Mat Track – The Best GymDesk Alternative for Martial Arts Academies

Mat Track offers:

✅ 0% per-transaction fees
✅ Purpose-built BJJ/MMA attendance & trial workflows
✅ Multi-location tools that scale
✅ Family accounts + group billing
✅ Deep Stripe sync
✅ Predictive retention analytics

All in one streamlined platform.

1. Modern UX built for speed, not legacy menus and lists

GymDesk’s UI is functional but dated:

• Heavy list/table interfaces

• Complex menu architecture

• Slow workflows for multi-staff environments

• Limited clarity around lead/trial/member statuses

This is fine for 50–100 students.
It becomes painful at 300–1,500.

Mat Track provides:

• Clean, modern interface

• Fast check-in flow

• Clear daily dashboards

• Visual heatmaps

• Easy staff onboarding

• Multi-location switching

• Consistent tagging and statuses

Busy evenings at the academy become friction-free.

2. Mat Track’s trial funnel is far more advanced than GymDesk’s

GymDesk has “trial” features, but they function like generic intake forms and basic attendance tracking.

They don’t handle the full martial arts conversion workflow.

GymDesk limitations:

• No QR trial codes

• No automated trial reminders

• No “trial completed” logic

• No multi-member family trials

• No walk-in trial flow

• No unified landing page structure across locations

Mat Track does everything martial arts trials require:

• Location-specific trial forms

• Auto-generated QR codes for every trial

• Walk-in signup flow

• Automated confirmation & reminder emails

• Trial attendance tracking

• Status progression (lead → trial → trial completed → paying)

• One-tap payment link for FOH staff

• Family trial bundles under one parent

If trials are your growth engine, this is your edge.

3. Superior attendance system for BJJ, MMA & Muay Thai

GymDesk can track attendance — but it’s designed for traditional classes or card-swipes.

It doesn’t match modern high-volume mat flow.

GymDesk attendance limitations:

• No attendance heatmaps

• No frequency decay tracking

• No predictive retention indicators

• No family check-in

• No iPad-optimized check-in UI

• No multi-location attendance view

Mat Track attendance is built for martial arts reality:

• QR check-in

• Manual check-in for kids/parents

• Family/group check-ins

• Heatmaps

• Churn prediction

• Class-type recognition (Gi, NoGi, Striking)

• Multi-location attendance visibility

This is one of your strongest differentiators.

4. Family accounts: GymDesk can do it… but it’s not smooth

GymDesk supports “families,” but:

• Billing is not deeply tied to Stripe

• Family check-in is limited

• Trials for multiple children require manual work

• UI is not parent-friendly

For academies with large kids programmes, this quickly becomes a bottleneck.

Mat Track solves this cleanly:

• One parent → multiple children

• Family trial bundles

• Unified billing

• Group check-ins

• Parent receives all communication

• FOH-friendly design

It feels designed around martial arts families — because it is.

5. Multi-location support: Mat Track is built for growth

GymDesk can technically support multiple locations,
but is primarily designed for single-location dojos.

As soon as you operate more than one academy, GymDesk becomes:

• Less clear

• Less scalable

• Harder for staff to switch context

• Harder to aggregate analytics

• Harder to run consistent funnels

Mat Track handles multi-location as a first-class feature:

• Multiple Stripe accounts

• Multiple clubs under one brand

• Location-specific trials

• Location-specific reports

• Member training across locations

• Location-level revenue, attendance & retention

• Staff permissions per location

This is the core reason large academies switch.

6. Retention analytics: GymDesk reports numbers – Mat Track predicts behaviour

GymDesk gives traditional reporting:

• Attendance totals

• Membership counts

• Revenue

• Some churn reporting

But no predictive analytics.

Mat Track gives:

• At-risk member detection

• Frequency decay alerts

• Kids programme retention metrics

• Churn prediction scoring

• Action prompts for staff

• Multi-location retention comparison

This is the biggest lever for reducing churn.

7. Built for FOH teams — not just for owners

GymDesk is excellent for school owners who self-manage.

But if you have:

• Reception staff

• Evening FOH teams

• Coaches who check in students

• Managers

• Multi-location staff

…GymDesk becomes too rigid.

Mat Track FOH system includes:

• Role-based permissions

• Simple tablet-based check-in

• Payment/delinquency alerts

• Member “Next Step” assistant

• Trial & payment automation

• Member progress box with QR, payment link, trial stage

This is operational excellence, not just admin.