New Features in 2019 – Invoicing Pool Members Posted on January 18, 2019January 21, 2019 by Justin at PoolDues [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Boards are getting back together and you’re probably reminded yet again that being a Board member is a bit like dining at a nice restaurant in Winter and sitting at the table closest to the door. Everyone else has it a little bit better than you do. [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] But we’re here to help, with new Invoicing features! [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”2/3″ el_position=”first”] Justin here, lead developer and founder of PoolDues.com. So I sat down with my club’s new Treasurer a couple weeks ago, who was just coming off a meeting with our old Treasurer that gave him the rundown on how things were done in the past. Every year the previous treasurer sent out invoices generated from Quickbooks. And as it turned out, he was still manually keeping track of who was an active member. But wait, that’s something PoolDues does automatically for you! Old habits die hard I guess. Except there was one BIG thing PoolDues wasn’t doing that Quickbooks was. We weren’t emailing invoices. PoolDues has always had the option to automatically remind members that payments were due (or past due) but it was a bit too friendly of an email. I was overlooking the gravitas of the Official Club Invoice Letter. Numbers in columned boxes with words like “DUE NOW” do scare people. So I told my new Treasurer, don’t waste a perfectly good football Sunday creating and sending an invoice to every member. The PoolDues database has everything we already need to send people a frightening invoice letter. I just have to format it that way…. [/spb_text_block] [spb_image_banner image=”1924″ image_size=”full” content_pos=”left” content_textalign=”left” animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ link_target=”_self” width=”1/3″ el_position=”last”][/spb_image_banner] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] So we’ve got proper Invoicing now! [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”2/3″ el_position=”first”] And it’s smart too.We will never invoice a member that has a Recurring payment plan setup. That’s important because…. It’s completely unnecessary. We don’t want to bother them with a million invoices because they probably signed up for a Recurring payment plan to be left alone People forget stuff. Like whether or not they signed up for automatic payments a year ago. So it’s entirely possible you end up with someone paying twice. Once someone pays for the current year, the invoicing system will leave them alone. So if you start mass invoicing in February, and do it every couple of weeks, eventually less and less people get emailed. By April or so, then you can start paying attention to the people that haven’t paid. We have a neat heat-map type feature that shows who isn’t current (very useful when it’s close to the start of the season). [/spb_text_block] [spb_image_banner image=”1928″ image_size=”full” content_pos=”left” content_textalign=”left” animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ link_target=”_self” width=”1/3″ el_position=”last”][/spb_image_banner] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Which brings us to Custom Invoicing [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”2/3″ el_position=”first”] So what happens with those stubborn end-of-spring members that just wait till the last second to pay. You can keep having the Invoice Bot send them mailings, but if you want to really put the screws to them, you can send them a custom invoice with LATE FEES. Yup, you can go there. But custom invoices can be used for anything really. If you want to invoice a new member with the Membership and Initiation fees, with a nice custom message, you can do so. The payment link will take them directly to the cart, with all those products you invoiced them for. [/spb_text_block] [spb_image_banner image=”1931″ image_size=”full” content_pos=”left” content_textalign=”left” animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ link_target=”_self” width=”1/3″ el_position=”last”][/spb_image_banner] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] So that’s two BIG features in 2019 and it’s only a few weeks in. Want to watch some TV?…. [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_video link=”https://vimeo.com/312047301″ remove_related=”yes” autoplay=”no” full_width=”no” width=”1/2″ el_position=”first”] [spb_video link=”https://vimeo.com/312046965″ remove_related=”yes” autoplay=”no” full_width=”no” width=”1/2″ el_position=”last”]
Using Facebook to Get New Members to Your Neighborhood Swim and Tennis Club Posted on June 22, 2018February 20, 2019 by Justin at PoolDues [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Facebook is your number #1 tool for getting new members to your neighborhood pool. If you are not a fan personally, hear me out. Because Facebook is essentially an automated member recruiter. What Pool Dues does for automating billing and check-in for members, Facebook does for finding new members. Their “discovery” algorithms (what they recommend to users) leans heavily on location and what a user’s friends are into. So, if a potential member has Friends in your Facebook group, they are going to get a recommendation from Facebook. And of course, you can occasionally remind members to add people to the group that aren’t members yet. But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s take a step back to discuss how to start your club’s presence on Facebook. [/spb_text_block] [spb_row element_name=”Row” wrap_type=”content-width” parallax_image_height=”content-height” parallax_image_movement=”fixed” parallax_image_speed=”0.5″ bg_video_loop=”yes” parallax_video_height=”window-height” parallax_video_overlay=”none” row_overlay_opacity=”0″ row_col_pos=”default” minimize_row=”yes” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] The Difference between a Page and Group [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”3/4″ el_position=”first”] Chances are someone at your club has already setup a Facebook Page, but if not, consider this an online business card for your club. Within a few minutes you can add a video or image header, icon (like your personal profile icon), and basic info like location, contact info, description like, “We are a members-only swim and tennis club in [city, state].” You will get stumble-on traffic to this publicly visible page, so you want visitors to quickly know you aren’t a community pool, but you also want to show off the best your club has to offer. So make sure you post up some high-quality photos. Find someone with an iPhone and take some decent photos of the pool in full swing. Kids jumping in. Adults with drinks in their hands in the pool. Point is: look cool. An empty pool, or a picture of the front entrance sign is pretty lame. Next up make a Group for the pool. Groups are social, Pages are not. Although it is possible to post a comment to a Page, people generally do not as Pages are heavily moderated., and comments get shelved to a tiny corner of the page. On Facebook people converse in groups. And neighbors in neighborhood groups talk A LOT. You want to encourage people to make the group active. Allow members to post freely. The more active it is, the more people visit the group (or get recommended to it) and get to know your neighborhood pool and the people there. [/spb_text_block] [spb_image_banner image=”1126″ image_size=”full” content_pos=”left” content_textalign=”left” animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ link_target=”_self” width=”1/4″ el_position=”last”][/spb_image_banner] [/spb_row] [spb_row element_name=”Row” wrap_type=”content-width” parallax_image_height=”content-height” parallax_image_movement=”fixed” parallax_image_speed=”0.5″ bg_video_loop=”yes” parallax_video_height=”window-height” parallax_video_overlay=”none” row_overlay_opacity=”0″ row_col_pos=”default” minimize_row=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Group Settings [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] If you created the pool’s Facebook Group, you are the Admin by default. If you are just taking over as Social Director or Membership Director, get the current Admin to give you Admin powers. Then, make the pool’s Page the admin of the Group. Find Edit Group Settings, then look for this option… [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/6″ el_position=”first”] [spb_image_banner image=”1129″ image_size=”full” content_pos=”left” content_textalign=”left” animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ link_target=”_self” width=”3/4″ el_position=”last”][/spb_image_banner] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] After you make this connection, you’ll have the option to post in the Group as either yourself or the Page. Facebook makes it easy to toggle back and forth (for reference, see the image below). So you can even respond to your own posts by toggling back and forth. [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/6″ el_position=”first”] [spb_image_banner image=”1131″ image_size=”full” content_pos=”left” content_textalign=”left” animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ link_target=”_self” width=”2/3″ el_position=”last”][/spb_image_banner] [/spb_row] [spb_row element_name=”Row” wrap_type=”content-width” parallax_image_height=”content-height” parallax_image_movement=”fixed” parallax_image_speed=”0.5″ bg_video_loop=”yes” parallax_video_height=”window-height” parallax_video_overlay=”none” row_overlay_opacity=”0″ row_col_pos=”default” minimize_row=”yes” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Group Settings for a Neighborhood Pool [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”2/3″ el_position=”first”] The big decision in your Facebook Group’s settings will be the Privacy. You definitely don’t want Secret, so it comes down to Public or Closed. For marketing purposes Closed might seem counter-intuitive, but if your Group’s description reads open and inviting, you should get plenty of new neighbors / potential members to the group. Your group’s title will also help encourage new neighbors to join. For example if you title it “Hillside Pool – Members Only Group”, that’s obviously not going to attract non-members. If you title it, “Hillside Neighbors and Pool”, you’ll get plenty of people asking to join. You can still be choosy about who you allow in the Group. One of the main things I look for in approving new members is mutual friends and location. If the user is new to Facebook and knows no one that I know, and doesn’t live nearby, I won’t approve (which is rare). For extra scrutiny, you can even ask questions to Facebook users that request to join. For example, “Do you live in the Hillside neighborhood?” or “Do you want to be contacted by our membership director?”. These questions will probably deter anyone that’s just looking to advertise their local business. [/spb_text_block] [spb_image_banner image=”1134″ image_size=”full” content_pos=”left” content_textalign=”left” animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ link_target=”_self” width=”1/3″ el_position=”last”][/spb_image_banner] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Let’s rundown a few other useful settings… Automatic Membership Approval – Great setting. If you run another group, for example, the neighborhood Men’s or Women’s group, this will auto-approve anyone in your other groups. Posting Permissions – Do not toggle this on. Doing so would make every post subject to admin approval. Which sucks. The whole point of groups is open discussion. If a member is a trouble-maker down the road, deal with that on a case-by-case basis. Custom Address – Give your group a nicer URL with this option. Location – Obviously you want to enter the club’s home address. Group Type – Club or Neighbors. I’m not sure if there’s a benefit to one over the other. [/spb_text_block] [/spb_row] [spb_row