Assume you are a gym owner who has just one vision: a vision to provide an exceptional fitness experience to your members. To fulfill your vision, you spend countless hours doing deep research about your target audience so that you get to know about their fitness preferences, goals, and vision. Moreover, you have enrolled world-class fitness professionals in your gym that assist your members in achieving their fitness goals.
You establish your gym at a premium location to provide ease to your members so they can reach your gym even with public transport. But, still, your gym struggles to offer a remarkable fitness experience to your members. The lack of an exemplary client fitness experience affects your reputation and decreases the client retention rate. The frustration of not achieving your vision leads to questions about whether clients’ preferences related to fitness have changed or if you cannot meet the expectations of your members.
According to IHSRA’s research, the number of active gym goers in the US was around 68.9 million in 2022. The ratio of gym-goers increased by 3.6% between 2021 and 2022. This means that your member’s fitness preferences related to fitness have not changed, but still, you lack something for a perfect fitness experience.
A remarkable fitness experience is not about providing your members with world-class equipment and trainers. It also depends upon the ease that you provide to your members while making bookings and appointments. So this means that you require gym management software that aids you in assuring ease for your members when making bookings and appointments.
However, the fitness industry has hundreds of gym management software that claim to be the perfect solution for your gym. Finding the best among the hundreds of software is quite hectic and consumes a lot of time. But you don’t need to worry about it.
Here, we are going to discuss the 15 best gym management software features. If gym management software has all these features, you can choose it while ensuring an exceptional fitness experience for your members.
Features to look for in the gym management system
A gym management software is specially designed to streamline gym operations while helping clients with appointments and bookings. However, among the hundreds of software available in the fitness market, only a few enable you to manage gym operations and ensure your members have an unexceptional fitness experience.
So, to select the best solution for your gym, you have to ensure that the software has all the necessary features, from class scheduling to the POS system. Here are the 15 features a perfect gym management software must have in 2024.
- Online booking and scheduling
Before selecting the software for your gym, you have to ensure whether that software provides the essential feature of online booking and scheduling of classes or not. If a gym management system lacks online booking and scheduling, that software is not able to help you ensure a remarkable fitness experience for your members while streamlining the studio operations.
Members want ease when booking fitness classes, so if a gym management system lacks that feature, your members will find it quite difficult to schedule their classes.
Moreover, if the software also lacks the class scheduling feature, you have to spend endless hours scheduling classes, which is quite hectic. So, it is essential for you to analyze whether the software you are choosing for your gym has an online scheduling and booking feature in 2024. If a gym management system lacks this feature, you have to shift to another alternative to get this essential feature.
- Inventory management
Another important feature that you must look for in the software solution is inventory management. Inventory management features play a vital role in streamlining your studio operations. It enables you to define a minimum threshold level for all the stocks used in the gym. Whenever a particular stock reaches below the threshold level, this feature allows the software to send you a notification to re-order the stock. So, your members have all the stocks available in the gym. Thus, this feature contributes to ensuring a remarkable client fitness experience.
However, if the management software you are looking for lacks the inventory management feature, you will have to manage all the inventory yourself. Manual inventory management consumes endless time. Also, it becomes quite difficult to track the threshold level of each stock. Thus, you have to choose a software solution that has the inventory management feature in 2024.
- Mobile App
A mobile app is another important feature that a software solution must have in 2024. This feature enables you to provide mobile apps to your members. The mobile app enables the client to make online bookings and appointments for classes. Moreover, your members can use this mobile app to get easy access to the gym premises. This app also enables the client to settle the payment processing.
Thus, the mobile app feature enables members to settle payments and book appointments from anywhere, anytime. Furthermore, your members communicate with you and send you suggestions for improvements.
However, the gym management system that you are looking for for your gym doesn’t provide you with the mobile app feature. Then, your members face difficulty with payment processing and class scheduling, which affects their fitness experience. So, if you want to ensure a remarkable fitness experience for your members, you have to choose a studio management software that offers a mobile app.
- Simple dashboard
A dashboard is an interface that provides information in a simple, clear, and understandable way. So, when choosing a software solution for your gym, you must ensure that the software has a simple dashboard that clearly displays all the information related to your members, inventory, bookings, and staff. This easy-to-understand dashboard enables you to spot patterns, monitor progress, and make decisions.
A simple dashboard enables you to track your facility’s progress, pinpoint areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions. These data-driven decisions not only enable you to provide a remarkable fitness experience for your members but also help you enhance the efficiency of your gym staff.
If a software solution lacks a user-friendly and simple dashboard, it becomes quite difficult to track the progress of your gym and make a data-driven decision. So, you have to ensure that the software solution you are choosing for streamlining studio operations and providing a remarkable fitness experience in 2024 must have a user-friendly and easy-to-understand dashboard.
- Access control
Access control is another feature that allows you to ensure the security of your premises and attract new members. Using this feature, you can restrict the authorization of any person entering the gym. This feature also allows you to operate your gym 24/7 without any issues. So, the client can quickly enter the premises using the mobile app or key card anytime.
Thus, this feature allows your members to join the gym when they are available without any restrictions. Moreover, this feature enables you to ensure a secure environment for your members where they can efficiently perform their workouts without any hesitation.
Furthermore, you can also use this feature to track the attendance of your members. Thus, this feature also allows you to spot trends in patronage and make data-driven decisions accordingly. You can also use this feature to understand member’s behavior and preferences, which allows you to customize your services accordingly.
So, in 2024, to ensure the security of your gym premises while providing your members with a remarkable fitness experience 24/7, you have to make sure that the software solution has a gym access control system.
