Comprehensive Member Mgmt Solution for Fitness Businesses
4.4/5 (179 reviews)Pros
Honestly, their customer support! However, I don't have to call often as the on boarding team set me up wonderfully to begin with. But the support articles answer almost all my questions so I don't have to call. I am a small studio and don't have a front desk staff but ZP does it all for me (well, allows my clients to do it all for me). It is super easy to use on all fronts.
Cons
I have't run into anything that I don't like. I use ZP on my laptop in a web browser and I've found it confusing to try the staff app on my phone or tablet. This old dog struggles with learning new tricks :) So we can't blame ZP for that.
Thanks for your feedback, Kim!
The migration process was rocky. About 30% of the database has inaccuracies. They need to improve and automate this process. Tech support is excellent. Customer support was slow to resolve a billing issue I had. They refused to speak to me on the phone and did not return emails. But everything finally got straightened out with persistence on my part, and an effort to make up for the issue on their part. Overall, customer support is generally very good. The software works well, is not buggy. Overall, I really like the software except for the way purchasing works.
Pros
Reporting is excellent, the best I've seen. I like the fact you can create your own reports. After learning how to use the system we have been able to create any reports we need. That is definitely not the case for Mindbody or Wellness Living. The Kiosk application is nice to have and our clients like it, but needs some improvement. The Front Desk and Kiosk Applications are easy to learn which is helpful as we have 10 teachers at the center.
Cons
The POS system does not work like all other online systems (choose what you want, put in user info, payment info then press complete or check out and credit card is charged), and works differently in their different interfaces. The Front Desk software does not allow for discounts (that is being addresses in a future release). The Dashboard processes the sale, then you have to process the payment separately in a different step. In the beginning we lost sales because our staff was confused. Many of my teachers are still unsure whether a sale goes through or not. When the Front Desk application can accept accept discounts and credit card swipes it will greatly improve the POS process.
The client kiosk does not include a form for entering info for new clients and signing a waiver. For some strange reason that is on the staff side of the application. We keep it on the staff application but it means after a client signs the waiver they could get to a screen that offers a free class, which we do not actually offer. I have a hard time understanding why that is baked into their software, it is not considered a best practice. We have found work arounds for these issues but would like to see an updated and more robust kiosk application.
The automated emails are very good and it integrates with Mail Chimp. You can also implement a retention process with tasks assigned to different people.
Thanks for the feedback, Beth!
Endless , independence and function. Being a small business owner it allows me to run and automate many things such as financial reports, workouts, attendance. Reservation, automations of emails for customer retention , sales funnel , customer support, technically forward thingkong woth use of apps for iPad and iPhone to allow me to function on the run , away from the office, in the field, and manage coaches.
Pros
I love zenplanner. They started out with few features and no apps but they promised to improve regularly and they deliver. In the short 4 years I have been using they have incorporated a staff app for the iPhone, a users app to reserve, keep track of workouts , PRs, billing and much more. an app for the front desk to use as checking in, reserving, adding new clients at ease. On each of these products they improve and incorporated new needed features faster than any software I have ever used. Their customer service is truly second to none. Helping you not only in the set up stage but anytime you need help and they work to resolve your problem immediately. The software not only is packed full of great functions for financial, workout writing and publishing, emailing automation, reports of attendance, finances , and mass email intervention but it does it with a sleek appearance that is not only visually appealing but with an easy of use that it's simple and powerful.
Cons
Software is still growing and some features , not many anymore, can be improved. This is truly the worse thing I can think off as I have tried many many others do never been so satisfied and impressed with them delivering a great product and on a regular bases truly adding features to improve it without making it more complicated for the user.
this has done wonders for my business I dont need someone to confirm appointments
Pros
when setting apointments customers can do it online and it sends out confirmations and reminds of appointments so they have no excuse to not miss an appointment
Cons
could be cheaper per month. sometimes is slow but does the job
Thank you for the kind words, Drew!
I love their service and how much they've helped me. I would like the ACH only option for memberships though!