element_name=”Row” wrap_type=”content-width” parallax_image_height=”content-height” parallax_image_movement=”fixed” parallax_image_speed=”0.5″ bg_video_loop=”yes” parallax_video_height=”window-height” parallax_video_overlay=”none” row_overlay_opacity=”0″ row_col_pos=”default” minimize_row=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] It’s called Social Media for a reason. It’s time to be social (and show non-club members what they are missing) [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”2/3″ el_position=”first”] Once you add people to your group (and you definitely need to add them in yourself), it will begin to fulfill its purpose of reminding prospective members about the club. In the off-season, people will discuss whatever – local news, restaurants, power outages, etc. You don’t have to do much posting then. During the summer month’s you’ll have no shortage of things to post: ice cream socials for kids, beers by the pool, shark nights, swim meets, birthdays, poker nights, outings with other club members, tennis round robins, clubhouse parties, adult nights, tween nights, etc. Plus any news worth emailing to club members is worth posting on your Facebook group as well. What you’ll find is that members are going to do plenty of this social media work for you. You can nudge them to help out too. If you see someone taking a photo or video at the pool, ask them to post it to the group. [/spb_text_block] [spb_column col_sm=”4″ padding_horizontal=”0″ width=”1/3″ el_position=”last”] [spb_image_banner image=”1137″ image_size=”full” content_pos=”left” content_textalign=”left” animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ link_target=”_self” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”][/spb_image_banner] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Example post: Crowd-pleasing time-lapse video (no one is visible long enough to be scrutinized in their suit) [/spb_text_block] [/spb_column] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Not only are you reminding current club members that all this fun stuff is going on, but you’re also advertising ALL the cool stuff going on to people in the Group that aren’t paid club members. And that’s what this boils down to. The lookie-loos that gravitated to your online group ARE your target market! You can hang door flyers, you can send stuff in the mail about the pool, you can put up road signs to advertise, but none of that converts the anti-social people. Those people are a hard sell. The pool will be an easy sell to neighbors that are naturally social. But a road sign doesn’t show them what they are missing. As the old adage goes, “show don’t tell”. That’s what Facebook does. It shows people – Hey, look. This is EXACTLY what’s going on down here. Why aren’t you here? [/spb_text_block] [/spb_row]
Georgetown Rec is Boosting Check-Ins with a Kiosk Posted on June 16, 2018February 20, 2019 by Justin at PoolDues [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”2/3″ el_position=”first”] The Member Check In kiosk at Georgetown Rec is a hit! We had our first Friday test run (a notoriously packed night) and about 75 members were checked in. Some of that included sub-family account check-ins, meaning spouses and kids, but that’s the whole fun of this! Kids can have their own sub-accounts, or they can use the kiosk to check-in their parents. Since all that’s required to check in (or out) is a 4 digit pin, this is a great way to get kids to learn a useful number sequence, for example, a street number. [/spb_text_block] [spb_image_banner image=”1110″ image_size=”full” content_pos=”left” content_textalign=”left” animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ link_target=”_self” width=”1/3″ el_position=”last”][/spb_image_banner] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_video link=”https://vimeo.com/275401451″ remove_related=”yes” autoplay=”no” full_width=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Here’s my kid checking in. Complete with “acting directions”. [/spb_text_block]
Using Paypal? Great! Now Use it Better Posted on June 13, 2018February 20, 2019 by Justin at PoolDues [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Fortunately, more neighborhood pools and clubs are starting to use PayPal for their member dues. Only collecting checks these days would be like choosing to only talk on a landline phone. The problem is that your club is probably just jumping straight from a Buy Now link on your website to PayPal’s site. And, as of June 2018, that problem gets worse. [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/2″ el_position=”first”] The main issue here is that PayPal isn’t a good member billing / reporting backend. It processes credit card and echeck payments for your customers just fine, but it doesn’t sort your payments by product. Or list what customers bought what. You can perform searches, but anyone that has tried searching PayPal knows how problematic that is. I’ve been accepting PayPal at CartoonSmart.com for nearly 20 years now, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried searching for a customer by last name and I simply can’t find them (many times their business name nullifies a reasonable search). Doing a lot of business through PayPal is one of those “good problems,” but the more options / products / services your club chooses to sell, the more trouble it is to sort through payments if your backend doesn’t sort it for you. Keep in mind, I’ve talked to many club Treasurers that will say, “oh it isn’t that hard to just manually log each payment in Quickbooks (or whatever they use).” But every time I hear that, I think, “Even if it isn’t that hard, it doesn’t need to be done at all”. It’s 2018. Technology has got this! [/spb_text_block] [spb_column col_sm=”6″ padding_horizontal=”0″ width=”1/2″ el_position=”last”] [spb_image_banner image=”1076″ image_size=”full” content_pos=”left” content_textalign=”left” animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ link_target=”_self” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”][/spb_image_banner] [spb_blank_spacer height=”10px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] What many clubs currently do. The membership is probably $530, but this club has added in $16 for Paypal fees [/spb_text_block] [/spb_column] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Where a proper payment portal comes in… [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_column col_sm=”6″ padding_horizontal=”0″ width=”1/2″ el_position=”first”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] The Pool Dues backend will organize everything by product for you. You’ll quickly be able to see how much of each product has sold, how much those products have earned, and links so you can see details on each sale (including, of course, which customer purchased the item). And that’s just the beginning. Imagine being able to set up recurring billing options (automatic payments). Or, if the member does a 1-time payment, wouldn’t it be nice to automatically begin reminding them to pay again? And send another reminder….and another… Pool Dues can do that! You can export payment info to CSV sorted by date range and then by product or all earnings. You can export customer data as well. [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”10px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_button button_text=”Find out more about Member Billing…” button_size=”large” button_colour=”accent” button_type=”standard” rounded=”yes” button_dropshadow=”no” button_link=”https://pooldues.com/billing/” button_target=”_self” align=”center” animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [/spb_column] [spb_column col_sm=”6″ padding_horizontal=”0″ width=”1/2″ el_position=”last”] [spb_image_banner image=”1082″ image_size=”full” content_pos=”left” content_textalign=”left” animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ link_target=”_self” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”][/spb_image_banner] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [/spb_column] [spb_image_banner image=”1083″ image_size=”full” content_pos=”left” content_textalign=”left” animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ link_target=”_self” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”][/spb_image_banner] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Paypal Fees Included… [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_column col_sm=”6″ padding_horizontal=”0″ width=”1/2″ el_position=”first”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] You’ll notice in the image above the odd price of $567.05. That screenshot is from a club whose membership price is $550 but they are adding in a 3% fee at checkout. Instead of displaying both the membership price and fee added together, the shopping cart displays them separately. You can label this 3% fee anything you want (and change the %). So it could read: – Tax – Tax / Fees – PayPal Fee – Convenience Fee – Credit Card Upcharge [/spb_text_block] [/spb_column] [spb_image_banner image=”1089″ image_size=”full” content_pos=”left” content_textalign=”left” animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ link_target=”_self” width=”1/2″ el_position=”last”][/spb_image_banner] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Most people just ignore tax because we are used to seeing it added in. So if your concern is that members will question the PayPal fees being added in, you can keep this labeled as Tax (which is the default cart setting). Also, if your members are already used to seeing the PayPal fee added into the final price, they’ll understand what the fee is regardless of how it is labeled. [/spb_text_block] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_column col_sm=”6″ padding_horizontal=”0″ width=”1/2″ el_position=”first”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] And how do you get to the shopping cart… [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] As you can see, here at Pool Dues we place a lot of emphasis on design. So take a look at one of our example buttons to sign up… Unfold and you’ll find details about that specific membership option. The beauty of this is that you can have many options listed on the same page without cluttering it up with too much detail. [sf_button colour=”accent” type=”standard” size=”large” link=”https://democlub.pooldues.com/member-dues/” target=”_blank” icon=”” dropshadow=”no” rounded=”yes” extraclass=””]See our demo site for an example Member Dues page…[/sf_button] [/spb_text_block] [/spb_column] [spb_column col_sm=”6″ padding_horizontal=”0″ width=”1/2″ el_position=”last”] [spb_image_banner image=”1095″ image_size=”full” content_pos=”center” content_textalign=”center” animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ link_target=”_self” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Family Membership – One Time Payment [/spb_image_banner] [spb_toggle title=”Unfold for details…” open=”false” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Got kids? This is the membership for you! Make a one-time payment for your Yearly dues. Click below to pay this fee through Paypal (the final cost includes Paypal charges). First year members, don’t forget to include your initiation dues if you haven’t already paid them. [/spb_toggle] [/spb_column] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] PayPal is requiring more security on YOUR end… [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/2″ el_position=”first”] As of June 2018, PayPal began requiring SSL certificates from merchants and other upgrades. You can read more about this on PayPal’s site (tap here). Obviously, your Pool Dues payment portal has an SSL certificate out-of-the-box, and we are hosted on servers that include their other required protocols. [/spb_text_block] [spb_image image=”1103″ image_size=”full” frame=”noframe” caption_pos=”hover” remove_rounded=”yes” fullwidth=”no” overflow_mode=”none” link_target=”_self” lightbox=”no” intro_animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ width=”1/2″ el_position=”last”][/spb_image]
