Guide 17 of 18 to opening a gym · The first months
Gym metrics to track in your first year
In its first year, a gym needs six numbers, checked once a month. Active members, monthly recurring revenue, outstanding balances, churn, class occupancy and trial conversion. Add a seventh that you calculate once and review every quarter: your break-even point. This guide gives the exact definition of each one, the formula with a worked example, and what to do when it moves. It has no market benchmarks, because your gym is best compared with itself.
On this page · 15 sections
- 1.The six numbers, in one table
- 2.Active members
- 3.Monthly recurring revenue
- 4.Outstanding balances
- 5.Monthly churn
- 6.Class occupancy
- 7.Trial conversion
- 8.Your break-even point
- 9.The numbers before you open
- 10.Two numbers for later
- 11.Signals to act on now
- 12.The monthly routine
- 13.Common mistakes
- 14.How this works in Rummo
- 15.Frequently asked
The six numbers, in one table
| Number | Answers | How to calculate it |
|---|---|---|
| Active members | How many people train here? | People with a valid plan and at least one attendance in the last 14 days |
| Monthly recurring revenue | What comes in each month if nothing changes? | Sum of the monthly value of all active plans |
| Outstanding balances | What should have come in and has not? | Sum of charges issued and not yet paid |
| Monthly churn | How many members did I lose? | Members who left in the month ÷ active members at the start of the month |
| Occupancy | Do classes fill? | Attendances ÷ available spots, by hour and class type |
| Trial conversion | Do people who try us stay? | Sign-ups ÷ trial classes attended |
Active members
An active member is someone with a valid plan who has trained recently. Both conditions matter. Someone who pays but does not come is revenue today and a likely exit tomorrow. Someone who comes without a valid plan is a missing payment.
Count separately the valid plans with no attendance in the last 14 days. That is this week's call list.
Monthly recurring revenue
Monthly recurring revenue is what comes in each month if nobody joins or leaves. Plans that are not monthly are converted to a monthly value.
| Plan (example) | People | Monthly value | Monthly total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unlimited, 60 euros | 30 | 60 euros | 1,800 euros |
| Twice a week, 45 euros | 20 | 45 euros | 900 euros |
| Annual, 600 euros | 5 | 50 euros | 250 euros |
| Monthly recurring revenue | 55 | 2,950 euros |
Revenue ÷ active
In the example, 2,950 euros divided by 55 members is about 53.60 euros per member. If this number falls month after month, people are moving to cheaper plans, or discounts are weighing more.
Outstanding balances
Outstanding balances are charges issued and not yet paid, with each person's name and how many days each has been open. Check them weekly, not monthly. A three-day-old charge is solved with a message, and a sixty-day-old one needs a different conversation.
What to do when a payment fails, day by day, is in the billing guide. Gym membership billing
Monthly churn
Monthly churn is the share of members who leave in a month. Count as churn anyone who cancelled and anyone who let their plan lapse without renewing. A pause is not churn.
Exits ÷ active at start
Example: 60 active members on 1 March, and 3 exits during March. Churn is 3 ÷ 60, which is 0.05. Multiply by a hundred to read it as a percentage.
In a new gym, also look at retention by joining month. Monthly churn mixes people who joined yesterday with people who have been there since opening.
How to measure retention by joining month, and the check-ins that hold it, is in another article. Member retention in the first 90 days
Class occupancy
Occupancy tells you whether classes fill. Calculate it by hour and class type, never as an average for the whole gym. The average hides a full 18:30 next to an empty 12:30.
| Class (example) | Spots per week | Attendances | Occupancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon to Fri 07:00 | 5 × 12 = 60 | 42 | 0.70 |
| Mon, Wed and Fri 12:30 | 3 × 12 = 36 | 15 | 0.42 |
| Mon to Fri 18:30 | 5 × 12 = 60 | 58 | 0.97 |
With these numbers, the 18:30 is a candidate for a second class next to it, and the 12:30 for a new time or day.
When to add a class, and when to cut one, is in the timetable guide. How to build a class schedule for a new gym
Trial conversion
Conversion measures how many people who tried a class signed up. Count it by month and by intro offer. Add the show rate next to it: how many booked trials actually happened.
