How ApproveThis + Fliip Cuts Gym Management Red Tape (Without the Paperwork)

Let’s get real: managing a gym or fitness business means drowning in approval requests. New memberships. Cancellations. Trainer onboarding. Equipment purchases. Every "yes" or "no" feels like it’s stuck in an endless email chain or lost in some manager’s Slack DMs. That’s where pairing Fliip with ApproveThis changes the game – no more herding cats for sign-offs.

Why This Combo Works Like a Pre-Workout for Your Operations

Fliip handles the heavy lifting of gym management – memberships, class schedules, client profiles. ApproveThis? It’s the bouncer at the door of your decision-making process. Together via Zapier, they automate the “Hey, can someone approve this?!” chaos.

Think about it: Fliip tracks when a new member signs up. ApproveThis instantly routes that to the right manager for review. No copying data between systems. No missed requests. Just a clean handoff that happens while you’re busy actually running your gym.

What You’re Not Getting Elsewhere

Other approval tools make you force every approver into their system. With ApproveThis? Your sales rep approving a VIP membership discount doesn’t need a Fliip login. Your accountant reviewing a refund request isn’t digging through fitness software. They click a link in their email, review the details pulled from Fliip, and approve. Done.

Real-World Uses That Actually Matter

We’re not here for hypotheticals. Here’s how gyms, yoga studios, and wellness centers use this integration to stop chasing approvals:

1. New Memberships That Don’t Ghost You

Scenario: A high-profile client wants a custom membership package. Your front desk activates it in Fliip. Zapier triggers ApproveThis to send terms to your GM and legal team. They review the discount percentage and liability clauses right in their inbox. Legal suggests a tweak, GM approves, and the contract updates automatically. All before the client finishes their latte.

Who Cares: Sales teams closing big deals without overpromising. Front desk staff who hate being the messenger when execs change terms.

2. Cancellations That Don’t Wreck Your Retention Stats

Someone cancels online. Instead of letting them slip away, Fliip triggers an approval request to your retention specialist. They see the member’s attendance history, last payment, and can offer a freeze instead of full cancellation. All without jumping between apps.

Who Cares: Membership managers reducing churn. Owners tired of losing revenue to preventable cancellations.

3. Staff Onboarding That Doesn’t Require Mind Reading

New trainer gets added to Fliip? ApproveThis pings HR to verify certifications, then alerts the head coach to assign their schedule. Bonus: Set approval thresholds so junior staff get supervisor review, but seasoned hires get fast-tracked.

Who Cares: HR teams auditing compliance. Senior trainers managing class coverage without micromanaging.

4. Service Outages That Don’t Tank Customer Reviews

Sauna down for maintenance? Instead of a free-for-all, ApproveThis requires manager sign-off on compensation offers (like day passes) logged in Fliip. No more overcompensating because a frontliner panicked.

Who Cares: Facilities managers keeping repair logs. Customer service teams maintaining consistency during hiccups.

Setting This Up Without an IT Degree

If you can order equipment online, you can connect Fliip and ApproveThis:

1. Grab your Fliip admin login and an ApproveThis account (free trial works).
2. In Zapier, pick a trigger from Fliip – like “New User” or “Activated Membership”.
3. Choose ApproveThis as the action – usually “Create Request”.
4. Map Fliip data (member email, plan details) to ApproveThis fields.
5. Test with a real request. Approve in seconds, not days.

Pro tip: Use ApproveThis’ calculated fields to auto-flag memberships over $X/month for CFO review. Or set vacation rules so absent approvers don’t bottleneck requests.

Who Actually Benefits (Beyond the Obvious)

Owners/GMs: See approval bottlenecks in real dashboards. Spot if refund approvals spike on weekends (staffing issue?) or if personal training packages get stuck in legal review (contract tweak needed?).

Frontline Staff: Stop being the middleman. When a member asks “Is my upgrade approved?”, you can actually say “Check your email – it’s already done” instead of “I’ll follow up with management.”

Corporate Teams: Apply location-specific rules. Maybe downtown branches get automatic approval on discounts up to 15%, but suburban locations need regional manager sign-off. All handled without confusing branch staff.

The Unsexy Perks You’ll Learn to Love

Beyond faster approvals:

• Audit Trails: Every Fliip action tied to an approval? Documented. Membership disputes, contract reviews, compliance checks – all timestamped with decision notes.
• Escalation Safeguards: ApproveThis nudges managers after 24 hours of inaction. No more “Sorry, I missed the email” excuses holding up payroll for new hires.
• Budget Control: Auto-reject membership deals that exceed discount thresholds. Or require dual approvals for high-value personal training packages.

Common “Yeah, Buts” Addressed

“We have custom Fliip fields – will that break?”
Nope. Zapier pulls any Fliip data into ApproveThis. Custom membership tiers, trainer specialties, equipment IDs – all mapable.

“What if someone approves via email but changes their mind?”
ApproveThis logs all actions. Reverse a decision? Requires a new request with notes. No stealth edits.

“Our owner hates new tech.”
Their approval requests come via email. They click “Approve”. Zero training needed. You look organized; they keep their inbox. Everyone wins.

Bottom Line

Fliip knows gyms. ApproveThis knows approvals. Together via Zapier, they cut the 20+ hour approval cycles that make members quit and staff burn out. No overhauls needed – just a smarter link between systems you already use.

Ready to stop being a human router for approval requests? Try ApproveThis free for 14 days, or book a 10-minute demo to see how it plugs into Fliip. Your future self (and your front desk staff) will thank you.