Two class types, one pack, and a lot of manual fixes
Your studio started with mat pilates. Then you bought six reformers. A reformer class has fewer places, a dearer instructor and equipment to maintain, so it has to cost more. The ten-class pack you already sell, though, counts one credit per class, whichever class it is.
So you created a separate reformer pack. Now clients hold two balances. Someone with five mat credits and zero reformer credits wants to try reformer and asks whether they can use two mat credits instead. The desk says yes, then deducts an extra credit by hand, and the client's booking history now looks wrong.
Add a monthly sound bath and a Saturday workshop, and you have four pack types, three prices and a front desk doing arithmetic.
Where the credit model breaks
Most booking systems were set up for a single class type and a flat credit. Many support pricing options that are restricted to certain classes, and some support multiple credits per booking, but the setup is fiddly and often left half done.
The real cause is that nobody decided what a credit is worth. If a credit is a unit of money, a reformer class simply costs more of them. If a credit is a class, you need separate products. Studios often mix the two, and the software cannot enforce a rule that was never written down.
Then there is legacy. Clients already hold packs bought under the old model, and nobody wants to take credits away from a loyal regular to tidy the system.
Where the confusion shows up
| Symptom | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Separate packs per class type | Clients hold balances they cannot use |
| Manual extra deductions | Booking history and revenue reports are wrong |
| Staff doing sums at check-in | Queues and mistakes before a busy class |
| Dearer class sold at the cheaper rate | Reformer or spin margin quietly eroded |
| No revenue per class type | Timetable decisions made on attendance alone |
The reporting cost is the one owners notice late. If credits are deducted by hand, you cannot say what a reformer class actually earns compared with a mat class, so you cannot tell whether adding another reformer slot beats adding another mat one.
A credit system your software can enforce
We start with a short design session: what each class type should cost, which packs you want to keep selling and how existing balances will be honoured. Then we configure and build around your booking system.
- We document a single rule for what a credit is worth and how many each class type takes, or which pack types are valid for which classes if you prefer separate products.
- We configure your booking system to enforce it where it can, using its own pricing option and class restriction settings, so deductions happen automatically at booking.
- Where the software cannot do it natively, we add a small service that reads bookings through the API and applies the right deduction or flags a mismatch for the desk.
- Existing packs are migrated with a clear conversion rule, and clients receive a plain message explaining their new balance.
- Clients see one balance and the cost of each class in credits before they book.
- A report shows income per class type and per instructor, calculated from the credit value rather than the raw count.
If a simpler answer exists, such as keeping two pack types but letting clients convert between them at a fixed rate, we will recommend that instead.
What checking in looks like afterwards
Clients book a reformer class and the app shows it costs two credits before they confirm. The desk no longer adjusts anything. When you review the month, you see what each class type brought in, not just how many people turned up.
- One balance per client, or clearly linked packs
- Deductions made by the system, not by hand
- Accurate revenue per class type and per slot
- Fewer awkward conversations about which credits count
Is this your studio?
- You sell more than one type of class at different prices.
- Clients hold two or more separate pack balances.
- Staff deduct extra credits by hand for dearer classes.
- You cannot see revenue per class type without a spreadsheet.
- Workshops and specials sit outside your pack system altogether.