The Short Answer
A punch card is a set number of visits the client buys ahead, for example 10 training sessions or 8 lessons. A membership is a period, for example a month, with no visit count. In Timing you set up a card or membership once, sell it to a client from their client card, and a visit comes off when you mark it on the appointment, or on its own when the appointment is marked completed, if you turned on automatic deduction. A signed-in client sees how many visits are left and until when the card is valid. Punch cards and memberships are available from the Professional plan (₪129 a month), and the feature is opening to businesses gradually.
Why a Paper Punch Card Does Not Work
- It gets lost. It stays in a coat pocket, goes through the wash, or sits in your drawer with twenty others.
- It has no history. A stamp does not say on which date the client came, or who stamped a visit nobody remembers.
- Nobody knows when it runs out. The client finds out at the last visit that it was the last, and you find out after them.
Punch Card or Membership?
| What | Punch card | Membership |
|---|---|---|
| What the client gets | A set number of visits | A period, with no visit count |
| When it ends | When the visits are used up or it expires | When the period ends |
| Examples | 10 personal training sessions, 8 private lessons, a course of facials | Monthly coaching, a month of studio classes |
For a punch card you choose the validity: a month, 3 or 6 months, a year, a number of days you set, or no expiry date.
How to Set Up and Sell
- In the menu, in the "Business page" group, choose "Services" and tap "Cards & memberships".
- Tap "New card / membership", choose a type and fill in a name.
- Tick the services it covers, fill in a price, and for a punch card the number of sessions, and choose a validity.
- Decide whether to show it on your booking page and whether to switch on "Punch the card automatically", and save.
- To sell one, open the client in the "Customers" tab, and in the "Cards & Memberships" card tap "Sell card / membership".
A guide with screenshots: How to work with cards and memberships.
When a Visit Comes Off
There are two ways, and you choose them per card:
- By hand: from the client card, or from the appointment in the calendar. That way you decide on every visit.
- Automatically: with "Punch the card automatically" a visit comes off when you mark the appointment completed. The setting stays off until you turn it on, and if the client holds several cards that fit the same service, Timing waits for you to choose.
Marked one by mistake? Undo the visit, and every change is recorded in the usage history. An appointment that used a visit and is cancelled before it takes place gives the visit back to the card. A client who did not show up does not get it back.
What the Client Sees
A signed-in client sees "My cards" on their home screen: how many visits are left out of how many, until when the card is valid and which services it covers. In the card's details they also see the usage history. That way the question "how many do I have left?" is answered without a message to you. When a client with a fitting card books on your booking page, they can ask to use it, and the request shows on the appointment.
When the Card Is About to Run Out
When a client has one visit left, you get a notification. That is the moment to offer a new card, before the last visit and not after it. A card that is used up or expired moves to "past cards" on the client card, and the history is kept. More ideas for revenue from existing clients are in the guide to increasing revenue.
Punch Cards in a Group Class
On the Premium plan (₪199 a month), which has group sessions, you can take a visit off each participant's own card in a group class. It suits a Pilates or yoga studio, classes and workshops.
What a Punch Card in Timing Does Not Do
- Clients do not buy a card online. You can show it on your booking page next to your services, with its price, but the sale itself is made with you and recorded on the client card.
- With automatic deduction off, a visit does not come off on its own. Even with it on, an appointment that passed without you marking it completed does not always take a visit off, so mark it.
Where to Start
Set up one card for the service your regulars book most, and sell it first to clients who already come regularly. For a client with a standing day and time, pair it with a recurring appointment. More on the punch cards and memberships page. Start free, and move to the Professional plan when you want to sell cards.