Discover hidden money in your fitness business

As business owners we are always looking for ways to attract new clients and new dollars. But what about existing dollars that should be making their way to your bank account, but aren’t? Look for hidden revenue in your business with this quick, three-step self-audit!

Unpaid memberships – This is a biggie and is easy to stay on top of if you are diligent about signing your clients into classes. There are several reasons a client might have an unpaid membership: expired credit card, lost credit card (and subsequently canceled), or an expired membership agreement that is not immediately renewed. If you aren’t religiously signing in your clients you have no way of knowing whether or not they are current with their billing. Or maybe the client is current, but exceeding his or her visits per week (another place to look for lost revenue). Just 1 or 2 unpaid clients each month represents thousands of dollars of unclaimed annual gross revenue.

Trade and Comps – Depending on how well capitalized you are when you open your business, trading your services can help you get much-needed work (like a website, or t-shirt printing) that you otherwise might not be able to afford. However, it is important to periodically review these trade agreements to see if they are still in the best interest of your business. How many clients do you have on trade? Are you still getting value commensurate to what you are giving? Or is it one sided? You’ll want to be particularly cautious with trade if you pay your instructors by the head. Paying labor on a zero revenue client can quickly cost you far more than you are gaining with the trade.

Cash – Does your business handle a lot of cash? Do you have multiple drop-ins and t-shirt purchases (frequently paid for with cash)? If so, are you accounting for the amount of cash that is coming in and making sure that amount is making its way to the bank? Running a daily cash drawer report can help verify you are collecting all the cash from your cash sales. Twenty dollars here and there adds up over the course of a month or a year.