All-in-One Gym Software vs Separate Systems

A lot of gyms end up running on a stack of separate tools: one for memberships, one for payments, one for class bookings, a door access system, an email platform, a spreadsheet or two to tie it all together. Each one was added to solve a problem at the time, and each one does its job.

The trouble is in the gaps between them. This post covers where those gaps cost you, and what changes when one system does the lot.

The subscriptions add up

Each tool has its own monthly fee, and on their own they don’t look like much. Add them together, including payment processing, door access, email marketing, booking software and the member database, and the total is often more than a single gym management system.

When you compare, list every tool you pay for now and what each one costs per month, then compare that total with the plan you’d need. As an example, GymMaster plans are priced by active members, with every feature included in every plan; the Foundation plan for up to 100 active members is USD $89 per site per month (excluding tax), with 24/7 door access priced separately. Current prices for all plans and currencies are on the pricing page.

Payment processing fees still apply whichever way you go, since those are charged by the billing provider.

Separate systems don’t know about each other

This is the bigger cost. When membership, billing and door access live in different places, someone has to keep them in step. Some common examples:

• A member’s payment fails, but the door system still lets them in, because it doesn’t know.
• A member cancels, and staff have to remember to remove their fob, take them off the email list and cancel their class bookings.
• A new member joins online, and someone types their details into the door system and the booking system by hand.
• You want to know which members haven’t visited in three weeks, but visits are in one system and contact details in another.

Each of these is a small job, but they happen every day, and every manual step is a chance for a mistake.

In one system, these follow from the member record. In GymMaster, members with failed billing, holds, or expired or cancelled memberships are denied door access until it’s sorted out. You can also set access to stop automatically once a member owes more than a set amount for a set time, under Settings > Advanced Configuration > Doors & Readers (see Block Member Access). When they pay, access comes back on its own.

Automation needs everything in one place

Automations are only as good as the information they can see. A rule like “if a member hasn’t visited in 14 days, send them a text and create a task for their trainer” needs visits, membership status, contact details and staff assignments in the same system.

With everything in GymMaster, automated tasks can trigger on things like a new sign-up, a failed payment, a membership about to expire, a member going a set number of days without a visit, or a prospect moving to a new funnel stage, and then send an email or SMS or create a task for staff. See Automate Member and Staff Communication.

Members deal with one login

With separate systems, a new member might fill in a sign-up form, get an email from the billing provider, download a booking app, and pick up a fob from reception. Each step has its own login or account.

With one system they sign up once, and use the same member app to book classes and PT, pay, update their card, and open the door. Staff also only need to look in one place when a member asks about their account.

One support team

When things are connected through several vendors, a problem can sit between them. The billing provider says it’s the booking software, the booking software says it’s the door system. Meanwhile members can’t get in or payments aren’t going through.

With one system you call one support team. GymMaster includes 24/7 phone and email support, unlimited training, and a dedicated customer care contact on every plan.

When separate tools still make sense

One system doesn’t have to mean no other tools. Some things are better handled by specialist software, as long as it’s connected properly rather than kept in sync by hand. GymMaster integrates with tools such as:

• Mailchimp, for designed email campaigns, with member lists synced from GymMaster reports. See Mailchimp.
• Zapier, to send GymMaster events to other apps. See Zapier.

The difference is that the core (members, memberships, billing, access and bookings) lives in one place, and the other tools take data from it.

How to decide

Write down every tool you use to run the gym and what it costs. Then note each place where staff copy information from one system to another, or where a member has to set up a separate account. If that list is long, a single system will probably save you money and staff time, and give members fewer things to sort out.

To see how GymMaster handles your setup, look at GymMaster’s all-in-one gym software or book a demo.