A clean handoff is built before it happens. Use this guide to understand the kind of sale you're in, choose the cleanest path inside fitDEGREE, and walk into your call with Nick & Megan with a plan instead of a pile of open questions.
The work is different for the seller and the buyer. Pick your side and the rest of the page reorganizes around your path — checklists, brief, resources, and all. Switch any time.
Tap any section below to jump to it. The whole page is filtered to your seller path — you're seeing what's relevant to handing off your studio cleanly.
Tap any section below to jump to it. The whole page is filtered to your buyer path — you're seeing what's relevant to taking over a studio without dropping a single autopay.
Tap any section below to jump to it. You're seeing both seller and buyer content because you picked "both parties."
Understand what kind of sale you're in — the legal structure your contract creates determines everything that follows. Foundational reading.
Understand what kind of sale you're in — the legal structure determines whether you inherit a clean balance sheet or step into the existing company.
Understand the difference between asset sales (new entity, negotiated transfers) and stock sales (same entity, takeover path).
What "takeover" actually means inside fitDEGREE — and the critical part for sellers: you lose access the moment the buyer gains it, unless your contract says otherwise.
What "takeover" actually means inside fitDEGREE — including what you'll inherit (the existing setup, in full) and what you'll need to learn vs. reshape on day one.
Definition + advantages + disadvantages of the takeover path. What the seller loses, what the buyer inherits.
Not sure which path your deal is taking? Five quick questions about EIN, branding, cards, memberships, and timeline will tell you whether you're headed for a takeover or full data transfer.
Not sure which path your deal is taking? Five quick questions will tell you whether you're stepping into an existing fitSpot or getting a brand new one with data migrated.
Five-question quiz that classifies your deal and surfaces the things to watch out for given your specific answers.
A structured Q&A that becomes a downloadable PDF for your call with Nick & Megan. Email it to them ahead of time — it's the difference between a discovery call and an execution call.
A structured Q&A that becomes a downloadable PDF for your call with Nick & Megan. Email it to them ahead of time so they walk in knowing your deal cold.
A structured Q&A both parties can fill in together. Generates a single PDF you both email to Nick & Megan before the call.
The full Offboarding Guide and the Calendly link for your required call. Goes deeper than this page on each step of stepping away.
Welcome Guide, Choose-A-Fee-Model walkthrough, Team Member Training, Onboarding To-Dos, and the call link. Bookmark these for your first month.
All seller and buyer guides in one place — Offboarding, Welcome, Fee Model, Team Training, Onboarding, and the call link.
15 tasks scoped to selling — split across before the sale closes, the week of cutover, and at handoff. Progress saves to this device so you can keep coming back.
15 tasks scoped to buying — split across before takeover, setup inside fitDEGREE, and train your team & greet your community. Progress saves to your device.
30 tasks total — 15 each for seller and buyer. Use it as your post-call execution playbook.
The questions we get most about timelines, payment processors, branded apps, cards on file, and what survives a sale.
The conversation with Nick & Megan that every ownership change requires. Bring your prep sheet, your contract, and your cutover date.
Before anything inside fitDEGREE moves, you need to know which kind of sale this is. The two paths look similar from the outside — but they're handled completely differently behind the scenes. This is the single biggest decision your call will hinge on.
The legal entity stays the same. The new owner steps into the seller's shoes — same business name, same EIN, same contracts, same bank accounts. Only the people behind the company change.
A fitSpot Takeover — the new admin is added to the existing fitSpot, the prior admin steps off, and the payment processor is updated with proof of sale. Same fitSpot, same data, new driver.
A new legal entity owns the studio going forward. You and the seller negotiate exactly which assets transfer — client list, memberships, equipment, lease, branding — and which stay behind.
A brand new fitSpot under a new Company, plus a full data transfer scoped to what was actually sold — client list, cards on file, active memberships, class packs. The contract decides.
This is not a same-day flip. Plan on a two-to-four-week window from booked call to fully live, depending on what you're transferring and which path your deal takes. A fitSpot Takeover with no data transfer can land at the faster end. A full data transfer with cards on file and active memberships needs more coordination time with the payment processor — that's where the longer end lives.
If your deal is going down the fitSpot Takeover path, here's exactly what's happening — plus what's good about it and what's hard about it for both sides.
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.
Unless negotiated otherwise in the contract, the seller loses access to the fitSpot the moment the buyer gains it. This is one of the biggest things to lock down before the call.
If your deal involves a full data transfer (most common with asset sales), what gets transferred is up to the contract you signed. We can't guess — and we won't move data we shouldn't. Have these locked down before the call:
Are the names & contact info transferring?
Is credit card data part of the deal?
Are recurring autopays continuing under the new owner?
Are unused credits being honored after handoff?
Is the studio name and branded app transferring?
Are instructors staying on under the new owner?
Five quick questions and we'll point you to the right path inside fitDEGREE. This isn't legal advice — that's between you, your accountant, and your attorney — but it'll get you oriented before the call with Nick and Megan.
Answer the questions below and we'll generate a clean PDF summary you can send Nick and Megan ahead of your call. It's the difference between a 45-minute discovery and a 15-minute execution.
Five minutes of typing. One PDF for your call. Hours saved on both sides of the table.
Check everything the contract says is being sold. Leave the rest blank.