Partnering with Other Neighborhood Pools to Make $7500 or More in Extra Guest Fees Posted on June 4, 2018February 20, 2019 by Justin at PoolDues [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Recently, my pool’s main pump broke so we were out of commission for a few days. Using my “secret network of fellow Social Directors,” I quickly got in touch with two other nearby pools to ask that our members be allowed to swim there in our time of need. One put it to a quick Board vote via email and the other just cleared it with their President who said, “sure, why not”. So, within a few hours, we had two equally great back-up pools. This showed some awesome neighborhood camaraderie, and as the downtime crept into the weekend, everyone had a blast inter-mingling on Saturday and Sunday. Keep in mind, these are neighborhood pools, so parents all knew each other from school connections, church, synagogue, little league, the local watering holes, you name it. So it wasn’t like strangers were forced to swim with each other for a few days. My city, Dunwoody, considers itself one big neighborhood (their unofficial motto), and that’s exactly what this felt like: one big neighborhood get-together. Which got me thinking that our pools need to intermingle more often. So, how do we best co-mingle pools? The first thing to consider is how to make sure only members are visiting other member-only pools…. [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Get member’s wearing wristbands (if they don’t already) [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] I think every neighborhood pool needs to issue wristbands for their members. 300 wristbands is only about $100. And yes, it’s a pain to distribute these to members, but that’s why you ask for a volunteer to do this once-a-year thing. If your club sends out newsletters announcing 3 or 4 “wristband handouts,” which could even be at a member’s house from say, 5pm-7pm, you should be able to get them into most members’ hands. With our club, we always have some stragglers that don’t pick theirs up, but when that list gets down to only 15 or so families, we just start dropping them in mailboxes. As much as your Pool Dues-powered Member Check In app can do, it can’t stop gate-crashers as well as a wristband can (nor can a paper sign-in book for that matter). You need something that’s easily identifiable on EVERY member above a certain age that screams “I belong here”. Now if you do an occasional inter-pool event (or if your pool’s pump breaks), the pool receiving strangers will know for sure those are banded-members from your pool. [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] When to organize inter-pool get-togethers? [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Obviously, that’s going to be something you and your like-minded neighboring pool(s) will need to discuss. Here are some thoughts… Particular events. For example, a pool volleyball tournament, your Adult Night Parties, Teen Night parties, a Mommy’s Morning Out, etc. A particular day of the week. For example, Wednesdays. You don’t want to pack too many neighboring-members in on a busy weekend, but let’s face it, even the busiest of pools usually aren’t that busy during the work week. Or how about this… [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Create a Sister-Club Network with Revenue Share [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Find 3 or 4 neighboring pools that have wrist-banded members and similar yearly dues. Propose to them that Monday-Thursday members can use any pool within the “sister club” network. Essentially you’re making it so guest fees are waived for members of your sister clubs. But as we all know, most clubs rarely enforce their own guest fees and barely make any money off cash boxes anyway (though that’s something your Pool Dues portal can solve). Here’s the key part. This isn’t free. This is an add-on fee only available to members of those 3 or 4 clubs (again, a perfect fit for your Pool Dues portal). Our yearly membership is $550. As a father of 4 kids (almost 5 now), I would pay as much as $100 more to visit 3 or 4 other pools in the summer. I know my kids would love to vary which pool we visit. Different pools mean different playgrounds, high dives, maybe even water slides. And as a parent, I’d love the social aspect of meeting other parents in the community. So let’s suppose 4 pools did this. They have 1000 families between them. Now let’s assume 300 families paid $100 more for the Sister Pool Network option. Are you ready for some math… That’s $30,000. Split 4 ways that’s $7,500 per pool. [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/6″ el_position=”first”] [spb_image_banner image=”881″ image_size=”full” content_pos=”left” content_textalign=”left” animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ link_target=”_self” width=”2/3″ el_position=”last”][/spb_image_banner] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Win-Win for Pools and Members…. [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] 1. Can you say your pool made $7500 in guest fees last year? Or $5000 or even $2500…. Probably not. And your club definitely did not make that much money from people that already had a home club nearby. Most of your guest fees probably come from out of town guests, birthday parties, adult friends, etc. They do not come from people swimming 1 mile away. 2. It costs nothing to try. It’s just an extra Cart option you can add to your payment portal. 3. If you limited the days to Monday-Thursday that members could hop pools, that still leaves your peak days (Friday-Sunday) exclusive to members. Which also ensures that prospective members are still going to favor their closest pool. 4. This add-on feature also becomes a huge perk to your membership in general. [/spb_text_block]
