Digital payment systems - the power of increased visibility

It’s fairly well known that digital payment systems make collecting payments more efficient for aquatics clubs and swim schools.

Something that’s less well known, but equally as powerful, are the ways their dashboards and automated notifications collect in one place, or proactively send out key information to club treasurers and business owners.

Here are five ways that digital payment platforms increase visibility into payments, saving club volunteers and swim school coaches from splashing around looking for information themselves. Or finding out too late when there’s been an issue.

1. Provide an at-a-glance view of who’s set up for automated payments, and who isn’t

The first step when launching digital payments to members or customers is usually to invite them to sign up, perhaps through an online Direct Debit mandate. From that point on, the system’s dashboard will provide an at-a-glance view of who’s set up and who isn’t.

This information (or data, to use the fancy term) can be used to send targeted sign-up reminders. It can be filtered by status — such as ‘received’ or ‘pending’ — to provide simplified but more accurate cashflow forecasts. And it can also provide an instant snapshot of active versus inactive members, to drive smarter budgeting for pool time or equipment.

2. Provide a payment status snapshot

There will be a similar dashboard showing the status of each individual payment, every month: when they’re scheduled for, if they’ve been successfully collected, or if there was an issue.

This easy-to-read, real-time snapshot means you can immediately identify overdue payments, instead of only finding out at the end of the month — and after spending several hours comparing bank statements with membership spreadsheets.

3. Notify you instantly when a payment plan is cancelled by a member

Digital payment tools often provide automated and immediate notifications if a payment mandate is cancelled. Compared to manually checking bank statements, and potentially finding out only weeks later that there’s been an issue, this saves time and reduces the risk of cancellations going unnoticed while members continue using the club or school’s facilities. It ultimately helps aquatics clubs be more confident they’re collecting all the money they’re owed. And it affords swim schools more time to market any empty spots to their waiting list.

4. Notify you when a payment fails and, more importantly, why

Real-time notifications into individual payment failures also allow you to respond quickly to issues, reducing the risk of lapsed memberships or reduced cashflow. And understanding why a payment failed — such as insufficient funds, or expired cards — helps club volunteers and swim school managers tailor their response, whether that’s sending a reminder or offering support if it’s needed. This can be especially helpful for aquatics clubs, which can better prevent members of their community from drifting away due to temporary financial challenges.

5. Allow you to retry payments without having to chase members

A good payment solution will let you either retry failed payments from the dashboard, or schedule them automatically. When a failed payment can be retried instantly you can recover funds more quickly.

There are lots of reasons payments fail, but GoCardless customers often report that most are successfully collected second time around, with a simple click of the ‘retry’ button. And that simple click represents a phone call or email saved for club volunteers or swim school staff. It also makes re-sending a payment one less thing for busy families to think about.