Fitiva
Coaching software for personal trainers: the eight features that count
Bookings here, invoices there, plans in a spreadsheet, arrangements in a messenger. Each tool is fine on its own, together they cost you hours every week. This checklist shows what coaching software really needs to do, with a test question for every point.
Contents11 sections
1. Booking with a calendar and open slots
Your clients should see open slots and book themselves, and also reschedule and cancel by your rules. Anything else creates messages back and forth. It helps if the software sends a reminder before the session on its own.
Test question. Can a client book a session without sending you a single message?
2. Online payment and automatic payout
Sessions, packages and subscriptions should be paid right at booking, and the money belongs in your account without you chasing invoices. Check who the payment provider is, what fees apply per payment and whether cash payments land in the same system. Otherwise you end up keeping a second list after all.
Test question. Can you see at a glance who has paid and who hasn't, online and in cash?
3. Training and nutrition plans the athlete actually uses
A plan as a PDF never gets opened. A plan in the app, which the athlete ticks off and logs their weights in, does. It also matters how quickly a new plan comes together, whether from templates or with an AI draft that you only need to adjust.
Test question. As a coach, can you see what your athlete actually did, set by set?
4. Check ins and progress at a glance
Weight, photos, sleep, energy and a regular check in per athlete, with all your athletes on one overview. That replaces the Sunday evening round through the messenger, more on that in The Sunday evening trap.
Test question. Do you notice an athlete drifting away before they cancel?
5. Communication in context
Messages should sit with the athlete and their training, not in a chat somewhere between family groups. If you can hand questions between sessions to an AI that knows the athlete's plan, you gain the most time.
Test question. Can you find last Wednesday's question again in ten seconds?
6. Events and courses
Bootcamps, run clubs, workshops and online courses with a participant limit, payment and attendee list. For many coaches it is the easiest way to new clients, and a course sells without you working a single extra hour.
Test question. Can you create, share and charge for an event without a second tool?
7. A public profile that gets found
Qualifications, focus areas, packages and a link you can share. If the software has a marketplace or a map where clients search nearby, visibility comes built in.
Test question. Can someone who doesn't know your name yet find you?
8. Data protection and data in the EU
Health data is specially protected under the GDPR. Ask where the data is stored, whether there is a data processing agreement with every service provider, whether AI features use your data to train their models and whether your clients can download and delete their data themselves.
Test question. Does the privacy policy name every service provider and where it is based?
How Fitiva covers the list
Fitiva brings the eight points together in one app that runs in the browser, on your phone and on your computer.
- Booking. You publish open slots, athletes book themselves, in person or by video. The day before, Fitiva reminds them of the session.
- Payment. Online via Stripe Connect, as a session, a package like the 10 session pass, a subscription or a payment link. You record cash payments with one tap, and you follow up on open payments with one tap.
- Plans. You assign templates in two clicks. Ava drafts workouts, and with Pro also programmes over several weeks and nutrition plans. Your athletes log set by set.
- Check ins. Your own check in forms, plus your athletes' workouts, meals, weight and progress photos, without screenshots. Ava tells you who hasn't trained for days.
- Communication. Chat with your athletes, separate from your private chats, and posts that land on their dashboards. Ava, who knows their plan, answers their questions between sessions.
- Events and courses. Events with a flyer and QR code, and participants pay for tickets online. You sell online courses through your own link.
- Profile. Your pin on the map is free, and your profile has its own address, app.fitivapro.com/c/your-name.
- Data protection. Accounts and content are stored in the EU, and the Privacy Policy names the services the app uses, with their region. Your content never trains AI models, and you can download your data or delete your account yourself in Settings.
Free costs €0 for up to 3 active athletes, Pro €14.99 a month for up to 15, Elite €29.99 a month for unlimited athletes. These are launch prices incl. VAT: if you start by 31 December 2026, including with the 14 days free, you keep them for as long as your subscription runs. New subscriptions from 1 January 2027 cost €24.99 a month or €239.90 a year for Pro and €45.99 a month or €441.50 a year for Elite. Card payments also carry Stripe's card fee, 1.5% plus €0.25 per payment, payments in person carry none. How the plans are built is explained in Free, Pro or Elite.
One last question
Work out how many hours a week you spend on admin today and what they are worth in a year at your hourly rate. At six hours a week and an hourly rate of €60, over 46 working weeks, that comes to €16,560. Software pays off if it gives you back more of that than it costs.
Frequently asked questions about coaching software
What does coaching software for personal trainers need to do?
It should do eight things: booking with open slots, online payment with payouts, plans in the app, check ins and progress, communication that sits with the athlete, events and courses, a public profile and solid data protection.
Do I need coaching software when I am just starting out?
From your first paying client, it is worth having at least booking and payment in one system. Then the list you would have to clean up later never comes about. On Fitiva that costs nothing on Free, for up to 3 active athletes.
Does Fitiva work on my phone too?
Yes, in the browser at app.fitivapro.com, on your phone and on your computer. On your phone you add Fitiva to your home screen, and then it opens like an app. Fitiva is not in the App Store yet.
Can I bring my existing athletes?
Yes. You invite them with a link. For them, Fitiva stays free.
What does Fitiva cost for coaches?
Free costs €0 for up to 3 active athletes, with a 5% Fitiva fee. Pro costs €14.99 a month or €143.90 a year for up to 15 athletes, with 2.5%. Elite costs €29.99 a month or €287.90 a year, with unlimited athletes and 0% on sessions, packages and events. You can try Pro and Elite free for 14 days. These are launch prices incl. VAT for everyone who starts by 31 December 2026; new subscriptions from 1 January 2027 cost €24.99 a month for Pro and €45.99 a month for Elite.