Login      Demo Request

Menu

Swim Club Facility

Read eSoft Planner’s blog containing expert advice and news regarding how  sports facility scheduling software can benefit you when running your swim club facility.

Homeowners Associations Use Scheduling Software

How Homeowners Associations Can Use A Swim Club Management Software

, ,

Homeowners associations are responsible for various aspects of how a neighborhood is operated. Add facilities such as a pool, tennis courts, etc., and the list of responsibilities that fall on the HOA board can become never-ending. In order to save volunteers time and energy to focus on bigger responsibilities, HOA’s, HOA management companies, and other property management businesses choose to utilize software programs. Swim facility management software can help these organizations in various ways, primarily access control and e-commerce. 

Access Control

The access control feature in management software controls the tracking and management of incoming and outgoing members, as well as guests and childcare providers. In order to maximize revenue, HOA’s will want to restrict access to those that have paid for it. Many require a membership payment, as well as an additional charge for guest passes and childcare provider access. Rather than hiring staff to monitor the gate, HOAs can use software to allow access by the last name, barcode, address, custom ID numbers, or bond numbers. 

The access control feature will save HOA’s money through a lower staffing expense, increase income through monitoring the guest pass purchase and usage, and it will provide an additional security measure for the pool. 

E-Commerce

The e-commerce function to swim club management software opens up a secondary form of payment for members. While it is not necessary that HOA’s use this ability, it allows for an easier transaction between the members and the HOA. Many pools do prefer moving their payment methods digitally due to the convenience and ability to sell memberships during the offseason. The e-commerce side of the software can also include the purchase of guest and childcare passes, making it easier to repurchase as necessary. 

Interested in learning more about the HOA capabilities of eSoft Planner? Email contact@esoftplanner.com or schedule a demo. 

Save time with swim club management

Save Time with Swim Club Management Software

, , ,

Save Time and Increase Revenue with Swim Club Management Software

Time is of the essence — especially for swim clubs. Every year they must reevaluate how to arrange their pool schedules to stay competitive in a constantly changing industry.

Most clubs dedicate their space to two activities — swim lessons and open swim. Some choose to offer additional specialty programming, such as water aerobics or triathlon training lessons. But with a limited amount of space, these programs are a luxury many pools cannot afford.

It is important for swim clubs to be able to quickly and efficiently manage access control. Especially if they want to expand their programming. Jim Koller, a board member in charge of the membership portal at Maple Manor Swim Club in Maple Glen, Pennsylvania, has first-hand experience with swim club management software. eSoft Planner helped Jim save weeks of time in managing the club’s new and current members.

Maple Manor Swim Club

Maple Manor Swim Club has been in business since 1962. But they haven’t always used facility management software to save time. Prior to becoming customers of eSoft Planner in 2016, the club had been tracking membership activities using just a pen and paper.

“I joined Maple Manor Swim Club in 2009, and in 2013 I became a member of the board,” Jim said. “This is Maple Manor’s fourth year using eSoft Planner, and we couldn’t be happier.”

The swim club has over 300 family memberships. Maintaining check-ins and guest entry for so many members used to be a formidable task, but now that the club uses eSoft planner, membership check-in has become a seamless process.

“We save hours of time through the software’s self-service options, which allow our members the ability to get registered and manage their own profiles and contact information online,” Jim said.

As with any change, Maple Manor initially experienced some resistance from some of their members when they started using eSoft Planner. But even the folks who started out apprehensive about the technology quickly became convinced of its benefits.

“Last year, we started using eSoft Planner’s retail/POS options to sell concessions at our snack bar. Our members have been extremely satisfied with the ability to fund their club account balances and pay with a keycard instead of having to fumble with cash,” Jim said. “The membership cards make it easy for us to track our members’ activities. Our inventory control has benefited as well.”

Schedule a Demo

With the extra time Maple Manor has been saving, Jim and the other board members remain optimistic about the club’s options once Pennsylvania swimming pools can reopen. In years past, the club has allowed members to reserve pools for parties and other special events.

“We’d love to begin using eSoft Planner to reserve pools, courts and other areas of the club for parties,” Jim said. “Right now, we’re using the downtime to focus and plan additional special programming that will lead to new revenue streams.”