Pros
The customer service and ease of use, especially that everything you would essentially need is included with ZenPlanner, unlike MindBody or Triib. It's also cheaper because of PaySimple's merchant integration and I don't think most fitness businesses need the add ons that MindBody has and that you would pay for. I think being a good business owner, setting clearly defined roles and tasks for employees, and making sure they do them will lead to more sales than a email/text bot from MindBody.
Cons
I think the client facing side of signing up for memberships could be a little easier, for instance: you can't have a ACH only membership option, you do need an iPad or computer of which to then use ZenPlanner's Front Desk for, but I do know ZenPlanner is teaming up with PaySimple to possibly release a device to use instead of an iPad or computer.
Thanks Paul! We appreciate your feedback and kind words.
Sanity.
Pros
Zen Planner seamlessly integrates everything we need as a gym. Although there are still key features we would like, what is there works well and allows us to keep all customer data and interactions in one place, which makes our life easier. Perhaps most importantly, best customer service on the planet. No matter how small an issue, they respond immediately. And when we recently had an ENORMOUS problem, that was totally our fault, our rep worked on it over the weekend for us. He saved our sanity, and thousands of dollars. I can't imagine that kind of service anywhere else.
Cons
My only real gripes are things that don't exist and need to. I would like my members to be able to purchase retail items and check-in using their app. Both of these features exist in the staff app, but not the member app. Also, I would like an option to NOT have a gender field at registration. I find the gender binary pointless and it's offensive to our trans and nonconforming clients.
The reintroduction to Zen planner has been great. I'm learning new things and I'm excited about the dashboard that will show me exactly what's going on every day at first glance. It's exciting that I can customize it as well!
I can't say enough good things about my onboarding coach. She was and continues to be amazing support with Zen Planner. I appreciate all of her patience and genuine interest in helping me utilize the software to its maximum potential for my business.
I'm looking forward to growing with Zen Planner
Pros
I left for about four years because I felt like the software was missing some integral parts for my business.
Now I was needing something different and looked at Zen Planner again. The changes they have made over the past four years has been amazing.
This is not a company that sits idle and is content with the status quo
Cons
The system is a little complex but I believe it's more to do with the novelty of it and all of its features.
Thanks Paul! We appreciate your feedback and are happy to hear you are enjoying the new features and updates!
If I ever have an issue with the software, or a question on how to do something (like create a custom report) the customer support is always outstanding.
Pros
I have been using Zen for 10 years. The program is so easy to use & I am always finding new things to do with it.
Cons
When creating reports for attendance or payment history for a client, I would love to have our business name show at the header.
Thank you Jayne, we appreciate the kind words!
One stop shop for managing my business. Automation. And the ability to do a lot with little or no staff.
Pros
Easy to use, easy to manage. It has a great modern look and they don't try to bundle everything in one app. They have different apps for sing in, staff use, and member. I love the reports, and the face check in. Easy to find athletes by their face. Great for when you have new staff. It truly is a great bundle for workout tracking, integration with current website, and integration with marketing emails. All things other companies charge extra for. I would and have recommended this software to other gym and martial art owners.
Cons
The apps are great for managing but missing some fuctionality such as being able to schedule privates on the app. They where missing staff clicks in, retail sales but they have recently added those. Hard to find much I dislike and what I do they don't seem to be standing still, adding new function all the time.
zenplanner does exactly what you need a CRM tool to do most, it manages your current customers. Sure it integrates well for other uses such as lead capture, retail purchases, payroll, etc. Bit what I love is that it never fails at what we really need it to do, allow our service to be used by our customers, collect payments and evaluate customer data, allowing us to retain more members.
Pros
Reporting capabilities are immense allowing us to evaluate our business’ performance metrics and understand exactly what to focus on improving.
Customer service is the best out of any service our business uses.
Cons
It is very hard to learn how to use on your own. But, if you take the initiative to ask for help and training, the staff will teach you and save you hundreds of frustrating hours.
Thank you for the good words, Justin!
