The problem
Match fees arrive as coins in a kit bag, promises and bank transfers with no reference. A men's team of 14 paying $8£6€7A$12C$11 a match collects about 60 fees a month (14 x 4.3), $480£361€430A$693C$679. If 1 in 10 never gets paid, that's about $48£36€43A$69C$68 a month lost, and a treasurer who spends 1.5 hours a week counting cash and chasing spends 6.5 hours a month.
What the AI does
Spond lets the club create payment requests for a group or subgroup, for match fees, annual membership, trips or kit. Players pay in the app, or by email if they don't use Spond. The fee is 2.5% + 20p per payment for UK clubs, paid by the club by default, or passed to members if the club chooses. Payments go out to the club account set up in Spond, and the treasurer sees who has paid and who hasn't instead of counting coins. Payments are processed by Stripe.
A worked example
A cricket club in Kent runs a men's first XI with 14 regular players paying $8£6€7A$12C$11 a match. The treasurer is a volunteer who also plays.
Before
About 6.5 hours a month counting cash and chasing, with about $48£36€43A$69C$68 a month of fees never paid
After
About 1.5 hours a month checking Spond's paid and unpaid list and nudging a few players
What it's worth
About $100£75€89A$144C$141 to $148£111€132A$213C$209 a month in volunteer time and fees no longer lost, against up to $28£21€25A$40C$39 a month in payment fees. 5 hours a month saved (6.5 minus 1.5), valued at an assumed $20£15€18A$29C$28 an hour, is $100£75€89A$144C$141; the upper figure adds the $48£36€43A$69C$68 of fees that went unpaid. The fee on each $8£6€7A$12C$11 payment is 15p (2.5%) plus 20p, 35p, so 60 payments cost $28£21€25A$40C$39 a month, or nothing to the club if players cover the fee.
How to set it up
- Set up the club account in Spond's club settings with the club's bank details.
- Decide whether the club or players pay the 35p fee and set that as the default.
- Create a payment request for each match, or a monthly request covering the month's games.
- Tell players that cash is no longer taken from a set date, and keep one person able to take it for exceptions.
- Each month, check Spond's paid list against the scorebook and follow up the unpaid ones.
What goes wrong
- A fee is charged on each product in a request, so putting 4 matches as 4 products costs 4 fees. A single monthly amount is cheaper.
- Players who don't use the app need the email payment route; check it works before switching.
- Card payments can be disputed. Keep the scorebook as the record of who played.
- Payouts go to the club account set up in Spond; make sure two officers can see it.