A fixture list in August and a phone call every week
In August, a rugby club's team secretary sends you their fixture list and asks you to cover the away games: first team and second team, sometimes on the same day to different grounds. Through the season, the secretary rings each week to confirm numbers and kick-off times. A cup draw moves a league game. A match is postponed for a waterlogged pitch on the Friday. The second team needs a minibus rather than a coach for a couple of games because numbers are low.
Each change is a phone call, a note in the diary and a new job on the wall chart. By February, the office has lost track of which games are confirmed, the club has had two different prices for the same trip, and a Saturday was double booked when the cup replay landed on a day already taken by a wedding.
A season of work is managed as separate phone calls
A club's season is one relationship and many individual jobs. Most operators handle it as the jobs, so the season-long picture is never visible: which dates are coming up, which are confirmed, what was agreed on price.
- The fixture list is a PDF in an email, not a set of bookings.
- Each match is quoted separately, sometimes at different prices.
- Kick-off and departure times are confirmed by phone each week.
- Postponements and rearranged dates clash with other work.
- Supporters' coaches are booked separately from the team's.
Clashes and confusion on busy Saturdays
Saturdays in the season are also weddings, day trips and other clubs. When a rearranged fixture lands on a busy Saturday, the club expects you to cover it, and you find out late whether you can. Inconsistent prices through the season lead to awkward conversations with a club treasurer. And the club secretary, usually a volunteer, spends time on the phone that a simple confirmation link would save.
A club looked after well for a season usually comes back the next season, and tells other clubs in its league.
A season booking from the fixture list
We build season bookings for clubs.
- The club's fixture list is imported from their spreadsheet, league website export or PDF, with an extraction step checked by a person. Each away fixture becomes a provisional booking with date, ground and likely kick-off.
- Routes and times are calculated from your depot through the club's pick-up to each ground, and prices are set from a season rate you agree with the club, so every match is priced on the same basis.
- Provisional bookings appear on your planning board, so clashes with other Saturday work are visible from the start of the season.
- A few days before each fixture, the club secretary gets a message with a confirmation link: confirm kick-off, departure time and numbers, or tell you about a change. Numbers can switch the booking between coach, midi coach and minibus.
- Postponements and rearranged dates are entered through the same link or by the office, and the board shows immediately whether the new date clashes.
- Supporters' coaches can be attached to the same fixtures, with their own pick-up points and numbers.
- At the end of each month, or the season, the club receives one clear statement of fixtures travelled and charges.
| Season task | Match by match | Season booking |
|---|---|---|
| Fixture list | PDF in an email | Provisional bookings from the start |
| Price per match | Quoted each time | Season rate, consistent |
| Weekly confirmation | Phone call | Confirmation link for the secretary |
| Rearranged fixture | New job, clash found late | Clash shown immediately |
| Invoicing | One invoice per trip | Clear monthly or season statement |
A season with the club booked properly
In August, the fixture list becomes a season of provisional bookings on your board. Two Saturdays already clash with weddings, and you agree with the club to use a minibus from your fleet and a sub-hired coach for those. Each week the secretary confirms with a link. When a match is postponed and rearranged for a midweek evening, the new date is entered and checked for clashes before you say yes.
The treasurer receives a monthly statement with every fixture listed at the agreed rate, and there are no arguments about price.
Are club seasons run match by match?
- A club's fixture list sits in an email rather than your planner.
- Each away match is quoted separately.
- Club secretaries ring every week to confirm.
- Rearranged fixtures have clashed with other bookings.
- Clubs have received different prices for similar trips.