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Accounting for Gymnasiums & Personal Trainers

Establishing and running a gym or personal training business is hard work. The early starts and late finishes can be demanding and excuse the pun, but gym owners and personal trainers have to do some heavy lifting to motivate their clients. It can be mentally draining and marketing the business and managing your members can also be challenging.

It's a very competitive industry and apart from the usual small business compliance issues of GST, BAS and PAYG you have to contend with clients not turning up on time (or at all), maintening your gym equipment and dealing with casual staff. A lot of PT's struggle to have a holiday and impatient clients are a recipe for burnout. On top of that, the fitness industry brings unique occupational health and safety issues to the table.

Having an accountant who understands the health and fitness industry can mean the difference between success and failure. Over the years, our team of accountants have mentored a number of gymnasium owners and personal trainers through the various stages of their business life cycle from start up right through to sale. We offer you experience, technical knowledge and an intimate understanding of the personal training and fitness industry.

THINKING OF STARTING A BUSINESS?

Starting a business is a bit like building a house. You need solid foundations that include the right business structure, the most suitable accounting software, adequate and appropriate insurances, a marketing plan including a lead generation website and various social media channels.

Your choice of business structure is critical and there are a number of diff erent options such as sole trader, partnership, company and trust. Asset protection is a key consideration when selecting a business structure and when choosing a business structure you also need to take into account your family situation, your forecast level of profit and your future plans regarding admission of new business partners.

Accounting software is another foundation brick in the business wall and the wrong choice can be catastrophic. Poor financial records are one of the biggest causes of business failure in this country and up to date, accurate records let you make informed business decisions. Our mission is to make sure your accounting software matches your business needs with your level of accounting skill. The wrong choice of software can lead to records that resemble a 'computerised shoebox' which conflicts with our brief of helping you reduce your bookkeeping and compliance costs. Where required, we train you to use the software to reduce your costs and frustration.

As you know, to build a house you also need the right tools. When 'constructing' your business we also use a number of tools including our start-up expense checklist to identify all your potential establishment costs. It dissects your start-up costs into several categories including tools, equipment, IT expenses, professional fees and marketing costs. These figures automatically feed into an integrated cash flow budget to help you identify your start-up finance requirements. These figures can then also slot into your business plan.

Given occupancy costs are often the second highest expense after wages in a gym we can help you negotiate the terms of your lease and where required liaise with your solicitor. Through our affiliate partners we can also help you locate suitable funding to finance your gym fit out, equipment, franchise fee, motor vehicle or van. Using industry benchmarks we can analyse the performance of your gym and compare it against your industry peers so you know what is working in the business,what's not working and what needs working on.

MARKETING YOUR BUSINESS

As a personal trainer or gym owner you need marketing muscle to succeed in such a competitive industry. In fact, your marketing could be the difference between gloom and boom. Our network of marketing experts can assist you with everything from your branding (business name, logo and slogan) through to the development of your website and social media campaigns.

Traditionally, most gym owners and personal trainers rely on customer referrals and conventional marketing methods like yellow pages, the local newspaper or leaflets to win new customers. While some of these techniques remain effective, you need to move your marketing focus online to align with the shift in consumer behaviour. Google is now the number one source of new business for the fitness industry.

To generate leads your website must appear at the top of page one in a Google search for 'personal trainer in your suburb'. The truth is, most of your competitor's websites are nothing more than electronic billboards that simply list the who, what and where of the business. Over the past few years our marketing affiliates have worked with a number of our clients to help them create quality affordable websites that pay for themselves many times over. Your website should be the heart of your marketing and you need to look at it as an investment not a cost. Choosing the right development partners will ensure you get expert advice and assistance with your content, search engine optimisation and video production. These marketing experts will ensure your website is responsive to mobile devices and contains calls to action and lead magnets.

We will help you understand the four ways to grow a business plus identify the key profit drivers in your business. We can walk you through a number of profit improvement strategies and even quantify the profit improvement potential in your business. Our role is to make sure you know your numbers and don't leave any profit or tax savings on the table.

That’s really just the beginning because as accountants we can do some financial modelling and prepare some ‘what if’ calculations. This lets us project your gymnasium's or PT's best and worst case profit scenarios. Next, using industry benchmarks we can compare the performance of your business against your competitors so you understand what is working in the business and what needs working on.

Our mission is to help you fast track your business success and the team at BHT Partners offer you a range of accounting, taxation, marketing and business coaching services including:

In summary, we are so much more than just tax accountants. We are ‘business and profit builders’ who provide strategic advice and practical business solutions that could give you a serious competitive edge in the personal training and fitness industry. We work hard to understand your business and over the past decade gymnasiums and personal trainers have become niche areas within our firm.

If you're an ambitious business owner looking to boost your current results or if you're looking to get your new gym or personal training business off to a flying start we invite you to contact us today. You can expect practical business, tax, marketing and financial advice that could have a profound effect on your future business profits. To book your FREE, one hour introductory consultation simply call us on (03) 9431 3000 and let's get to work on your business so it's more profitable, valuable and saleable.

BHT Partners - Forward Thinking Accountants