In this article, you will learn how to set up a buddy check-in service and how members check in together with a buddy, using either a buddy card or a linked buddy profile.
Contents
- Overview
- Creating a buddy check-in service
- Configuring contingents, ticket offers and restrictions
- Buddy card and linked buddy profile compared
- Buddy card: check-in at the entrance
- Linked buddy profile: adding buddies in the app
- Linked buddy profile: checking in together
Fast lane
- Go to Settings / Services / Buddy check-in and select Create buddy check-in.
- Fill in the details and choose a Buddy type: Buddy card or Linked buddy profile.
- Save the service, then add at least one included contingent or ticket offer so it becomes bookable.
- Buddy card: the buddy checks in with their card at the entrance. Linked buddy profile: the buddy checks in via the Member App.
Overview
Buddy check-in lets a member bring a friend to the gym and check them in together, without the friend needing their own membership. When you create a buddy check-in service, you choose a Buddy type that determines how the buddy is identified and how they check in:
- Buddy card: the buddy checks in with a physical access card. There is no app step and no separate customer or prospect record for the buddy.
- Linked buddy profile: the member adds the buddy in the Member App, and the buddy checks in there with their own QR code. The buddy is registered as a prospect at the gym.
Both buddy types share the same underlying service: the member checks in first, and the buddy then has a limited time frame to check in as well.
Creating a buddy check-in service
Prerequisites: access to Settings in the software.
Go to Settings / Services / Buddy check-in. Click Create buddy check-in in the top right corner and fill in the creation form:
- Name (required)
- Description (optional)
- Color: identifies the service visually in lists
- Number of friends: how many buddies a member can bring
- Check-in time frame: the time window in which the buddy can check in after the member has checked in
- Buddy type: Buddy card or Linked buddy profile, see Buddy card and linked buddy profile compared. This setting applies to the whole service and does not change any of the other fields on this form.
- Target group and Tax rate: as with other services
Click Create to save.
Configuring contingents, ticket offers and restrictions
A newly created service is not bookable yet. Its detail page shows a notice until you have added at least one included contingent or ticket offer. Open the service and, on the Administration tab, configure:
- Included contingent for members: grants free usage of the service to customers with specific rates or codes
- Ticket offers: sell the buddy check-in as a ticket for one-time or repeated use
- Restrictions: limit the service by facility, age, or opening hours category
- Additional options: shows the number of friends and check-in time frame set during creation
This step is the same for both buddy types. The buddy type only affects how the buddy is identified and checks in, not how the service is sold.
Buddy card and linked buddy profile compared
| Aspect | Buddy card | Linked buddy profile |
|---|---|---|
| Identification | Physical access card | App and personal QR code |
| Where the buddy checks in | At the entrance or access terminal | Member App |
| Customer or prospect record | None created | Buddy is added as a prospect (or linked to an existing customer or prospect if one already matches) |
| Who manages the buddy | Staff, via the member's account | The member, in the app |
With a buddy card, the friend checks in without being registered as a separate customer or prospect: the software adds the buddy card as an extra access card on the member's own account. With a linked buddy profile, the friend is instead added as a prospect at the gym (checked for duplicates against existing customers and prospects), which is what enables the self-service buddy list and QR check-in in the app.
Buddy card: check-in at the entrance
Staff add the buddy card as an additional access card on the member's account, next to the member's regular card. From then on, the buddy checks in with this card at the entrance or access terminal, like a regular access card, within the check-in time frame configured for the service. This flow does not use the Member App.
Linked buddy profile: adding buddies in the app
This self-service flow is only available for buddy check-in services using the Linked buddy profile type. The member opens the Studio tab in the Member App and selects Buddy check-in.
The screen shows how many buddies have been added out of the maximum configured for the service (for example 1 of 5). To add a buddy, the member taps an empty slot and fills in the buddy's first name, last name, email, and date of birth.
The member also confirms that they have the buddy's permission to share this data with the gym, and can optionally opt the buddy in to marketing communications from the gym. The buddy is then registered as a prospect at the gym and appears in the gym's statistics. If the buddy already exists as a customer or prospect, the software links to that existing record instead of creating a duplicate. Buddies can be removed again by swiping left on their entry.
Linked buddy profile: checking in together
The member checks in first, as usual. Until then, the buddy's entry in the app is locked and shows that the member needs to check in first. When the member starts their own check-in, the member's QR code appears to hold under the scanner, and the member confirms their own check-in.
Once the member is checked in, the buddy's QR code unlocks with a countdown timer showing how much of the configured check-in time frame is left. The buddy holds this code under the scanner, and the member then confirms the buddy's check-in.
A confirmation screen closes out the flow, with the option to show either QR code again if needed.
If the check-in time frame runs out before the buddy checks in, the app reports that the time frame for partner check-in has expired, and the buddy can no longer check in for that visit. If it reports that the training partner is not checked in yet, wait a moment and try again.