Zipper Terminology Glossary

Zipper uses some specific terms that may differ from other software you've used. This glossary covers the most important terms to know.

Note: Your studio may show different words if you’ve enabled custom terminology (see “Hot Words” at the end). The meaning is the same — only the label differs.

Booking Credit

A single-use credit entitling a member to attend one class, event, or appointment. Booking Credits are the unit inside a Booking Credits bundle. When a member cancels within the allowed window, their Booking Credit is returned.

Also called: Credit, Booking Credits Credit

Booking Credits

A purchased bundle of Booking Credits — e.g., a “10-class booking credits” gives 10 credits to use across eligible classes or appointments. Each use deducts one credit. Booking credits have a fixed number of uses, an optional expiration date, and restrictions on which class or appointment types they apply to.

Also called: Class Pack, Credit Pack, Booking Pack (varies by studio)

Subscription (Membership)

A recurring billing product that charges a member automatically on a set schedule (weekly, monthly, annually). Can grant unlimited access to certain class types, a set number of Booking Credits per billing period (expiring at period end), or discounted drop-in pricing. Renews automatically through Stripe until canceled.

Also called: Membership, Monthly Plan, Unlimited Plan

Drop-In

A single one-time payment for one class, event, or appointment — no recurring commitment.

Activity

An individual scheduled session of a recurring class or event series. If “Yoga” is your class type, each specific Tuesday at 9am is an Activity. Members register for Activities (specific sessions), not for the class type itself.

Appointment Type

The template defining a one-on-one appointment — its name, duration, price, instructor, waiver requirements, cancellation policy, and booking window. Studio owners create appointment types once; members then schedule individual appointments against them.

Example: “60-Minute Personal Training” is an appointment type. John’s booking for 2pm Thursday is the appointment.

Registration

A member’s confirmed spot in a class or event activity. Statuses: confirmed, waitlist, canceled, or no-show. For one-on-one appointments, the equivalent is called an “Appointment.”

Waitlist

When a class is full, members join the Waitlist. If a registered member cancels, the next person is automatically promoted to confirmed. Waitlisted members are never charged a late cancellation fee — their Booking Credit is always returned when they leave the waitlist.

Payment Collector

The admin tool for charging customers for unpaid appointments, unpaid registrations, and failed payments. Find it at: Payments > Payment Collector.

Onboarding Phase

During setup, your Zipper account progresses through four phases:

Account Setup — Stripe connected, email verified, payment gateway active
Data & Website — Member data imported, domain connected, DNS validated
Go-Live Prep — Google Business Profile connected, newsletter list uploaded
Launch — Go-live date confirmed

Hot Words (Custom Terminology)

Zipper lets studios customize key terms to match their brand language — e.g., “Class” → “Group Session”, “Appointment” → “Consultation”, “Member” → “Client”. Custom terms appear throughout the customer app, confirmation emails, and SMS messages. This help center uses the default Zipper terms.

Quick Reference Table

Term	What it means
Booking Credit	Single-use credit for one class or appointment
Booking Credits	Bundle of Booking Credits
Subscription	Recurring billing membership
Drop-In	One-time single-session payment
Activity	A specific scheduled session of a class series
Appointment Type	Template defining a one-on-one service
Registration	A confirmed spot in a class or event
Waitlist	Queue for full classes — auto-promoted when space opens
Payment Collector	Admin tool for charging unpaid sessions/fees
Hot Words	Custom terminology configured by your studio

Need a hand?

Email our team at support@joinzipper.com and we'll usually reply within a few hours.

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