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Zen Planner

“Can a vertical-SaaS gym platform monetize its 6,000+ fitness businesses more deeply through embedded payments, insurance, and AI beyond seat-based SaaS pricing?”

Founded2006
HQHomewood, Alabama, United States
Total raised$11.2M
Latest roundAcquired (Buyout/LBO)
IndustryVertical SaaS / Fitness
The story

Zen Planner was founded in 2006 as gym management software for martial arts schools and has grown into an all-in-one vertical SaaS for boutique fitness studios, CrossFit boxes, and MMA/BJJ gyms. It was acquired by Daxko (a broader fitness/wellness SaaS operator) and now sits inside the Daxko portfolio alongside Club Automation, Motionsoft, and VFP. Its embedded finance strategy is anchored on 'Zen Planner Payments,' powered by in-house Daxko Payments, with adjacent embedded products in business insurance and AI-driven marketing. Payroll and retirement remain notably absent from the stack.

Last 12 months
2026-02
2026-03
Product timeline
2006
Founded by a martial arts school owner to manage gym operations· founding
2020
Launched the Zen Planner Marketplace for third-party integrations (e.g., NCFIT)· product
2021
Acquired by Daxko (fitness/wellness SaaS parent)· acquisition
2025
Launched AI Agent (Voice AI, Conversation AI, Content AI) via Zen Planner Engage· product
2026
Zen Planner Payments rebranded/promoted with Daxko Payments as the in-house processor· payments
Acquisitions
SugarWOD
Workout tracking and community engagement platform for CrossFit-style gyms; deeply integrated into Zen Planner's product suite (acquired via Daxko portfolio)
The stack
3 layers disclosed in Zen Planner’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
Daxko Payments (in-house)
Money movement
in the full report
Insurance
in the full report
Accounting gap: significant
2 more providers across 2 layers, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.