Registration in Times of Uncertainty: A Look at Some of Your Options (Part 2)

In part one of this series, we addressed how to manage registration funds you’ve already collected. In this post, we will dig deeper into the options you have for moving forward with registration while keeping in mind the financial sensitivity and uncertainty around COVID-19.

How should we proceed with our upcoming registration?

The first question to ask yourself, do you want to collect money at the time of registration?

Use the following links to jump to the relevant section based on your answer.

Yes, I want to collect some sort of fee at registration

No, I want no fees collected upfront 

Collect fees at registration

Aside from running registration as you normally would, there are three other options you can take to collect some sort of fee at the time of registration.

1) Extended early bird pricing 

This will allow registrants to take advantage of lower, special prices for a longer period of time. You can set up these discounts and deadlines using advanced fees. 

2) Deposit with delayed installments

Collect a pre-determined deposit during registration and set installment dates to start at a future time that your organization is comfortable with. The initial deposit can be set as low as $0.01, which does not include online fees, and you can choose the number of installments to be collected.  

3) Lower initial fee with a future payment

Set the participant fee on the registration form to be a reduced amount, with the intention to collect an additional balance at a later date. This future collection can be done in two ways:

=> Send out an invoice to multiple participants

Considerations:

• Works best if you do not have a future need for ACH payments

=> Add an adjustment to the registration entry

Considerations:

• Works best if you do not have a future need for installments or ACH payments

• Will require you to add adjustments to each individual registration entry

No fees at registration

If you do not want to have registrants pay at checkout, there are two potential options for you:

1) Offline payment with future collection

Set up your participant fees as normal but enable registrants the option to pay offline. This will allow members to register for the season without having to pay right at checkout. The registrant can then use the ‘Pay Now’ button from their dashboard when ready to pay, based on your agreed-upon timelines.

Considerations:

• Works best if you do not have a future need for installments or ACH payments

2) $0 fee with a future payment

Set the participant fee on the registration form to be $0, with the intention to collect the balance at a later date. This future collection can be done in two ways:

=> Send out an invoice to multiple participants

Considerations:

• Works best if you do not have a future need for ACH payments

=> Add an adjustment to the registration entry

Considerations:

• Works best if you do not have a future need for installments or ACH payments

• Will require you to add adjustments to each individual registration entry

Final Thoughts

Each club and organization will handle opening activities and registration differently but we are starting to see more people putting together realistic timelines for registration to open. Some plan to offer summer camp, while many want to make sure they are prepared and ready for the Fall season.

Whatever your case may be, know that there are options available to you to push forward while being sensitive to the current environment around us.

Anand Patel is a Sr. Product Marketing Manager at TeamSnap.

Navigate COVID-19 With TeamSnap

To better assist you through this, we created a hub that includes resources and tips to help you lead your sports organization, team or group during this uncertain time. Keep checking back as new content becomes available. Visit the hub now.