Software for karting tracks

Go-kart track software built around heats

A karting venue sells heats rather than hours: several drivers go out on the track together, and between heats the instructor gives a safety briefing and hands out helmets to the next group. Go-kart track software has to know how many karts line up at the start, how many spots are still open in the next heat, and which guests are driving for the first time. Some come as a birthday party for a single heat, others train every week and chase their own lap time, and the schedule has to work for both.

The last open spots in a Saturday heat

The track is set up as a resource, and its occupancy mode equals the number of karts that start together rather than one, as it would be for a regular employee. Each driver takes one spot, so individual guests and pairs gradually fill the heat, and once the spots run out, the booking form stops offering that time.

Rain pushed the schedule back

On an outdoor track, the weather sometimes forces several heats in a row to move. A notification rule set to "For each change" that checks only the start time field tells every driver the moment an administrator moves their booking, and a separate rule filtered by the canceled status messages those whose heat had to be dropped. Trying Telegram first, then email, with SMS last keeps messaging costs down, because a text message only goes to people who cannot be reached another way. Setting up both rules is covered in the article on notifications for moved and canceled bookings.

The instructor's phone by the pit lane

Between heats, an instructor has no time to run back to the front desk. The staff mobile app runs just as well on a company device kept by the track exit as on someone's own phone, and it lists every heat of the day with the drivers' names. For a newcomer who needs a longer briefing, the instructor adds a short note to the booking, and the staff app walkthrough covers working from a phone in more detail.

Drivers who come back every week

Regulars are sold a membership for a number of heats, and a membership discount with the "Each membership purchase" calculation type makes every third pack cheaper without the administrator stepping in. A reminder about the remaining balance lets a driver know that their pack is down to its last heat before they arrive and hear it at the front desk. Gift certificates for a heat are sold at the front desk, and cash and card payments are split across cash registers, so the cash flow report shows income from heats, packs and certificates separately.

Karting is part of the range of events and leisure formats, and clubs that run team games on an outdoor field will find a separate overview for paintball.