Since time immemorial, the very purpose of digital solutions is to improve efficiency, accuracy, and reliability of business operations by automating and streamlining business processes. These have benefited not only businesses from the retail industry but also those that are service-oriented like fitness centers. In fact, nowadays, a huge number of gyms across the globe have already invested for a positive transition through the use of an automated system. This has pushed other gym owners who wish to provide their customers the same convenience and flexibility to be in the hunt for a good gym software that can surely help them retain their old customers and expand their clientele, thereby increasing their revenue in the long run.
If you are one of those gym owners, before you make such a huge investment, it pays to know well the perks that you are paying for. In this article, we will tackle what a gym software is and the features you should look for in choosing one.
Choosing a Gym Software
A gym software is a type of system that not only stores and preserves all gym-related information but also provides a computerized means to manage memberships, bookings, gym class schedules, and billing and collection. It eliminates the time-consuming, paper-and-pen approach of doing such things and allows gym owners, staff, and trainers to focus more on improving their services, boosting the business in entirety.
When it comes to options, the online market is flooded with many which vary mostly in terms of price and features. More often than not, the more features a gym software has, the pricier it gets. However, your choice should still depend on your requirements. Even if you have allotted more than enough budget for it, the only way you can get the best value of your investment is if the features you will be paying for will significantly help push your gym forward.
At its core, your gym software should have the following essential features:
1. Membership Management
One of the processes that eat up a lot of time in managing a fitness center is the membership management that covers the registration of new gym members and the maintenance and monitoring of customer/member-related data. Technically, if a gym software does not have a membership management feature, then it is not worth investing.
This feature aims to serve customers better and give a highly satisfactory experience by cutting down the registration and check-in and check-out time. The productivity of the employees can also improve as they will have more time to spend on other administrative tasks.
Depending on the advancement of the membership management feature, this can also allow gym members to access their accounts where all information about their membership, training sessions, classes, and bills are indicated. If you wish to provide this perk to your clientele, make sure that the gym software you will buy is web-based or comes with a mobile app version. In this age where everyone is spending more time on their phones and tablets rather than on computers, a gym app can serve as a big edge over the competition.
2. Automation of Administrative Tasks
This feature enables the management and authorized staff to use all the features in the dashboard that can aid in their managerial and administrative responsibilities such as viewing financial and sales reports, responding to inquiries, taking bookings, and a lot more. This feature provides electronic storage and easy retrieval of important information.
3. Invoices and Sales Module
This feature aims to streamline the billing and invoicing processes to achieve a well-organized operation. It will automatically compute the dues of the gym members on a monthly basis taking into consideration the dates of their registration and the classes they are enrolled in and then send out automatic bill notifications to each member’s account.
More sophisticated gym software offer different payment options such as credit and debit cards, and direct debits, thereby providing convenience and enhancing the members’ overall experience.
4. Reports Generation
Through real-time reports generation, insights presentation, and analysis, this feature aims to assist gym owners and managers to make better decisions in light of how the business is doing. Since the report can easily pinpoint the areas that need to be focused and improved on, this will also encourage gym owners to be more proactive and creative in coming up with marketing strategies to invite more customers and retain loyal members.
A good gym software should be able to give you an insight into essential key areas like total revenue, membership sales and retention, lead management and conversion, attendance rates, and employee costs.
5. Mobile App Version
It is not a secret how millions of people are sticking their eyes on their mobile screens many hours a day. In the United States alone, one study shows that people check their phones around 52 times on a daily basis. With this, having a gym software that comes with a mobile app will definitely get you the needed competitive advantage. You can make sales, invite new customers, and respond to inquiries via mobile. Meanwhile, your loyal members can also access their accounts, check your new gym class offerings, and enroll themselves whenever and wherever they want. Enabling mobile payment platforms will also take their experience to the next level.
6. Social Media Integration
If you want to take advantage of your market share in social media platforms and you want to stay connected to your target market but you do want to tame your staff and prevent them from surfing the web beyond work, then this feature is for you. This feature enables users to connect on social media sites using your official social media account through a built-in social media channel.
While the above mentioned features can definitely benefit your gym business, having a user-friendly and easy-to-navigate gym software dashboard is also necessary. Since whenever you access your gym software, your dashboard will be the first view to welcome you, how it is designed, built, and displayed can either keep your eyes and attention on it or draw them away.
