There has never been more demand for personal trainers than today. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way many of us work, and for personal trainers, video and online booking software have become essential tools for survival. The traditional methods of booking a training slot went out the window. New techniques were required to keep things in shape for personal trainers operating online.
Now that we are coming out of the pandemic, it is clear that many people, having got used to the method of working, wish to continue with online training. We looked at booking software that can help you run your personal training business and came up with 5 examples we believe to be the best in the business, before we talk in brief about each one, a bit more about booking software itself.
What is Booking Software?
When we talk of booking software, we are actually looking at a broader type of tool. Most booking software – as we shall see – also offers other features that are useful for running a business, such as personal training. These include video conferencing, reminders, and messages, making such software more versatile than you may think. Being able to book a slot online is a welcome bonus for any business, but for those that require a well-run diary and calendar, there is a lot to be said for using one of the following 5 software tools.
Our Top 5
The top 5 we have chosen here are not a comprehensive list as there are many more, but these are the examples that get the best reviews by users and that we liked. Let’s get started.
Missed.com
Missed.com is a great app for personal trainers as it delivers the goods required from a successful online booking system. Like many others, it works as follows: the trainer puts out a cloud-based calendar showing the open slots and sends a link to the clients. The client then chooses a slot that is convenient to them, and a notification is sent to the trainer. That slot is then closed. This method streamlines booking as it allows the client to take the lead and the trainer to offers slots only when they want to.
Missed also comes with an efficient video system that can handle one to one or group sessions and includes many more features that are great for a training business. The free version is adequate for a smaller business too.
Jobber
Among the most popular booking software options is Jobber. This one is great for personal trainers as it uses a similar system to the above and also offers a variety of other features. These include automated scheduling and recurring appointments features that are useful for trainers who like to keep clients in certain time slots. Easy to use and with an effective video conferencing system, Jobber is a good example of booking and scheduling software.
Wellness Living
Aimed squarely at the health and fitness market so ideal for personal trainers, Wellness Living is a neatly designed system that is popular with trainers online as well as with bricks and mortar gyms. It is well-designed and easy to use with a simple dashboard and offers all the features you would expect, including group scheduling and an automatic confirmation and reminder system. This one is certainly worth checking out for its many features.
Wix
You may know Wix as a giant in the website development world, but in fact, it also offers an online booking system that is simple and concise. It can be used from anywhere and is surprisingly effective. However, where Wix lets itself down is that – as far as being a tool for personal trainers – it is solely a booking system. There is no video link, so you have to use another such as Zoom, and none of the other features those mentioned above are present.
ARCS
It is essential that you streamline your booking system if you want to save time and money, and ARCS offers an efficient online booking tool that is ideal for personal trainers and other appointment-based businesses. However, it lacks some features of Missed.com and Jobber – for example – so you would need to run it in conjunction with other software packages.
Conclusion
We’re not going to give a verdict as the choice will depend on the user, but we will say that out of the above five, the sensible choice will definitely be between Missed, Jobber, and Wellness Living. Each is feature-packed and allows for a completely streamlined and efficient booking and appointments service, as well as offering many other useful tools that will help build and grow your personal trainer business.
Check out these and more software packages and give your business the online boost it needs to keep up with the competition.
