have access to comprehensive reports: average attendance per student, consecutive attendance streaks, most popular classes by day and time, month-over-month comparisons, and activity scores for the last 30 days. You can also see which students have stopped coming recently.

Can I modify attendance after a class?

Yes. You can add or remove students from past sessions, change status from participant to observer, or even cancel an entire session if needed. All history is recorded.

Does MatGoat detect student birthdays?

Yes. The system automatically detects when a student has a birthday within the next 2 weeks and hasn't attended recently, so you can wish them happy birthday at their next class.

Belts and Graduations

How does graduation tracking work?

MatGoat records each student's complete history: current belt, stripe, date of each promotion, previous belt, and notes. For adults we have classic BJJ belts (white, blue, purple, brown, black) with up to 4 stripes. For kids, a more detailed system with intermediate belts.

Can I configure attendance requirements for promotions?

Yes. You can set class thresholds needed for each promotion. For example: 30 classes to go from white to blue, 40 from blue to purple, etc. The system will automatically alert you when a student has met the requirements and is ready for their next promotion.

What are graduation periods?

You can configure your academy's graduation frequency: monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, annual, or custom. MatGoat will automatically calculate classes attended during each period and show you which students meet the requirements to promote.

Can I see student rankings?

Yes. MatGoat generates semester rankings based on attendance, with weighted scoring by class type. You can create custom ranking groups by grouping different class types (for example, fundamentals + advanced). Adult and kids rankings are calculated separately.

Alerts and Student Tracking

What automatic alerts does MatGoat offer?

MatGoat automatically alerts you about: inactive students (7-30 days without attending), new students in their first week, stagnant students (over 80 classes without belt change), students who always attend as observers, payment issues, students who cancelled but keep attending, and students ready for promotion.

Can I silence alerts for a specific student?

Yes. You can dismiss alerts temporarily (7, 14, or 30 days) or permanently. Alerts automatically reactivate if the situation changes, for example, if an inactive student returns to class.

How do I detect students at risk of dropping out?

MatGoat automatically identifies risk patterns: students who have reduced their attendance frequency, those who haven't come in a while, or those with payment issues. You receive proactive alerts so you can contact them before they quit.

Video Library

What types of videos can I upload to the private library?

You can upload videos in two ways: directly from your computer (stored securely in the cloud) or by linking YouTube videos. You can organize content in hierarchical collections (folders within folders), add tags and descriptions. Videos are private and only your students can access them.

How do I organize videos?

You can create collections (like folders) and organize them hierarchically. For example: 'Guard' > 'Closed Guard' > 'Sweeps'. Each video can have tags, title, description, and date. The system generates thumbnails automatically.

Can I use YouTube videos?

Yes. Simply paste the YouTube link and MatGoat will automatically extract the video. It works with youtube.com, youtu.be, and embed links. Thumbnails are obtained automatically.

Communications and Announcements

How can I send messages to my students?

You can send targeted announcements to: all students in your academy, specific students you select, or groups by belt (for example, only blue and purple belts). Announcements are sent via email and push notification to the mobile app.

Can I require confirmation of announcements?

Yes. You can mark an announcement as 'requires acceptance' and the system will record which students have read and accepted it, with date and time. Useful for important communications, schedule changes, or policies.

Can students configure their notification preferences?

Yes. Each student can choose whether to receive announcements by email, push notification, or disable them. They can also choose whether to appear in attendance lists visible to other students.

Payment Management

How does MatGoat handle student payments?

MatGoat integrates with Stripe to automate payments. You create subscription plans (monthly, quarterly, annual) with your desired price in euros, dollars, or Brazilian reais. Students subscribe and billing is automatic. You can also record manual payments if a student pays in cash or bank transfer.

Are there hidden costs or payment commissions?

MatGoat does not add a percentage fee to student payments. Stripe applies its own processing fees, which vary by country, payment method, and account terms.

What happens if a card or SEPA payment fails?

