At the foot of Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga Christian School (CCS) thrives as a vibrant community where excellence, faith, and a deep care for each student are at the heart of everything they do. The school’s dedication to honoring the unique gifts of its students shines through programs like The Learning Center, while partnering with local churches to offer micro schools helps make a Christian education accessible to as many families as possible.

Chattanooga Christian School knew that realizing its mission to the fullest required operational processes that would support—not distract from—the school’s purpose. With their contract and billing processes consuming valuable staff time, CCS found themselves spending increasing time troubleshooting issues rather than focusing on their mission.

‍

Faster Re-Enrollment and More Time For What Matters

“We used to have to manage 15 different contracts, all very similar, but with little nuances that meant we had to have unique contracts. Now we have one template that we can customize however we need to, and everything is in one place ” shared Holli Hancock, Director of Parent Accounts at Chattanooga Christian School.

With a streamlined process, CCS was able to deliver a smoother experience for families while saving time for their team.  

“With Clarity we saw our re-enrollment contracts turn a lot quicker.”

“Typically, at halfway through our 2-week return window we saw 30 to 35% completion. This year we were at 55%. As a larger school, that makes a big difference for us," explained Hancock.

“We were also able to cut our follow-up efforts by more than 50% when tracking students’ intent to return to school,” she added.

“In previous years this process involved phone calls with 130 families, taking up many peoples’ time across multiple days. This year that number dropped to just 60, and we were able to spend those days we got back tackling bigger priorities.”

‍

Eliminating Billing Processes That Broke Trust

Grappling with confusing billing processes and a lack of customer service also had the Chattanooga Christian School team frustrated and struggling to maintain efficiency. 

“What really pushed us to make a change was actually our billing system,” explained Hancock. “I had a family with a simple request to change their payment plan from 2- to 12-pay. I very quickly realized that once the payment plan was changed, data from months prior was deleted and all you could see was the new payment plan,” she continued.

“We would close month-end and then look back the next month and see that the accounting history had changed. There was a clear lack of integrity on the accounting and reporting side, and I really had no trust in the numbers.”

“We also had multiple instances where families accidentally received emails about past-due balances on their accounts. The next day we would be notified that the problem was being fixed, but those emails had gone out to our families before we even knew what was going on.” Hancock explained. 

“Thankfully we didn’t lose any of our families over it, but I felt it was harming their trust in us. It was causing them to lose faith in our office and, as a parent, I would feel the same way,” she shared.

‍

An Effortless Experience Families Will Thank You For

“As soon as we sent out our contracts from Clarity we had families reach out just to tell us how straightforward it was.”

“I had never gotten positive feedback from our families about the contract process before," shared Hancock.

Contracts in Clarity are designed to be transparent and simple for all families to read and understand, removing the barriers to quick signatures and deposits.

“A lot of families used to have a hard time deciphering their payment schedule from their contract. With Clarity they can see the amount dynamically change as they make different selections and then they can clearly see their payment schedule by month before they sign. It’s empowering for our families, and we’re no longer having to answer payment schedule questions during what is a really busy time for our team,” added Hancock.

“When it comes to invoices in Clarity, the view that parents get is dramatically better than what they’ve had in the past. It's logical and they can now do the math themselves because it shows the puts and takes. It couldn’t be more clear.”

‍

The Power of True Partnership

“My previous experience of customer service was one that eroded my trust that the software had established any best practices or was purposefully designed,” explained Hancock. “It was frustrating, to say the least.”

“Our experience with Clarity has been the polar opposite. Our Client Success Manager truly feels like an extension of our team,” Hancock shared.

“She’s there to guide us, to be a second pair of eyes on the decisions we make, and to sit down and work through any issues that arise for us. That’s real customer service, and a true partnership.”