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Introducing Stratus Online - The Next Generation

 

Today, we are thrilled to announce Stratus Online, the next generation of Stratus—available now in preview!

I started StudioPlus almost 30 years ago, with StudioPlus version 1.0 hitting the market in March 1998. Since then, our product has evolved through every major shift in the industry—from film to digital to the internet to the cloud. Stratus Online marks the beginning of the next one: artificial intelligence.

With AI, we can now build new products and features at speeds we couldn’t have imagined just a couple of years ago. And AI is making the product itself smarter, more proactive, and more helpful—all of it focused on one thing: helping you build a more successful business.

So, what is Stratus Online? It starts with a new admin portal for managing your online tools. Today, that means Bookings, Payments, and Forms. We’re also excited to introduce Asta, your AI assistant—all of it directly integrated into the Stratus you use today. We’ll take a deeper dive into each in the coming weeks. For now, here’s a taste.

Bookings

When we set out to update our online booking module, we had one goal: build the best online booking service in the world. Not to brag, but I think we did just that.

  • Automatic timeslot generation based on your business rules.
  • Unlimited custom page flows to match your business requirements precisely.
  • Magic link logins that remove login friction for your customers and dramatically reduce duplicate client records.
  • New booking pages for promo codes, additional questions, age verification, custom content, and more.
  • Seamless payment integration to take a deposit, create an invoice with a partial or full payment, or simply keep a card on file for later.
  • A rich new dashboard that tells you exactly what you need to know to increase bookings: conversion rates, abandonment rates, booking funnels, demand and capacity heat maps, revenue at risk, and more.

Payments

Once we set out to build an entirely new, modern, customer-facing platform, we knew right away that we needed more from our credit card processing options. A modern customer platform needed a modern payment platform, built from the ground up. So we’re introducing StudioPlus Payments, powered by Stripe.

  • Get paid faster. With more ways to pay—swipe, chip, tap, mobile wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay), ACH, and gift cards—you’ll see money hit your account faster than ever.
  • Increase your sales averages by offering your own customizable payment plans or buy now, pay later (BNPL) options through Affirm, Afterpay/Clearpay, or Klarna.
  • Cut your costs with competitive processing fees, optional credit card surcharging to offset them, and lower rates when you process cards on a Stripe payment device.
  • Make it convenient. One-click payment links you can text or email, or a payment QR code, so clients can pay directly from their phone through your new online payment portal.
  • Reward your team with new optional tipping.

Forms

Capturing client information and getting it into Stratus has never been easier.

  • Lead inquiry forms. In minutes, build a form with a simple drag-and-drop builder and embed it on your website. Every submission creates a new client record in Stratus, ready for trigger-based marketing.
  • Session planning forms. Embed them right in your booking flows to capture as much information as you want, tied directly to the session record.
  • Conditional logic. Fields automatically show or hide based on what your client enters, for a truly personalized experience.

Asta

Meet Asta, your new AI assistant. Have you ever wanted your own full-time StudioPlus guru to manage the software for you? Now you have one. Asta is built natively into Stratus Online to help you get more done, faster.

  • Have a question or need help with setup? Asta has full working knowledge of every StudioPlus product.
    • Where do I set the default duration for the Runway session type?
    • Give me step-by-step instructions for sending my clients an automated SMS reminder the morning of their session.
  • Need information but don’t have time to look it up?
    • Does Jane Smith have an outstanding balance?
    • What’s my schedule tomorrow?
  • Want someone to do the work for you?
    • Update Sarah Johnson’s email to Sarah@HerCompany.com.
    • Build me a confirmation email with the standard confirmation merge fields using my company branding.
  • Want someone to keep an eye on things so you can focus on what matters most?
    • Email me any day my bookings drop below 5.
    • Email me at 5 pm with the client names from any abandoned booking attempts in the previous 24 hours.

Just ask Asta.

What’s Next

Stratus Online is just getting started. In the coming months, you’ll be having real-time conversations with your clients in our new chat app. You’ll be managing your entire marketing platform from inside Stratus—from lead generation to campaign tracking to marketing ROI dashboards. And you’ll soon have a new CRM app running on your preferred device: mobile, tablet, PC, or Mac.

Join the Preview

Get a first look at these new tools and join the businesses that are already up and running with Stratus Online. We’ll help you get started!

Book a one-on-one meeting with a Stratus Coach below to get started today!