How we handle software improvements

What is most important with anything you do is not necessarily where you are but rather where you are going.

This concept is extremely important for a software company. Let me briefly explain how we handle this concept here at Shape.Net Software.

We are now in our 10th year of providing cloud-based management fitness software and since day 1 we have enhanced and grown our software system by listening to the wants and needs of our valued clients.
Every month we work on the 5-10 most important requests and provide a software release to all of our clients.

Each month you will see bug fixes, new reports, enhanced reports, easier to use screens and powerful and intuitive new screens and functions. Over the years we have phased in cash drawer management, child-care checkin, class waiting list abilities, income category driven financial reports, etc...

After doing this for 10 years you end up with a product that reflects what the fitness industry is looking for to manage their business most effectively. And since the industry is always evolving our product continues to evolve also as we continue to apply new enhancements every month.

For example, we are working on the ability to require the fingerprint of the client and the trainer when they do their session to minimize operational fraud with high-volume personal training facilities.
We are also enhancing our member portal to reflect the windows 8 look and feel.

I wish I can get ready for the windows 9 changes but I guess we'll just wait to hear from our clients.

Appreciating the opportunity to serve the fitness industry.

larry king
owner
www.shapenetsoftware.com

Transforming a Company Successfully

Creating major change in a company, if properly planned and executed, will lead to tremendous success and growth for the company and employees.

Detailed below are 8 important steps that can make this happen:

1. Establish a sense of urgency

(identify and discuss existing issues, potential issues and major opportunities)

     2.  Create a guiding coalition

(put together a group that can lead this change and work as a team)

     3. Develop a vision and strategy

(create vision and develop strategies for achieving that vision)

     4. Communicate the new vision

(get the vision message out frequently to all employees consistantly)

     5. Empowing broad-based action

(get rid of obstacles and change systems that undermine the new vision)

    6. Generate short-term wins

(plan for visible wins and recognize and reward people who make the wins possible)

    7. Consolidate gains and produce more change
(change systems, structures and policies to make sure they align with your vision)

    8. Anchoring new approaches in the culture
(continue to improve leadership and management. articulate the connections between new behaviors and organizational success)

All of the 8 steps mentioned above give companies the best chance of succesful growth. What is most important is to note that all steps are needed and if some are missed, the chances of success will be less likely.

(I would like to thank John Kotter, author of Leading Change. Most of the info from this blog entry were accumulated from ideas presented in his great book).

Have a great day !!!

Larry King
Owner
www.shapenetsoftware.com

Effective Collections will increase your Net Revenue

Collecting monies due from your clients can be very draining and unproductive for your business. Typically the best way to handle this process is to have a company that specializes in collections, such as First Credit Services.

Shape.Net software electronically transmits selected members that owe you money and sends the contact info of each member to First Credit Services. By the way, they have been working in the fitness industry since 1993, making them extremely effective in collecting money from gym members.

FCS will then place them in a collections process that is effective and results driven.

• STEP 1 - Pre Collect - Friendly automated professional calls will be made in your name. Over 60% of declines will pay you in this stage. There is no charge to you for this.
  


• STEP 2 - Phase 1 program - 3 letters and 3 days of calls will be made to your members over a 2 month period to get your members to make payment. There is an approximate charge of $12 to you for each member for this service.
  


• STEP 3 - Phase 2 program - After about 3 months, they go into a highly effective and traditional collection program that will produce revenue for you on accounts that will typically be written off.

Bottom line, Shape.Net fully integrates with an effective collection company that will ultimately increase your monthly revenue with minimal effort on your part.

Have a great day !!!!

Larry King

How to Provide Great Client Service !!

When starting a new business, it's exciting to get new clients.

As your client base grows, you will learn very quickly how important client service will become if you want to continue the growth and success of your business.

The 5 core values for successfull client service are:

• managing client expectations
• maintaining high availability
• practice courtesy and respect
• practice honesty in all communications
• be proactive in your service

At Shape.Net, we have been working hard to continally improve the client service area of our company. We have, as most companies do, learn the most from making mistakes. We have implemented procedures to best satisfy the effectiveness of the 5 core values of great client service that were mentioned above.

Since we are a software company, we understand that the best way to help our clients and to keep them satisfied is to offer effective software training. We provide new client orientation webinars every week. Addionally, we offer weekly webinars on specific areas of the software such as scheduling and financial reporting. There are four 2 day seminars every year (in different parts of the United States) where you can meet some members of the Shape.Net team along with sharing other ideas with businesses that use Shape.net. On-site training is also available.