Talk to eSoft Planner about how you help eliminate the paperwork, enable self-service and save time at your swim club. When you have more time to focus on your passion and your mission, you have more resources to pursue revenue-generating options. Contact us for a demo today!

Concession stand management and little girl eating

How to Avoid Concession Stand Management Problems

,

Avoid Concession Stand Management Problems and Increase Your Revenue

The concession stand at your swim club can be a profitable revenue channel. However, management of the concession stand can be a hassle. And often falls on the shoulders of a small staff or a third-party company.

Some concessions are very basic and only offer pre-packaged items and simple foods like popcorn and hot dogs. Other concessions are much more complex — referred to as “kitchen concessions” — and offer a menu of foods/meals for their members.

Both models present challenges to efficient management. With the right tools, you can maximize your concession stand’s profitability.

Problems with Swim Club Concession Stand Management

1. Payment

Swim club members can find it inconvenient to carry cash or credit cards with them to the pool. Due to the possibility of theft and/or water damage. For parents — especially those who send their children to the pool with a childcare provider — giving their kids cash to buy concessions may be the last thing on their mind as they plan their day.

In response, many clubs have started offering their members a prepaid option. By funding their family’s concessions account, funds are available to any family member when they want something at the concession stand. The prepaid balance is linked to the club members’ accounts, and they can add funds to it online or at the club.

2. Tracking Inventory

An effective inventory management system is important to the profitability of a concessions stand. If you don’t know where your product is going, there is a high probability that some of it will become lost or stolen.

The most common way for a swim club to track inventory is a manual process of counting and recording inventory numbers on paper or in an Excel sheet. This tedious process leaves plenty of room for error — which makes it impractical for swim clubs.

An electronic point of sale system — a tool designed for this accessible on an iPad — allows your club to record product purchased and concession items sold. That means you can view low inventory items to determine when to restock. And you can compare what you have on hand to what you should have on hand to identify theft and waste.

3. Reporting

Knowing your profit margin for your concession stand allows you to prioritize the revenue channel within your club appropriately. To determine your profit, a club needs to be able to see which items are selling and which are not. You can also determine appropriate prices based on demand and order adequate product quantities.

eSoft Planner addresses all three of these issues. Designed specifically for swim clubs and sports facilities, the eSoft Planner concessions module helps you achieve greater control over this revenue channel. You can offer your members control over their concession account balances, while you gain greater visibility into your inventory and profitability. The software makes reporting much easier. So that you can track what is and isn’t selling, making your concession stand as efficient and profitable as possible.

The expert team at eSoft Planner have worked with thousands of swim club and sports facility owners just like you. We know what it takes to succeed. Our implementation team excels at helping you use the tools to make your dream a success. We love to hear about your plans and be a partner in your vision.

Start the conversation today! Contact us for a custom demo.

Blog on swim club tennis court rentals

Increase Revenue by Adding Swim Club Tennis Court Rentals

, , , , ,

Boost your Swim Club Membership by Packaging Tennis Court Rentals

As I have mentioned in other posts, the biggest revenue channel for swim clubs is their membership packages. However, to help boost this revenue channel, many also offer swim club tennis court rentals as an additional amenity. Matching these activities can create a great duo for membership packages.

Almost all swim club management software will also offer a tennis court module. This system will allow customers to reserve courts and schedule lessons with club instructors, if available at your club.

Different Ways Clubs Can Offer Courts

With Pool Membership:

The most popular way to incorporate your tennis courts with your pool is to offer access to both in a single package. This gives members a single payment for two amenities. Because the tennis and pool activities interest the same audience during the same season, offering them together adds appeal to your club. It becomes an all-in-one facility for the members.

Without Pool Membership:

In addition to the pool and court package, many clubs will offer individual memberships to the tennis courts alone. This attracts the audiences that already have their own pools or have access to neighborhood pools.

Non-Members:

While it is rare, some pools will give non-members the opportunity to rent access to their tennis courts. In this situation, the court will have a price that is based on the length of the rental. Because this is for non-members, clubs will typically prioritize the member rentals over the non-members. The prices will also have an up-charge due to the renter’s non-member status. 

