ClerkHound Software Suite to Debut at 2023 NAMM Show; Software Built for Music Stores by a Music Store

BillingHound and CheckingHound, powered by Maast partnership, integrates seamlessly to enable payments and banking as a unified experience

ANAHEIM, Calif., April 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The ClerkHound software suite, including RosterHound, BillingHound and CheckingHound, was introduced today at the 2023 NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention Center. This new merchant software caters to the unique requirements of music stores for retail, instrument rental and repair, and lessons.

Chris Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer of ClerkHound, knows the daily challenges of music store owners, as the owner of Pladd Dot Music in Statesboro, Georgia, as well as the creator of CMG Guitars and Devilcat Amps. When he couldn't find an adequate software solution to help run his multidisciplinary business, which includes a music store, instrument rental and repair, lessons, and even manufacturing, he partnered with software engineers, Russell Thackston, Chief Technology Officer of ClerkHound, and Laura Thackston, Chief Operations Officer of ClerkHound.

"Anyone who owns a music shop knows what an incredibly rewarding experience it can be, but they also know it comes with unusual demands, most of which can't be easily addressed with traditional small business software," said Mitchell. "We designed our software so music stores can manage all aspects of their businesses including retail, rentals, repairs, and lessons."

ClerkHound powers the sales and customer management for the retail, rental and repair aspects of music stores. RosterHound gamifies the music lesson experience by enabling instructors, students, and parents to track progress, and simplify back-office operations like scheduling. BillingHound helps store owners get paid with recurring billing and automated invoicing. CheckingHound is a fully digital banking experience built for music store owners to help them access and use their hard-earned money. The software addresses common industry challenges by simplifying experiences that allow music store owners to concentrate on building their businesses.

NAMM Show attendees will experience software demonstrations and possibly win a one-of-a-kind, American-made CMG Guitar ($5,000 value) in the shape of Capo, the ClerkHound French Bulldog mascot, or an American-made, hand-wired, Class-A Devilcat tube Amplifier ($1,199 value) at Booth #5127.

Get paid and bank from anywhere

To create BillingHound and CheckingHound, the team partnered with Maast®, a start-up whose mission is to make true embedded finance attainable. Integrated within ClerkHound and RosterHound, BillingHound enables music store owners to accept payments online or in store with invoicing, recurring billing, virtual/POS terminals and more. With CheckingHound, music store owners can access, move, and use hard-earned money when and where they need it with a business checking account, contactless Visa business debit card, and mobile app. There is $0 required to open an account, no minimum deposits, no bill pay fees and unlimited deposits. For additional protection, music store owners can safeguard their businesses with end-to-end secure and protected transactions and $250,000 FDIC insurance per depositor from Synovus Bank, Member FDIC, a trusted bank in the Southeast with a stable 130-year history of innovation.

"Maast is helping the ClerkHound Software Suite become a one-stop-shop for music store owners by offering embedded finance – payments and banking – as features in the software," said Ernie Moran, Maast's Chief Revenue Office. "With a single contract and integration, Maast's hyper-verticalized approach simplifies how music store owners move money by combining payments and banking into one centralized experience." 

Additional Resources

• Video of CEO Chris Mitchell discussing ClerkHound
• Chris Mitchell's head shot
• ClerkHound logo
• ClerkHound screen shot
• CheckingHound screen shot

About the ClerkHound Software Suite
The ClerkHound Software Suite was designed in 2023 for music stores by a music store owner. Chris Mitchell, owner of Pladd Dot Music and manufacturer of CMG Guitars and Devilcat Amps, couldn't find a software to solve his unique needs as a music store owner, so he partnered with Russell and Laura Thackston of ThackApps LLC to build a suite of tools to meet his needs. The ClerkHound Software Suite solutions have all been designed to work seamlessly with each other while also catering to the unique retail, repair, rental, and lesson needs of individual music store owners. Visit clerkhound.com to sign up or get a demo.

About Maast
Embedded finance is hard. Maast is an embedded finance start-up that aspires to remove tech and operational barriers so software providers can focus on what they do best – deliver hyper-verticalized solutions for business owners. Founded in 2022 to make true embedded finance attainable, Maast offers payments and banking – with more on the way – as features in software providers' platforms, under their brand. Maast is a wholly owned subsidiary of Synovus Bank, Member FDIC. Visit maast.com and follow us on LinkedIn to learn how we are helping our partners bank on their platform.

SOURCE Maast