Punch cards and memberships for clients: pricing, selling, managing
A punch card is ten visits for the price of nine; a membership is a month of unlimited visits. Pricing, what the law says about cancelling, selling and tracking.
Этот гид пока доступен на одном языке: English.
Коротко
- A punch card is a fixed number of visits (usually 5 or 10) at a discount, with an expiry; a membership is a period (usually a month) with unlimited visits. Both replace "maybe I will come" with "I have already paid", and that is the whole point.
- You price from the full price downwards: ten visits for the price of nine is the common starting point for a card, and a monthly membership is priced by the number of visits a reasonable client actually makes, not by the maximum.
- The money was received in advance, but the service has not been given yet: a membership is an ongoing contract under consumer law, with cancellation and refund rules, so the terms are written before the sale and not after.
A punch card, a membership, and the difference
A punch card is a fixed number of visits, usually five or ten, at a discount, with an expiry: "ten haircuts for 225, valid for a year". A membership is a period, usually a month, with unlimited visits: "monthly Pilates, 140". The difference is in what the client buys: a quantity, or time.
What they share matters more than the difference: both replace "maybe I will come" with "I have already paid". A client with a punch card comes, because the visit is already theirs; a client with a membership comes, because the month is running. For the business it is money in advance, a fuller calendar, and a client who decides to come back once, at the purchase, instead of ten times.
| Punch card | Membership | |
|---|---|---|
| What is bought | N visits | A period (a month) |
| The limit | The number of visits and an expiry | Time only |
| Suits | Services at irregular intervals: a haircut, a facial, a massage | Frequent, regular services: training, Pilates, weekly treatments |
| Risk for the business | Visits not used within the validity | A client who comes far more than the average |
| Risk for the client | Not using it | Paying for a month they did not come |
| Renewal | When it runs out | Every month |
How to price
Start from the full price and come down from it, not the other way round. Three rules:
Шаг за шагом
- A punch card: a discount you feel, not one that hurts. "Ten for the price of nine" is the accepted starting point; a sixth to a fifth off for large cards, for services with low occupancy at certain hours, or for a new business that wants to fill its calendar. A discount above a quarter says the full price is too high, or that you are paying too much for the money in advance.
- A membership: by the average, not the maximum. An "unlimited" client at a studio comes twice a week on average, not every day. Price the membership as 8 visits a month for the price of 6 or 7, and check after three months how many really came.
- Round to a number that is easy to remember. 225, not 223.60. The client has to explain to their partner what it cost.
What the law says
The money was received in advance, but the service has not been given yet, so the law takes an interest. In Israel a membership paid over a period is an "ongoing transaction" under the Consumer Protection Law: the client may cancel it with notice, the business must disconnect within three business days, and a payment made in advance is refunded in proportion to the period after the cancellation, subject to cancellation fees set in advance and reasonable (Kol Zchut). In the US, the FTC's click-to-cancel rule requires cancelling a recurring subscription to be as easy as signing up for it. A punch card follows the ordinary cancellation rules and the terms shown before the sale.
The practical conclusion: the terms are written before the sale, in plain language, and kept with the purchase. The validity, what happens to unused visits, whether it can be transferred, how to cancel, and how refunds work.
A card of 10 treatments, valid for 12 months from the date of purchase. Every appointment that takes place uses one visit; a cancellation in time (up to 24 hours before) returns the visit. The card is personal and cannot be transferred. Cancelling the card: a refund for the unused visits at the full price of the visits already used, less the cancellation fee allowed by law. We will remind you before it expires.
How to sell without pushing
- At the end of a good visit. A happy client, who already knows they are coming back, is the moment. "If you come every month, a card saves you a haircut a year."
- In the renewal reminder. A client whose card ran out gets a message before the next appointment, not at the counter.
- On the booking site. A client who books an appointment and sees that a card can be bought online buys when it suits them, without you having to offer.
- No "today only" discount. Pressure sells once and harms for years. The discount is fixed and transparent.
- Not to everyone. A new client on the first visit is offered the next appointment, not a card. A client who comes twice a year, neither.
How to manage without a notebook
The common failure of punch cards is the tracking: a hole-punched card the client loses, a notebook at the counter, an argument about how many are left. A system that manages punch cards does it automatically:
- Every appointment that takes place takes a punch; a cancellation in time gives it back; a no-show, by your policy, burns it or returns it.
- The client sees how many are left, on the booking site and in the messages.
- A client on their last punch gets a reminder to renew before the appointment, and a client whose card is about to expire, a reminder beforehand.
- The checkout knows the appointment is covered and does not charge twice.
- The reports show how many cards were sold this month, how many visits are waiting to be used (that is a liability, not only revenue), and who is about to run out.
How it works in Torly
In Torly, punch cards and memberships are products: you set a number of visits or "unlimited", a validity, and which services are covered. You sell them at the counter (cash, an external card payment, on account or as a gift) or on the booking site; for a business in Israel the online sale is by card, through its own card acquirer. An appointment that takes place takes a punch, a cancellation gives it back, and a no-show, as you choose, burns it. A client whose card ran out or expired is asked to renew when booking the next appointment, and a client on their last punch or near expiry gets a reminder. A series of standing appointments can be paid from the card in date order, and an appointment booked by phone or through ChatGPT is covered at the checkout. The history of every card — the sale, punches, returns, extensions — is kept on the client card. Punch cards are an add-on by plan; what is included is on the pricing page.
Вопросы и ответы
A punch card or a membership: which suits my business?
A punch card for services the client uses at irregular intervals (a haircut, a facial, a massage): they buy ten and use them when convenient. A membership for services used often and regularly (training, Pilates, weekly treatments): they pay for the month and come as much as they like. Many businesses offer both.
How much discount should a punch card carry?
Enough for the client to feel they gain, and no more than the payment in advance is worth to you. "Ten for the price of nine" is the accepted minimum; a sixth to a fifth off for large cards or for services with low occupancy. Work it out on the profit, not on the price.
What happens when a punch card expires with unused visits?
What you wrote in the terms before the sale. The fair practice: a reasonable validity (6–12 months for a card of ten), a reminder before it expires, and a one-time extension for whoever asks. Visits that burn without a reminder are a client who does not come back.
Can a client cancel a membership halfway?
In Israel a membership paid over time is an "ongoing transaction" under the Consumer Protection Law, and the client may cancel it with notice, with disconnection within three business days and a proportional refund of a payment made in advance, subject to cancellation fees set in the contract and reasonable. Most countries have similar rules, and the US FTC requires cancelling to be as easy as signing up. Write the terms in advance and have a lawyer check them.
How do I keep track of punches?
Not in a notebook and not on a hole-punched card the client loses. In a system: every appointment that takes place takes a punch from the client's card, a cancellation gives it back, and the client sees how many are left. No arguments at the counter.
Does a punch card work with appointments booked by phone or through ChatGPT?
Yes, when the system connects them. An appointment booked on the booking site, by phone or through the assistant can be covered by the punch card, and the punch can also be applied at the checkout after the treatment.
Источники
Обновлено · Автор: Моти Ханука
Создаёт Torly – систему онлайн-записи для малого бизнеса – и каждый день работает с владельцами, которым нужен полный календарь и меньше звонков. Пишет здесь о том, чему мы учимся по пути.