Online booking for personal trainers
Let clients book personal training sessions online, pay in advance and reschedule within your rules. Leave time between sessions for preparation and travel.
A free 30-minute consultation as the way in, then a paid 60-minute session event type with a fifteen-minute buffer, twelve hours’ notice and a full refund only outside twenty-four hours.
The two hours you lose every week#
A trainer with fifteen regular clients spends a genuinely surprising amount of time on LINE rearranging Tuesday. Someone moves to Thursday, which bumps someone else, and you are holding the whole week in your head while trying to coach.
A cancellation shortly before a session leaves little time to find another client. Advance payment and a clear cancellation policy can help you manage that risk.
Suggested booking settings#
The same clients in the same slots every week, either side of the working day, with an introductory consultation for new clients.
| Duration | 60 minutes |
|---|---|
| Booking notice required | 12 hours |
| Time between appointments | 15 minutes after, to reset equipment |
| Max bookings per day | Six or seven sessions a day is the ceiling |
| Location | In person, or video for programme reviews |
| Payment | Consultation free, sessions paid online |
| Cancellation policy | Full refund 24 hours before, none inside — your hour was held |
Suggested booking questions: What are you training for? · Any injuries? · Which gym do you use?
Gym-floor rules differ: some Japanese gyms do not allow outside trainers at all. Put the gyms you can train at in the description, because it is the first thing a prospective client needs to know.
Make the first session free and the rest paid#
Two event types. A 30-minute consultation, free, with short notice, which is what goes in your Instagram bio. And a 60-minute session, paid online, which is what existing clients book.
The free one costs you nothing and removes every reason not to get in touch. The paid one protects the hours that are actually your income.
A cancellation policy that does the arguing#
Full refund outside twenty-four hours, nothing inside it. Written down, shown before the client books and again before they cancel, and applied automatically. You never have to be the person who enforces it, which is the real benefit.
Business Box shows the exact refund to the client before they confirm the cancellation, so there is no surprise and no message to you afterwards. Cancellation policies
Split shifts, because that is the job#
Personal training is 06:00–10:00 and 17:00–21:00, with a dead middle. Put both ranges on each weekday in your availability schedule and nothing will ever be offered at two in the afternoon. Split shifts
Say which gyms you can train at#
Some Japanese gyms do not allow outside trainers on the floor at all, and a client who books expecting to meet you at their gym has wasted both your mornings. Name the gyms in the event description, and ask which one they use on the booking form.
Getting started#
- Sign in at app.marubox.jp with Google or Microsoft. There is no credit card required and no time limit on the free plan.
- Create an event type with the settings above. Event types explained
- Connect your calendar so your training hours never gets double booked. Google · Outlook
- Set your working hours, and close Japanese public holidays in one setting. Availability
- Put the link in your bio, or the widget on your site. Adding it to your website
Common questions
How do I stop clients cancelling at the last minute?
Take payment when they book and set a cancellation policy of a full refund outside 24 hours and none inside it. The client sees the policy before booking and the exact refund before cancelling, and it applies itself without you having to raise it.
Can clients reschedule without messaging me?
Yes. Every confirmation links to their own booking page where they can move the session within limits you set — how many times, and how close to the start. Your own diary updates and your calendar follows.
Can I offer online sessions as well as in person?
Yes — a second event type with the location set to Google Meet or Teams. A video link is created with the calendar entry and reaches the client in their confirmation automatically.
Do I need a website?
No. The booking page is a working page with your name, photo and everything you offer. Most trainers put the link in an Instagram bio and never build anything else.
Start taking bookings online
The Free plan includes booking pages, Google Calendar and Outlook connections, working hours, Japanese holiday settings and booking on your website. No credit card is required, and there is no time limit. The Paid plan is ¥1,200 per month including tax and adds online card payments, team bookings and LINE integration. Business Box charges no booking commission; Stripe processing fees apply separately.
Last reviewed 16 October 2026.