Registering a new client: their first week, step by step
The onboarding of personal training clients is everything that happens between “I'm starting with you” and the end of their first week: opening their record, telling them how you will handle their data and asking for their consent, giving them access to their app, assigning their plan, recording their fee and agreeing how you will communicate. If you always do it in the same order, it stops depending on your memory and the client knows from day one what to expect from you.
Before you start: what you agree
Many misunderstandings in the first few months come from something nobody said on day one. Before you register a new client, set out in writing, in a message or a short document:
- What the service includes: in-person sessions, an online plan or both, and what is left out.
- How and when they pay: fee or session pack, payment date and payment method.
- How you talk: one working channel and your reply hours.
- What happens if they cancel: how much notice they must give and what happens if they do not show up.
- Which day their check-in is due, if you work with weekly follow-up.
You do not need a long contract. What matters is that what you agreed is written down somewhere you can both go back to when a question comes up.
Day 1: the record and their data
The record comes first because everything else depends on it. Ask for what you will use: how to contact them, what they want to achieve, what level they are starting from and when they can train. If you are not going to look at it, do not ask for it; you will find it broken down in what data to ask for in a client record.
That is also the moment to talk about their data. Before you record their weight, their measurements or any information about their health, explain what you will use it for, who sees it, how long you will keep it and how they can ask you for a copy or for it to be deleted, and ask for their consent. Doing it on day one avoids having to ask later, once the follow-up is already under way.
Day 1: access to their app
If your client is going to use an app, make sure they leave on the first day with it working. The most practical approach is to set them up while they are with you, at the end of the first session or the first call:
- You register them with their name and email.
- They open the invitation email and choose their password.
- They install the app on their phone and log in.
- Together you open the screen where they will see their plan.
Those few minutes with them in front of you save you many messages later along the lines of “the email hasn't arrived” or “I can't find my routine”. What your client sees when they log in and how to get them to keep opening it is covered in your clients' app.
First few days: plan, fee and welcome
With the record open and the app installed, three things remain to be settled before the week is out.
Their first plan
Assign them their first routine as soon as you can, even if it is an initial version that you will adjust with what you see in the first sessions. If they open their app and find nothing to do, they may well take a while to open it again. Starting from a template of your own and adapting it saves you starting from scratch with every client.
Their fee
Record the fee on the first day: amount, frequency and date of the first payment. That way you know from the start when payment is due, and if a payment does not arrive on its date you see it in time, not a month later.
A welcome message
A short message confirming what they already have: their plan in the app, where to write to you and which day you expect their first check-in. If you register clients often, save it as a template and change only what is specific to each person.
End of the week: the first check-in
The first check-in sets the habit. Ask for it on the agreed day and reply the same day or the next, even if it is only two sentences: what you have seen in their week and what changes, if anything does. If the first one goes unanswered, the second will arrive with less enthusiasm.
Use the chance to ask them how they have found the app, the plan and the schedule. It is easier to fix something in the first week than in the third month. How to organise the check-in week after week is covered in the weekly check-in.
The first-week checklist
| When | What you do | It is done when… |
|---|---|---|
| Before registering them | You agree the service, payment, channel, cancellations and check-in day | It is in writing and you both have it |
| Day 1 | You open their record with the data you will use | There are no “just in case” fields |
| Day 1 | You explain how you will handle their data and ask for their consent | It is recorded that they have given it |
| Day 1 | You give them access and help them install the app | They have logged in with their password |
| First few days | You assign their first plan | They can see it in their app |
| First few days | You record their fee | You know when the next payment is due |
| First few days | You send the welcome message | They know where to write to you |
| End of the week | You receive and reply to their first check-in | They have your reply |
How Entrenify handles it
In Entrenify, every step on this list has its place:
- Two ways to register a client: invite them by email or create only their record and give them access later. The email is only essential if you are going to invite them.
- Access by invitation: they receive a single-use link to set their own password; you neither choose it nor see it. The link expires after 72 hours and, if you send them another, the previous one stops working.
- One access button: from their record, the same button creates their account and invites them, resends the invitation or sends them a link to reset their password, depending on where they are.
- Consent: the client gives it themselves from their app and the date is recorded; you cannot accept on their behalf. Until they give it, their measurements cannot be recorded and they cannot send their check-in.
- Plan: you assign a routine from their record, and the same routine can be assigned to several clients at once, with a separate copy for each.
- Fee: monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, annual or one-off, and the next payment date is calculated automatically. Payments are recorded by hand (cash, bank transfer, Bizum, the Spanish mobile payment service, card, direct debit or other): Entrenify is not a payment gateway and does not issue tax invoices.
- Welcome: the chat suggests message templates, including a welcome one that carries the client's name, and you can save your own.
- First check-in: when they send it you receive a notification; when you reply, they are notified.
What it does not do: it does not send notifications by WhatsApp or SMS, and the app is not on the App Store or Google Play: it is installed as a web app from the phone's browser. Prices and plans are on the Entrenify home page (in Spanish).
Frequently asked questions
Can I register a client who has not yet given me their email?
Yes. In Entrenify you can create only their record and give them access later from it. The email is only essential if you are going to invite them to the app.
What should I agree with a client before starting?
The basics: what the service includes, how and when they pay, how you talk and your reply hours, what happens if they cancel a session and which day their check-in is due. It is enough to put it in writing in a message or a short document.
Can I accept the health-data consent on my client's behalf?
No. The client gives it themselves from their app and the date is recorded. Until they give it, their measurements cannot be recorded and they cannot send their check-in.
Does the registration have to be done with the client present?
It does not have to be, but it helps. If you register them at the end of the first session or the first call, they can open the invitation, choose their password and install the app with you, and leave with their plan in front of them.