Credit card processing in Gym Assistant.

How card-on-file works

At sign-up — front desk, kiosk, or online portal — the member enters a card number. Gym Assistant tokenizes the card with your processor and stores only the token. Subsequent dues runs charge the token, not the raw card data. PCI scope stays minimal.

Retry logic

Cards decline for several reasons: expired card, insufficient funds, fraud-screen flag, or processor outage. Gym Assistant's AutoBill will retry on a configurable cadence — usually 3 days, 7 days, 14 days. After the third failure, the member is flagged and access (if you have access control wired) is held until the issue resolves.

This automation matters: a single declined dues attempt is mostly noise. Three failed retries followed by a held access pass is a real signal that this member needs a phone call.

Expiring-card handling

Stored cards expire. Gym Assistant flags members whose card is expiring within 60 days and queues an SMS or email asking them to update via the Member Portal. Most processors also offer "account updater" — automatic re-tokenization when the card issuer reissues. Turn that on if your processor supports it.

What your merchant statement should show

• Daily batch totals matching your Gym Assistant journal report
• Per-card-type breakdown (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, debit) with effective rates
• Itemized chargebacks and reversal fees
• Monthly total fees summing to no more than ~3.5% of gross processed volume — if it's higher, request a rate review

One last thing

Reconcile monthly. The bookkeeper compares Gym Assistant's financial report against the merchant statement. Discrepancies that go unspotted compound — and they always come from the same handful of places: refunds processed offline, voids that hit the next day, or chargebacks routed through a separate fee bucket. Catch them at month-end and they stay small.