Overview
Gracie Barra is one of the largest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu organizations in the world, with a franchise network of more than 800 schools in many countries. Every school handles the same things: memberships, payments, class schedules, belt promotions, events and merchandise.
No single school was the problem. The network was. With 800+ schools each running their own way, headquarters had no consistent way to manage operations, follow members or keep the standards a franchise depends on.
How the schools used to run
Each school chose its own tools. Some used spreadsheets, some bought standalone apps, some kept paper logs, and a few had nothing formal at all.
- A visiting student was a stranger. A member who wanted to train at another school had to be checked by hand, which annoyed the member and cost the instructor time.
- Headquarters was guessing. There was no current view of membership, revenue, attendance or belt progression across the network. Reports were compiled by hand and never complete.
- Every new school started from zero. Opening a school meant choosing tools, training staff on improvised processes and hoping the result matched the brand.
- The member experience varied. A franchise sells consistency, and the tools couldn’t provide it.
What Gracie Barra built
Gracie Barra and Kinetic built one school management platform and moved the network onto it.
- One membership record. Sign-up, member profiles and accounts are handled the same way at every school, from shared member data. A student can train at any location without a manual check.
- One way to take payments. Membership fees, event registrations and merchandise sales go through the same payment process, so schools bill consistently and headquarters can see the money across the network.
- Classes and attendance. Schedules, attendance and class capacity run on the same platform everywhere. Instructors record attendance on a screen instead of on paper.
- Belt progression in one place. Promotions are recorded centrally, which keeps grading consistent and gives instructors each student’s full history, even when that student trains at several schools.
- Schools join in phases. There was no single cutover. New schools come onto the platform through a repeatable process, one group at a time.
Results
- 800+ schools on the same platform. Every location runs the same workflows instead of its own patchwork.
- Members are recognized everywhere. A student’s membership, attendance history and belt rank go with them to any Gracie Barra school.
- Less admin for instructors. Staff spend less time on data entry, payment tracking and scheduling, and more time on the mat.
- Headquarters can see the network. Leadership has a current view of membership, revenue, attendance and progression across every school.
- Opening a school is routine. New schools start on a working platform with standard processes, so growth doesn’t multiply the operational work.
Before and after
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| School operations | Each school’s own tools | One platform for the network |
| Training at another school | Checked by hand | Recognized automatically |
| Payments | Different at every school | One payment process |
| Belt tracking | Local records, no standard | One progression record |
| Headquarters view | Manual, incomplete reports | Network-wide dashboards |
| Opening a new school | Start from scratch | Repeatable, phased rollout |