Groundwork Defeats the Paper Check in Youth Sports
Since Fall 2017, teams using Groundwork have dramatically increased payment success rates.
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Groundwork, an easy-to-use automated payment and notification solution designed exclusively for youth sports, today announced an upgrade to its unique payment platform designed to accelerate the demise of paper checking and boost payment rates in this rapidly expanding field.
With winter sports starting soon, clubs are preparing for their next seasons — and they're in good company. As Time reported last August, youth sports is now a $15 billion market, having grown 55% since 2010.
While paper check payments have fallen 50% since 2000 in the U.S., "the youth sports space is one of the last places to still rely on checks," said Bill Lennon, Co-founder and CEO of Groundwork. Who wants to remember to write a check and physically deliver it when paying online or setting up automatic payments is so much more convenient?
The most recent advances in club software focus on logistics. However, financial operations dwarf logistics in the long run. Groundwork is delivering a dedicated solution to sports club financial needs. "Leagues and teams keep limping along with manual systems and spreadsheets – all time-intensive. While several options now exist to help automate these laborious demands, we created Groundwork's web-based application specifically for the needs of large clubs that need to shed these manual headaches and do so without any mandatory purchasing of larger software suites or extraneous services," said Lennon.
"Groundwork eliminates several 'busywork' tasks for us by automating them," noted Kristen Dean, Programs and Finance Director for WAVE Volleyball Club, a nationally recognized club based in San Diego, CA. "Old logistical to-do items bogged our team down. With Groundwork, parents have actually been complimenting our staff often on how easy and streamlined — and stress-free for all — the payment system is at our club. Parents can view their schedule, be reminded of upcoming payments, and change their payment method at any time. It's such a relief in terms of workload and stress!"
Ready for the Big Leagues
"Using Groundwork, we had a 99% success rate on collecting our Fall fees," says Ben Cote, a director for the Renegades Basketball Club. "That is unheard of. And for me, it was basically set-it-and-forget-it. Groundwork streamlines the collections process, and parents like it, too. I'm spreading the word to all of the clubs I know."
Groundwork is seeing roughly 50% month-over-month growth in its subscriber base. As of December 2017, over 500 teams and 5,000 players have adopted Groundwork for their payment automation needs.
Groundwork has integrated many new features and capabilities into the payment platform, including:
- Powerful Reporting. Users now have greater insight into their collections through the generation of custom reports and expanded export functions.
- Team Assistants. Clubs can now add team-level assistants to help manage particular teams.
- Link signup. In addition to sending private email invitations to sign up, clubs can now share a public link for open-ended signups.
Such improvements are already bearing fruit and winning long-term fans. Before the next sports seasons kick off in February, youth sports clubs should take a long look at their payment processes and the time spent on them. If the numbers don't add up, it may be time to consider a new solution based around convenience, automation, accountability, and cost savings.
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