Six reformers, nine people and a WhatsApp group
Your clinic runs clinical Pilates classes led by physios, some on mats and some on reformers, alongside rehab classes for people finishing one-to-one treatment. Bookings happen in a WhatsApp group, by text to the instructor, or by telling reception. Payment is a ten-class pass recorded on a card in a box at the desk.
On Tuesday evening, nine people turn up for a class with six reformers. Two passes ran out weeks ago without anyone noticing. A new person joined having never been assessed, because a friend added them to the group. The instructor spends the first ten minutes sorting it out.
Why classes sit outside the system
Clinic systems are built for one-to-one appointments. Some can handle group bookings, but clinics often set classes up before that feature existed, or found it awkward, so classes ended up in messaging apps and spreadsheets.
Clinical classes also have a rule most gym classes do not: participants are often expected to have been assessed by a physio first, or to be at a suitable point in their rehab. That decision sits in the treatment notes, and nothing stops an unassessed person booking a place in a group chat.
Class passes are money paid in advance, and tracking them on paper means passes run out unnoticed or are used beyond their expiry.
Instructors often end up as the booking system by default. They answer messages late in the evening, keep a mental list of who is coming, and field requests to swap sessions. When an instructor is off sick, the cover physio has no idea who is booked in, and the group chat becomes a place where patients discuss their injuries in front of each other, which most clinics would rather avoid.
What informal class admin costs
| Problem | Effect |
|---|---|
| Overbooked sessions | Not enough reformers or space for everyone |
| Passes tracked on paper | Classes taken without payment |
| No waitlist | Late cancellations leave spaces unfilled |
| Unassessed participants | Physios unsure who is in the room |
| Admin in personal apps | Instructor's phone becomes the booking system |
How we set up class bookings properly
- Classes are set up with capacity and equipment limits, such as the number of reformers, using your clinic system's group bookings if it handles them well, or a booking tool connected to it.
- Patients can only book class types their physio has marked them as suitable for, using a simple flag on the record that the physio controls.
- Class passes are sold online through Stripe or your card provider, and each attendance deducts from the pass automatically, with a reminder when a few classes remain.
- Full classes have a waitlist, and a cancelled place is offered to the next person automatically by text.
- The instructor sees the register on a tablet or phone, marks attendance, and sees any notes the physio has flagged for that participant.
- Late cancellation rules for classes are applied as you set them.
Who is suitable for which class is always your physios' decision. The booking system simply respects it.
A calmer Tuesday evening
The class has the right number of people for the equipment. Everyone in the room has been cleared by a physio. Passes are up to date, and people are reminded to renew before they run out. Waitlists fill cancellations. The instructor teaches instead of managing messages, and their personal phone stops being part of the clinic's systems.
The clinic also sees which classes are full, which have space, and how many one-to-one patients move on to classes, which helps when planning the timetable.
Reception benefit too. Questions like 'is there space on Thursday?' or 'how many classes do I have left?' are answered by the patient's own booking link, not a phone call. And because class income is recorded properly against each pass, the owner can finally see how much the class programme contributes compared with one-to-one treatment.
Does this sound like your classes?
- Classes are booked through WhatsApp or text messages
- Class passes are tracked on paper cards
- Sessions have been overbooked for the equipment available
- Unassessed people have joined classes
- Cancelled places go unfilled