Other areas of our client service is the ability for clients to schedule 10-25 minute live mini-training sessions to better educate themselves in areas they need the most training.
These sessions are available every day.

We also provide an online HELP Portal that gives the client the option to look in our knowledge base to see how to do something. There are also online videos to show the different steps needed to perform certain functions such as purchasing a membership or scheduling a personal training session.

If the client cannot find what they are looking for in the knowledge base, they can submit a support ticket. After the ticket is sent, an auto-email is immediately sent back to the client suggesting where in the knowledge base their question can best be answered. This is a great feature that we have which is accomplished by our software analyzing the email that was sent. This provides an immediate response to our client. Additionally, one of our client service reps will read the ticket and respond with the appropriate solution.

We also provide live phone support and will be introducing a Help On-Line Chat Feature in early 2011.

In Summary, there are many different client service tools that are available to our clients.
Management software can become very complex and can become overwhelming to an end user.
If the client takes the time to continually educate themselves with the power of the Shape.Net system, they will help their business grow along with taking advantage of the tremendous power of the internet.

Have a great day !!!

Larry

Why Biometrics is a great solution for Health Clubs and Membership Management Issues !!!

Please take the time to read this great BLOG written by one of our important and valued business partners:
John Trader
Communications Specialist
M2SYS Technology
www.m2sys.com


If you own or operate a club or membership facility then chances are you may face some of the same member management issues and problems that your peers and other competitors in the industry deal with on a daily basis. Inefficiencies in the bar code swipe or RFID check-in technology that cause delays, inability to stop fraud or “privilege sharing” and no clear cut path to eliminate the waste and expense that is associated with the manufacturing and maintenance of your plastic membership cards are all common themes that consistently plague member driven facilities, sap profits and impede productivity. Furthermore, the threat of security breaches to sensitive member information has left many member-driven organizations searching for a safe and effective way to manage their databases. The truth is, running an efficient and profitable membership-based organization is virtually impossible without the use of advanced technology.

What Is Biometrics? Why Does It Work Well In Membership Management?

The advent of biometrics has revolutionized the way that membership organizations have addressed these areas of concern and established itself as a mainstream, value added solution to the growing concerns borne by member driven institutions. Biometrics is the use of unique human physiological characteristics (i.e. – fingerprint recognition, fingervein, palm geometry, iris patterns, etc.) for identification and authentication purposes. Biometric technology offers distinct advantages over more conventional check in methods and promotes a more sound and intuitive approach to membership management that positively impacts return on investment.

Here are a few reasons why biometrics can offer your organization a distinct competitive advantage versus more conventional methods of check-in and member data management:

#1 – Biometrics reduces fraud – Even with the most vigilant member check-in policies and procedures in place, you can not completely eliminate fraudulent entry into your facility through conventional check-in methods like barcode scanning or Pin Pad entry. Members can still share ID cards and passwords with non-members which can cause unnecessary wear and tear on your equipment, larger than normal crowds at peak times of facility use and unhappy members that end up waiting or not being able to use equipment or amenities at your facility. Biometric fingerprint recognition check-in procedures ensure that members checking in are who they say they are and can even be placed in multiple locations throughout your facility so that only legitimate members can access areas that are exclusive to their privileges.

#2 – Biometrics creates efficiencies – With conventional check-in methods, if a member forgets their card, a staff member must take the time to look up their record manually to verify their identity. This interruption can cause lost time and productivity affecting your bottom line. Biometrics allows you to speed up member check-in by eliminating the need for manual searches from lost or misplaced ID cards because a member will always have their biometric fingerprint identification when they check-in. Plus, you can eliminate the need for ID cards completely, saving money in your budget normally allocated to this expense that you can re-invest in your organization or philanthropically in the surrounding community.

#3 – Biometrics helps save the environment – Think for a moment about the amount of energy, time and resources that are needed to manufacture one plastic membership card. Now multiply that by the number of members at your facility. Now multiply that by the number of locations. Perhaps you are a national chain and have locations all throughout the country or even across the globe. Add them all up and then factor in all of the other membership facilities throughout the world who still have not adopted biometric technology. The fact is that according to a recent report on CNN, “Americans generate enough plastic in one year to shrink wrap the state of Texas.” Granted, most of that plastic created is through the manufacturing of consumer products but as a business owner, you can do your part to help reduce your carbon footprint by switching to a biometric solution that eradicates the need to create any plastic cards whatsoever. If you print the ID cards directly at your facility, this translates into less ink for the printers, less electricity to run the laminator, less paper being consumed and less waste being generated by the production process and the absence of discarding expired or unused cards. It also makes members happier that they no longer have to worry about carrying around an ID card that they could potentially lose or become stolen.

