Top 3 Financial Reports Every Gym Owner Should Live By

Raise your hand if you’re an accountant. Nobody? This isn’t surprising – after all, running a gym isn’t about numbers, it’s about people. While you might have a part-time accountant on staff or outsource some of your billing responsibilities to a third party, it is, unfortunately, part of the job to have some sort of visibility into the financial viability of your organization. Luckily, this doesn’t mean you have to have a masters degree in the in’s and out’s of financial reporting – it just means you have to have the right tools in place to help run an efficient business.  

When it comes to financial solutions, the secret lies in reporting. While you could manually go through financial receipts, statements, and bills and compile these reports yourself, why would you want to? The rise of innovative, industry-specific solutions means that gym owners no longer have to worry about crunching the numbers, they can instead rely on well-thought-out reports and dashboards that present high-level and detailed insights in an easy-to-understand format.

Now, instead of how and why, the question is simply ‘what do we look for?’. There are countless financial reports out there, many of which pertain directly to small business owners like yourself. We’ve narrowed down the field to the top three financial reports every gym owner should live by:

Report #1: Collections & Renewals

The first report on any gym owners list should be managing incoming profits from member collections and renewals. In such a turnover-heavy industry, you need to keep a pretty steady pulse on how many members you have at any given time, your overall renewal rate, and any outstanding collections. Look for a reporting solution that not only gives you a transparent look at these metrics but also aggregates these numbers to highlight increases, decreases, and overall results. This way, you can keep tabs on how well your sales and collection processes are working. If there is a measurable uptick in new memberships after you roll out a new marketing campaign, it’s clearly working and you should scale the campaign. These are the types of decisions you as a gym owner can make with access to collections & renewals reporting to move your business forward.

Report #2: Employee Wages

At the end of the day, fitness centers and gyms are businesses, and they need to be able to operate as such. This includes managing and tracking employee wages, timesheets, and other relevant details. As a gym owner, you should be able to quickly glance over a single report and see exactly how many hours your employees have worked, corresponding wages, and any additional hours or overtime. If your gym has multiple class schedules and instructors, it’s probably not uncommon for staff members to switch schedules around at the last minute. You need a financial reporting platform that can be flexible and work with your team to ensure you’re delivering the best possible experience to your members.

Report #3: Accounts Receivable

Sometimes, gyms might have to rely on AR reporting to run their business. At the most basic level, AR invoices are customer charges that aren’t directly related to membership sales. These would be upsells, merchandise sales, or other income that isn’t directly related to your membership. While some gym-specific financial reporting solutions don’t include AR report capabilities, innovative, well-rounded platforms include AR to help businesses keep track of all of their numbers to make better, faster business decisions.

While financial reporting might not be the most exciting part of the job, it’s necessary to keep your gym running smoothly and above the board. Think about how you’re currently handling financial reporting. What reports does your gym currently use to monitor success and growth? How do you merge your overhead costs (such as employee wages) with incoming deposits (such as member dues)?

Not sure how to answer these questions? Click here to talk one-on-one with a gym financial services specialist who can help get to the bottom of these questions and more.