Help Centre

No. Anyone can book from your booking link with no account. Clients can optionally create a free portal account to see all their sessions, memberships and forms in one place.

Yes. On the Clients page, “Add client” adds someone by hand (name, email and phone — they aren’t emailed, it just puts them in your list). Moving over from another tool? “Import CSV” brings your whole list in at once: export a CSV with an email column (name and phone optional) — or use our template — and TrainerBook skips anyone you already have and shows you a summary of what was added. Files can be up to 1 MB (around 2,000 clients); split a bigger list and import it in parts. Clients you add either way work exactly like those who arrive by booking: you can set up a membership, log progress and book them in. The Free plan holds 3 clients; Pro lifts that to unlimited.

No — one login does both, whichever you signed up as first. If you already coach, book with your other Trainer using the same email you sign in with and their sessions show up in your own portal (Settings → “Train with someone else” points the way). If you started as a client and want to coach, Settings → “Also a trainer?” gives you a booking page and dashboard while keeping your history. Once your login has both, your account menu lists them so you can switch with a tap, and the logo returns you to whichever you used last. You can’t end up as your own client.

Yes — it all lives in the Messages tab. Trainers see every client chat (plus support) there and can start a new chat, send an announcement to all clients at once, or contact support. Clients get one Messages tab gathering all their trainers and support; tap a trainer to chat in their space. Messages arrive live with an unread badge, and you can attach an image or PDF. It’s for clients with a free portal login — if a client hasn’t set one up, the trainer sees a note inviting them instead. Please keep health details for the intake form, not chat.

Yes. Open your trainer’s space → Membership. As well as your current credit balance, you’ll see a Session credit history (every credit added and every session used) and a Payments list (any Direct Debit collections, with their status). It’s read-only — a clear record of what you’ve paid and what you have left.

Your trainer’s. Every time you see — free slots, your booked sessions, reminders — is their local time, and the booking and manage-booking pages say so above the calendar (“All times are UK time (BST)”, or their own zone if they work elsewhere). So if you book while you’re away, pick the time as your trainer would say it, not as your phone shows it. Your trainer sets their zone in Settings → Booking preferences, and it doesn’t shift just because either of you is travelling.

Yes. Booking confirmation and reminder emails include an “add to calendar” file — tap it and that session drops into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. If the session is later moved, the email about it updates that same entry rather than leaving the old time behind (a move still waiting on your trainer’s approval goes in as tentative), and if a class is cancelled the email takes it back out of your calendar. To keep ALL your upcoming sessions in sync automatically, go to Settings → Calendar sync and connect your calendar: you get a private link that updates itself as bookings change, with an optional reminder alarm. You can also mute our own email/push reminders while it’s connected, and reset or disconnect the link any time. Keep the link to yourself — anyone with it can see your session times. It’s read-only: the link can’t be used to book, change or cancel anything, and your private manage links are only ever sent to you by email.

Yes — Settings → Calendar sync gives you a private link for Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. Choose whether it includes your 1:1 sessions, the classes you run, or both; add an optional reminder alarm; and (if you like) mute our own reminders while it’s connected. It stays up to date automatically, and you can reset or disconnect the link any time. Run a gym? Owners and admins get a configurable gym calendar on the Gym page — gym classes, your own 1:1s, and selected gym trainers. Keep the link to yourself — anyone with it can see your schedule, including client names and session times. It’s read-only: the link can’t be used to change or cancel sessions.

The bell in the top bar shows your unread count, and the “Notifications” tab in Messages is the full feed. Trainers are notified of new bookings, cancellations and standing-slot requests; clients are notified of sessions a trainer booked for them and standing-slot approvals or declines. Tap a notification to jump straight to it, or “Mark all read” to clear them — it sits beside your chats but stays a separate list. Turn it off any time under Settings → Notifications with the “In-app” toggle (that also hides the bell). Clients only receive in-app notifications if they have a free portal account.

The first time you sign in, a short video walkthrough plays you through the key things to get started — for trainers: setting your availability, creating a plan, and sharing your booking link; for clients: booking a session and using your space. Each step is a quick looping demo of the real app; you can skip it any time, and it only appears once. To replay it later: trainers open the “More” menu → “Replay tour”; clients open the account menu (top-right) → “Replay tour”. For the full set of how-to demos, open Help & support → Video guides.

Open Help & support → Video guides for short, auto-playing walkthroughs of the real app: sharing your booking link, setting your availability, creating a plan, Brand Studio, and (for clients) booking a session and using your client space. Each one loops and has a screen/phone toggle so it matches how you use TrainerBook. You’ll also see a “Watch how” link on the relevant steps of your “Complete your setup” checklist.