#4 – Biometrics improves customer service
Finally, biometrics improves customer service. Check-in procedures are swift and accurate. Members do not have to struggle with keeping track of their ID cards or toting them around the facility. Happy and content members will be more likely to recommend your facility to their friends and family. Viral, word of mouth marketing tactics are the key to building your business and maximizing your profits. Customer retention in these tough economic times is challenging, so gearing your overall facility to a customer centric approach is smart and effective.

Other Uses of Biometrics

The application of biometrics at your membership facility can also go beyond membership management. You can also use it for time and attendance as part of your workforce management strategy. Use it for Access Control to safeguard against illegal entry of unauthorized personnel in sensitive or restricted areas of the facility. Whatever your need, biometric solutions can be utilized as modern stewards of membership management security and key catalysts to running efficient, productive and profit oriented facilities.

Who Has More Information On Biometrics Solutions?

There are many questions and misconceptions that surround the implementation of a biometric identification system. Is it expensive? Is it difficult to set-up and maintain? Which technology is the right one for my facility? What are the privacy concerns? How soon can I expect to see a return on my investment? These are all very typical inquiries we address and respond to on a daily basis here at Shape.Net Software, and we engineer biometric solutions to help our end users reach their goals and objectives. Call us at 800.381.2082, visit our Web site at www.getshape.net or drop us an e-mail at sales@getshape.net and we will help you to pioneer a solution to bring long-term value to your customers.

We look forward to making your business better !!!!

It's Easy to go Paperless !!!

If you have a business, you probably waste a lot of time trying to stay organized.
When you are organized, you are a lot more effective in running your business.

Getting rid of unnecessary paper will help you to get more organized.

How can you do this: Just go paperless.

Shape.Net software offers many features that can help you do this.
Digitally signed contracts, member web portal for their receipts, bar coded or fingerprint check in, and the ability to upload documents for any member are 4 simple things you can do to have a paperless business.

1. Contracts - System will generate contract after adding membership terms for specified member. Member can view contract and sign a signature pad that is attached to computer.

2. Member can view receipts - Many people would rather not get a receipt but rather have all purchases for their gym to be accessible from the member web login.

3. Check In - Using bar coded key tags or fingerprint check in is a great and easy way to eliminate paper sign in sheets.

4. Upload docs - Any document associated with a member can be scanned and attached to a member profile. This is easier than having to save a hard copy of important documents for your members.

The above mentioned elements are easy to phase into your business.

If and when you do this, you will be able to operate your business much more effectively. And your all important clients will appreciate that !!!

Have a great day !!!!!

Larry

How to effectively use the Check In Process

There are many benefits that the Check In process can provide for your business.
To begin with, you need to decide what method you want your members to check in.

You can provide your members key tags or use a biometric reader (fingerprint).

Key tags are a hard thin plastic that can fit on your key chain. One side has your gym logo, the other side has a unique bar code and your gym address. If you choose to use the biometric reader, the member will just place their fingerprint in the reader at the front desk to verify who they are.

After the member checks in, a check in screen will appear to provide immediate useful information about the member to the person at the front desk.
They will know if the member owes money, has a scheduled appointment, confirms who they are with an image, and alerts the front desk employee of any important notes about the member.

There are also reports that can be generated to determine what the peak check in activity periods there are to help in staffing your front desk properly. You can also track check in reasons for members to determine why people are coming to the gym (self workout, personal training, classes, group training, pool, etc.). You can also view check in history for each member to review their check in habits.

There are also advanced settings that can track and debit the service package usage for each member as they check in. For example, a member can purchase 10 training sessions or class sessions. The member can then be scheduled for a training session or class. All the member has to do is swipe their key tag and the system will record the check in AND debit the training session from the service package. This is also great if several people are coming in for a class. They just swipe and enter. The system does all the work.

You can now sell a membership at a discounted rate and only allow that member to use the gym during off-peak hours. The system will easily confirm that the member is using the gym at the appropriate time.

To utilize the check in screen, the front desk employee must bring up the check in screen before the member checks in. There is an advanced feature that can be set for the check in screen to process the check in even when the check in screen is not open. This provides the opportunity for the front desk employee to handle another process in the system without having to be interrupted.

In summary, the check in process can streamline your daily operations and capture valuable client information very easily. All in all, this will make your business better....

Hope this helps...

Larry