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QuickBooks bookkeeping for gyms and fitness centres

Most of a gym's income lands as batches from its direct debit provider, each net of the provider's charges and short of any member whose debit bounced. We check those batches in QuickBooks against your membership software's billing reports, and keep counter sales, equipment paperwork and prepaid memberships in order around them.

  • By Book Keeping Pros
  • Sources checked 15 Oct 2026

Memberships, counter sales and clubs in QuickBooks

Our starting points are your membership software's billing and dishonour reports, the provider's settlement statements and the bills you receive.

  • Every debit batch that reaches the bank feed checked against the billing run it came from, with membership income and the provider's charges recorded from the settlement statement
  • Dishonoured debits listed each month beside the batch they dropped out of, taken from your membership software, so members who have fallen behind can be followed up
  • Joining fees, access card fees and memberships paid ahead for a longer term recorded using the treatment your accountant specifies
  • Supplements, drinks and gym wear at reception kept as stock with quantities on hand, provided your QuickBooks plan has inventory tracking, with counter sales entered from the product sales report and a low-stock alert on the lines you reorder most often
  • A class for each club, or for memberships, personal training and retail, if classes are available on your QuickBooks plan, so reports by class show what each side of the gym earns
  • Servicing invoices for treadmills, bikes and racks uploaded or emailed to QuickBooks, then matched on the For review tab, and any lease or finance on that equipment recorded from its statements using the treatment your accountant specifies
  • Each month, the gym's bank and card accounts in QuickBooks reconciled with their statements, with anything left unmatched explained, such as debits still clearing, a duplicated batch or a bank mistake you query with the bank

Not included

Changing membership prices, billing dates or retry settings in your membership software stays with you. Our entries follow what its reports show.

Businesses in Health and Fitness Centres and Gymnasia Operation (ANZSIC class 9111)

Actively trading businesses across Australia
7,961 businessesAustralian Bureau of Statistics, Counts of Australian Businesses, June 2025, checked 15 October 2026
Of those, classified as non-employing
2,507 businessesAustralian Bureau of Statistics, Counts of Australian Businesses, June 2025, checked 15 October 2026
Of those, with 1 to 4 employees
3,291 businessesAustralian Bureau of Statistics, Counts of Australian Businesses, June 2025, checked 15 October 2026

Businesses by main state or territory

  1. New South Wales2,717 businesses
  2. Victoria2,155 businesses
  3. Queensland1,705 businesses
  4. Western Australia746 businesses
  5. South Australia371 businesses
  6. Australian Capital Territory114 businesses
  7. Tasmania104 businesses
  8. Northern Territory48 businesses
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, June 2025. Counts of Australian Businesses, data cube 2: Businesses by main state by industry class by employment size ranges (8165DC02.xlsx). Checked 15 Oct 2026.

Businesses by number of employees

  1. 1 to 4 employees3,291 businesses
  2. Non-employing2,507 businesses
  3. 5 to 19 employees1,852 businesses
  4. 20 to 199 employees297 businesses
  5. 200 or more employees14 businesses
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, June 2025. Counts of Australian Businesses, data cube 2: Businesses by main state by industry class by employment size ranges (8165DC02.xlsx). Checked 15 Oct 2026.

Gym owners' questions about QuickBooks

Our direct debit provider pays a lump sum for the whole billing run. How is it checked?
We start from the provider's settlement statement, which lists the members charged, the debits that failed and the charges taken out. Membership income and those charges are recorded from it, the deposit is matched in your bank feed, and anything the statement leaves unexplained is listed for you to check.
How do failed membership payments show up?
A failed debit is simply missing from the batch, so we list it from your membership software's dishonour report next to the batch it should have been in. If the member pays later, that payment is matched to the same membership.
Can QuickBooks track the supplements and drinks we sell at the front desk?
It can, as long as you're on QuickBooks Plus or Advanced, the plans with inventory tracking. Deliveries raise each product's count, sales keyed in from the counter's sales report lower it, and a low-stock alert can tell you what to reorder.
We run several clubs. Can we see each club's profit and loss?
Class tracking, available on QuickBooks Plus, lets each club's membership income and running costs carry that club's name. A profit and loss split by class then sets the clubs side by side.
Some members pay for a long membership in advance. How is that handled?
It's handled as your accountant specifies. From your membership software, we also list the members paid in advance and the period each payment covers.

Sources

  1. Counts of Australian Businesses, data cube 2: Businesses by main state by industry class by employment size ranges (8165DC02.xlsx)

    Australian Bureau of Statistics. Actively trading businesses at 30 June 2025, released 16 December 2025. Checked 15 October 2026.

    Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, June 2021 to June 2025, licensed under CC BY 4.0 Licence: CC BY 4.0.

  2. Correspondence, GCCSA 2021 to GCCSA 2026 (CG_GCCSA_2021_GCCSA_2026.csv)

    Australian Bureau of Statistics. ASGS Edition 4, July 2026 to June 2031, released 22 July 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.

    Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 4, licensed under CC BY 4.0 Licence: CC BY 4.0.

  3. Greater Capital City Statistical Areas digital boundary file, 2026 (GCCSA_2026_AUST_SHP_GDA2020.zip)

    Australian Bureau of Statistics. ASGS Edition 4, July 2026 to June 2031, released 22 July 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.

    Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data, Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 4, licensed under CC BY 4.0 Licence: CC BY 4.0.

  4. Connect a new bank account to Open Banking in QuickBooks Online (Australia)

    Intuit Australia Pty Ltd. Current at 16 October 2026, released 16 October 2026. Checked 16 October 2026.

    QuickBooks is a trademark of Intuit Inc. Licence: Intuit Australia legal terms (facts quoted with attribution, no endorsement implied).

  5. Set up and track your inventory in QuickBooks Online (Australia)

    Intuit Australia Pty Ltd. Current at 16 October 2026, released 16 October 2026. Checked 16 October 2026.

    QuickBooks is a trademark of Intuit Inc. Licence: Intuit Australia legal terms (facts quoted with attribution, no endorsement implied).

  6. Get started with class tracking in QuickBooks Online (Australia)

    Intuit Australia Pty Ltd. Current at 17 October 2026, released 17 October 2026. Checked 17 October 2026.

    QuickBooks is a trademark of Intuit Inc. Licence: Intuit Australia legal terms (facts quoted with attribution, no endorsement implied).

  7. Upload your receipts to QuickBooks (Australia)

    Intuit Australia Pty Ltd. Current at 17 October 2026, released 17 October 2026. Checked 17 October 2026.

    QuickBooks is a trademark of Intuit Inc. Licence: Intuit Australia legal terms (facts quoted with attribution, no endorsement implied).

  8. Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online (Australia)

    Intuit Australia Pty Ltd. Current at 16 October 2026, released 16 October 2026. Checked 16 October 2026.

    QuickBooks is a trademark of Intuit Inc. Licence: Intuit Australia legal terms (facts quoted with attribution, no endorsement implied).