The first branch runs on you. You know every member, every trainer and where every rupee went. A second branch only works if it runs on a system instead, because you can’t stand at two desks.
Decide these five things before you open.
1. Where members can train
This is the question members ask first. You have three choices, and you can mix them by plan:
- Home branch only. Simplest. Cheaper plans usually work this way.
- All branches. A premium plan, worth more to people who live near one branch and work near the other.
- Chosen branches. For chains with very different branches.
Write it on the plan itself, not as a rule the desk remembers.
2. One system, not two registers
Two separate registers, or two copies of the same Excel sheet, means two versions of the truth. A member renews at branch two and branch one still thinks the plan has ended. Keep both branches in one system, so a member is the same member everywhere.
3. Who sees what
- Front desk and trainers: only their own branch.
- Branch manager: their branch, including its money.
- You: everything, branch by branch or together.
Set this up on the first day. It’s much harder to take access away later.
4. Money per branch
Every payment, expense and refund belongs to a branch. At the end of the month you should be able to answer, for each branch on its own: how much came in, how much went out, and what was left. If you can only see the total, a loss-making branch hides inside a profitable one.
5. Same prices, or not?
Same prices are easier to explain and to advertise. Different prices make sense when the branches are different: newer equipment, a pool, a better location. If you do vary prices, use different plan names so the desk never charges the wrong one.
The first 90 days
Watch three numbers every week for the new branch:
- New members per week. Is the launch working, or was it just opening week?
- Check-ins by hour. Plan trainers and classes around the real peaks, not guesses.
- Renewal rate. The first renewals come at the end of month one. That’s when you learn whether people liked it.
How Gymint helps
Gymint runs every branch from one login. Switch branches from the top bar, or see them together, and the dashboard and lists follow the branch you pick. Each plan decides where its members can train, and staff can be limited to their own branches.