How Tennis Court Rentals Can Be A Separate Revenue Channel

One of the best ways to fully take advantage of the additional tennis court revenue is by holding lessons and camps for the members. Some clubs have their own instructors to lead these lessons/camps.

However, many clubs have independent instructors who pay to use their courts for their lessons and camps. This option is preferable because it makes the revenue channel more successful and is less work for the swim club. The independent instructors take on all the responsibility as soon as they book the court time.

If your club has tennis courts, these options are a great way to take advantage of the full potential of this revenue channel. eSoft Planner offers functionality that can support your swim club in the activities you manage every season — including customizable modules that make tennis court rentals, lessons and classes a snap.

Schedule a demo today to see how you can spend less time and hassle on administration and more time supporting your club and its members.

Blog on hoa pool access

Managing Your HOA Pool Access

, , , , , ,

The Struggles of an HOA Pool

Many communities realize the value of implementing a Homeowners Association (HOA) because of their quicker response to necessary infrastructure repairs. Most HOAs also demonstrate their value through community amenities. These include pools, athletic courts, clubhouses, and parks. Communities rely on HOAs staffed by volunteers or third-party companies to maintain these amenities.

Swimming pools are one amenity that provides value to residents, but the pool’s management is no easy task for an HOA. Most HOAs aren’t able to supervise the pool consistently. Usually, they don’t hire staff or lifeguards. People tend to take advantage of the freedom. This can lead to lost revenue — without any way to ensure that only those who are current on their HOA dues are using HOA access to the pool.

A few of the common struggles for an HOA pool include:

  • Lack of access control
  • Coordination of guest tracking
  • Collection of membership dues

The good news for HOAs is that they don’t have to feel the impact of lost revenue due to poor control over their swimming pool gate.

By implementing just a few practices, you’ll be able to manage access control, track guest usage and even allow residents to schedule common areas, pool patios and clubhouses for their events.

To learn more about how our management software can manage your HOA access, read about our features here or request a demo. 

 

Children in Swim Club Advertising

Budget Swim Club Advertising Tactics

, , , , ,

Swim Club Advertising Tactics

Advertising is one of the most important investments for swim clubs to improve the membership revenue channel, but small advertising budgets prevent many higher-priced options from being within reach. Luckily, there are many swim club advertising options that fit any swim club budget.

Facebook

Facebook’s social networking platform offers significant reach, and it can be a great advertising option for swim clubs to reach their clients. Why? As Facebook’s popularity decreases with the younger generation, it is still at a peak for the parent-aged audience. This is the exact demographic you need to reach for when selling swim club memberships. Families make up the most common membership packages and reaching families goes through the parents.

Posting on Facebook on behalf of your organization can promote community and introduce your swim club to additional families.

If you have a small budget, you can also advertise through the Facebook platform. You can choose advertising styles to encourage more people to like and follow your page or to put advertisements about your swim club in front of target audiences. You can target people who match your current audience or even select an audience that has specific interests within your geography.

Flyers

For those with a slightly bigger budget, flyers are a simple way to advertise the swim club in your community. It is true that printing fees can rack up, but a lot of printers offer deals for printing in bulk.

Here are two free and effective places to post your flyers:

Schools:

Local schools are an ideal audience for swim clubs and are typically receptive to a request to distribute your flyers. For the younger students, teachers will include the flyer in take-home folders for parents. Older students who receive the flyers might either recommend your swim club to their family or join with a group of friends.

Neighborhood drops:

Have your staff drive around nearby neighborhoods and stick flyers in door handles, mailboxes, etc. The key here is quantity. While this isn’t as efficient as sending them directly through children, it does hit other demographics that may be looking for neighborhood recreation.

Member Referral Promotions

This is a popular method for any kind of business, especially swim clubs. A lot of clubs include member referral promotions in other advertising because it does not require any additional effort or budget. Referral promotions encourage your current members to advertise your club by including membership discounts and other incentives.

Not only will you increase your number of customers. But you will also provide perks and incentives to current members — increasing customer satisfaction.

