How to choose gym software: 9 criteria and a checklist

When you choose gym software, look past the screens and check nine things first: who keeps your data, who sets the door rules, whether the member side is in the price, what the monthly fee covers and who handles the move. This article goes through those criteria one by one, says what GamGym does today under each, and ends with a checklist you can tick off for your own gym.

We build GamGym. We don't name competitors; about other products we only state what we saw in price lists published in October 2026. If you want to see what a management system does during a day first, read gym management system.

1. Does your data stay yours

You might want to leave the software in five years. Ask up front whether you can take your member list, debts and sales history with you that day, in what format, and who's allowed to export it.

In GamGym the member list exports as CSV with whatever filter you choose: all members, members with debt, or only plans ending soon. The accounting screen exports a period summary (profit and loss, VAT, expenses) as CSV for your accountant. Exporting is a separate permission that the built-in front desk role doesn't have, and every member list export is logged.

2. Who decides at the door

If what happens when someone with an expired plan or an unpaid balance reaches the door isn't in the software, every shift applies its own rule. The question to ask is whether you pick these rules or live with the product's defaults.

In GamGym the gym picks warn, block or allow for members with debt, and sets the tolerance in days and amount. For capacity you choose between warning and stopping entry, and the settings are per branch. A denied entry shows its reason on the tablet. Details in how QR entry works.

3. Is the member side in the price

In published price lists, the member app is included in some products and sits in a higher tier or costs extra in others. Ask for it as a separate line in the quote.

In GamGym the member portal is in every plan and opens in the phone's browser, with nothing to install. Members see their QR, bookings, balance, documents and programs there. We don't promise an app from the app stores. More in gym member app.

4. What the monthly fee covers and what's one-time

When you compare two products, separate the monthly fee from one-time costs. Most Turkish products include access in the plan, while readers and turnstile hardware are usually sold separately. In foreign products, door access is usually a separate monthly fee. Extra branches are also mostly a paid add-on in published lists.

In GamGym QR access is in every gym plan, and the simplest setup is a tablet that doesn't count toward the access point limit. The access kit for a turnstile or door lock isn't part of the monthly plan; it's a separate, one-time purchase. The software that connects a turnstile is ready, but the first installation is done on site together with the gym, and we don't describe it as field-proven. We compare the options in the turnstile article.

Ask the same about notifications. In GamGym in-app notifications are free on every plan. SMS sending isn't available yet. Plans and add-ons are in the pricing table.

5. How your old data moves over

Most Turkish products set up and migrate data for free; treat that as standard and get it in writing. The real question is whether carry-over details such as days left, visits left and open balances come across too.

In GamGym the member list is imported as CSV or TXT (up to 5 MB and 5,000 rows), with rows that fail listed in a separate report. Days left, visits left and an opening balance come in the same file. Remote setup and data migration are free. The steps are in moving from spreadsheets to gym software.

6. Data protection: who's responsible for what

The gym is the data controller for member data and the software company is the processor. Ask whether there's a data processing agreement that says so. Also ask what a signed document actually stores: an image of the signature, or the text exactly as it was signed?

In GamGym the data processing agreement is versioned and your acceptance is recorded. Each business's data is separated at the database level. A digital signature stores the signature image, the signed text, the IP address and device details. More in KVKK and gym member data.

7. Support and setup

"We offer support" tells you nothing. Ask who answers, through which channel, and who does the setup in the first week. Find out whether on-site setup costs extra.

In GamGym remote setup is free and on-site setup is priced separately. The panel's first screen has a setup checklist: branch details, first plan, door tablet, document template and first member, each linking to the right screen.

8. Multiple branches, even if you have one today

Opening a second location shouldn't mean changing software. Ask whether prices, stock and staff permissions can be set per branch, what an extra branch costs, and whether reports split by branch.

In GamGym shop prices and stock are kept per branch, staff are assigned to branches and the collections report splits by branch. For chains, see running a gym chain; for sub-dealers, multi-branch gyms and sub-dealers. Larger networks can ask for a quote on the enterprise page.

9. Test it with your own data

Every product looks good with demo data. During the trial, load fifty of your own members, use it at the real door for a week and read the denial report. GamGym's free trial is 3 months on Starter and 14 days on the other gym plans.

Common mistakes

• Looking only at the monthly fee. If hardware, extra branches and the member app are separate lines, the total comes out different.
• Leaving migration to the end. Software without a migration plan means a first month on two systems.
• Leaving the front desk out of the decision. If the person who'll use it eight hours a day isn't in the demo, the most important question never gets asked.
• Not asking about export. Finding out you can't take your data when you're already leaving is expensive.

Your own checklist

The items below are the short version of the criteria above. Tick them separately for each product you're evaluating; anything left unticked is a question for the demo.

What to ask in the demo

The checklist tells you what to look at; how to ask it in a demo is in 10 questions for a gym software demo. The topic-by-topic comparison of GamGym with typical gym software and spreadsheets is on Why GamGym?.

Starting a trial

The application form is on the for gyms page. After you send it, our team opens your account and the trial starts that day; start by preparing a fifty-row CSV from your member list.