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Clovo Platform Update, March 2026

We’re starting off 2026 strong with a huge list of updates that have been steadily released to the platform this year and since our last platform update newsletter.

We’ve been absolutely flat out getting new features out at a pace that has surprised even ourselves as the platform approaches a level of maturity that enables us to move quicker.

The theme of 2026 has become closing the gap between Clovo and the big players. Which is something we never set out to do. 

Clovo was built specifically for the smallest of fitness businesses, the single person studios, the yoga instructor who runs classes on the beach – sole traders who ordinarily would be priced out of this kind of platform.

As we implement these new features and take on the other platforms, we’ll continue to do it the Clovo way, which is to keep things simple, to never feel like an accounting software, and most importantly to keep it lighthearted and fun – because we’re for people in activewear, not corporate wear!

Client Tags

Power up your admin with client tags. Tags are unique to your studio and can take on whatever meaning works for you. 

You can create as many as you need, colour code them, and then start tagging clients to make filtering super easy.

It’s one of a series of new features that give you just enough CRM without needing a full-on CRM

Improved Achievements

Achievements in Clovo are all about client engagement. Only visible to staff in Clovo on the desktop, they exist to give you an opportunity to connect with and congratulate your client on their efforts.

You can now send a quick note to your client directly from Clovo on the desktop about their achievement, with canned messages to get you started.

Program Notes

Program notes let you write notes about your upcoming and past classes in Clovo on the desktop. 

New classes show notes from past openings, making it easy to keep track of what you’ve already covered and what you should do today.

With our new staff features this makes it easy to manage a single class stream across multiple instructors.

Welcome Emails

When a new client joins your studio Clovo now sends them an automated welcome email compiled from your trainers, schedule, products, locations, and other studio data.

It’s a nice touch that introduces the client to your studio and prompts them to find a product and classes early in their journey with you.

As with all client touch points in Clovo, the welcome email includes your own branding.

Move Booking

You can now move an existing booking to an opening of the same class type.

With the introduction of Direct Purchases this removes some friction when a direct purchaser can’t make it to their class anymore. Available for both direct and plan bookings.

Only available on Clovo desktop.

Staff Accounts

Clovo was initially built for the single person owner operated studio. But we quickly started to attract larger operations and this has been one of our most requested features.

You can now create staff accounts in Clovo and assign roles to restrict access to setup and financials.

After Purchase Messaging

Send a custom message to your client following their purchases. 

You can set a different message for each pack/plan you sell.

Custom after purchase messages are sent in addition to standard transaction emails.

After Booking Messaging

Send a custom message after a client books.

This will be sent in addition to existing booking confirmation and reminder emails.

Great for reminders to bring equipment or additional instructions on location.

Waitlist Improvements

We’ve improved waitlists for the cases where things go wrong.

Additionally, there is more visibility and control around waitlist management in Clovo on the desktop.

The waitlist support article has been updated with more information.

One Time Codes

Passwords are so 2008. The Clovo client app now lets you login with a one time code sent to your email.

This reduces some friction for users who’ve changed devices, logged out, or have forgotten their passwords and just want to get a booking in.

Export Data

Do you know one of our first Clovo studios was quoted $600 to have their data exported so they could move to us?

It’s your data and now we’ve made it even easier for you to access. 

Export your client data from Clovo at any time as a CSV complete with the new tags system data and marketing preferences.

Activity Timeline

Most of you will have already seen this on the dashboard right after login, but this is one of our favourite new features in Clovo, the activity timeline.

Get a visual overview of your studio’s activities. It’s a simple way to see your busy times, your quiet times, and patterns that happen in your studio.

It’s a very Clovo approach to something that would otherwise be a collection of boring reports in other systems. 

Industry Trends

Low price fitness, GLP-1s, Retention

Low price fitness on the rise, retention issues, and opportunities to cater to the growing GLP-1 market

We subscribe to a number of industry publications to keep a finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the industry at large. The majority of these are from overseas, but it’s worth noting what is happening in these bigger markets as the trends there may give us some insight as to what may occur here in Australia, too.

