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Running a gym on WhatsApp, a register and Excel — or on Peko?
Most gyms in India run on three free tools. They are familiar and they cost nothing, and for a small gym they can be enough. This is where they break, and what Peko does instead.
| What | The register, WhatsApp and Excel | With Peko |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiries | Names on a notepad and in one person's phone. Nobody calls back. | Every enquiry saved with what they want and when to ring. It comes back on the desk's list by itself. |
| Dues | A register nobody updates, and awkward guesses at the counter. | Who owes what, since when — updated the moment somebody pays. |
| Renewals | You find out a plan ended when the client has already left. | Plans ending this week, and people whose plan is over, on one calling list. |
| Discounts | Whatever the desk agrees to, and you hear about it later. | Up to ₹1,000 at the desk. More needs your yes, on your phone. |
| PT sessions | In the trainer's head. You cannot tell who is training whom. | Every session booked, started and marked, with who did not turn up. |
| Diet charts | Photos of a chart, lost in a WhatsApp chat. | The plan inside the client's app, meal by meal, water by the glass. |
| Opening up | "Who opened today?" — a call you make every morning. | An opening photo with the name and time, on your phone. |
| Month end | An evening with Excel and the register. | The month's money, clients and renewals, any day — and a PDF. |
Where the free tools break
Nothing reminds anyone
A register records; it does not remind. An enquiry written on a notepad on Monday is forgotten by Thursday. A plan that ended last week is noticed when the client has already joined the gym down the road. Peko turns both into a calling list the desk works through every day.
The record belongs to whoever has the phone
Enquiries saved in the desk worker's own phone leave when they leave. Payments noted in three different places never add up at month end. In Peko, the record belongs to the gym — every enquiry, payment and call note — and it stays when people change.
The owner can only find out by asking
Who opened the gym? Who is training whom? How much came in today? On WhatsApp, each of those is a message you have to send and wait on. In Peko they are on your Home screen.
Clients cannot see their progress
A diet chart photo and a "good session today" message do not show a client how far they have come. Peko gives them their own app with their plan, their weight journey and their photos side by side — the best reason there is to renew.
When you do not need Peko
If you train a handful of clients yourself and keep good notes, or you run a small gym from behind the counter every hour it is open, a notebook and WhatsApp can be enough. Peko earns its place when the work is spread across people: a front desk, trainers selling PT, more than one shift, more than one branch.
What switching looks like
- Import your clients from Excel or Google Sheets, in one go.
- Add your branches, plans and team; each person signs in with their mobile number.
- Keep WhatsApp for conversations. Peko writes the receipts and reminders and opens WhatsApp to send them.
Straight answers
Before you switch
Do we have to stop using WhatsApp?
No — keep WhatsApp for talking to clients. Peko opens WhatsApp for you with the message already written (a receipt, a renewal reminder, a birthday wish) and keeps the record of it in the client's card.
We have years of clients in Excel. Do we lose that?
No. Save the sheet as a CSV and import it: name and mobile number, plus email, gender, date of birth and membership end date if you have them.
Is Peko worth it for a small gym?
If the owner is at the counter all day and knows every client by name, a notebook can work. Peko pays for itself when someone else runs the desk, when you have trainers selling PT, or when renewals slip through because nobody had time to call.
See Peko with your own gym in mind.
A 20-minute call. We show you the app on your own gym — your branches, your plans, your prices — answer every question, and set it up with you when you are ready.
- Nothing to pay to see it
- We set your gym up on the call itself
- We call once — no spam, ever
Usually answered within the hour.
Leave your number and we will call you back.
Got it. We will call you about the demo — usually the same day.