Trade / vocational / cosmetology school software, built around per-student clock-hour ledger + SAP status

Arkathos gives a trade a workspace tailored to how the work actually runs — This workspace is built around the admissions-to-graduation pipeline: enroll students, bill tuition/financial-aid, and track clock-hours against accreditation requirements. Arkathos tailors a trade workspace around 5 agents: Sentinel, Treasury, Watchtower, Quartermaster, Herald.

Compliance a trade can't afford to miss

Watchtower tracks every license, bond, insurance policy, and continuing-education requirement for a trade, with renewal cadences and staged reminders so nothing lapses.

• A trade must maintain a Private Career / Vocational School License to Operate (State Authorization / Certificate of Approval), through the State private-school licensing agency (e.g., NJ DOLWD Center for Occupational Employment Information / Training Evaluation Unit; NY SED Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision (BPSS); CA Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE); PA State Board of Private Licensed Schools (PDE); TX Workforce Commission Career Schools & Colleges), which renews every two years.
• A trade must maintain a Proprietary / Private Vocational School License, through the State Higher-Ed Board / BPPE, which renews every year.
• A trade must maintain a Occupational Board Program Approval, through the State Cosmetology / Barber / Trade Board, which renews every two years.
• A trade must maintain a Tuition Guaranty / Student-Protection Surety Bond (Financial-Stability Bond), through the State licensing agency (bond payable to state Commissioner/agency; e.g., NJ DOLWD, PA State Board of Private Licensed Schools, TX Workforce Commission), which renews every year.
• A trade must maintain a Programmatic Accreditation (ACCSC / COE / NACCAS), through the Accrediting Agency, which renews every 5 years.
• A trade must maintain a State Student Tuition Recovery / Reimbursement Fund Participation (CA STRF / NY TRA), through the State licensing agency administering the fund (CA BPPE Student Tuition Recovery Fund; NY SED BPSS Tuition Reimbursement Account), which renews every year.
• A trade must maintain a Institutional Accreditation (ACCSC / COE / ABHES), through the USDE-recognized accreditor: Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC, up to 5 yr), Council on Occupational Education (COE, up to 6 yr), or Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES, up to 6 yr), which renews every 5 years.
• A trade must maintain a Title IV Program Participation Agreement (if federal aid), through the US Dept of Education, which renews every 4 years.
• A trade must maintain a Instructor License, through the State Occupational Board, which renews every two years.
• A trade must maintain a Title IV Program Participation Agreement (Federal Student Aid recertification), through the U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, which renews every 6 years.
• The Instructor License carries a continuing-education requirement of 12 hours every two years.
• A trade must maintain a School Director / Instructor Credential Approval (state), through the State private-school licensing agency (e.g., NY SED BPSS director license: one-time 15-hr Directors' Course + background check; PA PDE-279 Instructor Qualifications), which has no fixed renewal cycle.
• A trade must maintain a Certificate of Occupancy, through the Local Building Dept, which has no fixed renewal cycle.
• A trade must maintain a Professional Liability / Errors & Omissions (Educators Legal Liability) Insurance, through the Private insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A trade must maintain a General Liability Insurance, through the Private insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A trade must maintain a Surety Bond, through the Surety Provider, which renews every year.
• A trade must maintain a Cyber Liability Insurance, through the Private insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A trade must maintain a Workers' Compensation Insurance, through the State-regulated workers' compensation carrier / state fund, which renews every year.

Everything Arkathos runs for a trade

These are the agents set up first for a trade — and because it's one platform, every plan includes all 16 Arkathos agents. Also included whenever you need them: Guardhouse, Scribe, Courier, War Room, Armory, Marshall, Mint Warden, Vault Keeper, Bulletin Board, Client Portal.

• Sentinel — Contact & lead management, Deal / estimate pipeline, Task & follow-up tracking, SMS & email outreach, Pipeline reporting.
• Treasury — Invoicing & payment collection, Expense tracking, Accounting & bookkeeping, Business tax prep & filing, Recurring billing & subscriptions, Financial dashboards & reports.
• Watchtower — License & permit tracking, Certification & continuing-education (CE) tracking, Renewal reminders & alerts, Compliance document vault.
• Quartermaster — Online booking & appointments, Calendar & availability, Events & waitlists, Automated reminders, Job dispatch & scheduling.
• Herald — SEO & get-found content, Social media scheduling, Email & newsletter campaigns, Brand voice & content studio, Review & reputation growth, AI-overview & directory visibility.

Your tailored trade workspace

These are net-new, trade-specific capabilities — not a generic CRM bolted onto your industry.

