ClubRight & bureau alternative
A lot of UK independent gyms don’t really run on software — they run on a direct-debit collection bureau with an admin screen attached. It collects the money, which is the important part. What it usually doesn’t do is give you a class timetable your members enjoy booking, or a member app worth opening.
Strong OS vs ClubRight & direct-debit bureaux
| Strong OS | ClubRight & direct-debit bureaux | |
|---|---|---|
| Collections under your own name | Standard | ClubRight: custom SUN £50/mo + £100 setup |
| Class timetable & waitlists | Core to the product | Basic or bolted on |
| Class packs & credit types | Yes | Membership-shaped |
| Member app | Yes, in your branding | Varies — often none |
| Published pricing | Quoted on the call | ClubRight publishes; most bureaux don’t |
| Contract | None | ClubRight: none. Bureaux: often long |
Every ClubRight & direct-debit bureaux figure above is taken from a primary source — their own pages, their own store listing, or data we collected ourselves. All of them are listed at the foot of this page with the date we checked them.
Members should see your studio on their statement, not a collection company they’ve never heard of. ClubRight charges £50 a month plus £100 setup for a custom SUN to do this. We think it’s just how it should work.
If any part of your business is classes — small-group strength, HIIT, circuits, bootcamps — you need capacity, waitlists that auto-fill, class packs and credits. That’s the part bureau software treats as an afterthought.
Booking, cancelling, joining a waitlist and checking in, in your branding, in seconds. For most gyms on a bureau this is the single biggest visible change.
Some bureaux charge members a fee when a direct debit fails. That’s your member’s relationship with you being damaged to fund somebody else. We don’t charge members failure fees.
Members, memberships and mandates. Where memberships collect through GoCardless, mandates can transfer in bulk without members re-signing anything.
ClubRight is the credible one in this bracket and we’re not going to pretend otherwise: £79+VAT for Core, £129+VAT for Complete, published openly, no contracts and no setup fees. That is a fairer deal than most of this industry offers. If your gym is a room of equipment and a door, it may well be enough.
No — it’s honest pricing, published, with no contract and no setup fee, and we’d rather say so than pretend. The comparison isn’t price, it’s what you get: a class timetable built for group training, waitlists that auto-fill, class packs and credits, and a member app your members will open. If you don’t need those, ClubRight is a reasonable place to be.
A Service User Number is what appears on your members’ bank statements. If it’s the bureau’s, members see a name they don’t recognise, which causes cancellations and support calls. ClubRight offers a custom one at £50 a month plus £100 setup. With us, collecting under your own brand isn’t a paid extra.
Not necessarily. Where memberships are collected through GoCardless, mandates can be transferred in bulk between providers without members doing anything. If you’re with a collection agency rather than GoCardless, tell us who — the answer genuinely depends on the agency, and we’ll give you a straight one.
If a meaningful part of your week is scheduled group sessions, yes. If you’re purely a 24/7 access gym with no timetable and no coaching, honestly, a bureau plus door access may serve you better than we would.
Book a 20-minute demo and we’ll show you exactly how a switch from ClubRight & direct-debit bureaux would work for your studio.
Sources
ClubRight & direct-debit bureaux publishes its own terms and can change them. If you spot something here that is out of date, tell us at hello@strong-os.com and we’ll correct it.