Let me start by saying : “There IS a time and a place for Spreadsheets (some of our reports are produced as .xlsx files) – they’re great for tracking simple information and answering quick questions, but they are not designed to help Committees or Associations run a Club efficiently, on a day-to-day basis”.
1. Spreadsheets rely on you for everything. Even if you’re using one of the many spreadsheet templates out there – you still need to adapt it for your own needs, wasting your most precious asset – TIME. (Our #friendlyclubsoftware is already adapted, and if you have any bespoke requirements that aren’t already included, chances are we can adapt to suit your needs)
2. Unfortunately, spreadsheets aren’t designed to quickly produce professional looking emails and send them to your club members. For a lot of volunteers and club officials, this means taking the time to copy and paste data from spreadsheets, meaning that again, you may be losing out on vital volunteering time that could be spent elsewhere. (Using Club Organiser, you can send personalized, individual, selected group and bulk emails to your members, with your Club’s Logo and it offers a reply service to sender as well)
3. Spreadsheets are not good at sharing. If you’ve ever tried sharing a spreadsheet with someone you’ll know the confusion that can arise when you send them the file, they open it and do what they need to at the same time that you’re doing work on your version (or alternatively, you’re wasting time waiting for them to send it back to you first before you can continue). When they return it, your files don’t match and you’ve got a nightmare on your hands trying to merge the two. There are times when more than one person in your Club will want to talk about member numbers, fee income, attendance records etc. at the same time, without having to send out multiple copies of spreadsheets by email first. (Using a cloud based system, like our #friendlyclubsoftware means all data inputted is updated on an ongoing basis so everyone can see the current info available at any time, from wherever they are, on whatever device they’re using.)
4. Spreadsheets can’t go everywhere you go. Yes, laptops (and dongles) are portable, but not as portable nowadays as phones and tablets – which many more people tend to use for ease, and sadly, fully functional spreadsheets just can’t be viewed easily on such small devices. (Club Organiser is fully responsive and can therefore be viewed, in full, on iMacs, PCs, Laptops, Tablets, and smartphones at any time).
5. Not all committee members like using spreadsheets or have the knowledge to work out formulae etc. to be able to continue the job that someone else may have started. (Member details inputted into Club Organiser get allocated accordingly, so if you add a member to a particular section, they will automatically appear on the register (spreadsheet) for those sessions. If they change session/class simply tick their new section and save changes and they'll now appear on the relevant register, keeping everyone up to date with the minimum amount of fuss).
The above points are just a few basic ‘arguments’, but all things considered, the only reason not to use an online software system like Club Organiser, is if you live in one of the remotest spots of the world, where life is untouched by a WIFI signal and we’re not really sure if there are many places like that now, but we’ll let you be the judge of that.
Take a look and/or get in touch if you want to know more – no hard sell, no pressure, no contracts and no big price tag – just #friendlyclubsoftware