Can Your Pool Put up Permanent Street Signs Around the Neighborhood? Posted on June 3, 2018February 20, 2019 by Justin at PoolDues [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Not all swim and tennis clubs are located at the front gate of a neighborhood. My neighborhood is HUGE, and technically it’s comprised of 5 subdivisions. If a family moves into the subdivision farthest from the club, they might not realize their interconnected neighborhood even has a pool. So, can you take it upon yourself to help people find their way to the club by putting up street signs? Well no, but as the saying goes, it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission. Getting your city to permit affixing pool signs to existing road signs could be a lot more work than just doing it. If you do decide to take the initiative yourself, here’s what I recommend… Don’t go cheap. Get reflective, metal signs. Stick to 1 color (not including black or white). Use a plain font for the sign. Don’t add a phone number or website. That’s way too much advertising. Add directional arrows to the club. That should be the real point of the sign, just get people there. Don’t include any promotional text like “Join the [club name]”. Just “Pool and Tennis Club” is really all you need. Keep the signs within your neighborhood (no main roads). What’s it cost? Expect to pay about $40 per sign. Which really isn’t bad at all. 7 or 8 street signs are less than the cost of one family joining. And as long as the city doesn’t notice or doesn’t care, those signs will last many years. [/spb_text_block]
What Types of Memberships Should Your Pool & Tennis Club Offer? Posted on May 28, 2018February 22, 2019 by Justin at PoolDues [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Family membership, couples, singles, seniors? Which should your pool offer? [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] There’s really no standard for what membership types community pools offer. And like most things with neighborhood pools and tennis clubs, what came before is what goes forward. But your club can always reexamine its current offerings, and the board can vote in whatever changes it deems better for the club. And obviously, that should really be the biggest factor: what is best for the club going forward (as opposed to only considering how things were done before). So let’s look at some various membership types. [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Family Membership I’ve yet to run into a club that doesn’t offer family membership, so we probably don’t need to discuss this one much. But if you haven’t read our article on why you should define what a family membership is exactly, you should. Link here. [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Couples Membership A Couples membership makes perfect sense to me. I suggest pricing it around $50-$100 less than the Family membership price. Remember who you are selling this membership to – married couples in their 20’s or early 30’s. They grew up with Groupon, Overstock, discount apps, unlimited Movie Passes, etc. So your deal-savvy millennials can feel like they got a deal and, in the long run, you gain anyway. Here’s why… Many families don’t start a membership within the first two years of having a baby. So your window for getting them to join is before or after baby #1. Obviously, you want them BEFORE that first baby. Couples memberships turn into Family memberships eventually. If they’ve already paid their initiation fee, most likely they won’t break that to skip a summer because of a new baby. If they see “Family Membership” as the only option, they might think the pool is only for parents and kids. As most of us know, the pool is cool at any age. But we know that from experience. They might not. Young couples ARE your future bread and butter for the pool. Do whatever you can to get them started. [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Singles Memberships Most clubs offer one, but if your club doesn’t, maybe it’s time. Yes, I know in a typical pool community neighborhood you don’t have a lot of singles living in homes made for families, but even if you have just 15 single members join at $350 a person, that’s $5,250. And think about the potential members you are turning away… Divorcees in the neighborhood Friends of club members that come often enough that they should be joining (as most clubs have a rule about bringing the same guest too often) People that are more interested in tennis and just looking for guaranteed court time Cool, good-looking, young people! What club doesn’t want that?! [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Senior Memberships I love the senior membership option. There are two ways of handling senior memberships if you use Pool Dues. We can set up a Senior pricing option right off the bat, either for senior-aged Couples or Singles. Both options are available. Or, you can use the same Couples or Single membership payment options that are available for all members, and then create discount coupons to reduce the price. Your Treasurer or other approved shop admin can create an unlimited number of coupons for a specific amount off or a percentage off. Why do this? If your club doesn’t currently offer senior discounts but you want to make this option available to a select few members (i.e., those that ask for it), then you may want to go the discount code route. Something else to think about. I’ve seen clubs that reward 25-year members with a free lifetime membership after that. How brilliant is that! You might have members that are 20 years in, thinking, “Well, our kids don’t swim anymore, we only go 5 or 6 times a year, maybe we should cancel”…. But if they know that after 25 years it’s free, then maybe they hang in there for a while longer. [/spb_text_block]