The visitor's journey, and messages for each step, are in another guide. Gym trial classes and intro offers
Your break-even point
Break-even is the number of members at which revenue covers the month's costs. Calculate it before opening and review it every quarter, as costs change.
Fixed costs ÷ margin
- 1.Add up one month of fixed costs: rent, fixed salaries and fees, insurance, software, utilities, accounting and loan repayments.
- 2.Work out the margin per member: average revenue per member, minus the cost of serving them, such as payment fees and variable coach pay.
- 3.Divide the first by the second, and round up.
Example: fixed costs of 4,200 euros a month and a margin of 48 euros per member give 87.5. Round up to 88 active members. Below that, the month closes at a loss.
The numbers before you open
Before the first class, two sums tell you how much time you have. The first is break-even, above. The second is how many months you can last until you reach it.
Reserve ÷ monthly loss
Example: a 12,000 euro reserve and an average loss of 1,500 euros a month give eight months. Compare that with your pre-sale members and the pace of sign-ups you expect. If the sum is tight, it is better to know before you sign the lease.
Two numbers for later
Customer acquisition cost and lifetime value are useful, but they need months of data. In year one, calculate them carefully and treat them as estimates.
| Number | How to calculate it | When it becomes useful |
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition cost | Marketing and intro offer spend in a month ÷ new members that month | From month one, as long as you count all the spend |
| Lifetime value | Monthly margin per member × average months a member stays | Only once there are enough exits to estimate how long people stay |
Signals to act on now
Some movements cannot wait for the monthly sheet. When they show up, look straight away:
- Outstanding balances growing two weeks in a row.
- A class that had a waitlist and no longer does.
- More valid plans with no attendance than the month before.
- Booked trial classes falling, with the same marketing effort.
- Two or more exits with the same reason in the same month.
The monthly routine
Month: [month]. Active members: [n]. Change from last month: [+/− n].
Monthly recurring revenue: [amount]. Average revenue per member: [amount].
Outstanding: [amount], of which over 14 days: [amount].
Exits: [n] of [active at start]. Main reasons: [reasons].
Fullest class: [class]. Emptiest class: [class].
Trial classes: [booked], [attended], [sign-ups].
One decision for next month: [decision].
The last line matters most. A number that changes no decision is just a number. Pick one thing each month and check its effect the month after.
Common mistakes
- Changing the definition of an active member mid-year, then comparing months that do not compare.
- Counting bookings instead of attendances for occupancy.
- Looking only at the month's revenue, not at what is still outstanding.
- Comparing with other gyms, which have other hours, other people and other prices.
- Watching twenty numbers and deciding nothing.
How this works in Rummo
In Rummo, on paid plans, the finance dashboard shows revenue this month, expected recurring revenue and outstanding balances. Reports show occupancy by hour and class type, who joined and who stopped coming. They use the same figures as the dashboard, so they always match.
Every report exports to CSV, for your own spreadsheet or your accountant. The member list filters by stage, including people who tried a class and never came back.
Reports and what each one shows are on one page. See reporting in Rummo
Frequently asked
- Which metrics should a new gym track?
- Six, once a month: active members, monthly recurring revenue, outstanding balances, churn, class occupancy and trial conversion. Plus your break-even point, reviewed every quarter.
- How do you calculate gym churn?
- Members who left during the month divided by active members on the first day of the month. A pause does not count as churn.
- How do you calculate class occupancy?
- Attendances divided by available spots, by hour and class type. Use attendances, not bookings.
- How many members does a gym need to break even?
- Monthly fixed costs divided by the margin per member, rounded up. The margin is average revenue per member minus the cost of serving them.
- What is a good churn rate for a gym?
- Rummo has no market data to give you a number. Compare your gym with itself, month by month and by joining month.
- What is monthly recurring revenue for a gym?
- What comes in each month if nobody joins or leaves: the sum of the monthly value of all active plans. Packs and drop-ins are counted separately.
- How often should I look at my gym's numbers?
- The six main ones, once a month. Outstanding balances, once a week. Break-even, every quarter.
- How long can a new gym run before it turns a profit?
- It depends on your cash reserve and your pace of sign-ups. Divide the cash available after opening by the average monthly loss until break-even.
Rummo team
Written by the people who build Rummo, management software for gyms, boxes and studios: classes, bookings, members and payments.
Reviewed
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