WellnessLiving

I am a fan.

Comments: Very good product with excellent support. I am grateful to them

Pros:

The customer support is best in class. I have question that need a response immediately. They are very quick to respond.

Cons:

I have no complaints about the software or the staff.

Good software, but beware the processor, Paragon.

Comments: We've had our issues with them, but have found work arounds. The way they do financials is a bit frustrating. (e.g. if a members dues of $20 doesn't go through 2 times and clears the 3rd time it'll show a total of $60 and not $20)

Pros:

The product does everything you need it to do without having to pay for features like mailing members. There's a small cost for texting members. It's easy to let members signed up for a class know of any changes.

Cons:

The biggest detractor is their processor, Paragon. They treat debit cards the same as credit cards even though it's against Federal regulations (The Durban amendment). With the software I find it odd that a member on a month to month membership has to have an end date for their membership. The only time there's an end date is when they decide to cancel.

Nice People, Poor & Unreliable Product

Comments: The people who work in customer service are helpful. But if a product is unreliable, that means little. It is a cost effective product for a new, growing studio. But once you can afford something different, you really should try another service that is more reliable.

Pros:

There are many features and the system is cost effective for smaller studios like mine. You generally hear back from someone in the company when you need them within 24 hours.

Cons:

The system is completely unreliable. On my opening day, there was a system wide outage that lasted almost 24 hours. I could not check in clients, take payments, or conduct business. This is not the only time this has happened. For larger studios, this may not be an issue but for small businesses like mine, letting a customer walk out of the door because you cannot get them into your system due to downtime is a really big deal. It is also cumbersome when you try to get people to create an account because everything is routed through their backend. Wellness Living also does not have APIs that integrate with much of the popular software that allows you to market to clients (e.g. Class Pass) and it does not integrate with systems like Netgym which allow scheduling support. If money is an option, try them. But they are a short term solution. I have had multiple days when my instructors could not sign in, we could not check people in, or we could not accept money because the system was down. They really need to do better.

Alternatives Considered: Mindbody

Reasons for Switching to WellnessLiving: The cost was lower than MindBody. This was important as my studio was just starting out.

Great system for staying in touch with your clients!

Pros:

WellnessLiving makes it easy for our customers to book classes, purchase gear and swag, and receive messages all in one place.  No other platform we've used has made it this easy to communicate one on one with our customers!  Thanks, WellnessLiving!

Cons:

Sometimes the system is a little slow. And, occasionally, the system is unavailable for longer than expected, which causes scheduling problems.

Great Features, Easy to Learn

Comments: The overall experience has been great. Onboarding was smooth and our data import was nearly seamless. I find the software intuitive, and the few times I haven't been ale to figure something out on my own support has been prompt and helpful

Pros:

Integrated app access, ease of booking for clients, family accounts, good onboarding, solid suite of reporting options, highly customizable

Cons:

The way we had to set up registration for youth classes means parents often register themselves and we have to manually transfer the enrollment to the child.

Alternatives Considered: Jackrabbit Dance, Mindbody and DanceStudio-Pro

Reasons for Choosing WellnessLiving: Classbug was not intuitive from the client registration perspective.

Switched From: ClassBug

Reasons for Switching to WellnessLiving: We have 2 class categories that have very different registration options and feature needs, most studio managers are meant for kids classes where you sign up for the whole year and not for drop in options.

Support Team is Helpful

Comments: Recently I had a call with [sensitive content hidden] to discuss the marketing tools that are included in my membership. She helped me fine tune things I was already doing and gave me great suggestions to make more use out of the automated emails and even use my website to drive more traffic to my studio. It was very helpful and worth my time. Thank you for your time [sensitive content hidden]!

Pros:

It is a large program with a lot of features. It has everything I need for my business today and for when I grow.

Cons:

Sometimes it is too much program and can be confusing to navigate. The support team is helpful though. You don't have to navigate it alone.

Alternatives Considered: Mindbody

Reasons for Switching to WellnessLiving: Wellness Living was cheaper for a similar product.

Wellness Living

Comments: Wellness Living has been an awesome platform to use. Very user friendly. It can do almost anything I need it to do for my business and clients. The customer service is very responsive and helpful as well!