You collect directly — cash, bank transfer, standing order, or in-app Direct Debit (GoCardless); card is coming. The money goes straight to your own bank account; TrainerBook never holds or touches it. You can sell sessions as a recurring membership (a set number each week or month — you choose whether unused ones roll over or reset) or a one-off pack (a block of sessions, often discounted, that never expires and is ticked off as used). Direct Debit and standing-order members can’t book beyond their paid sessions; cash and bank-transfer clients can run a balance you settle by marking it paid.

No. Client payments settle directly to you. TrainerBook only ever charges you (the Trainer) a subscription if you choose Pro — we never take a slice of what your clients pay.

Free for up to 3 clients with the core booking, calendar and reminder tools. Pro is £19.99/month (or £199/year) for unlimited clients, your own branding, Direct Debit memberships, SMS and more.

Yes. On Pro you get a personal referral link in Settings → Refer a trainer. Every trainer who joins through it and becomes a paying Pro takes 10% off your subscription — for life — and these stack up to 50% off (five referrals). The trainer you refer gets their first month of Pro free. Your discount applies automatically once their first payment clears, and locks in after they’ve stayed on Pro for about two months; if they cancel sooner, that 10% simply drops back off.

Yes. For clients paying by cash or bank transfer (who can book ahead and settle up later), Settings → Payments lets you set the most unpaid sessions they can run up — the default is 2, or choose “No limit”. Once a booking would push them past it, their booking pauses until you mark them paid. Direct Debit and standing-order clients can never book beyond what they’ve paid for.

Each Trainer sets a notice window. Inside that window a cancellation — or a reschedule made that close to the session — counts as a used session, so a membership credit is not returned. Cancel earlier than the window and the credit is refunded automatically. The notice window only applies to the CLIENT cancelling: when a Trainer cancels, the credit always goes back (they couldn’t deliver the session), and the client is told by email, in the app and on their phone.

Yes. Access is enforced in the database (row-level security), and personal details are never shown to anonymous visitors. PAR-Q health answers are stored securely, are only collected when a Trainer turns intake forms on, and are visible only to that Trainer.

Yes. Trainers have an Activity page (in the More menu — More → Activity log) — a running record of changes across the account: bookings, clients, memberships, availability and settings, showing what changed, by whom and when. Clients can see their own account activity under Settings → Account activity. For privacy, special-category health details (like questionnaire answers) and any secrets are never shown in these logs.

Reports (in the More menu) summarise your business for a period you choose — this month, last month, last 3 months or this year. Sessions are counted by date: a past session you haven’t marked counts as attended, and the no-show rate is missed ÷ completed (cancelled and upcoming sessions don’t count). Income is split into two figures that are never added together: “Collected via Direct Debit” is actual money taken in-app through GoCardless, while “Estimated monthly recurring” is what you’d expect to bill your active recurring members. Cash, bank transfer and standing order are settled directly between you and your client, so they aren’t counted as collected. Cancellations are shown both for the chosen period (members who cancelled then) and as an all-time total.

Yes. In Settings → Two-factor authentication you can turn on an authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password and the like): scan the QR code, enter the 6-digit code to switch it on, and from then on you’ll be asked for a fresh code each time you sign in — so a stolen password alone can’t reach your account or your clients’ data. You can turn it off again from the same place.

On the sign-in page, tap “Forgot password?”, enter your email and we’ll send you a reset link. Open it (on any device), choose a new password and sign back in. The link expires after a while — if it does, just request another. New passwords are checked against known data breaches, so you may be asked to pick a different one.

In Settings → Data & privacy you can download everything we hold for you as a file, or permanently delete your account. For a trainer, deleting removes your account and all your business data — clients, bookings, plans, payments and forms. For a client, it removes your login and settings; your trainers keep their own records of past sessions (they’re required to). Deletion is immediate and can’t be undone.

On your Clients list, use the ⋯ menu next to their name. You have two options. Archive hides them from your lists but keeps their history — it’s reversible (switch to the Archived tab to restore them), handy when someone just stops training for a while. Erase is permanent: it deletes their personal data — profile, private notes, progress and photos — which is what a formal “delete my data” (GDPR erasure) request needs. Past bookings and payments are kept for your records but no longer show their name. Erase asks you to confirm first and can’t be undone.

