Association Dues Collection

[Mad Mike]

Our Association is looking for some new ways to collect dues besides taking cash or checks. We are looking into trying to find ways to either take credit/debit cards or peer-to-peer apps like Venmo to pay dues. If any of you have any experience with what works well beyond taking cash and checks, please let me know what type of method(s) have worked well (including those that haven't worked so well). We want to find something that will work for the vast majority of officials, including those who are not technically savvy.

 

[wolfe_man]

3 minutes ago, Mad Mike said:

Our Association is looking for some new ways to collect dues besides taking cash or checks. We are looking into trying to find ways to either take credit/debit cards or peer-to-peer apps like Venmo to pay dues. If any of you have any experience with what works well beyond taking cash and checks, please let me know what type of method(s) have worked well (including those that haven't worked so well). We want to find something that will work for the vast majority of officials, including those who are not technically savvy.

 

I'd recommend Venmo.

PayPal is good, but they take 3% of your transactions unless you do the Friends and Family option, which a lot of guys conveniently forget to do. 

I'm sure there are other methods that might work as well.  CashApp for example.

Personally, I use Venmo as much as I can now.

[BLarson]

This is a sister company of the company I work for does this:

https://paymentspring.com/

They allow you to set up a 1 line url in your website to allow Credit Card, Check, both, or either as a payment option.
For Credit Card, there's a percentage fee and transaction fee...I believe it's 2.9% and $.30  respectively
Credit Card Example:  on a $30 charge the fee would be $1.17 ($30 x .029) + .30

ACH (check) is only a .8% fee
ACH Example:  On a $30 charge the fee would be $.24 ($30 x .008)

The website has video and I believe you can try it for free.

It's supposed to be super easy to setup, configure and use.
I have no idea if those fees are inline with other services.

We are looking to replace our 600 Homeowner's Association dues collection where they mail checks into a PO Box and the poor treasurer (used to be me) has to continuously go to the post office and bank to collect and deposit the checks.

I can put you in touch with the sales rep if you have any questions.
 

 

[Aging_Arbiter]

our HS chapter didn't eliminate, but reduced cash/check collection.  If you umpire preseason scrimmages, it takes X amount off of your dues.   You don't get paid for scrimmage, you get to know some dust off of the gear, and your chapter fees are reduced.  The chapter invoices the schools for the scrimmage fees, and keeps that money.

[wolfe_man]

5 minutes ago, Aging_Arbiter said:

our HS chapter didn't eliminate, but reduced cash/check collection.  If you umpire preseason scrimmages, it takes X amount off of your dues.   You don't get paid for scrimmage, you get to know some dust off of the gear, and your chapter fees are reduced.  The chapter invoices the schools for the scrimmage fees, and keeps that money.

No offense, but I'll keep my scrimmage fees and just pay dues thank you.   A scrimmage fee just about covers yearly dues. Two Varsity scrimmages at $57 more than covers the full $65 owed to the State and the $15 to local umpire association fees.

In OH, we've been getting full game fees for doing scrimmages - and rightly so in my opinion, many times scrimmages are longer than games and we see a lot more pitching changes, innings, etc.

[MadMax]

4 hours ago, wolfe_man said:

but I'll keep my scrimmage fees

You get scrimmage fees?! Lu-ucky. 

 

[BT_Blue]

5 hours ago, MadMax said:

You get scrimmage fees?! Lu-ucky. 

 

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY! LOL

My association take dues out of the checks that were paid twice a season. We were supposed to go to ArbiterPay this year. (State of Washington requires all associations to use Arbiter.) But that got shoved back obviously. So I'm not sure how dues will work moving forward. 

[wolfe_man]

5 hours ago, BT_Blue said:

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY! LOL

My association take dues out of the checks that were paid twice a season. We were supposed to go to ArbiterPay this year. (State of Washington requires all associations to use Arbiter.) But that got shoved back obviously. So I'm not sure how dues will work moving forward. 

I hate Arbiter Pay. Most schools up here use it, but it's a pain in the neck.

Yes, we get scrimmage fees, but need it because we're some of the lowest paid umpires in the country.

[kylehutson]

On 12/8/2020 at 2:03 PM, wolfe_man said:

Two Varsity scrimmages at $57

And then you say

On 12/9/2020 at 6:27 AM, wolfe_man said:

we're some of the lowest paid umpires in the country.

Two varsity *games* here wouldn't pay as much as your two varsity scrimmages.

[MRG9999]

Here in Western PA, our PIAA baseball chapter have set Varsity games at $75-80, JV - $55-60, Middle School at $50.   Did Fall High School varsity games at $60-65 per game.  

[wolfe_man]

3 hours ago, kylehutson said:

And then you say

Two varsity *games* here wouldn't pay as much as your two varsity scrimmages.

Ouch!

Sorry amigo!

Were like 8 from the bottom.

 

Middle/Freshman $40

JV $42

Varsity $57

Summer ball is $40-50

[kylehutson]

16 minutes ago, wolfe_man said:

Ouch!

Sorry amigo!

Were like 8 from the bottom.

 

Middle/Freshman $40

JV $42

Varsity $57

Summer ball is $40-50

Our varies by school and league. JV here is $45-50. V is $50-60. Summer (for high school age) is typically $50, but I have gotten $60.

[MRG9999]

Summer ball mustang up to pony is $50. Colt and up starting at $60-75 per.


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[Aging_Arbiter]

21 hours ago, kylehutson said:

Our varies by school and league. JV here is $45-50. V is $50-60. Summer (for high school age) is typically $50, but I have gotten $60.

V $84

JV $76

[Umpire in Chief]

In VA you have to register and pay your dues to the VSHL in the fall for the spring. I really disliked that. The good thing was that you could have it withheld from your fall dues in Arbiter pay. 

[johnnyg08]

On 12/10/2020 at 5:54 PM, kylehutson said:

Our varies by school and league. JV here is $45-50. V is $50-60. Summer (for high school age) is typically $50, but I have gotten $60.

Yikes. It's amazing you have umpires to work. Those were our fees 20 years ago. 

[johnnyg08]

We've successfully rolled out PayPal. 

I think we'll maybe try Venmo this year....maybe..

PayPal seemed to work fine last year. 

 

 

[LMSANS]

5 minutes ago, johnnyg08 said:

We've successfully rolled out PayPal. 

I think we'll maybe try Venmo this year....maybe..

PayPal seemed to work fine last year. 

 

 

This is the direction I would like to go, but the local football association had a major issue 10 years ago and most of the umpires are also referees. They are also older and don't trust anything but checks/cash.

[kylehutson]

10 minutes ago, johnnyg08 said:

Yikes. It's amazing you have umpires to work. Those were our fees 20 years ago. 

Well, we do also have a pretty low cost of living. My mortgage is less than $1100/mo on a 3500 sq. ft. house sitting on nearly 1/2 acre.

[ATXBlue]

5 hours ago, Umpire in Chief said:

In VA you have to register and pay your dues to the VSHL in the fall for the spring. I really disliked that. The good thing was that you could have it withheld from your fall dues in Arbiter pay. 

Same in Texas with our TASO dues, due in October... Have forgotten or have been on the fence about doing HS ball in the spring and gotten hit with the additional $20-$40 late fee a couple of times. We did just get a bump in game fees though with another possibly coming for 2021-2022, can't complain about that. 

@Mad Mike our chapter Secretary Treasurer has used Venmo to collect dues. I have appreciated that but I am on the younger side of my chapter so not sure how widely it is being used.