In short

Fitness studio bookkeeping works from the membership platform's billing and payout reports. Recurring charges, declines, refunds and processor fees are recorded separately and payouts reconciled to the bank. Class packs, annual memberships and personal-training packages are held as unearned revenue and recognized as they are used, retail and supplement sales are tracked with inventory, and instructor pay is coded by class or program.

Reconciling the billing platform

Studio software typically produces a billing report and a payout report. We record:

  1. Membership and class revenue from the billing report
  2. Refunds and chargebacks as reductions of revenue
  3. Processing fees as an expense
  4. Payouts matched to bank deposits

Declined charges are not revenue until collected, so we work from successful transactions only and keep a note of the decline rate.

Unearned revenue

A ten-class pack sold for one price is earned as classes are attended or as the pack expires. Annual memberships are earned month by month. We keep an unearned revenue schedule and update it at each month end.

Retail and supplements

Apparel, drinks and supplements are inventory. We record purchases to inventory and cost of goods sold based on counts or point-of-sale reports, and separate taxable retail sales for sales tax records.

Instructor and trainer costs

Instructor pay is coded by program, such as group classes or personal training, so each program's margin can be reported.

Equipment and leases

Each piece of financed or leased equipment is listed with its payment schedule, and loan payments are split between principal and interest.

Key terms

Definitions for terms used on this page:

  • Cost of Goods Sold: Cost of goods sold is the direct cost of the products a business sold during a period.
  • Chargebacks: A chargeback is a reversal of a card payment initiated by the cardholder's bank, often after a customer disputes a transaction.

Fitness Studios & Gyms problems this addresses

  • Class packs and annual memberships are paid before services are delivered
  • Failed recurring payments and refunds blur real membership revenue
  • Trainers may be employees, contractors or renters of space
  • Equipment is expensive and often financed or leased
  • Studio software reports bookings, not accounting entries