Gym booking software gives your gym more control over operations, and your members more control over their memberships.

But gym management and scheduling software is only as good as its implementation. Even the best solution can fail if it isn’t properly integrated, if your staff aren’t fully trained, or if your members aren’t encouraged to use it.

In this ultimate guide we’ll tell you everything you need to know about implementing a gym management and booking system into your fitness business: choosing the right tool, setting it up, going live and optimizing its performance into the future.

What is gym management software?

Gym management software, sometimes called gym booking software, is designed to help gyms, health clubs and other fitness businesses streamline their day-to-day operations, while enhancing the experience that members enjoy. These solutions tend to offer features like:

• Access control: Contactless systems grant easy access to members and allow you to decline access to unpaid or unauthorized members.
• Membership management: You and your members can easily manage profiles, bookings, renewals and payments.
• Online booking: Let members book classes online or through your app. Create waitlists that notify members when a spot opens up.
• Class scheduling: Craft class and trainer schedules, and generate data-driven insights on popular options to improve your offering.
• Payment processing: Integrate an automated billing system to collect membership fees and take payments for other products and services.
• Online signups: Integrate your gym management software with your website to let new members sign up online.
• Marketing and communication: Send important updates or enticing offers to members via email, SMS, in-app messaging or notifications.

Gym management software has fast-become a non-negotiable for modern gyms, because it:

• Automates a huge number of previously manual tasks - member signups, check-ins, bookings and more - to free up endless time for you and your workers while reducing opportunities for human error.
• Makes things more convenient and engaging for your members, by putting control over their membership in the palm of their hand.
• Generates and crunches vast amounts of data, which can be turned into insights that help your business to operate more efficiently and profitably than ever before.

In reality the question isn’t whether to implement gym management software, but how.

Let’s take a look.

Preparing to implement a gym management system

There are three important steps that precede the implementation of a gym management system:

1. Assess gym needs

The first step of implementing a gym management system is to understand what you need from that system:

• Define business goals: Are you looking to improve your operational efficiency? Boost your bottom line? Attract and retain more members? By creating SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) you’re better placed to choose a solution that will help you achieve them.
• Identify pain points: What systems and processes do you currently find time-consuming, error-prone or generally annoying? What do you most often hear complaints about from staff and members? Identify areas of improvement, whether in billing, bookings, check-ins, scheduling or communication.
• Ask your members: Survey members on the features and functionality they’d like to see in a member app. They might want 24/7 gym access, the ability to book classes, or to track their progress towards fitness goals.

2. Choose the right software

Once you understand your needs, you can shop for a solution that ticks all your boxes.

• Research your options: Compare different gym management platforms to find the one that aligns with your needs. Consider pricing in terms of the value that your chosen solution could generate for you - remember that a quality tool is an investment that can quickly pay itself back.
• Prioritize must-have features: Ensure your choice comes with essential functions like schedule management, payment processing, class booking and reporting. It will ideally come with an array of high-end features too, from 24/7 access control to marketing automation.
• Test usability: A simple and intuitive user experience is critical if you want your chosen software to be used by both your staff and your members (via a member app). Request demos of different options, and get some team members, and maybe even a few of your most trusted gym members, to give potential solutions a test drive.
• Check integrations: Ensure the software integrates with your existing tools, such as your customer relationship management (CRM) solution, payment gateways, marketing platforms, and the wearables that your members use to track their workouts.
• Consider scalability: Where do you hope to be as a gym owner in five or ten years' time? While you may not necessarily have dreams of dominating the fitness industry, you’ll probably want to be a larger and more successful business than you are today. As such you need to choose a scalable solution that can grow with your gym, accommodating more members, locations and revenue streams as and when they’re needed.
• Verify support and training: You shouldn’t be left to fend for yourself after signing up to a solution. The best vendors will always be available, ready to offer the deep levels of support you need to maximize the return you generate from your gym management software investment.

3. Plan the implementation process

Once the best gym management software is identified, your focus should turn to its successful implementation:

• Create a timeline: Once you’ve identified your ideal solution, set a basic implementation schedule, including key milestones like data migration, staff training and the go-live date.
• Prepare for data migration: Organize and clean up your existing member data (e.g. contact information, payment details) to ensure all information is accurate before being migrated to the new system. Speak with your software vendor to simplify what can feel like a complicated (and potentially overwhelming) process.
• Train staff: Conduct hands-on training sessions in partnership with your software vendor to familiarize staff with the software’s features and workflows.
• Communicate with members: Educate members about the new system. Clearly explain how it will benefit them: quick and easy booking, greater control over their membership, 24/7 gym access. Encourage them to download the mobile app to gain full value from the new system.

