Plan to succeed with direct debit – how to get started

If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of a one-on-one demonstration from one of our friendly fitness payments consultants, you will have seen how the right direct debit software has the power to improve the way cash flows through your business and give you a mighty edge over your competition (if you want to know a bit more about how this works, try reading our experts’ article about why receiving gym membership fees faster with direct debit is the best way to get control over when you get paid).

But, now that you’re all clued up about the competitive advantages to be had as a result of shifting your gym over to automated payments, you’re probably wondering a bunch of other questions around how to actually get started, such as, ‘How do we make sure that we don’t have any problems when we switch on our new direct debit system? How do we make the switch easy for our existing members? How do we get set up in the first place?’

Well, you’ve come to the right place – read on to discover the answers to these questions and more!

Plan to succeed – get your implementation plan ready ahead of time

Have you ever heard the saying ‘those who fail to plan, plan to fail’? We don’t want to sound cheesy but, when it comes to successfully implementing your new automated payments system quickly and painlessly, this old proverb couldn’t be truer. Talk to one of our friendly fitness payments consultants about getting your tailored implementation plan set up ahead of time. After almost a couple of decades in the business, we’ve set up countless fitness institutions with direct debit and we’re here to help you do it too – quickly and painlessly!

A note on software integration

Do you already use (or are you in the process of switching to) one of our recommended all-in-one gym management systems? If so, you have the capability to reap the added time-saving and cost-saving advantages of seamless software integration between your gym management system and your Ezidebit automated payments software. Check out our three-step Ezidebit payments integration checklist to find out how to get your Ezidebit payments solution and your gym management software working together from day one. Oh, and be sure to mention this to your Ezidebit payments consultant when you get in touch with us about your tailored implementation plan!

Talk with your members about your direct debit plans

You can expect your existing members to welcome paying you by direct debit. After all, they’re probably already paying for a whole heap of other household utilities (like insurance, phone, internet and electricity) by direct debit – so why not their gym membership or personal training sessions as well? But, even though your members are experienced in paying for other things using direct debit, it doesn’t mean that they will magically know the ins and outs of how you plan on transitioning to direct debit in your fitness business. This is why it’s absolutely crucial that you talk with your members about your direct debit plans.

Try sticking posters around your gym that:

Announce that you plan to switch to direct debit on X date
Highlight the benefits of direct debit for them (such as saving them time and hassle, and never receiving an overdue notice again!)
Tells them everything they need to do (such as filling out their direct debit forms)
Provides the name of the staff member who can answer any questions they may have about direct debit.

Start preparing your implementation plan right now!

There’s no time like the present. Talk to one of our friendly fitness payments consultants about getting started on your tailored implementation plan right now!