Studio Ownership Transition Guide

When studio ownership changes — whether through a sale, a partnership change, or a family transfer — fitDEGREE requires a structured handoff process to make sure Client data, autopays, Memberships, and payment processing transition cleanly. The fitDEGREE Studio Ownership Transition Guide walks both the seller and the buyer through everything they need to know.

Every ownership change requires a live conversation with the fitDEGREE team. The guide is designed to make that conversation efficient: by the time you book the call, you should already know whether you're in a fitSpot Takeover or a full data transfer scenario, what's being sold, and your target cutover date.

Where to find it

Open studio-ownership-transition.netlify.app in any browser.

Who the guide is for

The page reorganizes itself based on which side of the transition you're on:

• Sellers — Studio Owners stepping away. The guide focuses on clean exits, handing off Clients, Memberships, and teams without losing trust in the community.

• Buyers — new owners stepping in. The guide focuses on knowing what was actually bought, setting up a fee model and merchant ID, training the team, and avoiding dropped autopays.

• Both parties together — view both seller and buyer content side by side. Recommended for transitions where both parties are coordinating closely.

What's inside the guide

Asset Sale vs. Stock Sale

The single biggest determinant of how your transition unfolds in fitDEGREE is what kind of sale you're in:

• Stock Sale — the buyer takes over the entire legal entity. Same company name, same EIN, same contracts, same bank accounts. Clients see no break. Typically follows the fitSpot Takeover path inside fitDEGREE.

• Asset Sale — a new legal entity owns the studio going forward. Only the assets specifically named in the contract transfer. Typically follows a full data transfer into a brand new fitSpot under the new company.

Your contract determines which path applies, and that determines everything else.

fitSpot Takeover explained

A fitSpot Takeover is when the new owner assumes ownership of the seller's existing Admin account. Same fitSpot, same Clients, same data, same setup — the seller's Admin access transfers to the buyer.

Critical for sellers: unless your contract negotiates otherwise, you lose access to the fitSpot the moment the buyer gains it. Export every report you'll ever need before cutover.

Critical for buyers: you inherit the existing setup in full — pricing, schedule, automations, instructor payouts, custom forms, email templates, branded app config. There's no fresh-slate option. Plan to spend your first week reading carefully through what's there before changing anything.

Pre-Call Prep Sheet

A structured Q&A that generates a downloadable PDF summary you can email to Nick and Megan ahead of your call. Captures:

• Seller and buyer contact details.

• What kind of sale this is.

• Target cutover date (avoiding the 1st and 15th, which are autopay run days).

• Contract status.

• Exactly what's transferring — Clients, cards, Memberships, packs, branding, lease, team, social, website, Gift Cards.

• Client communication plan.

Sending the prep sheet ahead of the call turns a 45-minute discovery into a 15-minute execution call.

Action checklists

The guide includes two 15-task checklists — one for the seller, one for the buyer — organized chronologically by transition phase. Checklist progress saves on the device you're using.

Seller checklist phases

• Before the sale closes — confirm sale type, document what's being sold, book the call.

• The week of cutover — Client communication, team communication, pausing new Memberships.

• At handoff inside fitDEGREE — proof of sale, takeover confirmation, payment processor update, final report exports.

Buyer checklist phases

• Before takeover — confirm sale type, list what's transferring, book the call, prep a working business email.

• Setup inside fitDEGREE — get added as Admin, read the welcome guide, choose a fee model and new MID (asset sale path), verify autopays.

• Train the team and greet the community — team training, owner introduction email, in-studio presence, onboarding to-dos checklist.

The required call

Every ownership change in fitDEGREE requires a live conversation with Nick and Megan. Too many things can go wrong with autopays, MIDs, and data transfers if the specifics aren't talked through. The call usually takes 30–45 minutes and saves weeks of back-and-forth.

Book at the link inside the guide: calendly.com/fitdegree/studio-ownership-change-conversation

Bring to the call:

• Your contract (signed or in draft).

• Your target cutover date.

• Your filled-in Pre-Call Prep Sheet PDF.

• Both parties on the call together is encouraged and tends to produce the cleanest transitions.

Timing recommendation

Plan a two-to-four-week window from booked call to fully live, depending on what's transferring:

• A fitSpot Takeover with no data transfer can land at the faster end.

• A full data transfer — especially with cards on file and active Memberships — needs more coordination time with Payabli and lands at the longer end.

• Rushing the timeline is how autopays break.

Payment processor handling

Payment processor handling depends on your deal type:

• Stock sale: the existing Payabli merchant ID stays. The seller (or buyer) contacts Payabli with proof of sale to update ownership info.

• Asset sale: the new owner needs their own Payabli merchant ID under their new company. This is part of the buyer's setup checklist.

Email fitdegree@payabli.com for any payment processor questions specific to your transition.

Common questions the guide answers

• Why every transition requires a live call, not email.

• How quickly the actual fitDEGREE handoff can happen.

• The difference between a fitSpot Takeover and a full data transfer.

• When exactly the seller loses access in a takeover.

• What the buyer inherits in a takeover.

• What happens to cards on file in an asset sale.

• Whether existing Memberships and Class Packs survive a sale.

• How branded apps transfer.

Related resources

The transition guide cross-references several other fitDEGREE resources you'll want during the handoff:

• Choose Your Fee Model — for buyers in an asset sale needing a new merchant ID.

• Payabli Application Guide — for filling out the new merchant ID application.

• Team Member Training — for the buyer to onboard the existing or new team.

• Welcome Guide — for buyers stepping into fitDEGREE for the first time.

• Offboarding Guide — additional context for sellers stepping away.

Things to know

• Ownership changes cannot be handled through email alone. The required call is non-negotiable.

• If the contract isn't fully signed yet, you can still book the call. Sometimes the conversation shapes what ends up in the contract.

• Avoid scheduling cutover on the 1st or 15th of the month — those are autopay run days.

• If you want continued seller access after cutover, that has to be negotiated in the contract. It's not the default behavior.