Gym POS System
for Fitness Businesses.

Here is how that works on a TimeWorks gym POS system. You set up monthly, quarterly and annual membership tiers in the back office, each with its price, duration and what it includes. When someone joins, the POS creates their member record, takes the first payment and sets the expiry date, and reception sees each member's status, payment history and expiry from the front desk terminal. Ten-session packs, class passes and group training blocks sell as one purchase and come off one session at a time as the member checks in, with yoga, spinning, CrossFit and bootcamp on separate packs if you want them tracked apart. Protein powders, pre-workout drinks, sportswear and accessories come off stock as they sell, and the reports show retail income separately from membership and session income.

A POS is not the only software a gym runs. Dedicated gym management software covers the class timetable and the member's own phone. Mindbody, for example, describes its fitness software as all-in-one, with payments, marketing, staff management, booking, scheduling and reporting, and members who check themselves in with a tap. Some gyms run booking software for the timetable and a POS for the front desk and the shop. Others run memberships, class packs and retail from the POS alone, which can suit a smaller gym or studio. If you are not sure which fits, book a demo and bring your timetable and your price list.

Membership contracts in South Africa follow the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008. Under section 14, a member on a fixed-term agreement may cancel at any time by giving 20 business days' notice in writing, and you may charge a reasonable cancellation penalty. Between 40 and 80 business days before the term ends, you must tell the member in writing that it is ending. If they do nothing, the agreement continues month to month. Section 14 does not apply to transactions between juristic persons, such as two companies, so a corporate deal between your gym's company and an employer may fall outside it. Because the POS holds each member's tier and expiry date, you can see whose term ends when and send the notice in time.

Member records are personal information, so the Protection of Personal Information Act, section 19, says you must take appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures to prevent their loss, damage or unauthorised access. On TimeWorks, member profiles sit on your own local SQL database rather than a shared web service. If you send renewal offers or promotions by SMS or email, section 69 allows electronic direct marketing only to people who have consented or who are already your customers.

The front desk needs the right hardware. A commercial touch screen terminal is built for continuous high-traffic use; the Toshiba TCx terminals we install cost R12,995 to R24,995 excluding VAT to buy. Card payments go through an Ingenico or Verifone PIN pad linked to the till, so the amount moves across without retyping; it takes chip, contactless and QR payments and works with Nedbank, FNB, ABSA and Standard Bank. New hardware carries the full manufacturer warranty.

VAT and power are the South African part of the job. SARS levies VAT at the standard rate of 15%, and from 1 April 2026 the compulsory VAT registration threshold rose from R1 million to R2.3 million, which matters to a small studio deciding when to register. Eskom ended winter 2025 with 26 hours of load shedding across four evenings, supplying electricity 97% of the time. TimeWorks runs on a local SQL database, so check-ins, session redemptions and cash sales carry on when the internet drops. Offline mode does not supply power, so a UPS battery backup sized to your hardware keeps the front desk running through an outage.

Finally, cost. POS software on its own is R350 per month excluding VAT for the Cloud-Based Entry POS, for up to two users with basic sales tracking, or R500 per month excluding VAT for the Full Business Solution, which adds advanced stock control, debtors and creditors management and unlimited users. Both are on our POS software plans page. Rent the complete front desk setup from R995 per month excluding VAT, month to month, with the hardware, software and support included; daily rental is contact for pricing. Running a salon or spa as well? Our salon and beauty POS handles treatment packages and appointments the same way.