How much gym management software costs

Five ways to charge for management software

Before looking at the price, it helps to know what it is measuring. These are the models you will find in a quote.

• Flat price. One amount a month, the same with forty members or four hundred. Easy to budget, heavy when the gym is small.
• By number of active members. The price goes up in tiers as you grow. It follows your revenue, and you need to know where the steps are.
• By features, in tiers. The entry plan covers classes and members. Payments, reports or the athlete app sit on the next plan up.
• Commission on payments. A percentage of every membership collected, on top of the software fee or instead of it.
• Setup costs. Installation, configuration, training and data migration, paid once at the start.

One quote can combine several: a plan priced by members, with extras on the side and a setup fee.

Euros per active member per month

This is the unit that puts every quote side by side. Do the sum twice. First with the members you have today, then with the ones you expect a year from now.

1. 1.Write down the monthly price of the plan.
2. 2.Add the extras that sit outside it: athlete app, staff users, message sending.
3. 3.Add the commission on payments, if there is one. Multiply the percentage by what you take in a month.
4. 4.Divide the setup cost by twelve and add it to the first-year total.
5. 5.Divide the total by the number of active members.

The second sum is the one that catches the surprises. A plan that works well at eighty members can jump a tier at member one hundred and one.

Your own membership fee is the yardstick

An example with round numbers, to give the price some scale. A gym with eighty active members and a 45 euro monthly fee takes in 3,600 euros a month.

• Software at 90 euros a month: 1.13 euros per member.
• Two memberships pay for the whole month of software.
• With a one per cent commission on payments, that is another 36 euros a month.
• By the end of the year, that commission comes to 432 euros that were not on the price list.

The difference between the two lines is the pace. The plan goes up in steps, and you know when. The commission goes up every month, at the pace of your revenue.

Costs that sit outside the price list

The price list shows the plan. These are the lines that decide the year's bill, and each one can be confirmed with a single question.

• Commission on every payment, on top of the processing fees you already pay.
• The athlete app as a paid extra, per month or per member.
• Cost per staff user. With six coaches and one person at the front desk, the entry plan may fall short.
• SMS sending, charged per message.
• Data migration and training, paid at the start.
• An annual commitment, with the advertised monthly price depending on it.
• Exporting your data at the end of the contract: worth knowing whether it is free and in what format it comes out.

Commission on payments, in euros

A percentage reads small in the quote and is not small by the end of the year. Do the sum with your own revenue.

• 3,600 euros a month in memberships collected.
• One per cent commission: 36 euros a month, 432 euros a year.
• Two per cent: 72 euros a month, 864 euros a year.
• This comes on top of what the payment processor already takes per transaction.

A fixed monthly fee is predictable and does not change in a good month. A commission follows your revenue, up and down. With stable revenue, compare the two amounts in euros before you choose.

Setup, migration and minimum terms

These are the three lines that change the cost of the first year. None of them appears on the pricing page.

• Installation and configuration: a one-off amount, paid before the system is up and running.
• Data migration: which members, plans and active memberships come across, and who does the work.
• Minimum term: how many months, and whether the advertised price requires paying annually.
• Renewal price: whether the first-year price holds in the second.

A 300 euro setup cost, spread over the first year, is 25 euros a month. Add it to the plan before comparing quotes.

Questions to ask before you sign

1. 1.What is the price with the members I have today, and with fifty more?
2. 2.Where is the next price step?
3. 3.Is the athlete app included, or is it an extra?
4. 4.How many staff users does the plan include?
5. 5.Is there a commission on payments, on top of the processor's?
6. 6.How much does setup cost, and how much does migration cost?
7. 7.What is the minimum contract length?
8. 8.How do I export my data if I leave, and in what format?

Eight written answers are worth more than a comparison table. Ask for them by email, so they sit somewhere you can read them again.

Rummo's prices

As a concrete reference, here are ours. Rummo charges by number of active members, and takes no percentage of your payments.

• Lite: up to 10 active members.
• Pro: from 29 euros a month, in tiers by number of members up to 149 euros.
• Max has unlimited members, with a price agreed with us.
• Prices exclude VAT. Processing fees are charged by the payment processor, where your gym opens its payout account.

And what is missing, so the picture is complete. Invoicing and segmented campaigns do not exist yet, and there is no native app in the app stores.

What came in, what is outstanding and from whom, with card payments and SEPA Direct Debit. Membership billing for gyms