MatGoat detects the failure, marks the membership as past due, shows alerts, and sends notices. When Stripe confirms a later payment, the membership status is restored automatically. Retry timing depends on the Stripe configuration and payment method.

See payment management

Can I combine billing for siblings or family members?

Yes. You can configure pricing tiers based on family size and bill linked children through one combined family subscription.

See family pricing

Which invoices and accounting exports are available for Spain?

You can export payments and quarterly or annual Stripe tax reports as XLSX, and download invoices issued through Stripe as PDFs. MatGoat also provides TicketBAI as a separate feature for academies subject to Basque provincial tax rules. Confirm with your accountant whether these documents meet your obligations.

See available exports

Can I offer different pricing plans?

Yes. You can create multiple plans with different prices and billing intervals. For example: monthly plan at €50, quarterly plan at €135, annual plan at €480. Each student chooses their plan and can change it whenever they want.

Setup and Tablet

Is the tablet really free?

Both published plans include a configured tablet with a one-year commitment. You can also use your own compatible device. Before signing, request written confirmation of availability, shipping, ownership, return, and early-cancellation terms for your country.

What happens to the tablet if I cancel the service?

The outcome depends on the commitment and the terms accepted when you subscribe. Ask for written confirmation of ownership, return, shipping costs, and early-cancellation terms before requesting the tablet.

Can I have multiple teachers with different permissions?

Yes. You can assign teachers to your academy with specific permissions: view sensitive student information, manage class schedules, send invitations, manage rankings, or manage videos. You can also enable teacher PIN mode so teachers can perform administrative actions from the tablet.

How do I configure class schedules?

You create schedules by defining: day of the week, start and end time, class type, assigned teacher, and maximum capacity (optional). You can have different class types with custom colors (fundamentals, advanced, competition, no-gi, etc.).

Can I import data from another software?

Yes. We can help you migrate your data from any other system (Excel, other management software, etc.). The migration service is included at no additional cost.

Additional Features

Can I manage kids with their parents?

Yes. MatGoat allows linking children's accounts with their parents. Parents can manage their children's accounts, view their attendance and progress, and receive communications about them.

Can I collect digital waivers and parental consent?

You can add required or optional consent sections to sign-up. MatGoat stores a copy of the accepted title and text, its version, an integrity checksum, and the acceptance date. Parent and child accounts can be linked, but a separate parental signature for each minor is not published as a distinct workflow. Confirm your legal requirement before relying on it for parental consent.

See student tracking and consent

Is there an event calendar?

Yes. You can create events on your academy's calendar: competitions, seminars, holidays, etc. Events can span multiple days, have custom colors, and external links.

Can I add notes about my students?

Yes. You can add private notes about any student, even during quick check-in on the tablet. Notes are saved in the student's profile for future reference.

Does MatGoat work in multiple languages?

Yes. MatGoat is available in Spanish and English. Each user can choose their preferred language in their profile.

Security and Support

Is my data and my students' data secure?

The core application and relational database are hosted in the European Union with Hetzner. Private files are stored with Wasabi in Paris. MatGoat also uses specialist providers for payments, email, diagnostics, Google sign-in, and mobile notifications. You can review the published provider list and request the data processing agreement by email.

See security, hosting, and providers

What data can I export from MatGoat?

You can export student summaries in Excel or CSV, payments in XLSX, Stripe tax reports in XLSX, and Stripe invoice PDFs. Student summaries include fields such as belt, grade, last class, and total attendance. There is no single self-service export of the full attendance and promotion history.

See data portability

What kind of support do you offer?

We offer support via WhatsApp, email, and video call. Our team consists of people who understand martial arts and speak your language. Plus, you have access to video tutorials, detailed documentation, and a complete help center.

How is MatGoat different from other management software?

MatGoat combines tablet attendance, student alerts, belts and grades, rankings, private videos, communications, and billing for martial arts academies. MatGoat does not add a percentage fee to payments processed by Stripe.

Still have questions?

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