If you’re opening up a gym or leisure business in 2024, one important decision to consider is which point of sale system best fits your business.
Whether you’re membership-based, cash on arrival or planning to sell beverages to the side, every transaction made in your leisure business must be processed through a POS system, especially in an increasingly digital payment landscape.
With this in mind, we’ve put together a guide to choosing the best POS system for your gym or leisure business in 2024.
Could A Gym POS System Transform Your Business?
Customer expectations are ever-increasing. If you plan to open up a leisure business in 2024, you can expect customers to demand integrated membership apps, device-led direct debits and instant access to digital bookings, analytics and more.
Introducing a gym-based POS system to your business could bring your fitness suite into a new era. Consolidating all business practices into one integrated system reduces the need for numerous staff members and turns monthly reporting into a piece of cake.
A gym POS system can store bookings, payments, customer membership details, inventory analytics and more all in one smart hub.
Here are just a few ways you can use a POS system as a gym/leisure business:
- Automated Class Booking: Gone are the days of manually booking members onto fitness classes. A gym-inspired POS system allows employees to book members onto a class directly after taking payment, send automated reminders and even bill an account for the booking without seeing the member in person.
- Client Notes: A modern POS system not only takes payment but also stores information about each member in their own unique profile. Here, you can view previous payments and make notes on any needs and desires specific to a customer’s membership. This allows you to provide a personalised service for each and every returning customer.
- Loyalty Programs: Using the same membership profiles, POS systems can track and log points for each customer based on their purchasing habits, class bookings and entries to the gym. Once they have completed a certain number of actions, a POS system can automatically apply discounts to new purchases or offer a member a free class booking as part of a loyalty reward scheme.
- Data Security: POS systems keep all of your club transactions in one place. This makes your data easy to access and less likely to play victim to cyberattacks that target the transmission of data between multiple systems.
- Locker Management: If you’re a 24/7 fitness business, POS systems can automate a number of processes when staff are not present. For example, if your POS system is connected to electronically powered lockers, you can set the system up to release and lock lockers at certain times without the need for human intervention.
These are just a few benefits you could enjoy when introducing a powerful point-of-sale system to your gym/leisure business.
There are, however, plenty of other advantages to leverage from a modern POS software system. Let’s have a closer look at some of the front-runners for your business needs.
6 POS Systems To Consider For The Gym/Leisure Industry
From the ability to create personalised member profiles to saying goodbye to long queues at the checkout, here are some of the best gym POS systems on the market right now and the exciting benefits they offer for your business:
Epos Now
Our favourite gym POS system on the market comes from Epos Now. Their payment processing solutions are built with customers in mind, and their POS interface is easy for gym club entrepreneurs and members alike to manage.
Our favourite features include:
- Creative customer profiling
- In-built loyalty rewards system
- Inventory management tracking software
- Automated booking reminders/emails
- Minute-to-minute real-time reports
Price: Price on enquiry.
BMI Leisure
(Image Source: BMI Leisure)
BMI Leisure is also a great POS system to consider as a growing gym/leisure business. Their streamlined software connects each of your operations, from activity scheduling and online bookings to membership card management.
Our favourite features include:
- Powerful touchscreen interface
- Venue customisation for multiple locations
- Automated SMS updates for members
- QR code check-in
- Built-in stock management
Price: BMI offers a core and expansion package. Price on enquiry.
Perfect Gym
Perfect Gym offers an irresistible POS package with an easy-to-learn reception application. Their aim is to reduce checkout queues and help gyms make data-driven decisions to fuel their growth.
Our favourite features include:
- Easily add new members and guests with an automated registration system
- Electronic locker management
- Automated discount positioning
- Real-time analytics reports
- Seamless card and wristband assignment
(Image Source: Perfect Gym)
Price: Perfect Gym starts at £129 a month.
TeamUp
TeamUp prides itself on allowing fully remote management of all POS functionalities. This is a great beginner POS package that offers unlimited customer support.
Our favourite features include:
- Free trial period for beginner gym groups
- Seamless sales transactions
- Automated inventory reporting
- Integration with accounting software and CRM system
- Easy online booking system that integrates with member app for one-click class booking.
Price: TeamUp starts at £99 per month.
Momence
Next in the lineup, we have Momence and all-in-one fitness studio software. Momence acts as more than just a payment processing system, allowing your gym to get creative with its on-demand class streaming and customisable membership services.
Our favourite features include:
- Ability to stream live and on-demand workout sessions using the Momence platform
- Branded mobile app
- Custom workout plan creation for gym members
- 24/7 chat support
- Running all business processes from a single dashboard
(Image Source: Momence)
Price: Price on enquiry.
Square
Last but not least, Square is a brilliant point-of-sale solution for those focused on sales analytics. With powerful reporting tools to hand, the Square POS app displays insights in real-time for mobile performance tracking on the go.
Our favourite features include:
- Integrated invoicing via email
- Powerful analytics app showcasing payments, analytics and digital receipts.
- Automated appointment scheduling
- Beginner-friendly touchscreen interface
Price: Square is a great beginner POS system. Starting at just £19+ VAT per month, it’s perfect for testing the water as a gym/leisure business.
Final Thoughts
There are plenty of POS systems on the market for gym and leisure startups. This said, each and every POS package offers a number of different benefits.
The key here is to identify the areas of your business you would like to enhance with a POS system and hunt for a solution that streamlines the process for your employees while offering a seamless experience to your customer base.