Pros
The more I learn about this software (partly due to their fantastic customer help team) the more I love it and the more it gives me back time! I still think I have barely scratched the service In its capabalities and I'm excited to learn more.
Cons
There is a bit of a learning curve but thats the same for all software. The basics at first is all you will need.
Thanks Chris, we think our support team is pretty fantastic too!
I run all my programs, classes and appointments. I also use it to bill my customers and record all my expenses. It is a perfect solution for a gym of sport facility, we are a fencing club with over 100 active members.
Pros
It covers all my needs, but the best part of it is the Customer Service. They helped me for every step over the implementation and they have always been available over the 3 years I have used the SW to solve all my questions. It is not only about issues but also about functionality questions. They are super friendly and useful.
Cons
The SW is very good, sometimes I would have preferred a few things to be organized differently but it is not a good deal.
Thanks for the review, Juan! We'll be sure to pass along your kind words to our customer service team.
THEY HAVE THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT CAN SOLVE BASICALLY ANY PROBLEM WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE SOFTWARE. THEY ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE WHEN YOU NEED THEM AND SO HELPFUL.
Pros
THAT IT MAKES MY JOB EASIER BY AUTOMATING PROCESSES
Cons
DOESN'T HAVE ALL THE FEATURES I NEED. ALSO TOO HARD TO LEARN ALL THE FEATURES SO I'M NOT MAXIMIZING IT'S FEATURES. THERE ARE LIMITED ON BOARDING SESSIONS SO WHEN THEY STOPPED, SO DID MY LEARNING
Thank you, Penny! We think our customer service team is pretty great as well!
Zen Planner takes care of our membership tracking, payments, scheduling. It can be a powerful tool if you know how to use it.
Pros
We've used Zen Planner in our gym for six years, and it's been pretty uneventful overall - which is what you want with such software. It does its job with a minimum of drama. Any issues we've had have been dealt with in a timely fashion. We do not use the workout programming feature (we went with SugarWOD for that), so I can't comment on that particular feature.
Cons
Zen Planner is good about making constant improvements, but there have been some things over the years that are a bit clunky and not necessarily intuitive to use. It's likely a function of building incremental improvements into existing software rather than starting with a clean slate.
Thanks for the feedback, Colin!
The customer service has been great in helping us resolve issues and work around systems that aren't quite what we need.
Pros
We like that we can track student count/growth, attendance, belt ranking, finances, and appointments all in one place.
Cons
The calendar is not easy to use and often leads to errors if you don't follow certain steps.
Thank you for taking the time to review Zen Planner, Shelly!
Super simple and easy to use.
Pros
The customer service is top notch. They are super responsive and helpful and see each situation through in a very comprehensive fashion.
Cons
Only complaints I have are really due to the learning curve which isn't high. I just need more experience with FOH systems like this.
Thank you, Gavin!
Every (and I mean EVERY) time I contact customer support, I am astounded at not only the response speed, but in the quality and thoroughness of the help I get. Their support techs are incredibly helpful and friendly. I am always blown away at the level of service and support I get from them.
Pros
I like that it is very easy to set up and use. From the daily dashboard to the automated messages and prospect funnel, the system is set up to save time (and $$). The website integration is also very easy and I have yet to discover the limits of their robust reporting system.
Cons
That there is so much available that I probably only use a small percentage of its functionality.
Thank you Dennis! We're happy to hear you're loving our customer advocate team. We think they're pretty great, too :)
ZenPlanner has been very reliable and does what we want it to except for the odd issue. Sometimes I get so frustrated I want to switch providers but then realize that the other providers still aren't as good as ZP so I just have to stick it out. If they increased their speed at which they fixed bugs and/or simple features then I would be a very happy customer.
Pros
It's a great CRM for a small fitness facility. From reviews from competitors, it appears to be the best however I haven't personally tried the others. The Chat feature is great to be able to quickly message with employees when I have questions or concerns.
Cons
They are very slow to fix bugs and/or simple features. It's almost like they don't even have tech employees to fix these things.
