How to Know When Multiple Locations in One Database Is the Way to Go!

Contributor(s): Amber Smith, Jan Nielsen, Janet Bartlett



Jackrabbit allows you to create as many locations as you need for your database. Locations were intended for organizations that have multiple physical locations, however, some customers set up locations based on programs they offer (e.g. children activity centers that offer dance, gymnastics, karate, etc).

If you are not using Locations in Jackrabbit for separate locations operated by your organization, you may find the following helpful when deciding the best way to set up your database:

  • Your dashboard shows all locations. You can see revenue, enrollment, alerts, and much more at a quick glance for all of your families, regardless of location.
  • Organizational settings only have to be set up one time. This includes your logo, email notifications, users, staff, online registration, parent portal, and staff settings.
  • Families have one Parent Portal to log into, making it easy for parents to enroll their students and keep their accounts up to date.
  • All of your families will have the same set of legalese (policies). You do not have to create multiple sets of policies for each location, making it simple for you!

While locations are there for you to use as you see fit, it is important to know how locations can affect revenue reporting when locations are close together and families can be enrolled in classes at both locations:

  • Revenue is reported based on the family location. If a family is assigned to Location 1 and they have classes at Location 1 and 2, ALL revenue will be reported in Location 1. 
  • The QuickBooks export from Jackrabbit does not break down by location. You should export separately, for each individual location, to complete your deposit and reconcile. 
  • If you are set up for multi-location ePayments, the payments received from families will be deposited into the eCommerce bank account assigned to the family location. 
  • If you have a multi-location, multi-gateway account, this affects the family’s card on file. If you need to change the family’s location from Location 1 to Location 2, you must delete the credit card, change the family’s location, then re-enter the credit card. 

Not sure what kind of setup (multi-location, multi-gateway or multi-location, single gateway) you have? Contact our eCommerce team for assistance. 

Organizations that run in to these problems have found it helpful to have multiple databases. Why would you want to have separate databases?

  • Your organization covers multiple states with different tax rates (if you do not tax tuition or other class-related fees, this would only apply to store items you may have, if you charge tax).
  • Your locations have different pay periods.
  • Each location needs to be branded with a different logo, web registration form, policies (legalese), parent portal, etc.
  • While store reports can be pulled by database locations, you cannot pull reports by store account. It is, essentially, one store per database.

If you are still unsure if multiple locations in one database will work for you, don’t hesitate to contact Support by clicking the Help button in your database.


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