Yard Signs

Yard signs are a simple advertising tactic. Along with the physical labor that comes with yard signs, the risk of people removing them is high. However, if you make the yard signs available to current members, the signs are more certain to stay up.

The more involvement you have, the more effective the signs will be. After the printing process, have your staff take the signs and stake them directly into the yards of your members who’ve agreed to help you advertise.

Sports Field Sponsorship

Take advantage of the influx of potential members at local parks, sports facilities, etc. Typically in a sponsorship, you will pay the park, field or facility to hang a banner advertisement for their clients to see. With so many young children playing sports, families are constantly attending events at these places.

This tactic is one of the most successful because it specifically targets active families — an ideal audience for swim club membership. It does require a modest-sized budget, but the return-on-investment can pay dividends.

Tracking & Analytics

No matter which tactics you use, you need to test the effectiveness of your advertisements. The best way to find out what works and what doesn’t is to add a “How did you hear about us?” section to your membership form. This gives you direct information on what advertisements reached and influenced the most people. Testing will save you time and money. As well as, allow you to invest in the most successful advertising tactics for your club.

eSoft Planner is designed to help you manage your memberships more smoothly, including attribution to referrals and to advertising sources. Contact us for a demo to see how you can spend less time and hassle on administration and more time supporting your swim club and its members.

Child Using Swim Club Childcare Passes

Benefits of Swim Club Childcare Passes

, , ,

Increase your Swim Club Revenue with Childcare Passes

Full-time working parents often hire summer nannies or babysitters for their children, and these sitters are constantly looking for ways to keep children entertained. By selling childcare passes to your swim club, you provide families with an incentive to join the club who might otherwise think they won’t get a lot of use out of their membership.

Childcare passes make it easy and affordable for a family to include their childcare provider in the family membership. This helps you combat the indirect competition of other summertime activities, clubs and neighborhood pools for those summer recreation dollars. This structure – with the childcare provider as part of the family unit – will open up a solid revenue channel for your pool.

Here are some of the popular choices made by swim clubs regarding childcare pass management:

An Option within Family Memberships & at the Pool Entrance

Childcare passes should be sold as soon as your swim club opens new membership enrollment. This allows families to complete their payment all at once and can help increase your off-season revenue stream.

However, in order to accommodate different family situations, your club should continue to sell childcare passes throughout the entire summer season. Not all families plan that far ahead, and even the best plans change. A family may need to incorporate multiple childcare providers or switch providers mid-stream. Having them available at check-in can reduce hassle and help your members avoid overusing guest passes.

Price

Clubs typically offer childcare passes for $150 or less, while others choose to include them in the price of the family membership.

As charging for childcare passes becomes more popular, clubs have found ways to show members the benefits of the prices. Your club might even allow the babysitter to use the pass when the kids aren’t in tow – a benefit that can entice childcare providers with their own families to purchase a family membership of their own to bring others along.

Restrictions

Age: To avoid liability issues, swim clubs set an age limit of 16 and older for childcare passes. Most pools set rules requiring children under a certain age to come with an adult. In pool terms, the adult age is normally 16 and above. Swim clubs will use that age to restrict their childcare pass ages.

Amount of Passes: Swim clubs vary on this restriction. Some clubs allow families to have 2-3 childcare passes while others only allow one. This typically depends on the demands made by the members.

Pass Linked with Babysitter: To prevent members from taking advantage of the system, pools usually link the passes to the name of the babysitter. Most swim clubs offer the option to change it, however, this ability should be restricted to staff. This way, families can’t continuously change babysitters without the pool’s knowledge.

Conclusion

Childcare passes are a smart business decision. Even if you choose not to charge the members for them, they still help the club maintain their current revenue. These passes are not only an easy revenue generator, but they help regulate access to pools and prevent unauthorized entry.

The smart design of eSoft Planner allows you to set your own rules for swim club childcare passes – and many more options – so that you can run your swim club the way you want to optimize revenue and membership satisfaction. Whether you are looking for a way to sell childcare passes, track usage and cancellations or sign off on waivers, eSoft Planner can help you easily manage your pre-season and in-season daily tasks.

