Club management

Are there any other club membership secs out there? I'm interested to know what software you're using. EA's Club Secretary's Portal now has a club membership section, but it's not (yet) very well developed, but it would save admin on affiliations.

What are you using?

Comments

  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭

    I'm using a Filemaker database to record member details, and the the portal to put our competing members on.

    What else would I need?

  • CindersCinders ✭✭✭

    I use an excel spreadsheet and the portal for those that wish to affiliate. 

  • oiyouoiyou ✭✭✭

    Hmm - I've got 5 different systems I record member data in. Full member info including renewal payments etc into a (PC based) database, EA for affiliations, our website forum, and an email distribution list. I have also been adding people into Google contacts so that I can access basic info when away from the PC - club nights for example.

    There's bound to be a better way to do it - I was hoping someone had already done the leg-work for me.

     

  • CindersCinders ✭✭✭

    Sounds quite complicated oi.you.  How many members do you have? 

  • oiyouoiyou ✭✭✭

    We've around 120 at the mo. Most people do renew each year, and to be fair that's not too much work, it's people joining and leaving that take up most time.

    The new EA club management portal would at least combine (club) membership payments, renwals etc with the affiliation process and payments. That would save one lot of data entry. Plus it's on-line so could be accessed by other club officers, and is, obviously, available for on-line viewing.

  • oiyouoiyou ✭✭✭

    Easy enough said, but it's still worth thinking about the best way to do it. "The Cloud" sounds great, but it doesn't actually do anything itself.

  • literatinliteratin ✭✭✭

    I think you're being a bit hi-tech about this, David - in my club you join by filling in a membership form using a pen, and then you post it with a cheque to the membership secretary. I think people mostly leave by not getting round to renewing their subscription using the same method the following January.

  • CindersCinders ✭✭✭
    Same here literatin
  • literatinliteratin ✭✭✭

    November or December last year, I think.

  • Cheques are a bit modern - we use cash round here. Half the members renew in cash at the AGM or a training run. The other half send a cheque when they remember.

    As for entering on line, only for big, expensive races on the whole. Sent a cheque off for a race this morning, entered my last one (Good Friday) on the day (£6, I think). Had to enter Reading and Bristol on line, though. Rather annoyed as it means paying a "booking fee" on top of the expensive entry.

  • oiyouoiyou ✭✭✭

    ...and then you post it to the membership secretary - that's all there is to it, d'yer reckon. After that it's just PFM - the membership sec doesn't actually ahve to do anything does he?

    But, yes, David by far the vast majority of people pay by cheque or cash - and that's not what I'm looking for a solution to. It's all the faffing about once people have paid that consumes my time

  • CindersCinders ✭✭✭

    What's the faff after they have paid oi.you? 

  • oiyouoiyou ✭✭✭

    Cinders - it's entering the same, or v. similar, info into multiple systems.
    For example:-

    Name, address, date of birth into EA portal to get URN
    Full contact & personal info into membership database (I'm using RaceMaster98 - trust me it works OK)
    Emergency contact or known health issues into GoogleContacts - so I can have it when I need it
    Email addres into mail distribution list
    Name & email to set up Forum access on our website.

    None of which is really a BIG deal, except that I have to keep doing all of it separately. None of those sytems interact. Some of it is unavoidable, but some of it must be able to be combined - email distribution list & membership database would be the obvious 1st step.

    It seems pretty likely that there must be better schemes out there. I think I have a plan to reduce the keybashing I have to do, but thought I'd ask if anyone had already thought of a better solution.

  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭
    literatin wrote (see)

    I think you're being a bit hi-tech about this, David - in my club you join by filling in a membership form using a pen, and then you post it with a cheque to the membership secretary. I think people mostly leave by not getting round to renewing their subscription using the same method the following January.

    Same for me.  We also accept cash.

    I put all members onto a Filemaker db, then I put competing members only onto the EA portal.

    It takes very little time.  The membership doesn't change much.  New people join occasionally, it takes about one minute to add them.

    Why would we pay someone to set up an eletronic system that would save about an hour a year?  

    Or are you offering to do it for us for free? image

    Some races I enter are on line, but not all, by any means.

  • My club uses www.paysubsonline.co.uk They don't take cash for many things and discourage cheques, but will take them if necessary. Everything is online and automated - apparently. Seems to work.

  • Not a running club but my football team uses   http://teamer.net/

    Not sure how sure about how it would be applied in the world of running clubs, dont think it costs anything, seems pretty simple.

  • oiyouoiyou ✭✭✭

    Cheers guys, a couple of good suggestions there. I'd found paysubsonline last week after a google search but haven't really looked at it very closely yet.

  • DustinDustin ✭✭✭

    Appreciate this is an old thread but if anyone is still lurking, has anyone got any comments (or are using) the paysubsonline system?

    We have 500+ members and this one seems to be the best of the bunch that I've looked at, but happy to look at alternatives if there is anything else anyone is using.

    Thanks

  • We use MemberMojo
Sign In or Register to comment.