Plan about a month from the first call to the first paid booking. The pace is set by Stripe’s approval of your company and your installer’s diary; our own work takes days. We start the approval on day one and do everything else while it runs.
The month at a glance
| Week | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | Kick-off call. You apply to Stripe and book your installer. We register your SMS sender name. Your booking rules go into the system. |
| 2 | The door is fitted and connected. Booking page, e-mails and texts in your customers’ language. |
| 3 | Stripe approves your account. A full test with a real booking, payment and door. |
| 4 | Soft launch with friends or first customers, then bookings open to everyone. |
The steps
- Kick-off call. Locations, opening hours, slot length, prices and doors.
- Stripe. You open an account in your company’s name, so the money goes straight to you. We tell you what the application needs.
- Sender name. We register your gym’s name as the sender of the text messages.
- Door. A professional installer fits the recommended 2N keypad with a magnetic lock, and we connect it. A Nuki smart lock you can fit yourself in an afternoon. Several doors or a shared building entrance are solved here at no extra cost. See door access.
- Booking rules. Locations, hours, slot length, the gap between slots, prices by day and time, special dates, discount codes and blocked time.
- Language. The booking page, e-mails and text messages in your customers’ language.
- Full test. A real booking and payment, the code at the door, the text message, the door opening at the start of the slot and not before, the invoice.
- Launch. Bookings open, and you get a notification for each one.
What you provide
- Company details for Stripe: registration, owners, bank account.
- The sender name customers see on the text message, usually your gym’s name.
- The door hardware and its installation. You buy it and pay the installer directly; we tell you what to fit. Power and internet at the door for the 2N unit.
- Opening hours, slot length and prices for each location. The slot and revenue calculator helps with the first numbers.
- Blocked time for cleaning, maintenance or your own clients.
- Invoice details: company data and how your accountant wants invoices numbered.
- House rules and booking terms, including emergencies. Start from the house rules template.
- Your domain, if you want the booking page on your own web address.
Before you open: things outside the system
Yours to arrange, within the same month:
- Insurance. Tell your insurer the gym runs without staff and get it in writing; see insurance and liability.
- Camera. If you install one, put up a notice and set how long recordings are kept; see cameras in an unstaffed gym.
- On the wall. House rules, emergency numbers, the gym’s address for emergency services and your phone number.
- A phone that is answered during opening hours, at least for the first weeks.
Testing before the first customer
We run the whole chain with a real payment, so you see what a customer sees: booking page, payment, text message, confirmation e-mail, the code working at the start of the slot, and the invoice. Anything that fails is fixed before launch.
Then a soft launch for a few days with friends or regulars and a discount code. Their questions become a line in your text message or a sign on the wall.
The first two weeks
- Keep your phone on and note every call. Most become a rule, a sign or a setting.
- After two weeks, look at which hours sell and what an hour earns. Adjust prices and blocked time then.
Setup costs are on pricing. For the business side, read how to open a private gym.
FAQ
Can it go live faster than a month?
Often, yes. The month comes from Stripe’s approval and the installer’s diary, not from our work.
Do I need the space ready first?
No. Everything except the door can be done before the space is finished. The door has to be fitted before the full test.
Who fits the door?
A professional door or access installer fits the 2N keypad and magnetic lock. A Nuki smart lock you can fit yourself.
What if my payment application is rejected?
We connect another provider available in your country. The rest of the setup is unaffected.
Can I use my existing website?
Yes. Your website links to the booking page; the booking itself runs in Sparekey.