Are you running a business that has classes and need a simple way to track them? In this article you’ll find free templates that our Pros use to track their Classes, as well as their Clients, Services, and Packages as well.
Perhaps you’re a Yoga trainer, Fitness Trainer, Pilates Instructor, or any other business that has group classes? If so you’re probably in need of a way to manage and store that data when you onboard new clients and register them for classes and private lessons.
The thing is – without a class management tool your business is dangerously balancing on a tightrope while juggling multiple balls in the air. If you lose your balance for even a second, you risk dropping balls (and there’s no safety net in business!)
So in order to avoid losing valued clients and also to alleviate the stress of having to manage everything manually, we’re going to share tips on how to manage your classes using good ole Excel spreadsheets.
The great thing about spreadsheets is that they allow you to input all of your client information and keep it in one place. Gone are the days of using email messages and having to scroll past the heap of messages from your family and friends in order to find your clients’ messages.
Gone also are the days of using Notepad or Notes on your iPhone or Android to have a list of clients, their contact info, and class times. Sure, you could do this in a notepad or daily appointment book, but how easily will this get disorganized without having any endless columns to input lots of great details about your clients preferred workout playlist, stretch position, and aching muscle? Just thinking about all of that critical information gives me a migraine…
HOW TO TRACK YOUR CLASSES WITH EXCEL
First, let’s discuss how business owners typically organize their client list pre-excel.
Namely, the fact that there’s an absence of any reliable system that does this for the business owner.
Unfortunately, most business owners nowadays are simply keeping track of everything in Notepad or in their head.
In terms of committing everything to memory, check out what David Allen says in Getting Things Done:
“Your head is a lousy office!”
Or check out my favorite quote by him:
“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”
What does this remind you of? That’s right – your business in its current, disorganized state. Let’s change that by putting everything into a new Excel sheet, freeing your mind to think of something more productive than your client Karen’s preferences.
So what’s the first step? Of course, let’s get your first excel sheet set up.
STEP 1: SET UP YOUR CLASS SHEET(S)
The first step is to set up your new sheet.
Excel is linear, so you will be setting up 1 class per sheet with the client’s names and date of the class on that sheet.
For each new class you create, you need to create a new excel sheet. I would keep them in the same spreadsheet, and navigate by going to the bottom and selecting the different Sheet tabs.
Ideally the column names you would have are Class Name, Class Date, Attendants, and any other information you can think of to add that would be useful to track for your classes.
If you’d like your very own version of this just like above, simply click on the link below and then click File-> Make a Copy once the sheet comes up:
Class List:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LnR_E3ooT13d3bY742m_xA4Ky666J-sQO9eKw4z1U-4/edit?usp=sharing
In addition, here are 3 other sheets to track your Services, Packages, and
Clients:
(Remember to click File-> Make a copy)
Services List:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qJ9VTgAY73qQ5tcbDn2Ldbln70zcOmvmz0-AdcM5ICw/edit?usp=sharing
Packages List:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ToiH4pAQjwQRxw7hsSX_KqPRLLljyshqfrzLZ3bvCbQ/edit?usp=sharing
Client List:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16UjQEVnS7MtlsSHE8Iv0_mZEk6jIh1emmZjhQzcpsoo/edit?usp=sharing
STEP 2: FILL OUT YOUR CLASS SHEET(S)
Now you have to keep your sheet(s) updated.
The issue with this is the same as mentioned before – it’s cumbersome and takes a lot of manual effort to manage.
Not only that, but the biggest thing is that your Excel spreadsheet is not visible to your clients (at least they won’t be turned off by all of the data!)
STEP 3: ANALYZE YOUR CLASS SHEET(S)
Having sheets for each class is useful because you can take attendance and mark folks that don’t show up as absent.
The issue is keeping track of all of this manually. What if there’s a cancellation? You need to look at your waitlist (another sheet that you should probably create) and contact everyone on the waitlist, seeing if they can take the spot of the attendee that’s canceled.
You also need to secure the payment information from new clients. Can you see how this becomes super cumbersome and not at all fun? (like running your classes should be)
Well, there’s a solution to all of your spreadsheet tracking woes.
In fact, it’s easier than you might think to keep track of your classes without having to do everything manually in a spreadsheet.
The solution I’m referencing? PocketSuite, of course!
Here’s how it works:
With PocketSuite it works like a database – if you’re looking for a specific client, you can just search for them (irrespective of what sheet you’re on) and PocketSuite calls up what you need – you can even search by date, client name, location of class, etc.
There is a lot of flexibility in how you can look for something in PocketSuite, but that’s not all.
By far the biggest benefit of using PocketSuite over Excel spreadsheets to track your classes is that your classes are finally visible to your clients.
What do I mean by that?
Right now, you have to: 1) Talk to your clients, 2) Send them paperwork, and 3) Follow up with them 5-6 times to get them enrolled in your classes.
With PocketSuite they can just self-book right into your schedule when you publish classes online – imagine that!
Not only that, but once your clients are booked, you don’t want to spend the first 20 minutes of your class taking attendance.
PocketSuite helps out here as well – it has a roster built-in, so you can check all of your clients in by just swiping on their name in the app. Alternatively your clients can auto check in automatically with the arrival and checkout alert feature. (Neat, huh?)
There’s also the super-useful waitlist feature – if your class is full, PocketSuite will add your clients to a waitlist, and check this out: if there’s a cancellation PocketSuite will auto add your clients from the waitlist to the class, notify them that they are now registered, and process their payment for the class. The great thing here is that they already have their payment info in the PocketSuite system so you don’t have to get it again.
It’s time to dump the spreadsheets and finally try something that will handle all of that manual work for you. Especially, if you’re the kind of Pro that’s always on-the-go, you can’t keep opening your laptop or booting up your PC every time you get a text message from a customer – now with PocketSuite you can handle all of that with one app. (Did I mention PocketSuite also has Client Messaging features? Now everything actually is in one app, period).
A bonus to using PocketSuite for all of your class scheduling and management is that you also get payment processing (accept credit cards from your customers), business messaging, and so much more.
Try PocketSuite for free today, and I promise it will alleviate 90%+ of the stress of running a service business with group classes. Now you can let the app do the work while you focus on building your class schedule, recruiting new clients for your classes, or building out the flow of your class program to deliver even more value and results for your clients.
Sounds like a win-win to me!
Here are those free templates again. Simply click on the link below and then click File-> Make a Copy once the sheet comes up:
Class List:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LnR_E3ooT13d3bY742m_xA4Ky666J-sQO9eKw4z1U-4/edit?usp=sharing
Here are 3 other sheets to track your Services, Packages, and Clients:
(Remember to click File-> Make a copy)
Services List:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qJ9VTgAY73qQ5tcbDn2Ldbln70zcOmvmz0-AdcM5ICw/edit?usp=sharing
Packages List:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ToiH4pAQjwQRxw7hsSX_KqPRLLljyshqfrzLZ3bvCbQ/edit?usp=sharing
Client List:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16UjQEVnS7MtlsSHE8Iv0_mZEk6jIh1emmZjhQzcpsoo/edit?usp=sharing
Download PocketSuite today for free and get started transforming the way you do business forever.
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