Walking through the offboarding side of a transition. These guides go deep where this page goes wide.
Everything you need to get up and running, in order. Bookmark these — you'll come back to them in your first month as the new owner.
Two distinct sets — one for sellers stepping out, one for buyers stepping in. Open whichever fits the moment you're in.
The full studio-transition offboarding playbook — communication templates, timing, and what to wrap up before you're out.
Open guideBook the conversation with Nick & Megan. Bring the contract, the cutover date, and a list of what's being sold.
Schedule the callDay-one orientation to the fitFAM — features, expectations, who to call when.
Open guidePass-through, absorb, or split — pick the model that fits your pricing.
Pick a modelOne link to send your front desk, instructors, and managers. Get the team aligned fast.
Train the teamFull task list for getting the studio live — schedule, pricing menu, comms, and launch.
See the listOffboarding guides for stepping away.
The full studio-transition offboarding playbook — communication templates, timing, and what to wrap up before you're out.
Open guideBook the conversation with Nick & Megan. Bring the contract, the cutover date, and a list of what's being sold.
Schedule the callOnboarding guides for stepping in.
Day-one orientation to the fitFAM — features, expectations, who to call when.
Open guidePass-through, absorb, or split — pick the model that fits your pricing.
Pick a modelOne link to send your front desk, instructors, and managers. Get the team aligned fast.
Train the teamFull task list for getting the studio live — schedule, pricing menu, comms, and launch.
See the listNow that you know what kind of deal you're in and you've prepped for your call — here's the full task list to actually execute the transition. Check things off as you go — progress saves to this device.
You built this. Now let's hand it off cleanly so your clients keep showing up and your name stays gold in the community. Here's the order of operations — plan on a 2 to 4 week window from start to finish.
Welcome to the fitFAM. You're stepping into someone else's setup — let's make it yours quickly, without dropping a single class or autopay along the way.
The ones we hear most. If yours isn't here, save it for the call.
Yes — every ownership change requires a live conversation. Too many things can go sideways with autopays, MIDs, and data transfers if we don't talk through the specifics of your deal. The call usually takes 30 to 45 minutes and saves you weeks of back-and-forth.
Plan on a 2-to-4-week window from booked call to fully live. The exact timing depends on what you're transferring and which path your deal takes. A fitSpot Takeover with no data transfer can land at the faster end. A full data transfer — especially one with cards on file and active memberships — needs more coordination time with the payment processor and lands at the longer end. Rushing it is how autopays break.
A fitSpot Takeover is when the new owner assumes ownership of the seller's existing admin account — same fitSpot, same data, same setup, new driver. Unless negotiated otherwise, the seller loses access the moment the buyer gains it.
A full data transfer is when we build the buyer a brand new fitSpot under their new Company, then copy over only what was specifically sold — client list, cards, memberships, packs, whatever the contract says.
Stock sales typically take the takeover path. Asset sales typically take the data-transfer path. Your specific deal might do something different, which is exactly what the call is for.
The moment the new admin is in and the prior admin is removed — which is usually the same moment, on the same call. Once that happens, you can no longer log in to pull reports, see client info, run payroll exports, or access historical data.
Two ways to handle it: (1) Export everything you'll ever need before cutover — revenue reports, payroll history, tax data, client list, transaction history. (2) Stay in good contact with the new owner so you can request specific reports later if needed.
If you want continued access for a transition period, that has to be negotiated in the contract before the call. It's not the default.
Everything. The existing pricing menu, schedule, member tags, automations, branded app config, instructor payout setup, custom forms, email templates — the whole studio in its current state. There's no fresh-slate option.
Plan to spend your first week reading through the existing setup carefully. Don't change anything in the first 48 hours unless it's broken — clients are watching for signs that the new owner is unstable. Make changes deliberately, with comms, after you understand what's there.
It depends entirely on what's in the contract. If credit-card data is part of the sale, we can transfer it to the new fitSpot during the data migration. If it's not, the new owner starts with a clean slate and clients re-enter their cards. Either way is fine — but the answer changes how you communicate the transition to your community, so lock it down before the call.
For a stock sale, the existing MID stays — you just contact the payment processor with proof of sale to update ownership info. For an asset sale, the new owner needs their own MID under the new company. That's part of the "Choose a Fee Model" step in the buyer checklist above.
Encouraged. The fastest, cleanest transitions we've seen are the ones where both parties are on the call together. Everyone hears the same answers and there's no game of telephone afterward.
You can still book the call. We'll talk through the options and what each path would look like, then start the actual handoff once proof of sale is in hand. It's often helpful to have this conversation before you sign — it can shape what ends up in the contract.
In a stock sale, yes — the company is the same, so the obligations carry over automatically. In an asset sale, it depends on the contract. Most thoughtful buyers honor existing memberships to keep the community intact, but that's a deal point you negotiate, not a fitDEGREE setting we toggle.
Stock sale: yes, the branded app travels with the company. Asset sale: the app is an asset and needs to be specifically transferred in the contract, plus we need to handle the App Store and Google Play developer-account side. Mention the branded app on the call so we can plan it properly.
There's no automated path through an ownership change. Nick and Megan will walk you through your specific deal, confirm whether it's a fitSpot Takeover or a new fitSpot plus data transfer, and lock the cutover date.
Bring your contract, your cutover date, and your prep sheet. We'll handle the rest.