HBS Revolutions experience a huge dent in admin time with LoveAdmin

An online system to reduce admin

HBS Revolutions is a healthy, happy and competitive club which operates from HBS Sports Centre run by Hitchin Boys’ School in Hertfordshire. The British Gymnastics affiliated club offers trampolining & DMT, power tumbling, general gymnastics and pre-school sessions. They have around 350 members and are represented nationally by their competitive squads.

The Challenge - Before LoveAdmin

HBS Revolutions didn’t have much of a system in place before LoveAdmin. They used Excel spreadsheets to store member information, create attendance registers and for payment reconciliation. This required a lot of manual work and collaboration between administrators and coaches who had access to these spreadsheets via a shared Google Drive link.

Emails were sent using distribution lists and Bcc in Outlook which Beckie Willoughby, Coach at HBS Revolutions described as a “long-winded way” to send emails, especially for payment requests. As the club collected fees in 10-week blocks, this required payment requests to be sent out at this time too. The process was as tedious and time-consuming as it sounds.

Payments were taken by cheque and cash – and the club had a till on sight to store monies and generate paper receipts for parents. When marking off who had paid and who hadn’t, the club did this by working through their spreadsheets and ticking off names.

HBS Revolutions was looking for an online system that would reduce their admin burden and enable them to take card payments as well manage more complex transactions. As they are a subsidiary of Hitchin Boys’ School, the school was quite hesitant for them to take bank transfers because this meant giving several parents their bank details – hence why card transactions were the more efficient and secure way forward. Cue LoveAdmin…

The Solution - After LoveAdmin

The club discovered LoveAdmin through recommendation and they experienced a positive onboarding period. All of their member information was set up by the LoveAdmin team using their original spreadsheets and Beckie said this was “fantastic” as it relieved them from the chore of doing it themselves.

Since coming onboard with LoveAdmin, the club has experienced “a huge dent in admin time.” The way in which LoveAdmin manages member information means that the club doesn’t have to manually register members or update information unless necessary – instead, parents can register online and have access to their own LoveAdmin account, so they take responsibility.

The club can now take card payments and instead of collecting fees in 10-week blocks, they collect them monthly thanks to LoveAdmin’s payment automation. Requests are automatically sent out, parents receive electronic receipts, payments are reconciled and also chased with reminders. On a similar note, renewals are done with ease every month too because again, it’s all automated with LoveAdmin. HBS revolutions have more cash flowing into their club due to monthly collection and the ability to stay on top of adamant non-payers. With reminders and other general email comms, the club can see who’s opened their emails and get in touch if need be.

Over the COVID-19 lockdown period, HBS was offering online classes to members via Zoom. They relied on LoveAdmin’s event feature to coordinate this because it made it really easy for parents to book onto classes and make payments. They then received automated emails with Zoom links which meant that the club had no extra work created for them on this front. Setting up new events was straightforward, parents were thankful, and the club was able to keep their wheels turning and generate some income at a very uncertain time.

The Results

Overall Beckie had many positive things to say about LoveAdmin. She commented, “LoveAdmin has considerably reduced our administration time – by 60%, made payment collection easier, and enabled us to have everything we need in one place which is great.”

In addition to using LoveAdmin for HBS Revolutions, Beckie also uses it at Theatretrain Performing Arts, a stage school which offers drama, dance and singing classes for young people.