South London Theatre – Admin sorted at a click of a mouse

An Automated and Flexible Approach to Membership

South London Theatre is a prolific community theatre, welcoming all ages and abilities and operating out of a converted and recently refurbished, Grade II listed, Victorian fire station in West Norwood, South London.

Founded there in 1967, South London Theatre has put on a diverse range of productions over the years, from contemporary comedies and new writing to Shakespeare and musicals.

Membership Director Guy Jones says: "We’re a highly social and supportive community, with our own bar and continual social, creative and training opportunities. We also offer commercial hire of the extensive wardrobe we have accumulated, as well as the spaces within our fabulous building."

The Challenge - Before LoveAdmin

South London Theatre was struggling with an antiquated admin process involving spreadsheets and a lot of manual labour. Guy explains: "We were operating out of Excel, manually updating information constantly, struggling with accounting and getting concerned about the data security of our members.

"The accountancy and financial oversight was also almost entirely separate from the administration of the membership, meaning that as Membership Director, the member numbers and revenue were not always easy to calculate, and membership goals less easy to set and achieve."

The Solution - After LoveAdmin

South London Theatre joined LoveAdmin in 2018 and hasn't looked back – the easy-to-use software means membership renewals are now automated, payments collected without hassle and communication with members a breeze.

"We can be more automated and flexible in our approach," Guy says. "Where once there was a significant monthly task to track renewals and process and reconcile payments, that’s all now taken care of automatically.

"Where once we had to duplicate information across membership and publicity systems, now we are able to communicate with our membership or sub-segments of it, at the click of a mouse."

Asked for his advice to someone working in a similar role overseeing memberships, Guy says: "Talk to the friendly team at LoveAdmin and import your data into their system. Before long you’ll be back on top of your subscriptions, subscribers and supporters, with a clear view of your revenue month on month and every email you’ve ever sent, all from a single online login."

The Results

Guy and his colleagues at South London Theatre London have been given back invaluable time by implementing LoveAdmin.

He adds: "The flexibility of the LoveAdmin system has allowed us to move from simply administering our membership payments to operating our supporters’ private lottery, ‘The 200 Club’ and organising courses and events for our members and supporters.

"Because of the secure system, we’ve also moved from one person administering everything to a team with various admin rights, able to share the load.

"The financial reporting is also useful to see our gross and net revenue at a glance. Finally, and not least, the service and support received from LoveAdmin has been good. There is always someone to help get the most out of the LoveAdmin system, providing simple and clear advice."

Looking to reduce admin and increase revenue? Sign-up for a FREE LoveAdmin demo today!