Sick of having to interrupt personal training sessions to answer calls or emails from other customers? Fed up having to explain why your sessions are double booked? Annoyed at having to answer booking queries in your own time? Most personal trainers struggle with at least one of these issues, if not all of them.
Indeed, there are even more challenges that an appointment-based business such as personal training can present, such as no-shows, excessive amounts of time spent on admin and marketing when you would instead be working with clients, and keeping all your clients happy. Even online personal trainers and coaches might feel that their time could be better spent than scheduling coaching calls or managing cancellations.
The good news is that the correct booking software for personal trainers can help you do all these things far more efficiently and help you reach the next level of success in your business. This article collated a list of the best 12 options on the market in 2021.
Calendly software is ideal for personal trainers because it automates meetings and reminders, giving you more time to spend on what matters. The Calendly software will check availability across your calendar and allow meeting participants to book in and confirm automatically when it suits them and you. You can use it to schedule consultation calls, video coaching calls and more.
The great thing about Calendly is that you can decide which times you want to be available to clients and new people enquiring, which means you get more control over your schedule and a better life-work balance. Calendly even sends out automatic reminders to you and the other meeting participants, which can be very helpful in keeping clients motivated during their fitness program.
If you are looking for fast online booking for your fitness business, then YouCanBook.me is a great option. The premise on which this software is built is that clients can book directly into your calendar without contacting you at all. There is no need to worry that you will get overbooked, or double-booked though, because you decide which times to show your customers, so you stay in control.
YouCanBook.me also offers some excellent and valuable features such as automatic detection and display of your client's time zones, eliminating any confusion when offering online training services to international customers. YouCanBook.me also lets you customise your notifications, confirmation, reminders, and follow-ups, which will help you create a professional image while saving precious time.
Setmore software can also be a good option for trainers because it's designed to allow clients to book sessions directly. However, this is not the only advantage that Setmore offers. It also allows you to schedule payments online, which means you get paid in advance and so be sure of your income, even before the session has happened. They even provide secure and easy online payments making the whole process better for you and your clients.
Additional features that the Setmore software offers include the ability to brand your Setmore booking page with your logo, reviews, and Instagram feed. You can even link your page with your other social media platforms like Facebook to ensure you get to book the most sessions possible. Oh, and they offer desktop and mobile apps, so even if you are on the go, you can access all the info you need at the touch of a button.
Doodle aims to take all the hassle out of scheduling meetings and reduce no-shows by providing reminders and simple rebooking, which is very useful for personal trainers and online fitness coaches. Doodle covers all time zones too, which means it's easy to get people together no matter where they are based, and no one crucial is ever left out of the loop.
Another significant benefit of Doodle is that it's got robust privacy features. Indeed, with AWS hosting and DDoS protected hosting by Cloudflare, you can be safe in the knowledge that you and your clients' private details will remain just that. Doodle even makes sure that clients can't see who else is booked in on your calendar, meaning you can keep your schedule out of public view.
There are many reasons to choose Acuity Scheduling as a personal trainer. The first is that it doesn't just offer meeting bookings but has options for payments, group classes, memberships, gift certificates, and packages, which will save you so much time and effort.
Acuity Scheduling is also ideal for personal trainers because you can customise every aspect of the software to your business's needs, link your calendar to your social media channels, and even integrate video conferencing and popular third-party payment services like Paypal, Stripe, and Square. Acuity Scheduling even notifies you when you receive a new booking, so you never have to worry about missing an appointment again!
First of all, it's worth noting that SimplyBook.me is specially designed with personal trainers in mind. This means it is much better customised for the features a personal trainer needs for business success. For example, SimplyBook.me offers simple client booking that they can do themselves and allows you to offer options such as recurring memberships, gift cards, and even coupons to attract new customers.
Then there are the management tools that SimplyBook.me offers, such as generating reports on how your business is doing and checking out the account history of a specific client. SimplyBook.me even allows you to send automated requests to clients to leave you a review, which, as you know, can help boost brand awareness and help you secure a consistent flow of new customers to make sure your fitness business thrives.
The ethos behind 10to8's scheduling software is that by automating your bookings, you can maximise your time with clients. 10to8 is packed with clever features that will make running your personal training business a breeze, including pricing that evolves as your needs grow. In particular, 10to8's interactive reminder messages can help encourage your clients to show up and give you a good idea if they are likely to miss your session.
10to8's software is flexible too, offering bookings for a group or one-to-one sessions, multiple staff, and even multiple rooms, so double booking becomes a thing of the past. You can even add your 10to8 book now button to your social media to ensure your calendar is as packed with eager clients as possible.
Picktime also added features to their scheduling app explicitly crafted for those in the fitness industry. In particular, the ability to schedule regular classes is instrumental, as it cuts down on admin work. Even adding a single class to your schedule is a breeze with Picktime because all it takes is a few clicks, and an email confirmation will be sent out to your clients right away.
Picktime can even help you manage employees and multiple locations and services while providing typical features such as offering a book now button for your social media page, personalised booking pages, and automated reminders.
More than just booking software, Bookedin is an end-to-end solution built specifically for those working in the personal training field that offers automated reminders by email and text, social media integration, and even the ability to take payment from clients all in one place.
In essence, Bookedin keeps you organised with notifications when clients make a booking and by providing you with the ability to manage your schedule, sessions, availability, and client notes quickly and easily from anywhere.
The big selling point of SuperSaaS scheduling software is that it offers multiple features and functionality at an excellent price for personal trainers, online coaches and a wider range of professionals. Indeed, they have committed to providing their full feature free plan for £0, forever! Features included in their plans include adding a book now button to your website, sending reminders to clients for their sessions, and processing payments through the platform.
You will find a host of other valuable features on offer as well, such as being able to send out follow-ups with nutrition or workout plans and being able to save client notes and progress, being able to cross-sell services and additional packages to your clients. The SuperSaaS will even let your clients book and pay for multiple sessions all in one click, ensuring that your customers stay happy.
Appointedd is the ideal software for personal trainers looking to enhance their fitness business's business management and client-facing aspects. In addition to the usual 24/7 automated client-led bookings and automated reminders, Appointedd also offers a range of features that can boost your business and help keep your clients safe in the aftermath of the Pandemic.
For example, one feature they offer is setting an appointment buffer, which means you factor in enough time to clean down any equipment used. Similarly, with the capacity management function, you can check on the use of rooms and equipment, cutting down on client waiting time and eliminating unnecessary interaction. Alternatively, Appointedd is integrated with Zoom and other video call functions, so you can easily offer remote classes for clients who prefer to work out at home.
Appointedd offers fantastic functions for the management side of your business, too, such as being able to accept block bookings and automating your marketing to increase your chance of bookings.
While not specifically designed for only personal trainers, with a tag line of 'do more, better', you know that Booksy is going to help you get the most out of your time and your business. Indeed, Booksy offers two solutions for the price of one with a tablet option perfect for your front desk and a personal trainer booking app, which allows you to access all your business info and functions wherever and whenever you need.
The features Booksy include in the basic package include setting appointments and allowing clients to make bookings on the go, as well as payment processing, marketing tools, and the ability to assess where your business is at with easy-to-use reporting.
Although it's worth highlighting that their BOOKSY BIZ PRO package gives you access to a range of even more advanced features such as being able to use your app as a point of sale, allowing you to take payments anywhere, inventory and shift management, and even the option to offer memberships, gift cards and packages to your clients. These advanced features make Booksy ideal for personal trainers and fitness business owners with a more extensive operation.
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