Five reasons it’s easier than ever to switch to digital payments

Manual payments have always been a bit of a pain for grassroots football club admins. Picking through bank statements to see who’s paid their monthly subs, and sending awkward WhatsApp chasers to anyone who hasn’t. These are the kinds of must-dos that make the job exhausting, regardless of whether you’re running a Sunday league team or a semi-pro setup.

Despite the frustration, club committees might worry the alternative of shifting to digital payments will be too expensive or complicated. But, given we already support over 1,500 grassroots clubs just like yours across the country, rest assured it’s neither of those things.

Here are five reasons why making the switch to digital payments isn’t something you should be worried about.

If you can use a website, you can move to digital payments easily

Most of today’s digital payment solutions are built around simple, intuitive dashboards with clearly signposted user experiences. That means whoever handles the football club’s finances, be it a coach, treasurer, or club secretary, needs minimal technical knowledge to get started. In fact, if you can navigate a basic website, you can easily use a digital payments solution.

To help you kick off and address any teething problems, many providers offer step-by-step setup guides, short “how-to” videos, and interactive tutorials using simple language. The sign-up process for players and parents is also entirely digital and heavily automated, so there’s no need to fear being buried under a mountain of new admin.

You don’t have to make the switch all at once

Digital payment solutions are highly flexible and can grow at your club's pace. Before rolling out digital payments to your entire membership base across every age group, you can start with a smaller trial run.

Try testing it with just one squad or for a specific set of payments, like a new kit order. This will help your volunteers gain confidence, troubleshoot any hiccups, and get familiar with the benefits before launching it club-wide.

You don’t have to do it on your own

The best digital providers are fully invested in your success. Indeed, they have to be, because they typically charge a small fee per transaction - so they only succeed if your club does.

That’s why many have dedicated support teams ready to help football clubs with onboarding queries and technical issues - and there’s no such thing as a silly question when you’re getting started.

You’ll see the benefits immediately

The practical, time-saving benefits of digitising and automating payments will make the transition well worth it. And the key people in your club who are committing the most time to keeping it running with thank you for it.

Recurring payments like monthly membership and annual sign-on fees are ideal for automating with Direct Debit, which puts you firmly in control of collection dates. Instead of your treasurer spending hours wrangling with spreadsheets, Direct Debit paves the way for automated reporting, instant bank reconciliation, and more free time for those managing the club finances.

Other clubs are winning off the pitch already

Thousands of clubs across the country are already automating payments with us, freeing up volunteer time from spiralling admin around collecting squad subs, league registration fees, kit costs, and all the other ad hoc surprises along the way.

By replacing cash, cheques, and random bank transfers with an automated system, clubs gain total visibility over their finances. Treasurers reduce their weekly admin by hours - and get rid of the stress of chasing payments with late paying or avoidant members.

Get started with GoCardless today

As a proud supporter of 18 County FAs across England, we’re confident we offer the best payment software for football clubs looking to get paid faster, and with less hassle.

Collect instant one-off payments easily, automate your monthly subs and cut down on the financial admin your team needs to deal with.

You can try GoCardless fee-free for 90 days today.