They’re linked at the bottom of every page — Privacy, Terms and Cookies. We use only essential cookies (to keep you signed in and the site secure), and you can export or delete your own data any time from Settings → Data & privacy.

Booking confirmations and session reminders are sent by email today, with each Trainer choosing how far ahead reminders go. There’s also a “time to rebook” nudge: when a client’s booked sessions are running low (the Trainer sets the threshold — e.g. their last one left), they get a friendly email to book again so they don’t turn up to a slot that’s been given away. A client with a portal account can change that threshold or switch it off in their own settings; otherwise the Trainer’s default applies. If you use the TrainerBook app, you can also get reminders as push notifications on your phone — turn them on in Settings → Notifications and allow notifications when the app asks. Pro Trainers can also send session reminders by text (SMS): these go to clients who have a TrainerBook account with a mobile number saved, and every client can turn texts off any time in their own Settings → Notifications. (We only text clients who have an account, so that off switch always works.) There’s also an in-app Notification Centre — a bell with an unread count and a Notifications tab in Messages — that covers bookings, cancellations, new messages, session reminders and rebook nudges, standing-slot requests, class updates and gym activity; manage every channel in Settings → Notifications.

Yes. When you book for a client from your calendar, set Repeat to Weekly (or Every 2 weeks) and tick “Standing — repeat indefinitely”. TrainerBook books about eight weeks ahead straight away and quietly tops it up, so the slot is always held and you never have to rebook. Standing sessions show a ↻ mark on your calendar. To end it, open any of those sessions and choose “Stop standing booking” — that clears the repeat AND cancels the client’s future sessions (past ones are kept); it asks you to confirm first. Cancelling a single session instead (the “Cancel this one” button) drops just that week and it won’t come back. Standing sessions use membership credit and send reminders exactly like any other booking.

Yes. On your trainer’s booking page, open “Want a regular slot? Request a standing session”, pick a first date and time and how often it repeats (weekly or every 2 weeks), add your name and email, and send — you don’t need an account. Your trainer receives the request and approves or declines it, and you’ll get an email either way. Once approved, your sessions are booked automatically and keep repeating; you can still cancel any single one from your booking link.

Open Classes (in the top bar, or Settings → Group classes) and Create a class: give it a name, a capacity (how many spots), a length, an optional price, when the first one runs and whether it repeats weekly or every 2 weeks. TrainerBook then keeps the next few weeks of dates open automatically and tops them up daily. Clients book a spot from your booking page — TrainerBook counts places and stops taking bookings the moment a class is full, so you can’t be overbooked. When a class is full, clients can join a waitlist, and the moment someone cancels the next person is booked in and emailed automatically. On each date you can expand it to see who’s coming and mark people paid (payment is arranged with you directly, not through the app). Cancel a single date, or “Stop class” to end the whole series — everyone booked in is told automatically. If you belong to a gym, set the class’s Location to it so it shows on that gym’s page and stays scoped to it. You can also **sell a class allowance**: on the Memberships page, set a plan’s “Covers” to Group classes (or Both), and a class booking will tick a class credit down automatically — the roster shows “On plan” instead of Mark paid.

On your trainer’s booking page — or the Book tab in their space if you’re signed in — scroll to “Group classes”, pick a date and tap “Book a spot”, then confirm (your details are filled in if you’re logged in). You’ll get a confirmation email. A class that’s full can’t be booked. To cancel, use the link in your confirmation email, or open “Your classes” in your space — cancelling frees your place for someone else. Any price shown is paid to the trainer directly, not through the app.

A gym groups independent trainers under one shared brand — it never takes over anyone’s business: everyone keeps their own clients, calendar, pricing and payments, and can leave any time. Create one from More → Gym (you become its owner). To add trainers, open “Manage members”: invite them by email (they get a link and also see it under “Invites for you”), or publish a join code they enter to request to join — you approve or decline each request. You can make a trusted member an Admin (they can invite and manage too), change roles, or remove someone (non-destructive — it only takes them out of the gym). Joining a gym you were invited to is one tap under “Invites for you”. An owner can’t leave while they’re the only owner and other members remain — make someone else an owner first. Your gym also gets a shareable public page at /g/your-gym listing its trainers, each linking to their own booking page, plus a “Find a time” showing when the gym’s trainers are generally available day by day — open it from “View public page” on the gym. If you work at more than one place, you can tag each availability block to a specific gym (Availability → each day’s block → Location); the gym’s page and booking started from it then show only the hours you work there, while untagged “Anywhere” hours stay general and show everywhere.

