Best Fitness Management Software 2021

Guide to Selecting Gym Management Software

In this guide, we’ll look at the features, pricing, and benefits of gym management software. Selecting the right gym management software can help streamline several back end duties, which will allow you to focus on growing your gym and investing in your members.

With a never-ending list of administrative tasks, gym staff spend much more time in the office than many members would believe. However, selecting the right gym management software can help streamline several backend duties that drain time and resources, which will allow you and your staff to focus on growing your gym and investing in your members.

In this guide, we’ll look at the most common features found in gym management software, and explain how the right gym management software can help benefit your business.

Table of Contents

How Much Does Gym Management Software Cost?

Today, most gym management systems are cloud-based, and charge a monthly fee that varies based on the number of staff you have, the number of members in your gym, and the number of locations your gym has. Most systems also offer several packages, with varying functionality, so you'll want to select a package that only has the functionality you'll need, otherwise you'll be paying for modules that you won't actually use.

On average, you can expect to pay about $125-$200/month for gym management software for a single location, with additional charges for integrated websites and custom mobile apps. Note that if you run a personal training business rather than a full-fledged gym, you should consider using personal trainer software, which costs substantially less (tens of dollars per month) and will have more relevant features for your needs.

To give you an idea of how much different gym management software systems cost, here are some of the top options on the market, along with their current pricing:

  • MINDBODY: Various packages are available starting at $125 per month and up to $395 per month.
  • WellnessLiving: Professional plan typically costs $199/month, but is 50% off for SoftwarePundit readers through our referral link.
  • Zen Planner: Monthly subscription based on the number of active gym members, with an additional charge for an integrated website. For gyms with 400+ active members, software will cost $155/month, with an additional $150/month charge for an integrated website.
  • Glofox: Packages range from $100-190/month.
  • Pike13: Pricing begins at $129/month for a business package, $179 for a pro package, and custom pricing for enterprise customers.
  • Wodify: $1.75/member per month, with no minimum.

What are the benefits of gym management software?

Gym management software provides a powerful set of tools that will help save your staff time, and improve your members' overall customer satisfaction. This software helps organize all aspects of your business in one central location, and enables you to perform many essential tasks on your computer or tablet. Rather than having to manage your business through paper, which can result in lost information or manual error, leveraging gym management software is one of the best ways to help streamline your business.

Manage your business through one system

One of the key benefits of gym management software is the ability to efficiently manage all operational aspects of your business in one central location. Since gym management software enables you to process payments, schedule classes, bill members, book appointments, and generate reports, you won't have to switch between different systems in order to perform various tasks -- all of the required information will be right in front of you.

By simplifying daily administrative tasks, you and your team will have more time to focus on the important aspects of your business, like building client relationships and acquiring new leads. After all, nobody entered the fitness industry for the paperwork!

Lead management

Software that facilitates lead management is an essential element of any membership-based business. As competition increases, your sales team must be equipped to capture, nurture, and successfully convert leads. Gym management software provides an integrated solution that streamlines the entire sales process, ranging from lead generation and prospecting to acquisition.

Managers can use software to implement a proactive sales strategy that is automated and standardized across the sales team. By setting up call prompts to follow up on promising prospects, you can make sure that you never let promising leads slip through the cracks. You can also engage potential and current members with automated email campaigns and increase conversions with targeted SMS messages.

Automated billing

Automated billing provides a more cost-effective and efficient way to receive membership payments. Any quality gym management software will incorporate automated billing, which allows you to collect and manage recurring payments from your members.

Also, many systems provide integrated payment processing through your website, and handle late payment fees, as well as support for automated membership renewals. Since many gyms these days have more complicated membership options beyond simple monthly payments, if your gym offers more complex membership options, you'll want to make sure that your gym management software is able to support them. If not, the system can cause you a lot of headaches.

Membership management

Members are the life-force of your gym. However, managing your members and meeting their expectations can be challenging and time-consuming. Automating day-to-day processes by providing members with online access to view class schedules, book classes, and manage information themselves can free up administrative time, enabling you and your staff to focus on other aspects of the business.

