AMES vs BookWhen
A general-purpose event and class booking system popular with small businesses and community groups.
Activity providers outgrow BookWhen when they need teaching tools, progression tracking, and parent communication beyond what a general booking widget can offer.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
A detailed look at how AMES and BookWhencompare across the features that matter most to children's activity providers.
Booking & Scheduling
Payment Processing
Communication
Reporting & Analytics
Teaching & Progression
Compliance & Safety
Why Operators Switch to AMES
Activity providers across the UK are moving from BookWhen to AMES. Here is what makes the difference.
Beyond bookings
BookWhen is excellent at what it does: taking bookings. But running a children's activity business requires teaching tools, progression tracking, compliance management, and parent engagement. AMES covers the full picture.
Recurring payment automation
AMES handles direct debit, automated recurring billing, pro-rata calculations, and payment reminders natively. BookWhen relies on Stripe for one-off payments and lacks native recurring billing or GoCardless integration.
Parent portal and communication
Give parents their own portal with real-time visibility into their child's classes, progress, and upcoming sessions. BookWhen sends booking confirmations but does not provide an ongoing parent experience.
Teaching workflow integration
Digital registers, skill assessments, and progression tracking are built into the same system as your bookings. No more switching between a booking platform and a spreadsheet to run your classes.
Pricing at a Glance
Transparent pricing so you can make an informed decision.
AMES
Revenue-share model. No monthly fee. AMES earns a small % of payments processed — all-in-one, purpose-built for activity providers.
BookWhen
Affordable base price for basic bookings. Higher tiers needed for integrations and advanced features.
Switching Is Easier Than You Think
Moving from BookWhen to AMES does not mean starting from scratch. We handle the heavy lifting so you can focus on running your business.
Book a demo
See AMES in action with a personalised walkthrough tailored to your activity type and business size.
Free data migration
Our team migrates your existing customer data, class schedules, and booking history from BookWhen at no extra cost.
Go live with confidence
We provide onboarding support, staff training, and a dedicated contact to ensure a smooth transition.
See AMES in Action
Ready to see how AMES can replace BookWhen and transform the way you run your activity business? Book a free demo today.