- Digital agreements and waivers
These features of the gym management software enable you to electronically manage and produce legal papers such as membership agreements and liability waivers. Using this feature enables you to simplify the registration process for new members and cut down the paperwork while managing legal compliance. Having this feature in the gym management software lowers the possibility of conflicts or mistakes during the registration process. Your members can also access these agreements and waivers from their mobile apps.
Moreover, this feature allows you to cut administrative expenses by reducing the cost of papers and also saves you time. Automation of the registration process in the most possible time not only allows you to streamline the studio operation but also helps you gain your member’s trust. So, it is crucial for you to choose a software in 2024 that has this built-in feature.
- Sales and payroll system
If you want the perfect software solution for your fitness business, you must ensure that the software has a sales and payroll system. This system lets you track your gym sales and payroll information on a single dashboard. It allows you to keep an eye on your gym sales, payroll costs, and commissions, which helps you make data-driven decisions.
This feature enables you to track your gym’s financial progress, emphasizing significant information such as commission information, employee performance indicators, and sales statistics. This information allows you to define your minimum threshold level of no-profit and no-lose. Moreover, this feature also helps you make data-driven decisions to boost your staff’s efficiency and increase gym sales.
This feature not only streamlines your studio operations but also enables you to make data-driven decisions to enhance members’ fitness experience. So, in 2024, you have to choose a fitness software solution with a built-in sales and payroll system.
- Easy membership sales and online engagement
Another essential feature that enables you to attract members to your gym business is online membership sales and engagement. This feature allows you to sell and promote your gym memberships online. Your members can easily access the membership options, price information, and online payment methods while browsing for available memberships.
The visibility of all the essential information online enables you to contribute an influential factor in ensuring a remarkable client experience. This feature enables you to broaden your gym membership base from outside of your immediate region. Thus, it is essential for a perfect gym management software to provide a built-in feature for easy membership sales and online engagement.
- Lead management
The lead management feature is another important feature that not only enables you to track your potential lead but also helps you convert that lead into a loyal client. This feature provides you with essential information such as lead details, lead status, lead source, and lead communication history. You can also use this feature to assess and monitor the success of your sales campaigns.
This built-in lead management feature saves time and increases lead conversion rates by automating lead generation and follow-ups. If gym management software lacks this essential feature, you have to spend time manually tracking the lead from the source, which becomes quite challenging.
So, whenever you are looking for a gym management feature for your gym, it is crucial for you to analyze whether that software includes a lead management feature or not.
- Email management
If you want to reach new leads and send your loyal members crucial information about your gym, you must ensure your gym management system has email management. This feature enables you to communicate with members and potential leads via email. You can use the email management feature to send messages, automate appointment reminders, and run email marketing campaigns.
Moreover, this feature also contains editable email templates that you can use to send more professional emails to your potential members. It also offers a mechanism to raise client retention and engagement through customized communication and niche marketing campaigns.
So, if you want to enhance ROI while streamlining studio operations, you have to ensure that your studio management software has a built-in email management feature.
- Loyalty program
The loyalty program is another important feature that not only enables you to enhance the client retention rate but also helps you gain the trust of existing members. This feature enables you to reward your members for their achievements. You can reward your member for achieving their fitness pilgrimage. You can reward them via various means, such as assigning them certain points by using this feature.
After reaching a certain amount of points, your members can claim a discount on merchandise or membership. Thus, this feature enables you to foster a sense of belonging among your members and contributes a plus point in ensuring a remarkable fitness experience for your members. So, it is essential for you to analyze whether the gym management software you are choosing for your fitness center has the built-in feature of a loyalty program or not.
- Compatibility to a POS system
If you want to streamline payment procedures and financial transactions in your gym, you must ensure that the software solution you choose is compatible with a POS system. This feature enables you to ensure an environment where your members can easily settle their dues without any issues.
Moreover, this feature also enables you to keep a record of each transaction carried out. You can handle gym membership invoices and payment processing by using this feature. With automated payment processing, your members can settle their payments easily and ensure an exceptional user experience. So, compatibility with the POS system is essential for a gym management system in 2024.
- Analytics reporting
This feature enables you to track trustworthy, precise, and useful data insights for your gym activities. It produces thorough reports that allow you to make data-driven decisions and measure a variety of indicators, such as retention rate, revenue, client attendance, etc.
Thus, this feature enables you to analyze each aspect of your gym business and highlight areas for improvement. You can make data-driven decisions to increase your gym’s efficiency and productivity. So, if you want to make your gym business successful, your fitness management software must have this analytics reporting feature.
- Client management
Whether you run a single gym or have multiple franchises, you must ensure that the gym management software you are using has a client management feature. This feature enables you to create a centralized platform that includes essential information such as personal information, fitness objectives, and workout programs in which your members are enrolled.
Thus, it enables you to switch profiles of the members among different franchises. Moreover, having a centralized platform allows you to maintain a complete record of your members from which you can easily measure attendance and their progress. So, your studio management software must have a client management feature to streamline your studio operations in 2024.
- Waitlist
For a smoother and more remarkable fitness experience for your members, you must ensure that your gym management system has a waitlist feature. This feature enables you to create a space where you can hold the bookings of members who have booked the class at the last minute.
If any client cancels its class booking due to its availability, this feature easily helps you add a client from the waitlist. So, it is essential for you to ensure that your fitness studio software must have the waitlist feature.
Bottom line
There are hundreds of fitness software programs available on the market. All these software programs claim to be the best solution but still lack some features. So, it is essential for you to choose a management software program that has all the necessary features.
Here are the 15 features that gym management software must have in 2024 to streamline studio operations and ensure a remarkable fitness experience for members.
