Autopay is TeamO’s automatic payment system, very much like direct debit, which means payments are taken automatically.
We’re learning TeamO as much as you are: we switched over knowing it would help us run the club more effectively, but we’re still learning as we go.
We have received a number of questions around Autopay so hopefully we can clarify things. Autopay is a type of Direct Debit, and it takes the money you owe the club from your payment method on the 5th of each month.
Ideally the club would like everyone signed up to this feature as its already allowing us to manage the clubs finances far easier.
The advantages of Autopay to the members:
- You are no longer getting two big invoices each season, one at Christmas and one at the end of the season. This allows you to manage your payments far more easily throughout the season.
- No having to look out for emails and remembering to pay. The system does it all for you.
- Minimising fees paid. By paying each month you minimise the club’s fees on the money you pay which are greater if paying multiple small transactions.
- It allows the crediting of accounts for driver payments, umpiring etc. which we otherwise have to do manually.
- You are required to settle up any outstanding balance each week if not using Autopay
Please note: it is not enough just to enable Autopay, but you must also add a payment method (debit card) so that payments can be taken.
If you do have Autopay enabled, it’s still possible to pay manually if you’d rather pay on a different day, or to pay for ticket events – socials etc. – as described below.
The advantages for the club :
- Far better visibility on the finances: by individual, team or section. Reports are easier to run, and give the committee better insight into the state of finances.
- Having one payment each month from each person/family is far more cost-effective. Every transaction carries a basic fee from TeamO and Stripe (the card payment processor), and then a percentage on top. We lose 7% of a £4 payment, but only 2% of a £93 adult sub, so fewer, larger payments keeps more money in the club and costs players nothing more. We plan to refine this going forward.
FAQ
Q: Why is there a £200 limit on my account?
A: The £200 limit is only that high at the start of the season when subs are getting paid. It will drop to £50 a month after subs are paid (it can be higher to cater for families with multiple players). Any amounts over the maximum monthly limit will roll over to the next month (or can be paid more manually via TeamO).
Q: What happens if i have incorrect charges on my account?
A: You will get an invoice on the 1st of each month listing what you are paying for, you then have the ability to dispute payments (within TeamO, or by chatting to James Partington, the treasurer, using the TeamO chat system) before they go out on the 5th of the month, so you have time to stop money going out, or to clarify things.
Q: Why are we moving away from the old system?
A: Whilst TeamApp took our club management forward, the finance features were not great and to produce match fees invoices twice a year was mainly a manual process – with the club continuing to grow and the increasing numbers we realised that we needed to upgrade as the volunteers involved were spending to much time and struggling to keep up with the requirements of the club. TeamO is a professional system that provides all the required features for us to run the club going forward.
Q: Can we still pay with cash or via BACS?
A: There is still a facility to do this but we would rather you use TeamO so all transactions are in one place. If you wish to use another method please contact James first.
Q: Can I “pay as I go” via TeamO rather than Autopay?
A: You can pay each week for games and/or training as you play. We only ask that you do this before your next match and not build up amounts that we have to chase.
Q: Can we pay for social events using Autopay?
A: One thing that won’t go through Autopay are tickets to events, like the Christmas party, or end-of-season social. You will be able to purchase them via TeamO, but we need payments in advance for occasions like this, so we can pay our suppliers promptly.
Hopefully that helps explain the benefits of Autopay, but if you do have any questions, please email treasurer@whitchurchhockeyclub.com, or message James, and he’ll do his best to answer them.