In the past, collecting money off hundreds of parents across training sessions was onerous and unwieldy.

“We realised that it wouldn’t cost us a huge amount per transaction and it was a way of ensuring that we didn’t have to handle cash.”

According to Mike, moving online removed much of the admin but also any security concerns: “If it was paid in through Pitchero, we didn’t have to worry about chasing, handling cheques or correlating bank transfers.”

Thirsk Hockey Club members seem to have embraced the ease of paying their fees through Pitchero with around 95% choosing to do it online.

From a club perspective, adopting Pitchero Payments makes both accounts and planning easier than it used to be:

“We can see the finances a lot better. Our Junior and Senior Treasurers both present accounts at committee meetings - and they’re able to see the money coming in and who it’s from.”

Crucially, that reporting and tracking capability of Thirsk Hockey Club’s finances allows for forward-planning:

“We’re able to do assessments as we go through the season to see how financially viable we are. It’s useful to see how the money’s coming in to make sure we are covering ourselves.”

Should other clubs be doing it? What advice would Mike give to clubs considering it?

“I think it’s the ease of the finance side. To me, handling the cash was always a pain. It takes an awful lot of administrative effort to run a biggish club and the less any of those individuals have to do to make it work can only be a benefit.”