Gym member tracking software: expiring plans, absent members, debts

Gym member tracking software puts in front of you whose membership is ending, who stopped coming, whose payment is late and who didn't renew, before you have to ask. Keeping a member list is the easy part; the hard part is spotting the member you're about to lose while they're still a member.

This article follows a member from sign-up to renewal and says which list to check in GamGym at each stage. For the bigger picture, see gym management system.

Why member tracking is more than a list

A gym that keeps members in a spreadsheet can answer "whose membership ends this week" by sorting on a date. It can't answer "who hasn't come in for three weeks", because the spreadsheet has no door records. Member loss usually starts with that second question: the member stops coming first and doesn't renew a few weeks later.

The job of tracking software is to put both facts (membership and visits) on the same record. In GamGym "last seen" is the most recent allowed door entry or attended class or PT session.

Plans ending soon

The "Ending soon" filter in the member list shows memberships ending within 7 days or down to 2 PT sessions. The same list is on the panel's Today screen with a "Renew" button on each row, which opens the sale window directly.

The member hears about it too. Reminders go to the member's notification inbox 7, 3 and 0 days before the end, and 3 and 7 days after if they haven't renewed. If the member has another membership that ends later, the reminder is skipped. These are in-app notifications and free on every plan; SMS sending isn't available yet.

Members who stopped coming

This is the most valuable list. Someone with an active membership who hasn't come in for a while is the person most likely not to renew. GamGym has two lists:

• "Absent" on the Today screen and in the member list: active members with no visit in 14 days by default. You can change the number of days per branch. Members whose plan started more recently than that aren't counted.
• The win-back list in the access reports: active members who haven't entered for more than 21 days, with phone numbers and last visit dates. It's part of the advanced reports, available on the Professional and Chain plans.

You can sort the member list by "last seen" and start with whoever has been away longest. What to say on the phone is simple: "We haven't seen you for a while, would you like to refresh your program?" Member churn often comes down to nobody making that call.

Freezes: set the rule yourself

Every gym gets freeze requests for holidays or injuries; the problem is renegotiating the rule at the desk every time. In GamGym membership freeze rules are settings:

• Total freeze days per plan (or the gym's general limit if the plan has none).
• Minimum days per freeze and maximum number of freezes.
• An optional freeze fee.

When a freeze ends, the membership's end date moves out by the number of frozen days. Members can also send a request from their portal. The gym decides how those requests are handled: not accepted, applied after staff approval, or applied immediately. Staff approval is the default.

Debts and installments

With installment sales you're tracking a calendar, not a single amount. The Receivables screen in the Finance menu has two views: total and overdue balance per member ("Debtors") or installment by installment ("Installments"). At the top are total receivables, the overdue amount and what falls due in the next 30 days. "Collect" on each row opens the member card with the payment window.

For installment debts, the member gets a reminder 3 days before the due date (adjustable) and 1, 3 and 7 days after. You also decide what happens at the door for members with debt: warn, block or allow, with a tolerance in days and amount.

Members with nothing left

A member on a ten-visit pass who has used nine visits, or who has come to the last session of a PT package, still looks active by date. The "Out of credits" filter in the member list picks out people with an active membership whose visits, classes or PT sessions have run out. They're the members most ready to renew, and the best week to call is the week the credits run out.

Renewal and retention report

The membership report in the Reports menu answers three questions:

• Renewal rate: of the memberships that ended in the period, how many owners started a new one between 15 days before and 30 days after the end.
• Retention: whether new members still had a valid membership 30, 60 and 90 days after their first one started.
• Visit frequency: how often active members came in over the last 28 days (none, 1–3, 4–7, 8–11, 12 or more).

The number of active members in the "none" and "1–3" groups tells you today something about next month's renewal rate.

Worked example: the cost of members who don't renew

Picture a gym with 400 active members. 20% of memberships end this month, so 80. With a 70% renewal rate, 24 people don't renew. If your average monthly membership fee is 1,200 TL, that's about 28,800 TL of recurring revenue walking out every month. Raising the renewal rate to 80% brings back 8 members, or 9,600 TL a month.

The calculator below does the same sum with your numbers: enter your active members, the share of memberships ending this month, your renewal rate and your average membership fee, and it shows the members and revenue lost each month.

Not missing new members: the lead board

Tracking isn't only for existing members. People who leave a trial request on the gym page, ask about prices on the phone or look in at the door go onto the lead board. The board has four columns: new, contacted, trial class booked, trial done. A card is finally won by converting it to a member, or lost with a reason. Each lead has a follow-up date, and the Today screen counts who's due a call that day. Online sales and the trial form are covered in online membership sales.

Common mistakes

• Looking only at end dates. Calling 7 days before the end can be too late; a member who stopped coming signalled it earlier.
• Not assigning the list to anyone. In a gym where "everyone calls the absent members", nobody does. Give it to one person on a set day of the week.
• Not writing down the freeze rule. If every request turns into a negotiation, members start treating each other's deals as unfair.
• Opening reports once a month. The renewal rate describes the past; the daily lists change today.

If you're still choosing software, the criteria are in how to choose gym software.

Starting a trial

The free trial is 3 months on Starter and 14 days on the other gym plans. The application form is on the for gyms page, and our team opens your account. The day you import your member list with end dates and remaining credits, the "ending soon" list fills up; the absent list follows after the first two weeks at the door.