If you're running your PT business with WhatsApp, a spreadsheet, and bank transfers, you're not alone. Most personal trainers start this way. It works until it doesn't.
This page breaks down where the spreadsheet approach falls short and how Foundations solves each problem, without adding complexity or monthly fees.
Feature comparison
| WhatsApp + Spreadsheets | Foundations | |
|---|---|---|
| Session tracking | Manual. You count sessions in your head or a sheet | Automatic. Every session counts down from the block |
| Payment tracking | Check bank statements, match to clients manually | Instant. Payments are linked to invoices and session blocks |
| Invoicing | Send bank details via WhatsApp, hope they pay | Professional invoice emails with one-click Stripe payment |
| Low session warnings | None. You notice when it's too late | Visual indicator on the session block card when a client is running low |
| Scheduling | Text each client individually, check calendar manually | Schedule from one place, clients get calendar invites automatically |
| Client overview | Scattered across WhatsApp, spreadsheet, and your memory | One page per client: sessions, blocks, invoices, notes |
| Monthly cost | £0 (but hours of admin time) | £0. Just 0.7% on payments collected (70p on a £100 session) |
The real cost of spreadsheets
Spreadsheets are free. But the admin time they create isn't.
- "Did Tom pay for last week?" You check your bank, scroll through transactions, try to match an amount to a client. 5 minutes.
- "How many sessions does Sarah have left?" You open your spreadsheet, find her row, count the sessions you've ticked off. 2 minutes.
- "I need to text everyone their times for next week" You open WhatsApp 15 times. 20 minutes.
Multiply that by 20 clients and a few days a week. You're spending hours on admin that should take minutes.
What Foundations does differently
- Session blocks keep everything in sync. When a client pays for 10 sessions, Foundations tracks the payment, counts down sessions as you schedule them, and shows you when they're running low. No spreadsheet can do this automatically.
- Payments are tied to sessions. Invoices for a session block or for individual sessions are linked to them, and every invoice shows on the client's profile with its status (Paid, Outstanding and so on). You never wonder "did they pay?" You just check the client's profile.
- Clients get professional invoices. Instead of texting your bank details, send a professional invoice email. Your client clicks "Pay invoice" and pays on a secure Stripe page by card or, where your Stripe account offers it, Pay by Bank. Card payments show as Paid as soon as Stripe confirms them, and Pay by Bank payments show as Processing until the bank confirms them.
- One place for everything. Clients, sessions, invoices, earnings, all in one dashboard. No switching between apps.
- Just ask. Can't remember when Tom's session is tomorrow? Wondering if you're free on Friday afternoon? Just message the Foundations assistant and get an answer in seconds, instead of flicking between your calendar, spreadsheet, and WhatsApp.
Pricing: less than a protein bar
Foundations has no monthly fee. You only pay 0.7% on payments collected through the platform, on top of Stripe's processing fee: 1.5% + 20p on a standard UK card, or 0.5% + 20p (capped at £5) when your client pays with Pay by Bank. That's £2.40 total on a £100 session by card, or £1.40 with Pay by Bank. Full fee breakdown.
Compare that to other tools that charge £20-80/month regardless of whether you use them, plus their own payment processing fees on top.
With Foundations, if you don't collect any payments in a month, you pay nothing.