It helps me automate and streamline my systems and processes. I only wish it had the capacity for me to plop in all my expenses. Then, It would be golden! I would be able to replace my accounting software and have everything all in one place.
Pros
It's ease of use. It is laid out in a simplistic format that is easy to navigate.
The customer service team is outstanding. They always go above and beyond to ensure my satisfaction with the platform.
Cons
The lack of text feature but that has now been rectified for Cdn customers.
The only other less than desirable thing about the platform is the tiered billing. Personally, I truly don't see a need to have different billing if I have 50 students or 75. It should be one flat rate straight across.
While there have been a few limitations to booking appointments as well as classes, Zen Planner still makes it possible to juggle and offer both seemlessly. Clients can manage their schedules and payments online which allows me to focus on other important matters.
Pros
This software is easy to learn, implement and user friendly. Super easy integration and the customer service is outstanding! They are regularly updating and upgrading features and respond positively to feature requests and feedback. Easily have the best software on the market in my industry and I'm not sure why more people do not choose Zen Planner.
Cons
Some minor limitations such as color typology features on the mobile app have been limited and app functions such as calendar syncing and calendar default settings restricted.
Glad to hear you're happy with Zen Planner, Marlene! We appreciate the feedback.
Pros
ZP lets us schedule and bill clients in one place. It spits out reasonably useful accounting summaries and can handle some email automations.
Cons
This software is the worst part of my job. Do not be fooled by their slick sales staff: this cannot perform most of the functions advertised. It can, but only in a perfect world where you gym runs exactly as ZP imagines it. In this imaginary perfect world, you'd need a team of administrators working full-time to keep your database up-to-date and functioning.
Our gym runs about 250 sessions per week. That's either classes or PT. They're all different. ZP's workout builder does not work for this. We were spending ~3 hours per day inputting workouts. It could not scale. So now we do not track workouts in the software.
We see 100 leads per week and run free trials to get them into the gym. ZP's various 'prospect' systems cannot handle this. They are not manipulatable enough to handle the different types of trials we'd like to offer. Doing so, again, would take a team of administrators. We now use a separate sales software for everyone on trial.
ZP goes down most days for 1-2 hours. 5-6 days per week. Just no software to run the gym. No attendance tracked, no bills processed, no member questions answered.
ZP's calendar never works on the first try. Literally. When I click on a staff member's calender I wait 15sec for the software to reload the full gym calendar with no changes. Then I click the staff member a second time, wait another 15sec, and only then am I rewarded with his/her calendar. With 28 staff this is not working.
I¿m sorry to hear your experience with Zen Planner has been less than ideal. We'd like to offer help to ensure your database is set up efficiently and give you a direct point of contact for the issues you have brought to our attention. Please reach out to our retention expert, Nick Deprez at [email protected], to get set up as your review is anonymous and we are unable to reach you directly. In response to your note about down time: we diligently track the down time of our software and are currently at 99.87% availability. This would not be possible if we were down at the rate you described. I¿ve passed your feedback about our feature compatibility and sales to our Sales Team to review and ensure we maintain transparency and honesty in our sales process.
We are a martial arts school who used the software for 3 years, on the basis that while the software didn't do everything we were looking for they were putting in product feature requests to make improvements, and to fix the many bugs in the software. After 3 years they finally came back with: "I do not have a timeline for release on features that you have suggested. Any changes or additions we make to Zen Planner need to be commonly requested, and fit into the Product Team's vision for our software. As a result, some features you have requested may never be implemented."
However I have seen many other martial arts schools request similar changes. So after initially promising everything to get you signed up, they then back track if you keep following up with them trying to get a straight answer. Continuing to try and hold them to account results in: "Zen Planner is not for everyone, and it's important that you find a system that works for you. This message is providing you with notice that your Zen Planner account will be closed" and I have also heard from several other users that this has happened to them as well.
So they misrepresent their software, then promise to get it working, take your money - and you invest a significant amount of time setting it up, and then more time every week doing manual workarounds waiting for a fix they never intended to make. Then they just cancel your membership without giving you enough time to transition everything, particularly changing over your billing for members.
