The first league game, and who is actually a member?
Your club has a tangle of adult membership categories built up over decades. Full playing members, students and unwaged at a reduced rate, social members who drink at the bar and vote at the AGM, family memberships covering a couple and their juniors, vice-presidents who pay a higher rate to support the club, and a handful of life members nobody has invoiced since the nineties.
In August the membership secretary emails last season's list asking people to renew. Some pay by bank transfer. Some pay the captain in cash. A few set up a standing order years ago for an amount the club has since increased. By the first league game, captains are picking players who may or may not have renewed, the bar cannot tell who qualifies for the members' price, and the membership secretary is still matching payments to names.
Why the membership list is never quite right
- Categories have different prices, rights and renewal dates, and the rules are in the constitution, not in any system.
- Payments arrive by several routes with unhelpful references.
- Old standing orders pay last year's price, or keep paying for people who have left.
- Captains do not know who has renewed, so eligibility under your league or club rules is guesswork.
- The list is rebuilt from scratch each season, so history (years of membership, past categories) is lost.
What the muddle costs
Income missed from members who never renewed but kept playing or drinking at members' prices. Awkward conversations when a captain has to ask a teammate whether he has paid. Uncertainty at the AGM about who is entitled to vote. And the membership secretary spending September on reconciliation, a job that puts people off volunteering for it.
It also matters for the club's standing with its league and governing body, and for insurance, where only registered members may be covered. What those rules require is for your committee and the relevant bodies; the list just needs to be right.
Season renewal by category
Many club membership apps handle categories and payments well, and for most clubs, setting one up properly is the answer. We check that first. Where you need something the app cannot do, such as family memberships covering juniors, links to subs and match fees, or members' pricing at the bar, we build the missing piece.
- Each membership category is set up with its price, what it includes (playing, voting, bar price, junior cover) and who may join it, following your constitution.
- Existing members get a personal link to renew, with their details and last category shown, and choose a category for the new season.
- Payment is taken by card, by direct debit through GoCardless for those paying monthly, or recorded as cash or transfer by the membership secretary, so every route ends in the same list.
- Old standing orders are listed against current prices, so the treasurer can write to those paying the wrong amount.
- Captains see whether each player in their squad is a current playing member; the bar sees member status if your till can look it up.
- Each member's history carries forward: years of membership, categories held, which is useful for life membership and awards.
| Category (example) | What it includes | How it is paid |
|---|---|---|
| Full playing | Playing, voting, member bar price | Annual or monthly direct debit |
| Student or unwaged | Playing, voting | Annual, reduced |
| Social | Voting, member bar price | Annual |
| Family | Adults plus juniors' membership | Annual or monthly |
| Vice-president | Social rights plus supporter's thanks | Annual |
The start of the next season
The renewal link goes out in July. Members renew into a category on their phones. The membership secretary sees the list fill up, and chases only those who have not renewed. Captains check their squad's status before the first game. At the AGM, the secretary prints a list of members entitled to vote, and it is right.
Is your membership list rebuilt every August?
- Adult members renew by several different payment routes.
- Captains are not sure which players have renewed.
- Standing orders pay out-of-date amounts.
- Voting rights at the AGM are uncertain.
- The membership secretary spends weeks matching payments to names.