If you own or manage a fitness center like I do, you understand how hard it can be to get things done; especially when it comes to managing everything from the daily operations of your business (like scheduling appointments) to managing your finances. You could hire an employee … but that means paying someone else to do something you could be doing – if not better – yourself! But hold on a second! Before you start getting all hot-under-the-collar about how important your job is and how busy you are, let me stop you for a minute.
In this article, you are going to stay how to improve your business using gym management software for a profit. Gym management software is one of the best ways to increase profits, save money, and improve operations. I want to share with you my review of some of the most widely used gym management software.
Coast
Best program for managing your staff and gym facilities.
Coast is a great gym management option for managing your team and tracking essential operations in your fitness facility. Using Coast, you can easily stay in touch with employees, share and manage schedules, create to-do lists, and manage work orders when equipment malfunctions. Coast is available for both mobile and desktop use, and offers a free basic plan.
Key Features:
- Easily send information to your team and keep everyone in the loop;
- Create and track daily “to-do” checklists—ranging from opening and closing checklists to cleaning tasks;
- Build schedules effortlessly, and increase employee accountability with automatic shift reminders;
- Share the business calendar to keep your team up-to-date with important events, workout classes, and more;
- Create, track, and assign work orders to manage maintenance in your facility.
Pros:
- Mobile app ensures team access from anywhere;
- “Seen by” feature improves team accountability;
- Easy to use, and quick set-up process;
- Recurring feature enables daily automation of checklists and tasks;
- Acts as an all-in-one solution for communications, scheduling, tasks, and work orders.
Cons:
- No ability to set an hourly-recurring task or checklist;
- Limited emoji reactions for messages;
- Limited integrations to point of sales (POS) system.
What People Think About Managing Their Gym with Coast:
- Capterra – 5/5
- G2 – 5/5
- Google Play Store – 4.4/5
- Apple App Store – 4.7/5
Pricing:
Free Plan: Yes — includes unlimited messaging, scheduling, and tasks, plus file storage up to 5 GB. Try Coast for free now to improve your gym operations!
Paid Plans: Several.
- The Starter plan is available for $4 a user per month.
- The Plus plan is available for $8 a user per month.
- The price of the Professional plan (for larger teams) is undisclosed on the Coast website, but a demo of the software may be requested.
Zen Planner
Best program for marketing + brand awareness for your gym.
Zen Planner is a comprehensive software that enables easy scheduling, member self-service, generation of customized reports, and many other helpful features. The program also offers some built-in marketing features to drive traffic to your gym’s website, and ultimately through your front door.
Key Features:
- Quick integration with other websites and programs;
- Simplified and streamlined billing process;
- Automated functionality enables gym owners/managers to waste less time;
- Reporting feature allows easy analysis of income and revenue;
- Built-in marketing boosts gym memberships and brand awareness.
Pros:
- Members can easily check themselves in and out;
- Simple and effective integration with existing systems;
- Automated billing and scheduling increases efficiency;
- Improves client engagement and satisfaction.
Cons:
- Discrepancy between desktop and mobile app features (more limited mobile functionality);
- Program offers so many features that it can be complicated to use and learn;
- UI has a bland, dated look.
What People Think About Managing Their Gym with ZenPlanner:
- Capterra – 4.3/5
- G2 – 4.4/5
- Google Play Store – 3.2/5
- Apple App Store – 2/5
Pricing:
Free Plan: No
Paid Plans: Several based on the size of your active members.
- $117 for 0-50 members.
- $157 for 51-100 members.
- $197 for 101-250 members.
- $251 for 251+ members.
Mindbody
Best program for managing member payments.
Mindbody is a good gym management software option that improves both onsite and offsite operations. The program enables live streaming for fitness classes without any fancy equipment—all you need is a smart phone. Users will enjoy a simple and intuitive design that makes it easy to lead a virtual workout class. Mindbody is available for desktop download, as well as for mobile and tablet use.
Key Features:
- Ability to teach fitness classes online with live stream and on demand video;
- Built-in marketing helps you grow your client base;
- Flexible point of sale that allows your client to pay online or in person;
- Works with your brand image to create a customized app interface your clients will recognize;
- Allows self-serve instant check-in for members;
- Intuitive integration streamlines booking & scheduling from any device.
Pros:
- Easily monitor attendance and sales from anywhere;
- Recurring workshops, classes, and payment set-up saves time;
- Virtual functionality (live streaming, etc.) makes classes more accessible to members;
- Clients get their own profile to manage their membership, payment methods, and reserve spots in class.
Cons:
- Difficult to use, navigate, and onboard new employees;
- User interface has an outdated and cluttered feel;
- Too many updates result in having to frequently relearn the software.
What People Think About Managing Their Gym with Coast:
- Capterra – 4.5/5
- G2 – 3.7/5
- Google Play Store – 4.5/5
- Apple App Store – 4.9/5
Pricing:
Free Plan: No
Paid Plans: Several.
- The Starter plan is available for $129 per month.
- The Accelerate plan is available for $259 per month.
- The Ultimate plan is available for $399 per month.
- The Ultimate Plus plan is available for $599 per month.
