A new Magic Form Group franchisee is the latest convert to the Direct-debits software
Gym Fyzz Sens, a franchisee of the Magic Form group, uses Direct-debits software from Exalog to debit its members. Anthony Julien, co-manager of the gym, talks about his use of the software and their transition to SEPA.
Could you tell us about your company?
Gym Fyzz Sens is a sports centre in Sens, in the Yonne region of France. We have 1,500 customers and our business allowed us to record a turnover of more than €400,000 in 2013. We are part of the Magic Form Group, which includes 80 clubs across France. Our company has five employees, including myself, its co-manager.
Why did you opt for Exalog's software and how did the implementation process go?
The entire Magic Form Group operates by collecting direct debits through the Direct-debits software. After Gym Fyzz Sens opened, the Director of the franchise came to give us a presentation on the software. The implementation itself went well. Everything seemed straightforward to me.
How do you collect direct debits using the Direct-debits software?
It’s very easy. Customers first pay their registration fee in cash or by cheque. Then we set up customer mandates in the software, carrying out one monthly direct debit per customer.
How did the transition to SEPA go?
As our turnover is based on the direct debits we collect, the migration to SEPA was crucial for us. We owed it to ourselves to make things as simple as possible. This is why we began working on this back in December 2013, several months before the deadline.
The transition went very smoothly, thanks to the clear explanations provided by Exalog’s customer team.
Things became more complicated later on, however. We were not aware that all of our initial direct debits had to have the status “FIRST”. This caused us to lose several days. There were also some incorrect IBAN numbers saved in our database, which meant the forms sent out also contained errors. It was a shame that Direct-debits did not alert us to this problem before transmission to the bank.
This weakness has now been rectified, and we are very happy with the software. I am particularly pleased with the regular developments to improve both the functions of Direct-debits and its ease of use. The software is constantly being enhanced.
What conclusions can you draw from your experience of using Direct-debits?
Direct-debits is a simple and user-friendly software. One worthwhile improvement would be to automate the process of sending due dates, or to set up e-mail or SMS alerts to remind us of these dates.
Exalog's perspective
Feedback from our users allows us to develop Direct-debits so that the software offers our customers a wealth of functions combined with intuitive ergonomics.
Following the problem experienced by Mr Julien, we quickly added additional checks to ensure data consistency at the point the direct debit remittance forms are generated. We have also listened to his suggestion for improvement, and Direct-debits will shortly offer an e-mail alert service to remind our customers of direct debit due dates.