Running your own fitness business can take a lot out of you—from early mornings to late evenings, every minute counts. The last thing you want is to find yourself bogged down by online payment processing issues. As a fitness professional, your focus should be on training clients and growing your business, not troubleshooting payment problems. That’s where a seamless, integrated payment solution comes into play.
In today’s digital age, the ability to manage client transactions efficiently is more than just a convenience; it’s literally a necessity. Whether you’re a personal trainer, athletic trainer, gym owner, or manager of a large fitness chain, the right payment processing tools can transform the way you handle business finances.
Modern software applications, like fitness industry leader Elite Trainr, are designed to free up your time and increase your operational efficiency. They offer features like automated billing, secure transaction processing, and easy-to-navigate financial dashboards.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about selecting, setting up, and optimizing online payment systems that keep your business running smoothly, letting you reclaim your time and focus on what truly matters—your clients.
Understanding Online Payment Processing for Fitness Trainers
For personal trainers, having a robust yet flexible payment solution will make billing your fitness clients easy. Of course, when I say online payment processing, I mean any form of payment that your clients can make online. After all, it is the age of online information—why should payments be any different? The truth is that most clients will likely want to use one form of online payment or another, so ensuring that you can accommodate them is essential.
A sound payment system for your fitness business needs to include a few things:
- A secure payment portal. Whether you choose to use a website plugin to facilitate payments or a solution like PayPal or Stripe (I have no affiliation with either), it needs to be secure.
- Reliability. The last thing you want is a payment solution that is more of a hindrance than a solution. That’s why a reliable payment solution is crucial.
- Speed. A slow online payment solution will annoy your clients, so that’s a point to avoid. The speed with which your clients can pay is a definite metric to pay attention to.
The question now is: What is the best solution for your fitness business that incorporates all three of the points mentioned above? Let’s find out.
Choosing the Right Payment Gateway
Choosing an appropriate payment capture solution for your fitness business can seem daunting once you start delving into the finer details. I’ll cover only the important items so you can get a quick and informed view of the world of fitness payments.
In-Person Payments
If you run an in-person fitness business, you’ll likely already be acquainted with a POS (point of sale) solution. If that is the case, consider the costs associated with these solutions and weigh them against other methods of payment that I’ll mention.
In-person payments mean you need physical hardware, especially if you intend to take cash. Most people these days are more inclined to use credit or debit cards. However, plenty of people still use money, especially in rural areas. The initial cost of POS equipment generally ranges from $500 to upwards of $2000. So, unless you’re operating a big gym, see if you can stick with digital payments. It’s just more manageable, and most people are used to paying that way.
Online Payments
For your online payment processing, you have a number of options. PayPal, Stripe, and Square are three of the most popular heavy-weight payment solutions for online payments. Each has a fee of one type or another, but they are all pretty similar in that respect. Here’s a breakdown of each:
- PayPal – Typical payment gateway used by freelancers.
- Square – Caters to restaurants, retail, and beauty sectors but works with many industry types for in-person or online payments.
- Stripe – The most robust and most difficult payment platform to work with on the backend, but it is pretty much universally known.
Each of these solutions is fine, but none of them cater exclusively to the fitness industry, so it’s likely that you may encounter things that work but don’t fit just right. I prefer to limit the amount of different things I need to operate my business. For example, you’ve got email, messaging, calendars, organizers, email, and notes, and now you have to add a payment gateway on top of all the rest. Seems a bit cluttered, right?
As a trainer myself, I understand the need and importance of straightforward, common-sense solutions. That’s why I built payment solutions into my all-in-one fitness management app, Elite Trainr.
Streamlining Payments with Elite Trainr
Elite Trainr supports online payment processing. It’s easy to sign up for the feature too:
- Login to your Elite Trainr account.
- On your main dashboard, the payment sign-up box is at the bottom right in the Client Invoicing section.
You can quickly access your invoicing with an overview of your business monthly sales. You’ll also be able to handle subscription payments for those clients paying you on a fixed schedule.
One of the features fellow trainers love is the ability to see and track assigned services that your clients have yet to pay for. It makes following up with clients easy. Lastly, you’ll be able to see a list of failed payments.
Customization and Branding Options
Here’s where Elite Trainr shines. Because you have control over the branding of the Elite Trainr app, your clients see the payment solution as a part of their Elite Trainr experience. Here’s how this is great for your business:
- Your clients can pay you for your training services on the same app that you use to communicate.
- A professional payment solution built into your Elite Trainr dashboard drives up how professional you look to your clients.
Addressing Payment Issues Proactively
When client payments fail, you need to work professionally and proactively with your clients to resolve the issue. That’s why we included a failed payment section within the Client Invoicing section of the Elite Trainr app. It’s one way to easily track any failed payment issues so you can address them right away and keep a record for future reference.
Securing Your Success: Why Reliable Payment Processing is Key
Congratulations on reaching the end of this guide. You’ve now equipped yourself with essential knowledge about selecting and utilizing the best online payment systems for your fitness business. From understanding what makes a payment gateway reliable to integrating streamlined solutions like Elite Trainr, you’re on your way to enhancing how you handle business finances. Remember, the right tools not only simplify your operational tasks but also boost your professionalism and client satisfaction.
Take the next step towards operational excellence. Explore more about how Elite Trainr can revolutionize your payment processes. Remember, when your payment processes run smoothly, your business grows, and so does your ability to focus on what truly matters—transforming lives through fitness.