Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for recording studios.
A checklist built from how recording studios work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Room calendar with deposits
- Engineer and assistant rosters
- Session sheets and takes
- Mix and master revision rounds
- Gear hire and room inventory
- Invoices, packages and file release
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For the studio owner
- For engineers
- For the studio manager
- For assistants and runners
- For artists and producers
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Booked hours by room and by week
- Engineer days used and payouts due
- Revision rounds against allowance by project
- Gear out on hire and overdue returns
- Package hours remaining by client
- Deposits held and lapsed holds
- Revenue by tracking, mixing, mastering and podcast work
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Online booking page
- SMS
- Card payments
- Accounting export
- Calendar sync
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Is this for a commercial studio or a home project room?
- How are deposits and holds handled?
- Can it count mix revisions?
- Does it hold the audio files?
- Can freelance engineers see only their own sessions?
- How is gear hire tracked?
- Can we move over our current bookings?
- Who owns the client and project records?
- What does it cost?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Room bookings clash or are held without deposit
- Session notes live in a notebook
- Revisions are unlimited by habit
- Rented gear leaves without a record
- Final files are released before payment clears
Prefer to talk it through? See the recording studios page.