Selling session packs without chasing payments

Session packs look like the answer to chasing money. The client pays for ten sessions up front, you train them, and nobody talks about money for a month. Then week six arrives and you are not sure whether Sam has three sessions left or four, the renewal comes up after the pack has already run out, and you are training on credit while you wait for a transfer.

The pack itself is not the problem. The gaps are: no clear size, no fixed moment to ask for the next block, and a count that lives only in your head. Here is how to close each one this week.

Pick pack sizes that match how people train

A pack should cover a stretch of training the client can picture. If a client trains twice a week, a pack of 8 is one month. A pack of 10 is five weeks, which is harder to remember and lands the renewal in an odd week.

A simple set that works for most independent trainers:

• Single session, full rate. For trial sessions and clients who travel a lot.
• Pack of 8, a small saving per session. One month at twice a week, two months at once a week.
• Pack of 16 or 24, a slightly bigger saving. For committed clients training towards a date, such as a wedding, an event or the end of rehab.

Keep the saving modest. If your single session is $70, a pack of 8 at $520 ($65 each) is enough to make the pack the obvious choice without training at a rate you resent by week three. A large discount trains clients to wait for the next offer.

Write down an expiry date for every pack. Eight sessions should be used within ten weeks, sixteen within twenty. Without a limit, a client who stops in March can turn up in October with five sessions at last year's price.

Decide what happens to missed sessions before you sell

Most pack disputes are about sessions that did not happen. Settle it in writing before the first payment:

• A session cancelled with your notice period (24 hours is common) is not taken from the pack.
• A late cancellation or no-show is taken from the pack.
• Sessions you cancel are always returned.
• Unused sessions after the expiry date are lost, unless you agree an extension for illness or injury.

We have a longer post on what to charge when a client cancels at the last minute. It is written for tutors, but the rules carry straight over to training sessions.

Put these four lines in the message that confirms the pack. When the question comes up in week five, you point to a message both of you already have.

Ask for the renewal two sessions before the end

The worst time to talk about the next pack is after the last session. The client has already left, the energy of the session is gone, and the payment drifts into next week. Meanwhile, you keep training them because stopping feels rude.

Pick a fixed moment instead: when two sessions are left. On a pack of 8, that is after session 6.

At that point you can do three useful things at once:

1. Tell the client how many sessions are left and when the last one is booked.
2. Show one or two numbers from their training: a lift that went up, a time that came down, a range of movement that improved.
3. Ask whether they want to book the next pack, and give the amount and how to pay.

A short message does it:

"Hi Sam, two sessions left in your pack: Thursday and next Monday. Your deadlift has gone from 60 kg to 75 kg since we started. Want to carry on with another 8 from the week after? It is $520, same details as last time."

Asking two sessions early gives the client time to pay before the pack runs out. Training on credit stops being something you need to decide on the spot.

Agree what happens if the renewal is not paid

Decide this once, then you never have to improvise it. A fair default: if the next pack is not paid by the first session of that pack, you run that session and ask again the same day. If it is still not paid by the second, you pause bookings until it is.

Say it plainly when the client signs up, not when they are late. Most clients pay on time when they know there is a rule. The ones who do not are the ones you were already worried about, and the rule saves you an awkward conversation.

Keep one count you both can see

The count is where trust goes wrong. If only you know how many sessions are left, every renewal message invites the question "are you sure?"

Whatever you use, keep these four things together for each client:

• The date and amount of each pack payment.
• Every session, with whether it took place, was cancelled in time, or was a late cancellation.
• The number of sessions left.
• The pack's expiry date.

A spreadsheet with one tab per client works. So does a notes page per client, if you update it after every session, not at the end of the week. The habit matters more than the tool. Log the session before you leave the gym or before the next client arrives, while you still remember whether they cancelled on time.

Then share the count. Put "5 of 8 left" in the message you send after a session, or in the renewal message. When the client sees the same number every time, they stop questioning it, and the renewal message reads as a reminder, not a bill.

Check your packs once a month

Once a month, spend ten minutes going through every client with an active pack:

• Who is two sessions or fewer from the end and has not been asked about renewal yet?
• Whose pack expires in the next few weeks with sessions still unused? Send them a friendly note so they can book them.
• Who has trained past the end of their pack without paying for the next one?

That last list should be empty. If it is not, it tells you which part of the routine slipped.

What to do this week

1. Choose two or three pack sizes and an expiry for each.
2. Write your four missed-session rules and add them to your pack confirmation message.
3. For every current client, write down how many sessions are left, and send the ones near the end a renewal message.

BonHand keeps a running balance for every client, logs each session with its attendance, and drafts a payment reminder that lists each unpaid session, so you can see who owes for what at a glance. It is free for up to 5 clients, with no card.