Roll Payments vs Zen Planner
The Zen Planner alternative built for martial arts academies
Academies leave Zen Planner for two reasons: it was designed for general fitness studios, and the monthly tier is only part of what they pay. Roll Payments is one flat fee of $199.99 per gym with card processing at zero cost, a website included, and a billing team that chases failed payments instead of emailing you about them.
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Compare it on your own numbers.
Bring a recent processing statement and we will show you the difference.
Trusted by hundreds of martial arts academies nationwide
The short version
What you pay, and who does the work
Software tiers are easy to compare and rarely the biggest number. Card processing and staff hours are where academies actually spend, so those are the two columns worth reading first.
Roll Payments
$199.99 per gym, per month
Flat. No tiers and no per student fees.
- Card processing cost to the academy: $0 with dual pricing
- A billing team that contacts members about failed cards, as your academy
- Website designed, built and hosted, with registration and waivers wired in
- Month to month, no lock in, and no transfer fee from Roll
- Built for Jiu Jitsu and martial arts academies
Zen Planner
~$99 to $289+ per month
General fitness studios.
- Software billed on a tier, so the price moves as you grow
- Card processing around 2.9% or more per transaction, paid by the academy
- Website is an add on or a premium bundle
- Nobody calls your members about a failed card
- Annual terms are common, and leaving can cost around $1,000
The subscription is not what makes the difference
A school running $30,000 a month through cards at roughly 2.9% is paying about $870 a month to accept payment, on top of the Zen Planner tier. Dual pricing moves that cost to the card price the member chooses to pay, so the academy keeps its cash price and the processing line goes to zero.
You post a cash price and a card price. The card price carries a clearly labeled service fee that the member pays, cash payers pay the cash price, and your processing cost is $0 with your cash price intact. It is compliant when both prices are clearly disclosed, and our signage and receipts are built for it.
Checkout Adult membership, monthly
Member pays by card$205.99
Card service fee, paid by the member$6.00
Your processing cost$0.00
Deposited to your accountNext business day$199.99
Example checkout with dual pricing active. The 2.9% figure is a common card rate used for illustration, not a Roll Payments rate.
Every platform reports a failed payment. One of them fixes it.
This is the line item that does not appear on any pricing page. A card expires, the charge bounces, and somebody at your academy has to notice, find the member, ask for new details and retry. On Zen Planner that somebody is you or your front desk.
With Roll Payments the system retries, the card updater refreshes reissued cards, and our billing specialists follow up by email and phone as your academy until it is resolved. You get weekly recovery reports. Owners tell us it gives back 20 to 40 hours a month, and one academy reported a 42% improvement in collections after handing the follow up over.
Illustration of the recovery sequence described above.
Fit
Built for the mat, or adapted to it
Zen Planner is built for general fitness studios. Martial arts academies use it, but belts, stripes, promotions and kids programs are not what the product was shaped around. Roll Payments starts from the mat: plans run by belt level or program, promotion history and instructor notes sit on the student record, and the schedule understands that a white belt should not be in an advanced no gi round.
Belts and stripes
Promotion history and instructor notes on the student record, with plans by belt level or program.
Kids and adults
Separate programs, schedules and pricing inside one academy account.
One report
Payments and memberships in the same system, so there is no processor statement to reconcile.
Side by side
Roll Payments vs Zen Planner, line by line
| Feature | Roll Payments | Zen Planner |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | ✓$199.99 per gym, all inclusive | –Tiered, about $99 to $289+ per month |
| Website included | ✓Designed, built and hosted by us | –Add on or premium bundle |
| Managed billing team | ✓Included. We contact members about failed cards | –Not provided |
| Card processing cost | ✓Dual pricing puts it at $0 | –No dual pricing, about 2.9% or more per transaction |
| Waiver storage | ✓Kept indefinitely, copy sent to the owner | –Higher tiers |
| Term | ✓Month to month | –Annual terms common |
| Pricing transparency | ✓One price, no student count | –Setup and upgrade fees common |
| Leaving fee | ✓None from Roll. The gateway may charge | –About $1,000 |
| Built for | ✓Jiu Jitsu and martial arts academies | –General fitness studios |
| Support | ✓U.S. billing and tech support, included | –Standard helpdesk and ticketing |
| Website and payments | ✓One account, one report | –Third party sites or integrations |
| Contract | ✓Month to month, simple California terms | –Longer or more complex terms |
Leaving Zen Planner costs you nothing and takes one meeting
The reason academies stay on software they have outgrown is the migration, not the price. We do that part. Your member roster, your plans by belt level and program, and your waivers all move across, and you give us one guided setup session.
Zen Planner annual terms are common, so check your renewal date before you move. Roll does not charge a transfer fee, though a gateway provider may assess around $500, which is industry standard.
Free transition What we do and what you do
Illustration of the transition described above. Cost to the academy: $0.
Common questions
Questions about moving from Zen Planner
See also the Jiu Jitsu gym FAQ and the Kicksite comparison.
See the difference on your own numbers
Bring a recent processing statement and your current software invoice. We will show you the same month on a flat fee with dual pricing. Questions? Call 1-800-409-0555 or email support@rollpay.co.