By following these steps, you set yourself up for a smooth transition to a gym management system that supports your business goals, and helps to attract and retain members by enhancing the member experience.

Setting up the gym software

You’ve done your due diligence and found the ideal solution. You’ve got all your ducks in a row in terms of implementation. It’s now time to set the solution up.

Installation & configuration

Work with the software vendor to install and set up your new system. This can include downloading any recent updates, creating accounts with appropriate permissions, and migrating data from your legacy system to your new system (but more on that in a moment).

Customization

Where possible, customize any client-facing elements of your new solution with your branding. The best tools will give you the opportunity to create an app that’s custom-branded to your gym, complete with your logo and colors, that you can upload to app stores for your members to download.

Load in your suite of products and services, your membership tiers and options, and organize them in an easy-to-navigate way, while maximizing upsell opportunities. Define your booking rules relating to things like class sizes, cancellations and the availability of personal training.

Integration and data migration

You’ve already checked that your chosen solution will integrate with your tech stack. Now it’s time to sync up all the tools that you currently use: CRM, calendars, payment gateways, email marketing and more.

Perhaps the most important task of all is migrating the data from your legacy system to your new gym solution. It is absolutely critical that you retain the accuracy and integrity of your gym’s data during the process, which can be done by following these steps:

1. Prepare your data: Audit and optimize your data, removing duplicate and incomplete entries, standardizing formats, and backing everything up just in case.
2. Choose your migration method: Try to automate as much of the migration as possible, as this reduces the opportunity for human error. Speak with the vendor about using an API or a third-party migration tool.
3. Data mapping & validation: Ensure fields match between old and new systems. Test the migration process with sample data, checking for any missing or corrupted information.
4. Bookings & payments: Focus on successfully migrating active bookings and recurring payment information. Notify your members of any changes to how bookings and payments are handled.
5. Post-migration checks: Verify the accuracy of migrated data. Test the system to ensure it is functioning as expected. Work to quickly identify and fix any errors, and keep backups until you are fully confident in the integrity of the new system.

Training your staff on the system

Any new system is only as good as its users. If you don’t offer your staff - and to a lesser degree your members - the training they need to successfully utilize your new tool, you have little hope of gaining maximum value from your investment, or even making it work at all.

Tips for effectively training your team on your new solution include:

• Engage early: Involve key staff in the selection and setup phases listed above, to make them feel like stakeholders, and to build familiarity and comfort with the new tool.
• Develop new processes: Work with the vendor to create new systems and processes, then train your staff up on these procedures.
• Role-based training: Tailor your training sessions for different roles, e.g. managers, front desk staff, trainers and instructors.
• Step-by-step guides: Provide quick reference materials that describe new systems and processes. Create instructional videos that staff can rewatch whenever they need to.
• Live support: Offer FAQ content, chat support or a go-to expert for any issues that staff members might face. Make use of whatever support your software vendor offers (which, if you choose a quality option, will be plenty).

Testing and going live

Before going live with your new solution, it’s critical that you conduct testing to ensure everything is working as it should.

Create and run tests that simulate how staff and members will use the tool, like booking a personal training session through your gym website, limiting the door access of an unpaid member, or checking that the correct emails and notifications are sent and received.

Consider involving a few trusted members in this test phase, to ensure that the system is working as it should, and to get feedback on what your customers want from the tool. Refine the system based on this feedback and the results of your testing, fixing issues and optimizing the system before you launch it.

Having ticked all the boxes above, it’s time to go live. Officially launch the system and encourage your members to adopt it, perhaps using discounts and prizes to incentivize members to download the app or book a class through your site. But offer a transitional period where they can still book classes using old methods to ensure you don’t put members offside.

After going live, monitor the performance of the system. Make it simple for both members and staff to provide feedback on any issues that might arise. Monitor key metrics like class bookings, cancellations and app downloads.

All going well, you’ll now be the proud owner of a software solution capable of streamlining your gym operations, enhancing member management, and making your fitness business more successful than ever before.

GymMaster: top gym management software for ambitious fitness businesses

Looking for a simple and intuitive yet ultra-clever and capable gym management solution, with all the initial and ongoing support you could ever need? Look no further than GymMaster.

At GymMaster we’re proud to set the standard for gym booking systems. As the preferred choice for thousands of gyms across 110+ countries, we’ve got deep experience in setting fitness businesses up for success. We’ll be with you every step of the way, guiding you on integration, data migration, staff training, member adoption and more.

But you don’t need to take our word for it - test us out for yourself with a GymMaster demo and free trial today.