What do empty places in your sessions cost you?
Put in how many sessions or classes you run a week, the price per person, how many people a session holds and how many don’t turn up. You get a weekly and yearly figure for the places that go to waste, worked out over 46 working weeks.
By Sammy Morgan, who runs M1 Studio in Chichester. Updated .
- Runs in
- Your browser
- Figures sent anywhere
- None
- Time
- About a minute
- What you get
- An estimate, with the sums shown
Your figures.
How the sum works.
Sessions a week × places per session = places you run a week.
Places a week × your no-shows out of every 100, divided by 100 = empty places a week.
Empty places × the price per person = the money lost a week.
A year is 46 working weeks, not 52, to allow for holidays, bank holidays and venue closures. Weekly figures × 46 = the year; the year divided by 12 = the month.
What it can’t tell you
- It counts every empty place at the full price. If people pay up front or on a membership, you keep that money, and the cost is the place someone else could have booked.
- It treats each session as fully booked. If yours often aren’t, put in how many people usually book, not how many the session holds.
- It counts turnover, not profit, and it doesn’t guess how many places a waiting list, reminders or deposits would fill. That depends on your clients.
If the number is worth fixing.
Fixed prices, or a fixed quote before any work starts. No VAT is charged. Any running costs are listed before you agree.
- Online Booking & Deposits £1,800
Sessions, classes and courts booked and paid for on your website, with a reminder before each one and your cancellation rule shown at booking. £1,800 fixed; the booking tool and card fees are paid by you.
Bookings taken online, with a deposit paid up front.
- Missed-Call Rescue £800
A text back with your booking link to anyone whose call you miss while you’re coaching, plus reminders before sessions.
Missed calls get a text back, automatically.
- Foundation Build from £3,500
A full website with your timetable, prices and booking in one place, if the site needs replacing too.
Show up locally, look the part.
Before you decide.
Something else? Ask Sammy on WhatsApp.
What if my clients pay up front or on a membership?
Then a no-show doesn’t cost you that session’s fee, because you already have it. It still costs you the place someone else could have booked, and a member who keeps missing sessions is often a member about to cancel. Put in your figures anyway to see how many places go unused.
Why 46 weeks and not 52?
Few coaches, studios or course providers run every week of the year. Your own holidays, bank holidays and venue closures take some weeks out, so the calculator allows for six of them. If you run all year, your real yearly figure is a little higher.
What should I put for places per session?
How many people a session holds when it’s booked: 1 for one-to-one coaching or a treatment, 4 for a doubles court, or your class size. If your sessions are rarely full, put in how many usually book instead.
Where do the example figures come from?
They’re examples so the calculator has something to work with. They aren’t averages or research. Replace each one with figures from your own booking system or register.
How do I cut no-shows on sessions and classes?
Take payment or a deposit when people book, send a reminder the day before, and have a clear cancellation window that frees the place for someone on your waiting list. Read how to reduce no-shows with deposits.
Do the figures I type go anywhere?
No. The sums run in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to M1 or anyone else, and nothing is stored. Close the page and it’s gone.
Know what to fix. Then decide.
Sammy writes down what’s holding your business back and what to fix first. The Foundation Blueprint is yours within 5 working days of your answers.
From £200No VAT, one payment through Stripe
Not ready yet? Take the free Scorecard, 3 minutes.