Types of Fitness & Health Software

The majority of fitness and health software solutions are pretty similar in functionality, the features they provide, and their capabilities. The key differences, however, lies in the size of the business that the platform is capable of serving, the deployment method, and the operating system supported by the platform.

There are certain fitness and health software solutions that support a number of operating systems and cater to businesses and organizations of all sizes. Platforms like WellnessLiving, a cloud-based (only) business management software system designed specifically for wellness studios of every size or scale, falls under this category.

Another example of a software solution that caters to businesses of all sizes and supports the three most common operating systems—Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, and Linux—is Pike13. Just like WellnessLiving, Pike13 is a cloud-based solution. Specifically, it is a client management and scheduling software solution which supports all three major operating systems and caters to businesses of all sizes.

Apart from the bigger fitness and health software solutions that are capable of serving larger businesses and organizations in the health and fitness industry, there are systems that are specifically tailored to serve small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Some are capable of supporting multiple operating systems, while others are specifically designed for one or two of the major operating systems in the market.

Fitness and health software solutions like MINDBODY and EZFacility are just a couple examples of this type of platform. Both platforms offer cloud-based deployment, they both support Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems and they cater to small and medium-sized businesses and organizations.

MINDBODY is a cloud-based club management and appointment scheduling/booking software solution specifically designed to serve the needs of SMBs. The product is mainly utilized by fitness and personal training centers, gyms, massage facilities, salons, spas, and other similar establishments.

EZFacility, in the same token, is also a cloud-based fitness center management system that includes payment/billing management on top of the other basic solutions most commonly found in this type of platform, such as scheduling appointments, membership management, staff management, and other important functions.

Of course, there are fitness and health management software solutions as well that only cater to small businesses but still support more than one operating system. Then, there are those that are only available as an on-premise solution, like Club Sentry.

Club Sentry is a membership management software solution that is deployed on-premise. There is no cloud option for this particular platform. It supports only Microsoft Windows operating systems but is capable of serving businesses of all sizes, including spas, gyms, pool clubs, health clubs, and more. The platform helps users to create and secure club member information in a centralized database.

How to Choose Fitness & Health Software

No matter what kind of fitness facility, health club, or health and wellness establishment you’re running, or how many members your company is serving, having a feature-rich and reliable fitness and health software solution to help you manage the day-to-day processes of your business is always a good idea.

Be it a small, medium, large, public, or private fitness facility, they all share common goals. Specifically, to offer the best quality service possible to each individual member. As such, the best way to achieve this is to have a software solution that enables you to provide a good member experience and to operate in the most efficient way possible.

A good fitness and health software solution covers a wide range of functions and responsibilities, from automating marketing campaigns to facilitating the scheduling process of class instructors and members.

To find the right software solution for your business, there are a few standard capabilities that you need to consider. Once you find a platform that carries most, if not all, of these capabilities, you have yourself a winner. These capabilities include membership records management, billing management, scheduling management, and marketing and promotional tools.

Membership management allows you to store, edit, and effectively manage member information stored in your data center. The scheduling or booking function enables you to quickly and easily schedule appointments and/or classes for both staff/instructors and members. Such a feature also helps to avoid, or at least minimize, the occurrence of double bookings and other manmade errors.

The billing or payment processing function enables businesses to accurately and efficiently bill members and manage every single transaction with ease. With this capability, establishments will be able to accept and process payment in a variety of ways, which includes cash, credit card, online forms, wire transfer, and direct debit.

Marketing and promotions capabilities allow sales and marketing teams to effectively market the company to the right audience. You will be able to award points and credits via loyalty programs, provide gift cards and discounts, as well as disseminate automated emails to existing members and potential customers.

Other features and capabilities such as member forums, staff timekeeping, reporting and analytics, and member access management also add value to the fitness and health software solution, making it the ideal platform for your business.

Benefits of Fitness & Health Software

The benefits of using a good fitness and health software solution are quite vast and plenty. In this day and age, relying on manual membership management and basic computer programs is simply not an option, not if you want your business to survive in this highly competitive industry.

The right software solution will allow businesses and organizations to spend less time on repetitive administrative tasks and processes, find more opportunities to increase revenue for the company, strengthen and improve data security for all members, improve member experience and satisfaction, and initiate seamless integration among existing business applications.

The bottom line is with a good fitness and health software platform, you will have more time to focus on other important aspects of your business rather than spending most of your time trying to manage processes that can be automated by a fully capable software solution.

Common Features of Fitness & Health Software