Contact us for a demo today to see how you can spend less time and hassle on administration and more time supporting your club and its members.

Swim Club Members and Teams Talking

How to Keep Harmony Between Swim Club Members and Teams

, , , , , , , ,

The Relationship between Swim Club Members and Teams

Swim teams can be important stakeholders for a swim club, representing an important steady income stream and attracting new members and families. But the swim team’s activities, especially a swim meet, can sometimes result in scheduling conflicts between your swim team members and your more recreational members.

Harmony between your swim club and swim team can be achieved with three vital components:

  • Scheduling
  • Communication
  • Volunteer Management

Scheduling

When you have efficient scheduling to help you meet the needs of lessons, camps, and teams, you can balance the usage of your facility.

In addition, facility usage data can help you in your scheduling. For example, if you know that classes scheduled at 9 a.m. sell out, but ones scheduled at 8 a.m. only fill to 50%. Then you can maximize your facility usage by selecting the best times for lessons and arrange swim teams around those slots. If you’re using a check-in and check-out system, you can identify peak days and times.

Scheduling tools that allow you to see the big picture can help you maintain harmony. Especially between team and member usage of the club’s most popular spaces.

Communication

Great customer service is about expectations. Your members expect the club to be open and available to them during predictable hours. When you have swim team commitments that change your operating hours, you must clearly communicate and share these changes with your members.

Take swim meets for example. Typically, swim clubs will close for swim meets even if it means leaving their swim club members without a pool. They do this because swim teams can make up a large percentage of the club’s revenue.

Your scheduling tools should support your communication strategy. For example, you can post the pool availability on the club calendar. So that members can determine if it is available on a particular day. Or you can send an email announcement to all members or just members that would potentially be affected. Your swim club management tools should support multiple methods of communicating scheduling changes.

Volunteer Management

Swim meets are also big-time productions for most swim clubs. The list of necessary tasks run the gamut – from designating times to reserving pools to communicating schedules to the public. And even after all these things are complete, the swim team still needs to recruit people to officiate the races, keep scores and sell concessions.

All of this requires time and money. By allowing people to volunteer at swim meets, you can reduce the amount of hired workers and alleviate some of the Team or Activity Manager’s workload.

Because of the income benefit of a swim meet, many swim clubs offer incentives for volunteers who help support the event – regardless of their involvement directly with the team.

Members may feel less connected and interested in volunteering for a swim meet. But if you can reassure them that they receive credit or appreciation for their support, you can create harmony between swim team and non-swim team volunteers.

Some clubs have gone to a volunteerism requirement – which you’ll need to track. Or you might consider giving your volunteers discounts on the membership, guest passes, swim lessons or location rental. These items don’t have to cost much and can be offset by the value of work being completed by the volunteer.

Make it easy for your people to volunteer with the training and resources that they need to be successful. An online collaboration portal will allow volunteers to know when you need volunteers and what they’ll be doing.

Conclusion

With an organized operation that includes smooth scheduling, consistent communication, and a motivated group of volunteers, your swim team can become an indispensable part of the swim club’s operation. Ultimately, bringing in extra revenue that can potentially lower the cost of operations that will in turn benefit swim club members.

When all stakeholders see the benefit of cooperation, you can achieve harmony at your swim club.

eSoft Planner is an easy-to-use solution to help you manage your swim club more easily – with membership management, scheduling and communication tools built in. Schedule a demo today to see how you can spend less time and hassle on administration and more time supporting your swim club and swim team.

Pool During Swim Club Off-Season

What to Do During Your Swim Club Off-Season

, , ,

Preparing for Your Swim Club Off-Season

You may be staring at snow and cloudy fall and winter skies, but this doesn’t need to spell the end of profitability for your swim club.

Here are just a few ways that you can set your swim club up for success during the off-season months.

Minimize Spending while Maximizing Cash Inflow

During the off-season it is important that you limit your expenses. Clubs do this easily by creating an off-season budget. Luckily, most club expenses involve pool maintenance, which is not as necessary during the off-season.

Along with reduced spending, swim clubs should maximize their off-season cash inflow. Swim clubs have the opportunity to sell memberships, spirit wear and guest passes when the club is not open for the season. By taking advantage of these opportunities, the swim club can have cash on hand and be financially prepared for the upcoming season.

