Building a single source of truth for multi-location fitness operations

When fitness brands add their second or third location, the data challenges start multiplying faster than new members in January.

• Studio #1: Clean spreadsheets. Clear reporting. No problems.
• Studio #2: Different ways of tracking performance. Different spreadsheets with different formats and calculations. Friday afternoons spent making sense of conflicting numbers.
• Studio #3 to 5+: You open your data. You scroll. You close your laptop.

If this resonates, you’re not alone. Most fitness brands hit the same wall. With 83% of fitness businesses already operating multiple locations (and 61% adding more), clean, centralized data is one of the biggest enablers of sustainable growth.

There's good news, though. You can create a "single source of truth" – one central system where everyone measures success the same way.

Let's explore how to make that happen. 

The hidden cost of fragmented data in fitness businesses

Back in 2016, research firm IDC once famously estimated that bad data costs the US economy $3 trillion per year. 

Whether that's right or not, there’s no doubt that messy information makes running a business harder. Ultimately, the fitness industry has the same data issues as everyone else. And they do get worse as you grow. 

Each new studio might bring its own way of tracking metrics. One studio logs a “new member” the moment someone signs up for an intro offer. Another waits until they convert to a full membership. One manager tracks attendance by checking bookings in the app. Another copies numbers from the front desk sign-in sheet, and so on and so forth. 

It’s possible to track almost every metric slightly differently. Even when subtle, it can create serious problems:

• Decision-making slows to a crawl when you can't trust your numbers
• Building and tracking campaigns becomes nearly impossible without consistent baseline data
• You miss early red flags, and they grow into serious issues
• Cross-location comparisons become meaningless when metrics don't align

The bottom line is, for data to be useful, it simply has to be faithful to reality. 

When someone says "I think this promotion is working well,” or "that location seems to be struggling," you need hard data to either confirm those impressions or reveal an alternate hypothesis. Fragmented, messy systems can’t deliver that. 

The domino effect: When data impacts the member experience

It's tempting to think that data issues are purely an internal problem – something that only affects your operations team and financial reporting. However, members feel it too:

• They might receive duplicate communications from different locations
• Your pricing appears random between studios
• Promotions run on different schedules without clear reasoning
• Staff give conflicting information about services

In an industry built on trust and relationships, this gradual erosion of consistency slowly damages the loyalty you've worked so hard to build.

So, with all of that in mind, let’s discuss how to overcome those issues and build that oh-so-elusive single source of truth. 

Building your centralized reporting framework

So you've recognized the spreadsheet chaos and decided to build a central reporting system. Smart move! But where do you start?

1. Know where you are - current systems/data audit

First, what are you working with? 

Maybe your original studio tracks everything in Excel or Google Sheets, another location uses the basic reporting from your booking software or another tool, and your newest acquisition is still using paper sign-in sheets.

Ask yourself:

• What systems are your different locations actually using day-to-day?
• Which metrics truly matter to your business right now, and in the near-to-mid term?
• Where do your biggest reporting pain-points come from? (Inconsistent tracking, messy spreadsheets, missing values?)
• When managers talk about data, what makes them roll their eyes?

Don't skip this step. You may discover that different locations have created their own workarounds and definitions over time, something you can fix and unify by putting consistent systems in place. 

2. Dialing in your essential metrics

Here's the golden rule of multi-location reporting: tracking a few highly important metrics perfectly is better than tracking too many badly. 

Concentrate on the fundamentals:

• Membership metrics: Who's joining, who's sticking around, who's leaving
• Financial metrics: What's coming in, what people are spending, and how it’s forecast to change based on subscription status
• Usage metrics: Which classes are packed, which times are popular, which fitness styles draw crowds
• Marketing metrics: Where members come from, what it costs to get them, which promos work

Once you’ve agreed on the essentials, the next step is defining exactly how you’ll track that data consistently. That means assigning each metric a clear definition and a consistent data source. 

