Personal training business plan template
Your personal training business plan, on one page you can edit and print.
Personal training business plan
One page, written by you. Example values: replace them with your own. They aren’t benchmarks of what coaches charge or spend.
1. The business
2. Packages, prices and clients
Hours a client: your time for one client a month, with sessions, travel, programming, check-ins and messages. Enter a session pack at its average value a month.
3. Monthly costs
Prices and costs before GST or sales tax. Divide yearly bills by 12, and leave out your own pay: the profit line is what the business can pay you. Trainaq’s Pro plan covers up to 50 active clients for $39 a month: add it to software if you use it.
4. The numbers
| A month | Now | In 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Clients | 20 | 34 |
| Revenue | $4,900 | $7,700 |
| Payment fees | −$98 | −$154 |
| Fixed costs | −$1,350 | −$1,350 |
| Profit before tax | $3,452 | $6,196 |
| Hours a week with clients | 19.4 | 29.5 |
Break-even: 7 clients at an average of $226 a month, after 2% payment fees.
5. The 12-month plan
| Month | Clients | Revenue | Profit before tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | $5,050 | $3,599 |
| 2 | 22 | $5,200 | $3,746 |
| 3 | 25 | $6,000 | $4,530 |
| 4 | 25 | $6,000 | $4,530 |
| 5 | 26 | $6,150 | $4,677 |
| 6 | 27 | $6,300 | $4,824 |
| 7 | 28 | $6,450 | $4,971 |
| 8 | 29 | $6,600 | $5,118 |
| 9 | 32 | $7,400 | $5,902 |
| 10 | 32 | $7,400 | $5,902 |
| 11 | 33 | $7,550 | $6,049 |
| 12 | 34 | $7,700 | $6,196 |
The numbers are examples in rupees or US dollars, not benchmarks: what coaches charge and spend differs by city, country and niche, so replace every one with your own. Nothing you type is saved or sent; print the plan or save it as a PDF.
A free one-page business plan for personal trainers and coaches: who you serve, your packages and prices, where you coach, your clients now and in a year, your monthly costs, your break-even and a 12-month plan. It does the sums as you type, in rupees or US dollars.
- Free, no sign-up or email
- Rupees or US dollars
- Runs in your browser; nothing is saved
What should a personal training business plan include?
It should say who you serve, what you sell and at what price, where you coach, how many clients you have now and want in a year, what the business costs each month, how many clients cover those costs, and what you will do each quarter to get there. One page is enough to start.
- A lean one-page format, which the US Small Business Administration suggests when a business is relatively simple
- Break-even worked out from your prices, payment fees and fixed costs
- A month-by-month path from your clients now to your target
- Worked examples in rupees and US dollars, labelled as examples
How to use it
How do you fill in this business plan template?
Work from the top down. Describe who you serve and where you coach, then list each package with its monthly price, the hours a client takes you and your clients now and in a year. Add your monthly costs. The plan works out revenue, profit, break-even and hours as you type.
Say who you serve and where
Write a line or two on the clients you want: who they are, what they want and what gets in their way. Then choose in person, online or both, and say where: a gym floor you rent, a studio, clients’ homes, a park or video calls.
- Specific beats broad: “busy parents who want to get strong” is a plan, “everyone” isn’t
- Where you coach decides your rent and how many sessions fit in a day
List your packages and prices
Add each package you sell with its monthly price per client and the hours one client takes you a month: sessions, travel, programming, check-ins and messages. Then enter how many clients are on it now and how many you want in 12 months.
- Enter a session pack at its average value a month
- The personal training price calculator works out prices from your hours
Add your monthly costs
Enter what the business costs each month: rent or gym fees, software, insurance, marketing and anything else, such as travel or courses. Payment fees go in as a percentage, because they grow with your revenue.
- Divide yearly bills by 12
- Leave out your own pay: that is what the profit line is for
Read the numbers
The plan shows revenue, payment fees, costs and profit before tax, now and in 12 months, the clients you need to break even and the hours a week your target takes. If the hours don’t fit your week, change the packages or the target first.
