More and more sports clubs are using Pitchero to collect online payments for everything from memberships fees to fundraising efforts.
It’s an easier, safer and faster way for sports teams to raise money and provide a range of goods and services for club members and supporters.
Moving away from paperwork, cheques and chasing for late payment is a no-brainer. A club website is always open for business with 24/7 access and fast payments. This means clubs can be smarter with their finances and make the most of fundraising success.
Online payments
To get up and running with online payments, clubs should register with either GoCardless or Stripe. One advantage of GoCardless is it facilitates direct debit payments which are automatic and a lot cheaper (1% per transaction). Customers are also protected by the Direct Debit guarantee.
Clubs can set up membership products (like a dinner dance ticket or club tour) in their shops. Shoppers checkout in the usual way and fill out a direct debit form.
It’s important to stress the money will only come out once - if that’s how the product has been set up. Agreeing to a direct debit doesn’t necessarily mean money is taken on a regular basis.
This is a key message for clubs to get across to their members. The card payment will show up on the bank statement as GOCARDLESS LTD rather than Pitchero or the specific club.
Ease of setup
Clubs can be up and running in as little as 15 minutes but they will need the club bank details and ideally the relevant people (webmaster and treasurer) ready with the necessary information.
To register the club bank account with GoCardless, you will need:
- Email address
- Name
- Phone number
- Club name
- Club bank details: account name, number, sort code and billing address
- Business number or charity number (if relevant)
Then it’s just a case of creating a payment product in the Club Control Panel and setting up a payment form that collects whatever data is required. Other products can often be cloned with a tweak to pricing, description and image.
Flexibility
Many grassroots sports clubs have dipped their toes into the world of collecting online payments but aren’t making the most of it yet. That could be due to other time commitments or a feeling it won’t be worth the effort.
The beauty of setting up online payments is the versatility. A club can run its membership payments through their Pitchero website and allow members to pay in different ways to suit. And pretty much anything else a club does can also be bought and sold online, to raise funds for the club.
Some community clubs sell teamwear, run a weekly lottery or organise a buy-a-brick campaign to help fund a pavilion project.
There are all sorts of fundraising ideas that can benefit from the financial support of local businesses and the local community.
Set up Pitchero payments for your club
Talk to one of our team and they can answer any questions about setting up the technology for raising funds.
Just schedule a call at a time that suits you (including evenings).
Have a read of our helpcentre resources to see the steps to choosing a payment provider, creating products and collecting your first funds.
Check out our blog post about fundraising ideas for sports.