Introduction:
Free plans are useful for promotions, allowing reservations for free events or classes, or adding free access and booking to gym amenities as part of another membership.
What does "Plan Begins" mean?
Answer:
The plan start date — the date a member’s access to your gym and sessions begins.
What is the "First Plan Payment Due"?
Answer:
The date the member’s first payment is scheduled. This field can be ignored when attaching a free plan to a member as they will not have a first payment.
What is a Signup Fee?
Answer:
A one-time fee charged at sign up. This fee will not be charged again if the plan auto-renews.
What is Auto Renewal?
Answer:
Determines whether the plan will automatically restart when it reaches the end of the plan length set in the membership plan settings.
What types of discounts are available?
Answer:
This field can be ignored when attaching a Free membership to a member since the plan is already free and can't be discounted further.
What is the Salesperson field for?
Answer:
(Optional) The staff member who attached the plan to the member — useful for reporting or tracking sales incentives.
How do I use a free plan to run a promotion before a recurring membership starts?
Answer:
Attach the Free Plan: Add a 1-month (or desired duration) free plan to the member.
Attach the Recurring Membership: Immediately add the recurring membership plan to the member.
Set the Start Date: Make sure the recurring membership’s start date is set for the day the free plan ends.
Confirm: Verify that the free plan is active now and the recurring plan is scheduled to begin after the free period.
This ensures members enjoy their free promotional period, and the recurring membership begins automatically afterward without gaps.
How do I offer a free month(s) while a member is already on a recurring plan?
Answer:
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Freeze the Current Recurring Plan:
Pause the recurring plan so the member won’t be billed. Please note: They cannot book sessions unless another plan is active.
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Set Freeze Dates:
Choose start and end dates for the freeze that match the duration of the free plan (e.g., 2-month freeze for a 2-month promotion).
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Attach the Free Plan:
Add the free plan to the member’s account.
Set its start and end dates to match the freeze period. This allows the member to continue booking sessions without being charged.
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Verify Session Access:
Make sure the free plan is included in the list of accepted plans for any sessions the member should be able to book during the freeze.
How do we set up a free drop-in pass or a free trial membership?
Answer:
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Create the Free Pass or Trial Plan
Define the plan as “Free” in your system.
Specify whether it’s a single drop-in or a trial period (e.g., 7 days, 14 days).
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Set Plan Duration and Limits
For a drop-in pass, set it for a single day.
For a trial membership, set the plan duration to match the length of the trial period you are offering.
Optionally, set weekly session limits or access restrictions if needed.
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Attach the Plan to the User
Add the free drop-in pass or trial membership to the user’s account.
Ensure the start date matches when you want them to begin using it.
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Confirm Access
Make sure the free plan is included in the list of accepted plans for any sessions or amenities the user should be able to book.
If relevant, configure attendance caps or waitlists for popular sessions.
How do we use a free plan to allow users to access a special event or class?
Answer:
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Create or Identify the Free Plan:
Use a free plan specifically designed for events or classes.
Plan membership type should be Limited Time.
Plan length should be 1 day.
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Attach the Free Plan to the User:
Add the free plan to the user’s account.
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Set the Start and End Dates:
Align the free plan’s start and end dates with the date(s) of the special event or class.
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Ensure Access:
Confirm that the free plan is included in the list of accepted plans for the event or class so the user can book and attend without being charged.
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Optional Follow-Up:
Remove or grandfather the free plan after the event ends to prevent unintended access in the future.
How do we use a free plan to provide access to reservable amenities like pickleball or outdoor workouts?
Answer:
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Create or Identify the Free Plan
Use a free plan specifically designed for the amenity you want to offer.
If the amenity has a weekly limit (e.g., number of times members can book pickleball court), configure this in the plan setup.
Set the plan’s length to match the period you want the member to have access.
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Attach the Free Plan to the User
Add the free plan to the user’s account.
Align the plan’s start date with the access period.
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Ensure Amenity Access
Add sessions to your schedule during the times the amenity is available.
Confirm the free plan is included in the list of accepted plans for the amenity so the user can book without being charged.
Set any attendance caps to limit the number of members per session.
Enable waitlist options if needed.
Additional information:
What are best practices to keep in mind when setting up Membership Plans?