Pro Trainers get the Brand Studio — design your own colours (background, text and a brand accent), fonts, and a logo or photo across your booking page and your clients’ portal. At the top there’s one “Design my brand with AI” panel: describe your vibe in a sentence (e.g. “dark and premium with gold accents”) and choose what to design — “Design my theme” drafts matching colours and fonts into the editor, and “Design a logo — 3 ideas” designs three clean vector marks to pick from. Recolouring the logo ideas (brand colours, dark or light) and switching between mark-only and mark + name is free; only the logo Design button uses one of your 10 goes a month (they reset on the 1st), and every theme is contrast-checked so text stays readable. You can also upload a logo or a photo (PNG, WebP, JPG, GIF or AVIF) — we standardise it automatically so it displays crisply everywhere, and big photos are shrunk to a sensible size first so the upload stays fast and reliable on any device. On the website you can also remove a photo’s background before it uploads (that runs entirely on your own device — the photo never leaves your browser; the first use downloads a small tidy-up model); that optional tidy-up step isn’t offered in the phone app. There’s also the simple generator (a monogram, wordmark or icon + name). Do check an AI design isn’t too close to another brand’s logo before using it commercially. On Free, pages use the standard TrainerBook look with a small “Powered by TrainerBook” mark.

Yes — go to Settings → Appearance and choose Light, Dark or System. “System” follows your phone or computer automatically, so if your device is in dark mode the app is too. Your choice applies straight away and is remembered on that device. On the standard theme it now covers your whole dashboard and your clients’ portal — not just the sign-in and Help screens. Trainers on a custom or premium brand theme keep the exact colours they set in Brand Studio (those pages don’t switch to dark), so a client always sees a consistent brand.

If you work with one Trainer, you land straight in their own branded space. With several, you get a simple hub to switch between each Trainer’s space, plus one combined calendar of all your sessions.

From your portal home, use “Find a trainer or gym” and search by a trainer’s name or business, or a gym’s name. Trainer results let you book (or open their space if you already train with them); a gym result opens that gym’s page, where you can see its trainers, when they’re generally available, and any group classes — then book with whichever trainer suits. You can also just open a booking or gym link someone shares with you.

Use the “manage booking” link in your confirmation email — or, if you have a portal account, open the session there. Your Trainer’s cancellation policy is shown before you confirm. If your Trainer has to cancel instead, you’ll hear about it right away — email, in the app and a phone notification — any session credit it used is put straight back, and the entry is removed from your calendar.

A challenge is a friendly leaderboard your trainer (or gym) runs — like “most sessions this month” or “most km”. If you have a challenge on, it shows in your portal: log your progress with the “Log” box, and tap “Leaderboard” to see how you’re doing. Leaderboards show first names only. Some challenges have a prize — a badge or a free session — and any badges you win appear in “Your badges”. A free-session prize says whether your trainer or the gym is honouring it, and the session credit is added for you automatically.

Yes. The slots on a trainer’s page are their standard length, but when you open a slot to book, there’s a “Session length” option — change it to what you need (e.g. a 90-minute assessment or a 30-minute check-in). A non-standard length becomes a request rather than an instant booking: the slot is held while your trainer approves or declines it, and they email you the outcome. Nothing is charged until they approve; the standard length books straight away.

Some trainers review each booking before it’s confirmed. When they do, your booking is sent as a request and shows “awaiting confirmation”: the slot is held for you while you wait, and you’ll get an email as soon as the trainer confirms or declines it (a decline may include a short reason and a link to pick another time). Nothing is charged while it’s pending, and you can still change or cancel your request from the “manage booking” link or your portal in the meantime.

It depends what your Trainer set up. A recurring membership gives you a set number of sessions each week or month — your Trainer chooses whether unused ones roll over or reset at the next payment (sessions you’re owed, e.g. for their time off, are always kept). A session pack is a block you buy once: it never expires and is simply ticked off as you book. If you pay by Direct Debit or standing order you can’t book beyond your paid sessions — ask your Trainer to add more. A plan can also cover **group classes** (or both classes and 1-to-1s) — if it does, booking a class uses one of your class credits and shows as “On your plan”.

Upgrade to Pro for unlimited clients (Settings → Billing). Your existing clients keep working exactly as before; only adding brand-new clients is paused until you upgrade.

An optional health questionnaire (the standard PAR-Q) plus a waiver that a Trainer can ask clients to complete before their first session. Clients sign once per Trainer, and can reuse their answers when signing up with a new Trainer.