When you’re first opening a gym, there are a million moving parts and you might be slightly overwhelmed. And your budget is tight. As in, really tight. That’s why we created PushPress Free.
PushPress Free is the gym software for new and growing gyms. It’s called Free because, well, it’s free.
With only a few members, many new gym owners will try to manage class signups and billing in various ways. It might even be an old-school, pen-and-paper system. But once you begin to grow, you need a professional, comprehensive gym-management system.
And yes, there's usually a cost associated with that. But as gym owners ourselves, the PushPress team understands how tight your startup budget is.
The Early Days Of Opening A Gym.
Chris Lomen, owner of Ripple Effect CrossFit in St. Paul, MN remembers the early days. Five months after opening his gym, Lomen had approximately 30 members.
It wasn’t enough to justify adding a software expense. He recalls thinking a couple hundred dollars per month might’ve not seem like a lot as a standalone figure.
“But when you’re first starting out, it’s a lot,” he said. “That’s at least probably two members’ worth of revenue. And when you only have thirty or so when you start out, that’s huge. It could be the difference between staying open another month or not.”
Tres Kennedy, owner of CrossFit Wotown in Warrior, AL, knows the feeling. Even though his gym grew quickly, he was hesitant to spend the money without knowing what he was getting.
While researching gym-management software, he found that many platforms came with hidden fees. In addition to the monthly subscription price, there were set-up costs, support and training charges, third-party subscriptions and overpriced add-ons.
“I'm like, I don't even know how many people are gonna be a part of our gym,” Kennedy said. “That stuff does add up. That's one membership or that's two memberships that's gonna cover these costs.”
Other Important Gym Management Features.
Michael Quillen opened Savage Society CrossFit in Covington, GA in March, 2019. Six months after opening, he’d had it with his current gym-management software.
Despite its premium rates, the system could not provide Quillen with easy-to-read reporting and analysis.
"I couldn’t forecast what our income was going to be for the next month,” Quillen said. “I would always have to go down and drill through each member line by line and add them all together, to figure out exactly what we were gonna be bringing in on the first of the month.”
Anne Spragins, the owner of Do It Right Sport and Fitness in Depew, NY, had similar issues with the first software she implemented.
“It wasn’t very user friendly,” said Spragins. “And people wouldn’t know that their passes expired and stuff like that. I was having to redo stuff that was already done or play catch-up because I didn’t realize their passes expired or their memberships expired.”
Why PushPress Free Is Different.
You may have heard that PushPress is a full-suite software solution for gym owners. What that means is that, as you grow, we’re here to help you with a variety of solutions. This includes everything from billing and scheduling to lead generation and the ultimate gym member experience.
But when you’re first starting, you might not need all those solutions yet. So our goal is to show you how we can meet you where you are now. PushPress Free is specifically designed for gym owners billing less than $10,000 per month.
In fact, PushPress founder Chris McConachie explained that until you consistently gross at least $10,000 monthly, PushPress Free is all you need. Once you’re consistently above $10,000, then it makes sense to upgrade to PushPress Pro. This simply ensures you’re not overspending unnecessarily.
PushPress Free includes all the features of PushPress Pro, minus third-party integrations and add-ons, for free. The only fees you’ll pay are a one-percent premium on transactions, and transaction fees of 1.8 percent (ACH) and 3.9% (credit card). These small fees ensure we can continue to develop PushPress Free. And it’s directly tied to your sales, meaning you pay as you grow.
Six Key PushPress Free Features For Gym Owners:
1. Intuitive and Simple.
Landing pages in PushPress Free make it incredibly simple to sign up new members and set up their automated billing. There are desktop and mobile options to help you operate on whichever you prefer.
For you as the owner and for your coaches, this is a huge time-saver. And it’s easy for your members to sign waivers, book appointments or change billing info. They can even add others to their account, like a spouse or children, with just a few clicks.
In addition, the updated Appointments V2 has simplified and enhanced the experience even more. For owners who offer appointments-based services beyond classes, it’s a game changer.
2. Staff App.
Like PushPress Pro, PushPress Free also gives you access to the Staff App. In it, coaches can check people in to class and see the waitlist. They can even override the system on their phone, adding people to reservations right from the gym floor.
Communicating with other coaches and members right in the app is simple, too. Ultimately, the Staff App is another tool that contributes to creating the ultimate member experience for your community.
3. Financial Reports.
Especially when you’re opening a gym, tracking important gym metrics is key. From overall leads to memberships sold, analyzing the numbers is crucial for growth. And let’s be honest: Spreadsheets just aren’t going to cut it as numbers rise.
With PushPress Free, the data is right at your fingertips. You’ll have quick access to basic things like membership count and retail sales. Or dive into options like ARM (average revenue per member), lead conversion rates and projected monthly revenue.
Then export all of it for further analysis to gain more insights and understand trends. The goal is to save you time, and help you identify what’s working and where you can improve.
4. Members App.
The Members App is a key feature of PushPress Free. In it, members can manage their own accounts and reserve classes. They can also book appointments for services like personal training or nutrition coaching.
One of the most fun, community-engaging features in the Members App is the Social Feed. In the past, Facebook Groups was the best attempt at online community engagement for most gym owners. Then people started migrating away from it, creating a need for a more effective solution.
The Social Feed is a place to inform members about gym updates, upcoming events, member milestones and more. Ultimately, it’s a place to have fun and connect, driving member retention numbers along the way.
5. Store Kiosk.
PushPress Free gyms also have access to the store kiosk in the Members App. This makes it quick and easy for members to purchase retail items right in the app. And this means your coaches are free to... well, coach.
Further, the kiosk saves you money on credit card fees because it closes payments only once per month. So if someone buys three bottles of water and eight protein bars over the course of a month, it’s all rung up together. You’ll only pay one transaction fee at that time, instead of paying for each individual transaction.
6. Customer Support.
At PushPress, we pride ourselves on world-class customer support. But don’t take it from us. Here’s what some of our clients had to say about PushPress Free:
“I thought maybe we would be treated like a second-class citizen because we were on the free (program), and that has not been the case,” said Kennedy. He has utilized support channels such as intercom, onboarding calls and the private Facebook group.
“I never felt like I was a lower-tier customer, and to know that there wasn't a monthly fee that I had to pay,” he continued. “But it was really based off of our gym's success really took some stress and pressure off so we could focus on other things.”
Lomen agreed, stating, “It allows me to focus more on quality and less on quantity. I can spend that time working on the retention of the members I do have, instead of constantly trying to chase the next dollar.”
Quillen said it’s the financial information that he appreciates most.
“Honestly, it’s amazing,” he said. “One click and I can tell you exactly how many members I have on which plans without having to generate a report and export it to Excel. And it’s laid out on the screen, easy to see immediately as you click on it. I haven’t seen a better system yet, especially for the cost.”
In regards to the transaction fees, he continued, “The transaction fees we saw as minimal. Because even with the additional transaction fees for PushPress Free, it's at the same level as our transaction fees were for (the previous software).”
Now, Quillen uses the time he used to spend buried in spreadsheets to build his business.
In Summary: Help Us Help You.
PushPress Free was created for new gym owners in the early stages of opening a gym. If you’re currently billing less than $10,000 per month, we’ve designed Free specifically for you.
Sign up for your PushPress Free account and let us help you run your gym better, starting today!