How to Avoid PayPal Fees for 501c Nonprofit Organizations Like Pools Posted on May 24, 2018February 22, 2019 by Justin at PoolDues [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] How to Avoid PayPal fees for 501c Nonprofit Organizations Like Pools [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] The short answer is: you can’t. You can’t make every transaction a friend-to-friend exchange. If you try, you’ll quickly run into the limits of what amounts can be received that way. Just receiving the exact same amounts over and over again raises a flag with PayPal. They aren’t dumb. “Oh? Twenty of your friends just happen to PayPal you $9.99? It looks like you’re selling goods here.” And no, you can’t use Venmo either. PayPal owns Venmo by the way. They didn’t buy Venmo to make their core revenue stream obsolete. What works for splitting the cost of a 12-pack doesn’t work for an organization pulling in $75k or more a year. Running a business nowadays requires accepting a couple of things. 1) People want to pay by credit card. It’s convenient, and sometimes buyers simply don’t have the funds available to pay by check. 2) There’s going to be a cost to accepting credit card payments. No matter where you go, how you receive it, if it’s coming from a credit card, the fees are going to be about the same. There’s really just 4 card issuers out there – Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and AmEx, and they are the ones charging the bulk of the fees (between 1 and 3 percent). So, while sites like PayPal are taking a little cut off the top for themselves, those charges are still originating from the card issuers. So no matter how much you beg and plead, “We’re a 501c organization, we’re in this for the good of the community,” they could care less. Geez, is there any good news? Yes. PayPal’s base rate is a 2.9% charge on funds received through them, but the more business you do with PayPal, the less that rate is. So in a month where you received $10,000 or more, that rate drops down to 2.2%. Even better news. If you use Pool Dues, we can just pass that amount on to your members as a line item at Checkout labeled whatever you want. For example “Tax or Fees”. And by the way, Pool Dues takes ZERO per transaction. Member payments go directly into your PayPal account. If you decide to pass on the fees to your members, obviously that adds on a % to their final cost. On a $550 Membership, this is about $15 more they will see added. Most buyers ignore this charge IF it looks like tax. If it looks like a service fee (which it is), most people understand they are paying for the convenience of buying their membership online. And unlike the credit card companies, your members DO understand you are a non-profit organization and naturally give you a little more leeway than say, L.A. Fitness trying to pass off those fees to customers. And remember too, you can always tell people they can still pay by check. You can put the address to send a check to right below all your online payment options, and, believe me, it won’t discourage most people from paying online. Here’s what we would recommend (and obviously your Pool Dues payment portal can set it up this way)…. Include the PayPal fees on One-Time Yearly payments, but make them exempt from Yearly Recurring Payments. So this way you push members toward the automatic payment cycle. And yes, you’ll be out the $15, but you’re guaranteed to get paid the next year, the year after that and so on (assuming the member doesn’t cancel). You could even email members and tell them, “If you set up a recurring payment before March 1, it will be exempt from fees”. This way you’re getting member dues in February instead of the week before Memorial Day. And your Treasurer or other shop admin can easily toggle on or off adding those fees (on a per product basis). [/spb_text_block]
What’s Your Pool’s Member Enrollment Policy? Posted on May 23, 2018February 22, 2019 by Justin at PoolDues [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Seems like there’s one person every year that wants special pricing for some reason or another. Unfortunately, engaging in flea-market-style pricing is a slippery slope, and ultimately it’s unfair to other members. These requests might even sound reasonable at first, for example, here’s one made to our club… “I am debating on whether or not I will renew since the girls rarely went to the pool the last few years. Do you have a rate option for teenager only vs. a family rate?” Let’s go ahead and assume your club does not have a teenager option. It might seem reasonable at first to offer them some discount or maybe even a Singles membership. But this is where enforcing a clearly defined membership policy comes into play. One way or another word will get out that your pool is willing to cut deals, and then year after year you’ll hear more of this… “Well, my husband doesn’t usually come, so can I just sign up as a couple with my daughter?” “My wife is pregnant, so she won’t be there, can I just drop down to a Singles membership?” So what’s the solution? Politely send them to your website’s Membership Policy Page where you define what’s a Family, what’s a Couple, what’s a Single, and simply remind them that this is the pool’s policy to be fair to every member. Does a gym charge less monthly if you don’t go? Does Six Flags charge more for your season pass if you go every day? No, and the same rules should apply to your club. At the bottom of this page, we will post an example pool’s Membership Policy that you can copy and paste to your own website. This policy can also encourage members to make the most of their membership. Members need to choose to use the pool. If they go 4 times a summer, well, that’s a pretty steep per-visit cost, but that’s on them. To go back to our example with the family with a teenager, they are almost empty nesters. They should have weekly dinners at the pool since this is possibly the last summer with their teen living at the house. And maybe paying full price is what inspires that. Your Membership Policy could clearly state that if your children are college age, you can then join as a Couple, and you’re welcome to bring your children as guests if they aren’t living at home full