Members can also benefit from the added security of a highly regarded gym management software, which provides a safe place to organize and manage private information. Members can often set custom goals and track their progress at anytime, anywhere. This not only helps you get to know your members better, but also ensures that they stay motivated, engaged, and keep coming back.

Some systems enable gym members to interact with instructors and other class participants, which can be a powerful way to help foster a sense of community, especially in boutique gyms and studios where people tend to take the same classes regularly.

Staff management

By utilizing software that incorporates staff management tools, you can assist your team and help them do their job more efficiently with less frustration. Most gym software management programs provide functionality to rapidly resolve staff scheduling issues, organize duties with task management systems, and support internal communication and collaboration.

Ultimately, the right gym management software system will increase productivity for your staff, which will lead to happier employees, and higher member satisfaction.

Insightful metrics and reports

Gym management software enables gym owners to generate insightful reports and track growth against goals. You can monitor a range of important metrics, such as total revenue, lead conversion, membership sales, membership retention, attendance rate, and employee costs.

Trainers can also generate reports regarding the performance of each member and easily share progress charts and metrics with clients, which can help keep them engaged and motivate them to succeed.

What to consider when selecting gym management software

Choosing the best gym management software isn’t always an easy decision. Keep the following questions in mind as you evaluate different options.

Does the system have a mobile app?

Gym members are quickly going mobile. As such, they expect specific training tools and apps to be readily available from a mobile device, and your gym should cater to this growing trend. From tracking workout progress to reserving classes and even paying bills, your fundamental operations should be easy to access and able to be used on all devices. Mobile apps can also strengthen your community and help you better engage with your customers.

Some systems are able to provide you a custom branded app, specifically for your gym. Customers can then download this app, and interact directly with your business. This can be a powerful way to increase engagement with your members, and can greatly increase customer loyalty.

Can the software integrate with your website?

Does your potential software provider offer website integration and branded web tools? Your gym management software should reflect your brand and give users the same look and feel as your website, providing a seamless experience. As such, it's important to make sure that your potential management system can integrate with your current site.

Most gym management software providers can offer full integration and branded web tools that work with all major website platforms such as WordPress, Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace. Check that your website is compatible and your members can view, book, and pay for your services in one central location.

What type of customer support does the software vendor provide?

From the onboarding process, to ongoing technical support, you need a software provider who can respond to and solve your problems quickly.

Excellent customer support may include an online resource section covering all aspects of the software (FAQ, blog posts, instructional videos, etc.), live chat, email or phone support. Look for providers who commit to customer service, and have received excellent feedback from other users.

What are your exact needs?

Most software provide the basic functionality needed to run your gym. However, some providers may be stronger in specific areas than others, such as marketing, community engagement or mobile. There are also a range of additional features to choose depending on the plan, which can enhance your users’ experience and improve your overall operations.

Before you start looking at gym management software, you should know exactly what you need. How does your team spend its time? What areas can you improve on? What are your short-term and long-term goals?

Each program is different and comes with a unique user interface, specialized apps, and features that provide a different experience. If you take the time to determine exactly what you want to improve and optimize, you’ll be able to choose gym management software that meets most, or all of your needs.

Bottom line

In today's world, running a gym means navigating an increasingly competitive industry. Leveraging gym management software is a powerful way to help streamline operations, so that you can focus on growing your business, and providing the best customer experience possible.

We recommend experimenting with a free trial or scheduling a demo with any software vendor that you are interested in. This gives you a risk-free opportunity to ask questions based on your specific needs, while seeing benefits of the software firsthand. Selecting the right software will require investing some time on speaking with different vendors in order to evaluate their system, but the time and effort can easily pay off, since the right gym management software can help set your gym up for success for many years to come.

Bruce Hogan

Bruce Hogan is Co-founder & CEO of SoftwarePundit. He leads the team's research and publishes content about software products and trends. Bruce has experience investing at multi-billion dollar private equity firms, leading teams at venture-backed technology companies, and launching new businesses. You can connect with Bruce on LinkedIn.

Bruce is an expert in several software categories including:

  • Dental software
  • Mental health software
  • SEO software
  • Social media software

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