- Break-even uses the average price of your target package mix
- A warning appears at 55 hours a week or more, which WHO and the ILO link with higher risks of stroke and heart disease
Set your 12-month plan and print it
Write one milestone for each quarter, then check the month-by-month table: it grows each package in a straight line from now to your target. Print the page or save it as a PDF, and compare it with your real numbers every month.
- Nothing is saved, so print or save the PDF before you leave
- Update the plan when a price, a cost or your target changes
Clients
How do you decide who your personal training business serves?
Pick the clients you already get results for and enjoy coaching, then describe them in one line: who they are, what they want and what stops them. A clear client makes every later choice easier, from the packages you build and the prices you set to where you look for your next client.
- Look at your best three clients: what do they have in common?
- Name the result they pay for, such as strength, fat loss, a sport or an event
- Write down what stops them today: time, confidence, cost or not knowing where to start
- Check that enough of them live near you, or can be reached online
In person or online
Should you coach in person, online or both?
It depends on your hours and your clients. In person, every session takes your time and travel, so your week caps your income. Online coaching takes less time per client but needs a system for programs, check-ins and messages. You can also do both: in-person clients as a base and online plans to grow.
- In person: rent or gym fees, travel between clients and a limit on sessions a day
- Online: lower costs per client, but clients have to trust you without meeting you
- Hybrid: a few sessions a month with online check-ins in between
- Time each kind of client with the client capacity calculator before you set a target
Break-even
How do you work out break-even for a personal training business?
Divide your fixed monthly costs by what one average client leaves you after payment fees. The answer, rounded up, is the number of clients that covers the business before you pay yourself anything. Every client above it adds profit, so a lower break-even makes a new business safer.
R = Σ (clients × monthly price)P = R × (1 − f) − Ca = target revenue ÷ target clientsB = ⌈C ÷ (a × (1 − f))⌉W = Σ (clients × hours per client) × 12 ÷ 52- C: fixed costs a month (rent or gym fees, software, insurance, marketing and other costs)
- f: payment fees as a share of revenue, such as 0.02 for 2%
- a: the average monthly price across your target package mix
- ⌈ ⌉: round up to a whole client
Worked examples
What does a worked example of the plan look like?
Here are the template’s two examples side by side, one in rupees and one in US dollars, each with online coaching, in-person PT and a hybrid package. They are examples to show the sums, not benchmarks: prices, rent and fees differ by city, country and niche, so replace every number with your own.
| Line | Rupee example | US dollar example |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly prices | Online coaching ₹3,000 · In-person PT ₹12,000 · Hybrid ₹6,000 | Online coaching $150 · In-person PT $400 · Hybrid $250 |
| Clients now → in 12 months | 20 → 34 | 20 → 34 |
| Revenue a month now | ₹1,26,000 | $4,900 |
| Payment fees now (2%, an example rate) | ₹2,520 | $98 |
| Fixed costs a month | ₹25,000 | $1,350 |
| Profit before tax now | ₹98,480 | $3,452 |
| Revenue a month in 12 months | ₹1,92,000 | $7,700 |
| Profit before tax in 12 months | ₹1,63,160 | $6,196 |
| Break-even | 5 clients | 7 clients |
| Hours a week with clients, now → in 12 months | 25.8 → 38.3 | 19.4 → 29.5 |
Examples only, not benchmarks of what coaches charge or spend. Fixed costs are rent or gym fees (₹15,000 or $800), software, insurance, marketing and other costs. Profit is before tax and before you pay yourself.
Costs
What monthly costs should a personal trainer plan for?
Plan for every cost the business pays, even small ones: rent or gym fees, software, payment fees, insurance and marketing, plus equipment, courses, travel and your phone. Turn yearly bills into a monthly figure. Costs you forget don’t disappear; they come out of the money you thought was profit.
- Rent or gym fees: a fixed rent, a fee per session or a share of what you charge, turned into a monthly figure at your target
- Software: your coaching app, scheduling, video calls and accounting
- Payment fees: the share of each payment your card, UPI or payment provider keeps
- Insurance: ask an insurer what cover your kind of coaching and your country need
- Marketing: ads, your website, printed material and referral rewards
- Equipment, courses, certifications and travel between clients
12-month plan
How do you build a 12-month plan for your business?