Some of the issues are: parents signing up their kids for martial arts classes is very difficult and confusing for members. They can't use the same email for their children - who can be too young to even have their own email - and then automated emails don't send as there is no email for the member. When they try it often results in an error and they try signing up multiple times, bloating the database with duplicate registrations and memberships, which are tedious and difficult to combine, that cause errors while completing. I ended up doing more admin to fix this than signing them up manually. Then booking classes for kids is so difficult I ended up doing it manually for parents.
Also a main feature they promote is be belt progress skill tracking - this is designed for entering a single workout for a cross fit box, and so trying to enter results and comments for a grading against all the skills is totally unusable.
Pros
For existing members, once you have gone through the lengthy set up process, it processes payments automatically for you, but making changes is very difficult. It is easier to just use the payment gateway provider directly and use a manual system to track it.
They did have financial reporting - but I found them to be more trouble than they were worth, but I am a Chartered Accountant and might just have standards that are above minimalistic offering available on Zen Planner.
Cons
It is extreemley difficult for parents to book classes for their kids, especially for more than one child, for more than one day - as the calendar defaults to the parent -with no classes as they don't have a membership. They need to change to the first child then click on one class then reserve a place, then go back to the start for the next class & child.
Also for automations to work the child needs an email entered, and you can't use the same email as the parent, or link them to the parent. Apparently this change is too difficult as many members asked, but they won't fix it. When the automations don't work, parents think there is an error and start another registration, which creates many duplicate records in the database. Manually combining them, updating profiles, and manually sending the "automated" emails takes more time than just doing it manually.
The skill tracking system is also very badly designed, it is almost unusable, and takes a huge amount of time to enter if you want to record results against all the skills a martial arts student needs to know in a single session, such as a grading or pre-grading. Members can't even see what skills they need to pass if no results are previously entered, or a summary of their skills.
When I opened my studio I initially used MindBody. I was already accustomed to it when I taught at other studios, I only used it to check in students and process payments. When I purchased it for my studio I found it lacking in reporting and processing fees for credit cards payments were higher than others.
Pros
Simple to learn and easy to use. It has everything you need to manage a yoga studio. Multiple reporting options. Easy access for my students.
Cons
The only thing I would like is a lower price.
Thanks for the feedback Al! Glad Zen Planner is working well for your studio.
We are now in the process of building our website and it’s content. Zen Planner has made this difficult process so much smoother. I have heard horror stories from other gym owners that didn’t go with Zen Planner. I’m thankful everyday that I made the decision to go with them. Best choice ever!
Pros
We are opening a brand new Jiu Jitsu academy and this has been a whole new experience for us. I’m not very computer savvy, but EVERYONE at Zen Planner has been so helpful and made this so easy for someone like me. I’m very happy with this company.
Cons
I have had nothing but good experiences with Zen Planner!
Glad to hear you're happy with Zen Planner, Diane! We appreciate the feedback.
It’s been positive. It’s better than previous software, I’d like more, but from other conversations I’ve had and things I hear about other apps I am not sure that there is much better.
Pros
It’s makes a lot of sense to use. Some things aren’t obvious necessarily at first, but once you get there it all makes sense.
Cons
It feels pretty limited in reporting. Not because it actually is, but more because the options for them are too specific.
Workout tracking is kind of a joke. It hasn’t been updated since it premiered and it’s not “fun” for members to use at all. We’ve since switched workout tracking to sugar WoD.
I am love the people at ZP. There isn't one person I've come in contact with that hasn't been helpful, positive, encouraging, understanding and cheerful. I went to their office because I was starting a new program and wanted help with the set up of the program and the membership. They set me up with one person to be my helper that day. Now what company will do that? I can tell you that no other software company I've used would've offered me that. Also, love the Zen Academy. I learned about so many more things the software could do for me that I wasn't either using or doing in a google spreadsheet . So now ZP is helping me save more precious time and I'm learning more about my business in the process. Thank you reports and automations!