New season registration tips

Believe it or not, the summer season is just around the corner. That means that summer sports are busy getting their online registrations ready. We've put together some important tips that could save you a lot of time throughout the season.

This is a good opportunity for a reminder to update your season configuration to avoid summer season data getting caught up in your winter season. Seasons are configured nationally for Water Polo, Rugby League, Football and AFL, so they can disregard this blog, however Basketball and Touch users should read on...

Please note: this function is only available at Association/League level, so you can also disregard this if you’re a club administrator. However, if you are a club taking summer registrations online and you notice that your registrations are going into the wrong season then it’s a good time send the below instructions to your League!

To update your season configuration, login to your database at the League level and go to the Cog > Settings:

Select Seasons.

  There are two season settings.

·      CURRENT Season: the season that games are currently being played in
·      NEW REGISTRATION Season: the season that new registrations will go into

It's worth setting a reminder to update the 'Current Season' once the new season games begin. If you only run winter competitions then you should update this once your finals are finished, so you don't forget do it when your clubs start taking registrations.

As it is a new season, it is also vital that new products are created. Using old products and simply renaming them can cause data confusion. If your fees have increased from the previous year, it is recommended that you click the 'Add a New Product' icon. This will create a completely new product that you can adjust to your liking.

If your fees have not changed, you can click the 'Copy' icon next to your previous years product. This will copy all the information from that product and create a new one. Ensure you change the season in the new product.

Another handy tip would be to make sure you change any information on your registration form that is now irrelevant. Eg. a previous administrator’s contact details, old venues, old numbers and old products.

Once you’re ready to start taking registrations, don’t forget you can use the ‘Member Renewals’ and the ‘Team Renewals’ options to notify your members that the new season is approaching. This process has worked very well for many users and we can show you how...

Member Renewals - For most traditional grassroots sports, it's about each individual player registering to a club for a particular season. Registrars now have the ability to send an email to all existing members in the database inviting them to re-register to the current season. This will send an email to all members who haven’t yet registered to the current registration season. For further information on how to utilise this fantastic functionality, please read the article on member renewals in our support centre by clicking here.
 
Team Renewals -  Many sports, like Touch Football, Futsal and Basketball as well as social sports like Volleyball and Netball utilise the Team Renewals functionality with great success. Registrars now also have the ability to send an email to all existing teams in the database, inviting them to re-register to the current season through the registration form process. The email will be sent to the team contact assigned for each team and then they have the ability to nominate individual players that make up their team. For further information on how to utilise this fantastic functionality, please read the article on team renewals in our support centre by clicking here.

It's important to note that with both solutions above, online payment is very much recommended. Registering members and collecting fees can typically be a labour intensive task and the option of processing payments online will save your organisation even more time.

If you have any further questions on the above or would like help in setting up online payments, please feel free to get in touch by filling in your contact details by clicking here.