Why Fitness Member Delinquency Matters for Your Gym

There is no shortage of challenges in the modern world of gym management. One of the largest (and one of the most critical) is member delinquency. Member delinquency is a term that refers to a member forfeiting, missing, or simply not paying their dues. While not getting paid is an issue unto itself, there are actually multiple problems that fitness member delinquency can cause in the long-run for gym management teams.

Oftentimes, when members fall behind on their payments or have trouble keeping up with bills, it means that a collection agency needs to be involved. If you think managing the day-to-day logistics of a gym are time-consuming, dealing with a collection agency can be incredibly frustrating. While your finance team probably already has a collections agency on file (or maybe they have an in-house collections team that manages this kind of thing) nobody wants to have this conversation with members. Collections conversations can quickly turn awkward, combative, and messy – so if you can avoid them you should.

Member delinquency issues can also impact your team’s personal credit standing. Many gyms, especially smaller or local establishments, rely on every single membership payment to pay the bills and overhead costs. If some of these membership dues were to stop coming in, the internal accounting of the business would be at risk. Membership dues are the financial backbone of a gym’s business model and should be treated as such.

How your team deals with membership delinquency can also have an impact on how your company is perceived in the industry and the local community. After all, there is a reason big-box gyms have traditionally low online ratings and reviews: their billing and collections processes are notoriously outdated and difficult. If your gym is faced with too many membership delinquency issues, or if you’re dealing with past-due accounts in an aggressive manner, people are going to be talking about it and your industry reputation will suffer.

Steps you can take to help control member delinquency

While at first it may seem as though gym member delinquency is completely on the shoulders of members, there are actually a few proactive steps gym managers and owners can take to better manage member billing and make it easier for members to stay on top of their billing payments:

1. Give members more options on how to pay their bills. While online or automatic payments are easy for most people, every situation is different. Some people might need to pay with cash or check while others need an itemized receipt to send to through their employer’s expense system. It’s all about having these options available in advance to minimize confusion.
2. Increase communications if you sense a trend in membership delinquency. If you notice the same members are falling behind in their payments month after month, pick up your communication cadence. Schedule payment reminders up to two weeks in advance, and automate alerts leading up to payment due dates. Also, if members do fall behind in their dues, have a notification campaign ready to go to get the matter resolved sooner rather than later.
3. Have a clear process in place to handle members who are beyond saving. Sometimes, membership delinquency really means that you have to involve an outside collections agency or third-party. Make sure your executive, finance, and account management teams all know exactly what to say to members, have access to the right documents, and know to whom to escalate issues. Planning in advance can ensure your team and business is kept out of any troubling situations.

Membership delinquency is a part of doing business in the fitness industry, but it doesn’t have to be a defining characteristic of your organization. With the right processes and solutions in place, your team can stay on top of membership delinquency and remain competitive in the fitness marketplace.