Southlake Angling Society
KEY BENEFITS
Provided a more efficient method of collecting payment, can now communicate more effectively with their membership base, streamlined their joining process.
Southlake Angling Society - Our Story
Southlake Angling Association was established in 1969 and remains a thriving angling club in Berkshire, South East England. With carp to over 45lb and a multitude of other species to fish, is highly sought after on its three lakes. Our flagship venue for carp anglers is Southlake, containing carp to mid-40 and there are also numerous 30lb-plus carp and a good head of our homegrown stocked fish that are now around 20lb plus and growing fast.
Spreadsheets didn’t work for us anymore.
Prior to Clubmate, our member management process was very admin-heavy and took up a lot of our time. Member details were stored on a spreadsheet which we had to update manually every time a new angler joined or someone renewed a membership. We then had to trawl through that spreadsheet searching for names if we needed to contact a specific angler or group of anglers.
That process alone was time-consuming, but we also had to laminate our own membership cards and post them out for all of our members which simply wasn’t sustainable long term. Then it was up to someone to take all of the cash payments to the bank once and deposit it into the club account once all of the admin had been completed.
Our committee wanted to be out on the bank fishing and engaging with our members, not stuck in front of a computer.
The all-in-one solution we needed.
We needed a solution to reduce the level of admin we had to tackle on a daily basis and a way to attract new members since we were somewhat limited by the amount of admin new joiners bring. We were also determined to find a better way to handle money and payments because it isn’t ideal to hold cash at the club.
Clubmate came up as a possible solution because we know of several other clubs that use their software and they’ve all shared how much it helped them with their admin challenges, so we reached out to them to see if they could help. We had a short online demo with one of their fishing club experts and it was quickly evident that Clubmate handles all of the issues stated above.
Membership money goes from the member to our bank account without multiple trips to the bank. Members can enter and update their own details which was one of the main things that cost us a lot of admin hours. Those payments were automatically updated in Clubmate so there was no need for us to manually tick off which anglers have paid and which still owed money.
We didn’t have any obstacles when signing up, fortunately, our committee was pretty open-minded and ready for a change.
We finally have a secure member database.
Overall, Clubmate just makes life easy. It’s hard to pick one stand-out feature because every function is just as useful as the next. We’ve been able to move away from spreadsheets entirely because Clubmate has its own member database. If a member joins online, their record is created automatically and their online payment is taken when they join – we barely have to lift a finger.
If we ever need to send out important information, we can email the relevant members (or all members if we need to) right from Clubmate. Everything we could possibly need to run the club is in one place and it’s saved us so much time.
The support we’ve received has been exceptional too. From starting up to general enquiries, Clubmate has supported us every step of the way. They take the time to help us understand how to use the system and educate us on best practices rather than giving us generic help like some other companies. Best of all, that support didn’t stop after we’d gotten started; their support team is always on hand to help.
Would we recommend Clubmate?
Yes! Clubmate is a membership platform designed specifically for angling clubs. It means all of our needs are in one system and the club runs so much more smoothly. The time we spend on admin is a fraction of what it once was and our committee can finally spend time more time on the bank. If you’re reading this and wondering if you should give it a try, do it – it’s a no-brainer. Clubmate does all of the admin for you, everything is in one place and their support is excellent.
If you’d like to learn more about Clubmate and how it could benefit your fishing club, please get in touch (we don’t bite!):
0333 987 4677
CLUB NAME
Southlake Angling Society
CLUB MEMBERS
180+ members
CLUB WATERS
Southlake, Redlands Lake, Little Redlands
MAIN CONTACTS
Dan Walker
WEBSITE
KEY CHALLENGES
Using spreadsheets to track member data
Too many trips to the bank
Difficulty communicating with members
Committee overloaded with admin
Struggled to join new members efficiently
Interested in becoming a member of SAC?
If you’re interested in joining Southlake Angling Society, visit their website for membership information.