time. [/spb_text_block] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”46″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;padding-left: 46px;padding-right: 46px;background-color:#f0eded;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” back_color_global=”#f0eded” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Example Member Enrollment Policy Family Membership – Regardless of marital status, if you have children at or under the age of 18, living full or part-time in your home, you should join as a family. Couples Membership – If your spouse or significant other will not be bringing children at or under the age of 18 to the pool, you can join as a Couple. Single Membership – If you are purchasing a membership only for yourself, this is the membership for you. Please understand that we do not ask for more money based on above average usage of our facilities, nor do we discount if you use it less than other members. We encourage members to make the most of their membership, and if there is anything we can do to encourage that more, please let us know. To be fair to all members, please do not ask for special pricing exceptions. Any exceptions would need to go before a board vote and can not be decided upon solely by our Treasurer or Membership team. [/spb_text_block]
Get More Members at Your Pool or Club Posted on May 23, 2018February 22, 2019 by Justin at PoolDues [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] I’ve never talked to a single board member that’s told me they aren’t accepting new members. Maybe a high brow pool or country club exists out there that could care less about membership, but I haven’t found it. Even if things are good now, you’re always one pump accident away from a $10,000 mistake. I just sat down with a pool where the President and VP had just found out one of their new guards turned on a pump without opening a water valve and it was toast. Point is, one year you can have a surplus and the next you can be in the hole. So it should be a given that your pool always needs new members. Especially since every new member is potentially a customer for decades. But I’m amazed at how many pool websites don’t even list their prices! Some just link to a PDF application that prospective members have to print out and mail in. So, let’s discuss that first… The Application Mistake Just having an application is a huge wall to membership. First off, it’s a holdover from 2 or 3 generations ago, when a club could actually get away with denying membership based on, well, whatever they wanted to deny them for. Race, religion, etc. Imagine nowadays if a family tried to join and your club denied them sight unseen. You might end up on the news or sued. And think back now… has your club actually denied an application recently? Probably not. It’s just a time-consuming detour between getting a member to actually join and pay. And the longer it takes to review an application, the more likely you are to lose that membership because…. The member lost interest They joined a nearby club that was easier to get into Little Susie needed braces, and that expense came out of the pool fund jar Consider why that application ever got posted to begin with. The board from 20 years ago didn’t set up an online membership payment system because a good one simply didn’t exist. So someone just said, “Well let’s just post the application online”. And there it’s sat for 20 years. [/spb_text_block] [spb_divider type=”standard” text=”Go to top” top_margin=”0px” bottom_margin=”30px” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Upfront Pricing [/spb_text_block] [spb_column col_sm=”6″ padding_horizontal=”0″ width=”1/2″ el_position=”first”] [spb_image_banner image=”666″ image_size=”full” content_pos=”left” content_textalign=”left” animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ image_link=”https://democlub.pooldues.com/member-dues/” link_target=”_blank” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”][/spb_image_banner] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Click above to see how we think upfront pricing should look [/spb_text_block] [/spb_column] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/2″ el_position=”last”] There’s no need to be cagey about what it costs to join. I’ve seen pool sites where the pricing is gated behind a member login. What!?! You mean I have to be a member first to find out what it costs to be a member?! You need to post your prices with a button that says “Purchase.” And yes, that’s obviously where Pool Dues can help out. Once you make it easy for new members to join, THEY WILL JOIN. Remember who the young, late 20’s, early 30’s families are now. They grew up with technology. They’ve never had to write checks. They might not even have checks. Compared to paying online, we all hate writing checks. It means getting up. Going to that drawer with checks. Figuring out who to write it to, then writing an address on another paper, stamping it and walking it outside. After all those steps, there’s no guarantee it even makes it where it’s supposed to go!! If you don’t already run your own business, imagine for a moment that you do… Would you only accept checks as payment? [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Here’s your ideal family deciding to join the pool…. [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”46″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;padding-left: 46px;padding-right: 46px;background-color:#f0ebeb;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” back_color_global=”#f0ebeb” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Wife: I was thinking we should join the pool this summer Husband: Sure I guess, I’ll get on it tomorrow. Wife: I just paid. We are in. [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] See how fast that was. By slowing down that process at all, your club is losing members. People buy on impulse. They have a couple of glasses of wine at dinner with friends that are members, and without over-thinking it, they join. It can be that simple. [/spb_text_block]
