If you accept MultiSport or CoolFit, partner cards are daily reception work rather than a small detail. Many international gym systems do not know them, and a spreadsheet on the side only works while the desk is quiet.
Here is what to check before choosing gym software.
1. Can you describe each card's rules?
Start by writing down what actually applies at your gym. For each operator, answer a few questions:
- Which services does the card cover: gym floor, group classes, specific sessions?
- Are there services the member pays extra for?
- What happens at a limit or restriction set by the operator?
- Do the rules change with a new agreement, and from what date?
Rules can differ between operators. At Vitality Gym in Plovdiv, for example, MultiSport covers the gym floor and group classes, while CoolFit covers group classes.
In a demo, ask to see your own rules rather than a general example.
2. How fast is the desk?
At a busy hour, reception has no time for a separate lookup. Try three cases live: a valid card for a covered service, a card for a service that is not covered, and someone whose case is unclear.
What matters is that staff know what to do next. A refusal should be clear to them and to the member.
Ask how the card links to the member record too. If the same person also buys a membership or a visit pack, everything about them should stay in one place.
3. Is there a record for the monthly check?
At the end of the month you compare your visits with the operator's report. For that you need your own record: who came, when, on which card and for which service.
Ask how this report is produced and whether it can be filtered by operator and period. Try one during the demo. If differences only surface after the month has closed, they are much harder to fix.
4. Classes with limited places
When cards apply to group classes, they take up places like everyone else. Check how card holders book, what happens when they cancel and how the waitlist behaves.
If your classes fill up, this can matter more than recording entry. There is more on capacity in the article on class bookings and no-shows.
5. What happens when you switch systems?
If you track cards on paper or in a spreadsheet today, decide in advance where the new record begins. Keep the old data separately and agree with the team the date the new way starts. The software migration checklist has the details.
How this works in GymLiquid
MultiSport and CoolFit partner cards are included in the Basic package, and Advanced and Pro build on it. See the packages and gym software, and to work through your specific rules, request a demo.