Glofox
Glofox is rapidly emerging as one of the best software on the market. The reasons are many: dashboard, graphics, and user experience are top-of-the-market. In fact, the biggest fans of the app are the users! This allowed the company to flourish at an early stage and it’s what gives them a competitive advantage today. Great features and a very efficient support make this app one that you should certainly consider when opening a new facility or when in need of updating your current technology. Moreover, Glofox integrates with Kisi allowing users to streamline access management and ensure permissions are always in sync!
Exercise.com
Exercise is an all-in-one platform offering anything from online classes management to client automation features. Trusted by thousands of businesses, Exercise.com covers the needs of both physical training facilities and virtual or remote fitness businesses. They also offer an integration with Kisi to facilitate access management for staff, members and visitors.
Gymflow
Gymflow, like many software on this list, offers several features for booking and administrating your gym or wellness facility. What sets Gymflow apart from many competitors, however, is the fact that the solution comes with many additional features dedicated to increasing customer retention and engagement that you can add to the customer’s dashboard.
Another Gymflow advantage is the pricing for sure. As a matter of fact, the solution comes with two price points: the Standard and the Pilot Program. Standard users will pay around $199 per month which is pretty in line with the competition. Pilot Program users, however, will only pay $99 and that’s because they’ll regularly have feedback sessions with the product team at Gymfklow helping them to progress the software.
If you’re looking for a great gym management software, we definitely recommend you look into their product offering. Because of the quality that Gymflow brings to the table, we have partnered with them to create an integration that raises your facility’s ceiling in terms of security. Check it out here.
TWIN OAKS
Twin Oaks offers various software solutions to work for your gym, fitness club, or wellness business.
They have cloud software that deals with online bookings, client editing, and business reports. Then they have desktop software that handles front desk check-ins, file maintenance, and accounts receivable.
Recently, they have introduced their Twin Oaks Advantage Member App. This app allows members to have a more immersive and inclusive experience.
EzFacility
Best program for overseeing administrative details.
EzFacility is a unique software that caters to many areas of fitness. A few of these niches are baseball, gyms and fitness centers, ice rinks, and indoor soccer. With a dedication to making administrative tasks easier through an accessible platform, EzFacility allows you to manage scheduling, payments, member profiles, and other features directly from your phone. Unlike their competitors, they also offer a free trial version of their software.
Key Features:
- Color-coded schedule enables quick view of classes and capacity;
- Membership profiles allow easy interaction with and tracking of member activity;
- POS system is accessible from all devices to keep track of in-house coupons, inventory, and more;
- Self-service client portal allows members to manage their own accounts and memberships;
- Marketing tools enable business exposure and boost brand awareness.
Pros:
- Extensive reporting;
- Easy to stay organized;
- Easy to set up and user-friendly;
- Provides online access to forms, waivers, payment options, and more;
- Flexible software and easy to integrate.
Cons:
- Limit options in merchant card service integration;
- Not user friendly to let gym clients view their accounts;
- No offline capabilities;
- UI is a bit clunky;
- Learning curve for getting the most out of all provided features.
What People Think About Managing Their Gym with Coast:
- Capterra – 4.5/5
- G2 – 4.5/5
- Google Play Store – N/A
- Apple App Store – N/A
Pricing:
Free Plan: Free Trial.
Paid Plans: Several. Pricing for the plans is not disclosed.
Vagaro
Best program for features + all-in-one business versatility.
Vagaro provides a robust software experience for your gym or fitness center. With live stream capabilities, contactless features for members, an online store for your business, and many other intuitive features, Vagaro gives you everything you need to manage and run your gym with ease. The program is available for PC and mobile use, and offers a 30-day free trial.
Key Features:
- Enables easy set-up of your gym’s online store, where customers can purchase memberships, gift cards, products, and more;
- Automated reminders and notifications are great for payments, class schedules, and special events;
- Reporting feature generates comprehensive data that helps you run your business;
- Calendar acts as a versatile scheduler that always stays up to date;
- Live stream classes or consultations from any location;
- Marketing tools and app customization enable a tailored brand experience for customers.
Pros:
- All-in-one program is easy to use;
- Easy way to store information such as signed waiverson all gym clients;
- User-friendly for staff as well as clients;
Cons:
- Extra cost for additional features;
- Some integration issues (i.e. extracting customer history from previous software);
- Some discrepancies between PC and mobile use.
What People Think About Managing Their Gym with Coast:
- Capterra – 4.7/5
- G2 – 4.1/5
- Google Play Store – 4.4/5
- Apple App Store – 4.8/5
Pricing:
Free Plan: 30-Day Free Trial.
Paid Plans: One plan based on how many employees you have
- One employee is available for $25 per month.
- Each additional employee is an extra $10 per month.
Conclusion:
Creating and growing a personal training studio is an amazing thing. It could be something you’ve always dreamed about doing or you may have just landed a job managing a new gym chains that are popping up in your town. It can be a huge opportunity when done right, but it must be brought into existence beyond the scope of your passion for health and fitness. You won’t make any money unless you learn how to run a gym business the right way.