Start from your target in 12 months, then work back. Give each quarter one milestone you control, such as launching an online plan or filling your morning slots, and check the month-by-month table to see when revenue passes your costs. Review it each month against what really happened, and adjust.
- Milestones are actions, such as “ask every client for a referral”, not hopes such as “get 10 clients”
- Keep growth modest: the table adds clients in a straight line, and real months are lumpier
- If you are leaving a salaried job, keep a few months of costs in reserve
- Raise prices for new clients when your week is close to full
Tax
Is the profit in the plan before or after tax?
Before tax. In the US, self-employed people pay self-employment tax of 15.3% for Social Security and Medicare, according to the IRS, on top of income tax. In India, a business registered for GST adds it to its prices and pays it on, so GST isn’t income. Ask an accountant what to set aside.
- Enter prices before GST in India, and before any sales tax where you work
- Without GST registration, a business can neither collect GST from its clients nor claim input tax credit (CBIC)
- The IRS self-employment tax applies once your net earnings from self-employment reach $400: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare
- The GST invoice guide shows what an invoice for fitness services carries
For coaches
How does Trainaq help you run the plan?
Trainaq turns your packages into memberships with a price, a length and a set number of PT sessions or classes. You sell them at the desk or, in India, by payment link, clients see what they have left in the free Trainaq app, and the Business screen shows what you collected this month and what is due.
- Desk sales in cash, UPI, card machine or bank transfer, in full or in part, with the rest due on a date
- Monthly plans can renew on UPI AutoPay or a card mandate in India
- Clients get membership reminders 7, 3 and 1 days before the end, by push and email
- Your Trainaq plan’s price is on the pricing page: add it to your software costs
Sources
Sources
- US Small Business Administration. Write your business plan (lean and traditional plans).
- Internal Revenue Service. Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes).
- Central Board of Excise and Customs (now CBIC). Frequently asked questions on Goods and Services Tax, 2nd edition, 31 March 2017.
- WHO and ILO. Long working hours increasing deaths from heart disease and stroke. News release, 17 May 2021.
- Pega F, Náfrádi B, Momen NC, et al. Global, regional, and national burdens of ischemic heart disease and stroke attributable to exposure to long working hours for 194 countries, 2000–2016. Environ Int. 2021;154:106595.
FAQ
Personal training business plan FAQ
Do I need a business plan to start as a personal trainer?
You don’t need a long one, but one page makes you answer the questions every new trainer faces: who will pay you, how much, how many clients cover your costs and whether your week can hold them. If you work for a gym on a salary, a plan shows when going independent adds up.
How long should a personal training business plan be?
One page is a good start for a solo trainer. The US Small Business Administration describes lean plans as typically one page and quick to write, and suggests them when a business is relatively simple. If you want a bank loan or an investor, expect to be asked for a longer, more detailed plan.
How many clients does a personal trainer need to break even?
It depends on your costs and prices, so work it out rather than copy a number. Divide your fixed monthly costs by the average monthly price after payment fees, and round up. In the template’s rupee example that is 5 clients; in the dollar example, 7. Your own figure will differ.
Should I pay myself from the profit in the plan?
Yes. The plan’s costs leave out your own pay on purpose, so profit before tax is what the business can pay you. Set tax aside first, then decide what you take home each month. To start from a take-home goal instead, use the coach income or the personal training price calculator.
How often should I update my business plan?
Compare it with your real numbers every month: clients, revenue, costs and hours. Change the plan when a price, a cost or your target changes, and write the next milestone when you reach one. A plan you check monthly tells you early when you are falling behind, while there is still time to act.
Is the plan I type saved anywhere?
No. The template runs in your browser, and nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere, not even to Trainaq. Print it, or save it as a PDF from the print dialog, before you close the page. Reloading the page brings back the example values, so keep the PDF as your copy.
