Clubessential Holdings brands wrings order from the chaos of multi-source data so fitness brands can expand

For every first gym in Dubai, wellness studio in Toronto, or location number 100 for a domestic fitness franchisor, there’s likely an efficient system of back-office operations that helped get it there. 

When brands expand, especially across the globe, that connection between the management software at the core of their business and whatever landmark site they’ve grown to launch is often difficult to see — but not for ClubReady. The fitness management platform, along with its affiliate brands within Clubessential Holdings, knows back-office operations are key to enterprise growth.  

“Back-office technology enables businesses to define the past and create a vision for the future,” said Randy Eckels, President of Clubessential Holdings, provider of ClubReady and Exerp platforms. “Having the data for financial results, trends, and forecasts accessible from one source of truth, from HQ down to store level operatives, is imperative.”

Solving the Staffing Crisis

In an increasingly saturated market with countless revenue streams for fitness professionals, building and maintaining an effective staff has never been harder. It’s one of the tallest, most difficult hurdles brands have to clear while looking to expand their reach. 

“The fitness industry is getting hit from every side regarding staffing issues,” said Eckels. “Good people are hard to find, harder to keep, and cost more than ever. They have choices.”

credit: ClubReady

Adept back-office operations, however, bring that hurdle down a few notches. Clubessential Holdings’ brands set clients up with one integrated solution that streamlines processes like bookings, MMS services, billings and more. 

By taking on this load, the software frees up any staff to concentrate less on tick-tack operations and more on face-to-face ones. 

“Back office technology plays a vital role by empowering staff to focus on their key responsibilities, not the software,” said Eckels. “The best solutions are intuitive and accessible. Technology should work for you to where your staff spends less time learning and using it, more time focusing on member experience and retention.”

“One area where we’re seeing tremendous advancements is in blended communications, where AI and smart business automation works with the CRM to communicate with leads and members using an authentic human touch,” added Eckels. “This greatly increases efficiency, ensures no communication is missed, and promotes appropriate engagement while not draining staff resources.”

Fast & Easy Payments

All of the management solutions features provided by ClubReady and Clubessential Holdings collectively drive expansion. However, ClubReady’s billing solution, which accelerates the payment process and improves franchisee relations, is the main fuel source. 

“There’s no way around it: growth depends on revenue,” said Eckels. “Managing the money is critical — and the fewer touchpoints involved, the better. By far the biggest issue is that it’s not all one cohesive system and process. Multiple touchpoints and systems result in delays and introduce opportunities for error. You don’t want hundreds of store operators handling chargebacks or running remittance reports.”

ClubReady accomplishes this with automated royalty management. The process is more secure and simplified than traditional billing methods, making it easy to communicate with franchisees and requiring less manpower.

credit: ClubReady

“Having royalties, payments, and billing managed all in one platform greatly streamlines the entire process,” said Eckels. “When there is a question or issue, there’s one call to a team that supports the entire process and understands the system backward and forwards. This results in a quicker resolution.” 

Aside from the operational efficiency this feature provides, it also helps foster a successful franchisee and franchisor relationship. 

“An automated royalty management and billing system and clear audit trail, where the back office can see what is due, what is forecasted, and how sites are performing at the click of a button – rather than weeks after month end — is a game changer, “ Eckels added. “That consistency garners the trust of your operators and eliminates any hiccups going forward.”

New Data in a New Age

You’ll never get a software solution provider to say there’s such a thing as “too much data,” but collecting and presenting it optimally for brands has become quite the challenge, especially in today’s day and age. 

“The last couple of years have brought fitness companies a crush of data that was unimaginable before, and it’s coming from everywhere,” said Eckels. “The question now is, where should that information go to deliver the most value, and what does it mean?”

ClubReady, Exerp and other brands under the Clubessential Holdings hood lean on their advanced APIs to answer that question. Within these systems, clients can see multiple layers of their brand’s finances from a singular viewpoint, giving them all the data they need in an easily digestible format.

credit: ClubReady

“It ensures that the corporate team has reports customized to the business based on data collected by their member management and payments provider to understand and identify revenue streams,” said Eckels. “At the next level down, it delivers role-based dashboards and reporting to ensure that the appropriate data is pushed to the entire team. KPIs for the brand can be measured and benchmarked, from region to region or store to store.”

Efforts to keep improving these APIs as brands grow and the industry evolves never cease. Exerp is one of Clubessential Holdings’ latest beneficiaries of that mindset. 

“With Exerp, we overhauled the tech stack to provide a rock-solid, scalable solution able to power the biggest global brands in the world,” Eckels explained. “It offers an open rest API that allows our customers to utilize the technology that best fits their business while also taking payments all over the world with a localized and fully translatable system.”

“To say the least, we’re excited about what we’re bringing to our customers and our customers’ customers,” Eckels added. “Our already best-in-class technology has been a solid foundation for moving forward. Now we’re using insights from leading brands we’re proud to have as customers and partners to enhance usability and the user experience at every touchpoint. But it all starts with getting the back-office processes right.”

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