Pros:

It is user friendly. I feel like I can do almost whatever I need to for my business/customers

Cons:

Sometimes customer serive can misunderstand what I am asking and give me repetitive information.

Been with WL for 2 years

Comments: 8/10 - Every software company has pros and cons. WL has more pros for us. There are many options that help us to serve our clients better and we enjoy the easy to use platform.

Pros:

The onboarding was great. We learned different ways to set up options that provided more opportunity for us.

Cons:

Continual price increases. I expected to make it atleast a year without a price increase.

Alternatives Considered: ActiveCampaign, Calendly, Acuity Scheduling, Hive and Mailchimp

Reasons for Choosing WellnessLiving: cost - I hate that I have to put more characters in the answer when it is an easy short response.

Switched From: Mindbody

Reasons for Switching to WellnessLiving: cost and platform-- seemed easy to use and offered different options for clients/us

Solid Software Performance.

Comments: Great people. Great software. Customer service is very helpful. Lots of good seminars to learn from!

Pros:

Easy to use and pretty intuitive. The learning curve is small. Love the way you can personalize your back office.

Cons:

The learning curve takes some time. There are some features that are a little clunky, but I can tell they're working hard to update their software. All things considered, a very small concern.

Alternatives Considered: Mindbody

Reasons for Switching to WellnessLiving: First, it was price. Then it was easy of use. Now it's consistency of competency.

Happy client

Comments: Wellness Living has been incredibly helpful in my longstanding business over in England. The software is easy for my staff to use, the branded app is beloved by my clients, and the support service over email is wonderful. I’m moving back to Canada and opening a new business and I’ve already gotten in touch with wellness living to set up another account with them as I wouldn’t think of using anyone else!

Pros:

the branded app is the best part of the package for me!

Cons:

There really aren’t any, they exceeded my expectations!

Alternatives Considered: Mindbody

Reasons for Switching to WellnessLiving: Cost and the fact that wellnessliving is a Canadian company

The best Fitness Studio operations software on the market

Comments: Wellness Living has revolutionized the way I manage my wellness business. The user-friendly interface and comprehensive features have streamlined my operations, allowing me to focus on what truly matters: providing exceptional client experiences. The robust reporting tools have empowered me to make data-driven decisions and optimize my business strategy. Additionally, the dedicated support team is always available to assist with any questions or technical issues.   If you're seeking a reliable and versatile software solution to elevate your wellness business, Wellness Living is a top contender. Its seamless integration of essential features and commitment to exceptional customer service make it an invaluable asset for any mindful entrepreneur.

Pros:

I recently had the pleasure of working with [sensitive content hidden] from WellnessLiving, and I was truly impressed by his dedication and expertise. [sensitive content hidden] went above and beyond to ensure that my business was set up correctly and running smoothly on the WellnessLiving platform. He was patient, understanding, and always willing to take the time to explain things clearly. [sensitive content hidden]'s knowledge of the system is exceptional, and he was able to provide valuable insights and recommendations to help me optimize my business processes. Thanks to [sensitive content hidden]'s efforts, I am now able to manage my business more efficiently and effectively. I am confident that I made the right decision in choosing WellnessLiving, and I am grateful for the outstanding support I received from [sensitive content hidden]. I highly recommend [sensitive content hidden] to anyone who is looking for a knowledgeable and helpful WellnessLiving representative. He is a true asset to the company.

Cons:

I haven't encountered any significant drawbacks during my experience. Everything has been smooth sailing

Best product and nearly all in one

Pros:

Ease of use for my customers with our branded app they can create an account, schedule, update payment info, and more all from their phone. Easy to set up as the business owner.

Cons:

Cannot automate customer journey emails and have to use mailchimp to do so. Have to manually track KPI's with excel using multiple different reports from WellnessLiving. Does not integrate well with Google of Instagram for easy quick booking, which deters some customers. If your business is somewhat "complicated" you have to set up many different purchase options and therefore customers cannot apply the free reward sessions to their account to use for booking.

Alternatives Considered: Square Payments

Reasons for Choosing WellnessLiving: Mindbody software is made for the early 2000's and our customers and myself as the owner expect our software to operate like it's 2024.