Low Price Fitness & Retention Issues

We’ve seen many publications indicating that low price fitness chains such as Planet Fitness are seeing big increases in members coupled with separate articles about member retention becoming a real issue for traditional gyms. 

We have also noticed the rise of homegrown startups catering to both retention issues on the business side and ‘get out of jail free’ options to the client side in the form of membership swaps. 

The implication here is that as the economy slows further, belt tightening is starting to hit people’s fitness routine. Our personal view is that there might be some great opportunities to offer budget friendly alternatives in the near future.

GLP-1s

Australian Federal Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler recently stated that there are over 400,000 Aussies on GLP-1s as of 2026. 

We’re seeing companies in tech, diet and nutrition, and wellness offering new products and features tailored to GLP-1 clients.

With the importance of maintaining a heathy exercise regime while taking GLP-1s we think there’s going to be some great opportunities to tailor your products and services to this market.

Boutique Fitness Loyalty Month: Shifting Power Back to Studios

In the world of boutique fitness, convenience has often come at a cost. Third-party aggregator apps promise exposure and easy scheduling, but for many studios the trade-off has been steep: reduced revenue, weaker community ties, and the risk of losing loyal members to a marketplace that treats classes like discount commodities.

That’s why we were glad to see this recent article from Athletech News, which highlights an inspiring campaign: Boutique Fitness Loyalty Month. The initiative, which began in New York and has since expanded to Los Angeles, calls on consumers to step away from aggregator apps and support their studios directly—whether by booking through studio websites, renewing memberships, or simply choosing loyalty over convenience.

It’s worth making the distinction clear. Aggregator apps are platforms that act like Uber for gyms. They let customers book into multiple studios from one marketplace, but they take a significant cut of the fee and often discount classes heavily—turning a $35 class into $10–$12. While that may look like a win for the consumer, it undercuts studios’ sustainability and makes it harder for them to invest in their communities and staff.

That’s very different from booking software built for studios themselves. Tools like ours are designed to give owners full control over pricing, branding, and customer relationships, without handing revenue over to an outside marketplace. The goal is to empower studios, not compete with them.

As the article explains, direct support isn’t charity—it’s essential. When members book directly, it helps ensure trainers can focus on their craft, studios can build stronger communities, and the fitness ecosystem as a whole can thrive. In Los Angeles, studios have even added creativity to the campaign with events like “Studio Triathlons” and special promotions, making Loyalty Month a celebration of everything local fitness stands for.

For a full breakdown of Boutique Fitness Loyalty Month, you can read the original article here: Athletech News – LA Fitness Studios Band Together for Loyalty Month Against Booking Apps.

And if you’re part of a studio community, the best way to show loyalty is simple: book direct, support your local studio, and keep the focus on the people who make your fitness journey possible. With the right booking tools in place, studios can make that process seamless—giving members the convenience they expect while keeping the relationship (and the revenue) where it belongs.

Introducing Clovo!

We’re opening up Clovo to small studios who want to be part of our journey and grow with us. Public beta users will receive complimentary service and lock in seriously good discounts extending past the beta period!

Clovo is now out of beta and the deal on this post has expired.

Public beta users will receive complimentary usage of the system until we exit the beta testing period, followed by an additional 3 months of complimentary service post the beta testing period + an additional 12 months reduced service fee of only 1.0%!

Clovo has been under an intense development program starting in October 2023, we’re now ready to officially open the doors to studios who are willing to use a brand new to the market booking system in their business and lock in the benefits of helping to shape the system through their feedback, as well as benefiting from complimentary service and significant discounts post beta.

Grow with us

The Clovo public beta is the perfect opportunity to grow your studio with the significant discounts we’re offering to our beta customers.

We’ll be working closely with our beta studios to incorporate your feedback into our product and make it the best mobile booking and payments app on the market for small – medium Australian pilates, yoga and group fitness studios.

We’re excited!

Get started by signing up and we’ll be in touch shortly after to check in on your progress and help out where needed.

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