Start Advertising Early

To help maximize cash inflow, swim clubs should create marketing and advertising campaigns as soon as the off-season begins (or maybe even before). Advertising has become one of the most defining off-season strategies. With strong advertising tactics, your swim club can grow its membership base for the upcoming year. Family memberships can make a great holiday present or recommend smaller items and guest passes as stocking stuffers.

Diversify Your Business

With competition looming, swim clubs should always be on the lookout for more ways to attract new members. Use the off-season to brainstorm new products and services that you can offer your members. This could include:

  • Adding more tennis courts (or basketball, volleyball or racquet sport courts)
  • Adding new attractions to the pool (slides, diving decks, concessions, etc.)
  • Renovating the pool’s amenities (pool deck, bathrooms/locker rooms, etc.)

Plan and Prepare

The off-season is the most important time to plan and prepare for the upcoming season. It is also the best time for the staff to increase efficiencies and improve the overall swim club environment.

One of the best improvements is to find efficient membership management and scheduling software. The off-season allows swim clubs to implement the new software with their members and staff when there is less pressure. Your club could be prime to streamline operations and improve efficiencies with a new software solution.

eSoft Planner makes it easy to manage your swim club’s operations, whether you are in or off-season. The comprehensive software delivers back office and member-facing solutions – manage family memberships, guest passes, and packages; schedule teams, camps, classes, lessons and party rentals; sign in at the front gate; sell concessions through guest accounts and manage your spirit shop.

Swim club management doesn’t have to be hard, when you can organize everything you do with a few simple clicks and invite your members to manage themselves. The increased cash flow and improved organization starts in the off-season.

eSoft Planner for Swim Clubs offers functionality that can support your swim club in the activities you manage every season. Schedule a demo today to see how you can spend less time and hassle on administration and more time supporting your club and its members.

Swim Club Volunteers Doing Laps

Developing a Relationship with Swim Club Volunteers

, ,

How Your Swim Club can Develop a Mutually Beneficial Relationship with Your Volunteers

The tasks involved in managing a swim club are endless – from tracking customer payments and managing customer service to cleaning up the grounds. Performing the day to day activities of a swim club can be a juggling act, even if you have fantastic staff members on hand to help members and a board managing behind the scenes. But the solution to mounting pressure on these resources doesn’t have to be adding more staff but rather can focus on swim club volunteers.

Volunteers can become the lifeblood of your organization. Allowing volunteers to perform tasks not only helps your club to run more efficiently, but it can also encourage community spirit. But how do you attract and retain great volunteers?

Make It Easy to Volunteer

A hurdle many people face when starting to volunteer is the fear of the unknown. You can make the process easier and encourage them to volunteer in the future by developing a process.

Here are few things that will make it easier:

  • Have a defined sign up process that clearly explains what they will be doing
  • Hold a volunteer group meeting at the beginning of each season to announce goals
  • Delegate tasks between volunteer roles and staff responsibilities
  • Be transparent about the dates you need help and the expectations of time required
  • Thank them for volunteering

Provide Transparency When Volunteerism is a Requirement of Swim Club Membership

You may come to a point when financially you cannot keep your swim club running without the help of volunteers. At this point, many swim clubs make volunteering a requirement of membership. Transparency is key to minimizing volunteer confusion and making sure relationships remain strong when volunteer hours are missed.

  • Include volunteer requirements in your membership packet
  • Create an online method for members to track hours
  • Offer flexibility for life events
  • Host regular club meetings for volunteers to ask questions and address issues

Offer Incentives to your Swim Club Volunteers

Everyone loves freebies. Incentives may include a discounted seasonal membership, free guest passes or a free swimming lesson or location rental. These items don’t have to cost much in a price difference and can be offset by value of work being completed by the volunteer.

By making the volunteering process easier, providing transparency and even offering incentives, you can keep your swim club organized season after season.

eSoft Planner for Swim Clubs offers functionality that can support your volunteer organizing efforts. Schedule a demo today to see how you can spend less time and hassle on administration and more time supporting your club and its members.