Switched From: Mindbody

A critical tool for our business

Comments: We have had a positive experience with WellnessLiving and it is a critical part of our business. The customer service support is excellent when we have encountered issues or had questions. The functionality is intuitive to use and is robust, even for special uses. Highly recommend!

Pros:

Easy to configure Intuitive to use, both on the back-end and client interface Robust functionality Excellent customer service Extensive reporting capabilities

Cons:

Subscription rate increases Some features, such as events on the Achieve app, only available with upgrades User forums a bit confusing to use

Alternatives Considered: StudioGrowth and Mindbody

Reasons for Switching to WellnessLiving: Mindbody is expensive and poor user interface StudioGrowth had nice features and interface, but not as robust as WellnessLiving

Wellness living review

Comments: Overall we find excellent features in the product and it makes running a busy business much more autonomous. It gives are users far more options and choice because of this.

Pros:

The features suited my business needs 95% and it was cheaper than my previous package which did similar things.

Cons:

Costs rose after the first year and bespoke items like the mobile app increased by a lot. It felt like these static products were being hiked in price for very few feature additions. We ended up cancelling the bespoke app due to the price rises and actually found not many of our users utilised it.

WellnessLiving Customer

Comments: Very supportive. They communicate right away and do their best to meet our needs.

Pros:

They listen to our situation as a small business and support our ability to afford their WellnessLiving services.

Cons:

The increased merchant processing fees and later the increased subscription fee initially felt like we had no choice but after reaching out to explain our financially burdened situation, WellnessLiving understood our challenging situation and helped to make things fair and continue to maintain open communication to meet our needs on this.

All-In-One Booking System

Comments: I appreciate Wellness Living’s customer service. As a business owner with a looooong to-do list, I love that Wellness Living makes our booking platform easy for myself and for our users. All the options available are also exceptional.

Pros:

I love that Wellness Living includes so many of the features that I would have to pay more for on other platforms. Also, I feel like technology can easily overwhelm me and I find WL very user friendly.

Cons:

Sometimes there are glitches during upgrades, but they are taken care of quickly.

Alternatives Considered: Vagaro and Mindbody

Reasons for Switching to WellnessLiving: What was included in the basic package out-beat the competitors by far.

Nice, Easy Software to Use

Pros:

I liked it as it was very easy to use. It did exactly what i needed for my business and the customer service was exceptional

Cons:

The app can doing some strange at times

Endless Possibilities with Wellness Living Software for Studios

Comments: The onboarding process was fabulous! My dedicated specialist would find the answers to any questions I had. I also utilize the "help line" quite often and I'm always surprised by the quick response and level of concern from the agents who are on call.

Pros:

The ability to create classes, events, and appointments for my new yoga studio is the part of the software that I use the most. My clients can easily choose from purchase options and book a class from their phone or computer. I also enjoy the varying degree of permissions I can allow for instructors and future employees.

Cons:

When I create an Event, it seems like there are too many settings on the event set up page, and then the purchase option ticket that has to be created to go along with the event. Especially the purchasing rules and use of the early bird discount. Also, the Elevate Staff App does not always refresh class count numbers without a manual refresh from the instructors.

Alternatives Considered: Vagaro and Mindbody

Reasons for Switching to WellnessLiving: A studio nearby had recently switched to Wellness Living, and I liked the way it functioned from the user end. I also liked what the sales agent and demo specialist had to say when I was researching products.

Thankful for Wellnesss Living

Comments: I am still experiencing an amazing journey with the company, I hope we grow together. I was first given a recommendation for wellness living from a total stranger at a fitness convention. she told me how happy she was and I should check the company out. I feel I have people who care about me in my pocket.

Pros:

As a brand new business starting, I was guided so professionally from the beginning team at Wellness living to the present. What I like most is that their communication with me is always there if a problem arises when you need help setting up.

Cons:

The company did not know what Venmo was. However, once I discussed how important it was for my website we discussed the problem and it got resolved.

Clunky Beast, Glitchy Software, Poor Tech Support, EXPENSIVE

Comments: The experience with WL was reasonable in the first year or so, but gradually soured as the poor business practices stacked themselves into a nightmare product.