For example, if you're tracking class attendance, decide whether you're measuring total bookings, check-ins, or attendance as a percentage of capacity — and make sure every studio reports it the same way. 

3. Creating a unified data system that works for franchisees

Now we're getting to the tech. You need a platform that pulls everything together neatly while slotting into site managers’ daily workflows. 

Hapana was built specifically to centralize reporting across multiple fitness studio sites. Our gym management dashboard lets you view all your locations at once or dive into specific regions or franchises. Compare apples to apples in just a few clicks. 

4. People considerations: Getting location managers on board

This is where a lot of reporting projects quietly stall – when the people who actually need to use the system aren’t brought along for the ride.

It’s easy to focus on the data, the dashboards, the roll-out plan. But it’s just as important to remember why you’re doing this in the first place – to improve the experience for your team, and ultimately, your members.

Studio managers are probably thinking about full classes, happy members, and keeping things running day to day. So when a new reporting system lands on their desk, the first question is usually: Is this going to make my job harder or easier?

That’s the lens to use.

A good reporting system should work with them – not against them.

It should save time – not add more admin.
It should make decisions easier – not more confusing.
It should help them improve the member experience – not pull them away from it.

Because when managers have clear, consistent data, they’re better equipped to:

• Spot dips in attendance early – and respond before it affects retention
• See which classes, instructors or time slots are driving the most value
• Understand the impact of a promo or schedule change – with actual numbers, not just gut feel

And when they can act on that kind of insight, members feel the difference. Classes are better targeted, communication is sharper, and the whole experience feels more intentional.

That’s the real payoff of better reporting – not just sharper strategy at the top, but stronger service at every level.

Three things you can do immediately with your centralized system

Getting your data centralized is just the beginning. The real value is in how it helps you operate smarter, serve members better, and grow without chaos.

Here are three ways to start using your system right away:

1. Act on problems before they impact members

When something goes wrong at a single location, you don’t want to find out a month later in a performance review. With a central system, you can track key metrics across all sites in real time.

That might mean identifying:

• A sudden drop in retention at a single studio
• Attendance falling below break-even on a certain class
• Revenue trending down week over week
  A location consistently missing its targets

2. Automate your marketing and build consistency across the brand

One of the greatest advantages of a centralized platform is the ability to create consistent, on-brand marketing – without putting the pressure on each individual studio to figure it out on their own.

Using Hapana’s marketing automation tools, you can set up campaigns that run across your entire network, triggered by real-time member data. That includes:

• Milestone messages (e.g. “1-year member” or “100th class”)
• Win-back offers for lapsed members
• Personalised onboarding sequences
• Time-sensitive promos tailored to location or member type

Members get the right message at the right moment, and it feels like it’s coming directly from their home studio, not from a faceless HQ.

3. Make growth simpler by turning your operations into a system

This is a massive one. Centralising your systems makes scaling up easier. 

When every location is using the same tools, tracking the same metrics, and following the same processes, growth becomes more predictable. You’re not reinventing workflows — you’re rolling out a model that already works.

You can replicate high-performing setups, benchmark early performance against similar sites, and support new teams with confidence, not trial and error.

It also makes integration smoother when you’re acquiring or merging locations. Instead of dealing with five different processes and ten incompatible spreadsheets, you’re plugging everything into one system that already knows what “excellent” looks like.

The path to operational clarity starts with Hapana

Getting all your fitness locations to speak the same data language isn't simple, but the payoff is huge. You go from puzzling over contradictory reports to making confident decisions based on clear insights.

The fitness brands that figure this out gain a massive advantage. They know which programs to double down on, which locations need help, and where the next growth opportunities lie.

Ready to start? Begin by honestly assessing your current reporting situation across locations. What works? What's broken? Where are the biggest inconsistencies?

Then consider how Hapana's centralized system might bring everything together. With customizable dashboards, visual reporting, and analytics that span all your locations, you'll transform how your entire business operates.

Take a tour of the software with Hapana today to see how a unified reporting framework can bring clarity to your multi-location fitness operation.