• Per-student clock-hour ledger + SAP status (Watchtower): Accrue attendance hours per enrolled student against the program's required clock-hour total, compute satisfactory-academic-progress (SAP) flags, and generate accreditation/state-board-ready hour reports. This is the defining object of a clock-hour school and no current tab tracks per-student hours.
• Title IV financial-aid billing + R2T4 return-of-funds (Treasury): Model financial-aid disbursements alongside cash tuition: schedule aid drawdowns, track the 90/10 ratio, and auto-compute the pro-rata Return of Title IV (R2T4) refund when a student withdraws. Tuition keyTab explicitly pairs tuition with financial-aid billing.
• State enrollment agreement with required disclosures + e-sign (Scribe): Templated state-mandated enrollment agreement carrying the required disclosures and pro-rata refund policy, e-signed at enrollment and retained. Enrollment agreements are legally gating before a student can start.
• Cohort / program object with roster + completion tracking (Quartermaster): A cohort object (program, start/end, capacity) with an enrolled roster and per-student completion/graduation status that feeds gainful-employment and completion-rate reporting. Turns generic class scheduling into program-cohort management.
• Instructor license + CE renewal tracker (Watchtower): Per-instructor occupational license (cosmetology/barber/HVAC/CDL board) and continuing-education hours with expiry alerts, since instructor licensing + CE is a board requirement to keep teaching.
• Student-records retention vault (Scribe): Retain transcripts and clock-hour records for the state-mandated retention period with controlled access, satisfying student-records-retention obligations after graduation/withdrawal.

The agents and tabs you get

Sentinel for a trade surfaces Overview, Contacts, Tasks, Chat. Treasury for a trade surfaces Invoices, Transactions, Financial sheet, Sales tax, Chat. Watchtower for a trade surfaces Compliance items, Calendar, Overview, Chat. Quartermaster for a trade surfaces Calendar, Events, Bookings, Availability, Chat. Herald for a trade surfaces Get found, Directories, Compose, ✦Studio, Schedule, Brand voice, Chat.

Frequently asked questions

best software for cosmetology school management

Dedicated options include Meevo, STARS, Prestige, GuestVision, EnvisionNow and Beauty School Boss, which combine student hours, clinic scheduling and grading. For the business side (CRM, scheduling, payroll, books, marketing) Arkathos runs it under flat pricing.

how much does cosmetology school management software cost

Most vendors quote privately by active-student count; one lists a web version around $3,995 plus annual hosting. Arkathos uses flat pricing with no per-seat fees, so admin, front desk and instructors all share one plan.

how to track student clock hours for state board

State boards require an exact daily time-clock record per student, with monthly hour reporting for clock-hour schools. Use a dedicated SIS with clock-in/out; Arkathos scheduling and reminders keep the surrounding operations and reporting deadlines on track.

trade school student information system with financial aid

A clock-hour SIS (CoreCampus, Campus Cafe, poliSCHOOL) ties attendance to SAP for Title IV Pell and loan packaging. Arkathos does not disburse aid, but handles the CRM, scheduling, payroll and bookkeeping around it.

how do i increase enrollment at my trade school

Capture web inquiries into a CRM, nurture with drip campaigns by program/start-date, and prioritize high-intent leads to lift conversion. Arkathos's CRM and marketing agents automate lead capture, follow-ups and outreach without extra seat costs.

do i need separate software for attendance grading and payroll

Ideally no—integrated systems avoid re-keying the same records. Clock-hour SIS platforms cover attendance and grading; Arkathos unifies payroll, bookkeeping, scheduling and compliance deadlines so instructor hours and stipends aren't reconciled by hand.

cosmetology school clinic floor scheduling and pos software

Student clinics need client online booking, drag-and-drop scheduling and a POS for services and retail—GuestVision, Meevo and EnvisionNow specialize here. Arkathos adds scheduling, invoicing and payments for the storefront side of the clinic.

trade school app for students to clock in and check schedule

Several platforms let students clock in/out from phones or tablets and view schedules remotely. Arkathos gives owners a mobile app for CRM, scheduling, payroll and finances, complementing an SIS that logs licensing hours.

all in one software to run a vocational school

Look for one system spanning admissions CRM, SIS, attendance, billing and reporting rather than stitched-together tools. Arkathos handles finances, CRM, scheduling, payroll, compliance and marketing across 16 AI agents under one flat-priced plan tailored to schools.

What licenses and insurance does a trade need?

Arkathos tracks 17 items for a trade, including Private Career / Vocational School License to Operate (State Authorization / Certificate of Approval), Proprietary / Private Vocational School License, Occupational Board Program Approval, Programmatic Accreditation (ACCSC / COE / NACCAS). Each renewal and expiration is monitored in Watchtower with staged reminders.

What continuing education is required for a trade?

The Instructor License carries a continuing-education requirement of 12 hours every two years. Watchtower logs hours by category and flags shortfalls before the deadline.

Which Arkathos agents does a trade get?

Arkathos tailors a trade workspace around 5 agents: Sentinel, Treasury, Watchtower, Quartermaster, Herald.

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