Pros:

Working with WellnessLiving for over 4 years, I got to know the software very well. It worked well in the beginning but too many "improvements" caused the software to become clunky, slow and glitchy for owners and clients. On a positive note, it allowed me to learn what works and what doesn't for my business; it made choosing an alternate EHR/CRM very easy.

Cons:

Price did not remain as quoted (increased to 3x the quote): - When I first signed on, I was quoted a locked in price for the lifetime of use as long as I signed within a certain time period. In speaking with the salesperson, at the time, I praised them on how pleased I was to find a Canadian CRM that was quoting a price in Canadian Dollars, as this would make things easier when it came to bookkeeping. Unfortunately this was not upheld, and I was immediately charged in USD. Over the 4 ½ years I was with WL the price to increased to almost 3x the original quote. - The software got bigger and clunkier to use. My clients gradually became dissatisfied with the software as they had trouble accessing their accounts and booking appointments. they would also get bumped out of forms mid-completion and lose all their progress. -I constantly had to review client accounts for remaining visits bc it was too challenging for the client. -Tech support is definitely overseas, and communication is often a challenge. -When I finally decided to switch to a more appropriate EHR/CRM, I requested the data required for the migration. Instead of complying, WL tried to bully me into staying by diverting discussions to contract. As they were preventing me form doing my due diligence under PHIPA an PIPEDA, I finally had to initiate a complaint with the governing bodies in order to receive the data required.

I am so sorry I ever used them

Comments: My biggest issue with this company is that their software really doesn't work. When I signed on with them in October 2022 they were okay, but recently I have discovered so many issues and when I try to get help with them, they don't really take accountability and instead try to push the problem back to you, when it isn't a user error.
For example I did a promo where the first month of membership was discounted, but the bug discounted those people for months until I changed it. I lost a few thousand dollars from that. Then when I told customer service they directed me on how to do that promo, but I applied the promo right it just doesn't work.
The worst part was when I cancelled, they charged me an "early cancellation fee" basically their contract renews in July and you're hooked in for a year, every year. I understand requiring commitment for your first year but I when I expressed that was unfair they were just like "well you signed the contract" so it's okay to put ridiculous things in your contract and hide behind it?
So I was charged my early cancellation fee of $1000 plus $500 for my own data transfer plus and extra month out of nowhere that they said they would return but have not done so.
Now they are dragging their feet (we're 3 weeks in) on the data transfer, but decided to push through the cancellation before that was done! So now I have no data and no new software, and no old software. I tried to contact my rep but the day she's cancelling me she's actually impossible to reach. Once they took me for all I'm worth they don't care about me anymore.
Also, for several weeks we couldn't even download my app onto Android, I lost several customers this way.
I would strongly advise against using Wellness Living. They sell you a cool slick software but it's a dinosaur with broken legs.

Pros:

Reporting Customer service is accessible

Cons:

Full of bugs Very hard to find resolution for issues Clunky Non consistent data throughout different reports Customer service blames you for their issues

Better Solutions are out there

Comments: It is a poor experience overall unfortunately, there are much better business management software solutions out there

Pros:

The scheduler functions pretty well for selecting classes

Cons:

Aside from the scheduler for selecting a class, the other features are objectively very poor. The store for merchandise and the redemption of member points literally has never worked for me and I have to utilize a workaround for redeeming my points.

Optimis Review

Comments: My overall experience has been great and efficient for all scheduling purposes!

Pros:

What I like most about WellnessLiving is the structure and how easy it is to accomplish my tasks.

Cons:

There is nothing I would change regarding the software, it is great!

Easy navigation

Pros:

Functional Easy navigation Tutorial is always available

Cons:

Nothing that I can think of. All is working okay

Critical to my business success

Comments: Love it! It’s helped grow my business and will continue to grow

Pros:

It’s so easy for my clients to use- if I have questions Helpdesk is always available and answers all my questions

Cons:

Sometimes the updates screw up my schedule

Alternatives Considered: Zen Planner and Mindbody

Reasons for Switching to WellnessLiving: Best fit my needs