Run safely. Stay organised. Be ready to prove it.
The important stuff behind your children's activities business in one calm place.
Meet aluma – bringing together what your booking system doesn't manage.
Built by someone who actually runs a children's activities business.
There's a lot going on behind every session.
Risk assessments. Staff records. Checks and certificates. Insurance. Venues. Term dates. Who's working where. What's coming up. And all the other things that need to be right, up to date and easy to find, rather than scattered across half a dozen different places.
Stay on top of compliance
Make sure all your checks, certificates, policies, insurance and risk assessments are current, with clear records and audit trails when you need to show what's in place.
Manage your team
Keep on top of your staff records, contracts, payroll, sickness, cover and employment status, along with all the admin that comes with employing and managing a team.
See what's happening
See who's working where, what's happening when and what's coming up across your whole business.
Keep your team connected
Share important updates, policies and reminders with your team, and keep track of what's been read and acknowledged.
Being up to date is one thing. Being able to prove it is another.
When you're working with children, things like DBS checks, safeguarding certificates, insurance and risk assessments aren't just another bit of admin. You need to know they're current, know when something needs renewing and be able to produce the right information when it's needed.
Venues might ask for proof of insurance, while schools and nurseries may need to see DBS details or first aid certificates. If a staff member is covering at a venue they've never worked at before, they might need instant access to the risk assessment and information about what facilities are available. And crucially, insurers also expect you to be able to evidence your compliance.
aluma keeps track of the renewal dates, alerts you when something needs your attention and makes the right information easier to access and share – whether it's you, your team or someone you work with who needs it.
And when everything's up to date? aluma tells you that too.
“I've already got a booking system. Why do I need this as well?”
Your booking system does an important job – it manages your customers, bookings, payments and registers. But there's a whole other side to running your business that it probably wasn't built to manage. And that's where aluma comes in.
aluma is designed specifically for that other side of the business. It brings the information, admin and day-to-day operational tasks that can otherwise end up spread across different systems, spreadsheets, documents and inboxes into one place.
It isn't there to replace your booking system – it's there to fill the gaps around it.
See what's happening. Know what needs your attention.
Some things shouldn't need remembering
Certificate expiry warnings, invoice reminders, trial follow-ups, birthdays, work anniversaries, end-of-term messages... aluma can take care of the reminders and messages that would otherwise rely on someone remembering to do them.
You switch them on, write them in your own voice and aluma handles the rest. No chasing, no reminders to send reminders.
Certificate expiry warningsInvoice remindersTrial follow-upsBirthdaysWork anniversariesEnd-of-term messages
aluma started with a problem close to home.
Kate Markham has spent 20 years working in children's activities, including 16 years on the software side of the sector. She also runs her own children's dance business, working with around 650 families each week and a team of 14 staff members.
aluma began with a simple question: how could she make life easier for her business manager?
The tools were already there for lots of individual jobs – software for signing contracts, online drives for storing staff records and DBS checks, and messaging platforms galore for contacting staff members with updates or reminders.
But that still meant different systems, different places to look, and too many things to keep track of, remember and act on.
So aluma started by plugging those gaps: pulling more of the day-to-day running of the business into one place, adding reminders and notifications where simply storing information wasn't enough, and making it easier to communicate directly with the team and give them access to what they needed when they needed it.
Then came the things she'd always wanted to do, but never quite had the time for. Remembering birthdays, acknowledging anniversaries, celebrating milestones . . . all the little touches that make a difference, but rarely make it very far up the list.
And somewhere along the way, it became clear that her business wasn't the only one that could use it.
It's so easy to use and doesn't feel overwhelming. The branding is clean and friendly - it doesn't feel ‘techie’, which makes it really accessible for owners who'd normally be intimidated by the tech side.
It has taken a lot of the mental load out of managing everything, and I feel so much more in control. I genuinely love it!
For franchisors
See what's happening across your network, without having to chase for it.
Your franchisees can use aluma to manage their own teams, compliance and day-to-day operations, while the Head Office dashboard gives you visibility across your whole network.
See who's on top of their compliance and where something needs attention, without relying on spreadsheets, emails or asking individual franchisees for updates.
Pricing
Simple pricing. Everything included.
Every plan gives you the whole platform. What you pay simply depends on how many staff you have.
Become an aluma Founding Member
The first 50 businesses to subscribe will become aluma Founding Members, with your special launch price locked in for 12 months. You'll also have the chance to help shape what comes next by sharing your feedback and feature ideas.
Founding member
Solo
A solo staff member or a small team, getting fully compliant.
1 to 5 staff
£39/mo standard
£29/moEverything in aluma. All 60+ features, from day one.
Choose SoloMost popular
Founding member
Growing
More sessions, more venues, more moving parts.
6 to 15 staff
£59/mo standard
£49/moEverything in aluma. All 60+ features, from day one.
Choose GrowingFounding member
Established
A bigger team, and a lot of compliance riding on one person.
16 to 30 staff
£109/mo standard
£89/moEverything in aluma. All 60+ features, from day one.
Choose EstablishedNothing is locked behind a higher plan. If you're a solo provider, you'll get access to exactly the same platform as a business with 30 staff. You simply pay according to the size of your team.
All prices exclude VAT.
We count active staff records (people who've left aren't included).
If you grow past your plan, we'll move you at your next renewal – and we'll always tell you first.
Change or cancel whenever you need to.
Frequently asked questions
What kind of children's activities businesses is aluma for?+
Dance, swimming, gymnastics, performing arts, sensory play, phonics, music, wellbeing, sports, messy play, art, MFL, cookery, STEM and more. aluma is built for children's activities businesses of all kinds.
Do I need aluma if I already have a booking system?+
aluma won't replace your booking system. It's designed to plug the gaps around it and manage the parts of your business that booking systems often don't.
What happens when a DBS check, certificate or other important date is coming up?+
aluma keeps track of important dates and lets you know when something needs your attention, whether that's a DBS check or certificate approaching expiry, an insurance renewal or a record reaching the end of its retention period. You don't have to remember to keep checking dates yourself.
Can my staff have their own access?+
Yes. Your staff have their own portal where they can update their details and access their contracts and appraisals, along with the information they need for work, such as venue details and risk assessments. They'll also get notifications about expiring certificates, see important team updates, and be able to view and approve self-billing invoices.
How secure is my data?+
Your business data is kept completely separate from other businesses using aluma, so they can't access or see your information. Your data is encrypted both when it's being transferred and when it's stored. Every time someone accesses a sensitive record, such as a DBS certificate, aluma records who accessed it and when, creating an audit trail that can't be changed. You can also turn on two-factor authentication for an extra layer of security, and your files are backed up every day.
You can read more about how we store, protect and manage your data in section 11 of our privacy policy.
Can aluma be used across a franchise network?+
Yes. aluma can be used by individual franchisees or rolled out across a whole franchise network, with a Head Office dashboard that gives franchisors visibility across their network.
Do I need to enter payment details to start my free trial?+
No, we won't ask for any payment details. All you need is an email address and you'll be able to have a look around and get a feel for aluma before deciding whether you'd like to subscribe.
What happens after my 14-day free trial?+
Your account pauses. Nothing gets deleted. Everything you added is still there. If you decide you want to carry on, you just pick a plan and you're straight back in, right where you left off. And if you decide it's not for you, no problem. We'll keep your data safe for 30 days in case you change your mind, and we'll email you a week before it's deleted. After that, we'll delete it for good.
Run safely. Stay organised. Be ready to prove it.
Start your 14-day free trial. No payment details, just an email address and a look around.