Bookkeeping Considerations for Health and Fitness Businesses

Consumer attention to health and fitness never goes out of style, but trends that cater to health-conscious consumers change frequently. The health concerns raised by the pandemic—as well as the inordinately large amounts of time people spent trying to stay active and fit from their homes—helped compel an even greater attention to lifestyles that prioritize health, fitness, and wellness.

As consumer demand for health and fitness products grows, so does the market that targets these buyers. The last few years have seen a growth in a variety of products and services that promote health-conscious living, including:

Home fitness equipment

Wearable devices that track movement, calories burned, and heart rate

Gym memberships

Personal training services

Meal delivery services

Lifestyle blogs

Online recipe sites

Health and fitness videos

Group fitness classes

In addition to healthy eating and exercising, consumers are also paying more attention than ever to mental health and self-care practices, as well as physical and mental health changes that affect us as we age. The flexibility inherent to remote and hybrid work has created big lifestyle changes for many people, allowing renewed attention toward how to stay fit, active, and healthy in their new lifestyles and schedules.

Small business owners who market products and services to health-conscious consumers have a large and ever-growing customer base, but trends change quickly and new competitors enter the market frequently. Some financial considerations worth researching before embarking on a new business in the health or fitness sector:

Some services require frequent travel to client homes, which makes bookkeeping and office administration vulnerable to neglect.

The revenue may be uneven, making cash flow management a challenge.

Trends change quickly, so business owners must stay up-to-date and competitive with prices and features.

Certain markets may be saturated.

Many types of products and services require a large, upfront investment, which necessitates careful research into financing options, including business loans, lines of credit, outside investments, and/or personal cash.

Facilities for some services require an oversized space and, therefore, a big budget for overhead costs.

Online businesses need to adopt payment software and invest in an easily-navigated, mobile-optimized website to stay competitive.

Careful and consistent bookkeeping from the beginning helps safeguard against cash flow problems later. Cloud-based services are widely available to help new businesses establish an organized financial management system so that bills are paid on time, expenses are carefully tracked, and employees can be paid accurately and promptly.

Online check printing is one of the financial tools for new and small businesses that is easy to adopt and use and integrates seamlessly with other accounting, payment, and payroll products for the smoothest financial management possible.

Online check printing can be a helpful financial tool for health and fitness entrepreneurs who:

·      don’t have a large back office

·      have jobs that demand travel

·      have a lot of vendors and suppliers to pay

·      want to convert bills into checks

·      need to include invoice tables, pay stubs, or attached files to their check payments

·      need to record and track expenses for reimbursements, record-keeping, or tax preparation

·      need better financial organization

Checkeeper for small and large business bookkeeping

Thousands of business owners have discovered the convenience and affordability of online check printing for keeping bills paid and expenses tracked. Checkeeper allows you to print customized business checks from your home or office and can even mail checks for you when time or supplies are limited. Checkeeper integrates with the most widely-used accounting, payment, and payroll products available to make bookkeeping as streamlined as possible. Print paychecks and pay stubs for employees or convert your bills directly into checks for a more time- and cost-effective way to manage your business’s payables. Link as many checking accounts as needed, upload your business logo, and design the check layout to include any additional elements specific to bookkeeping demands of a health and fitness business.