All posts by Gerard McLean

Credit cards at the fields just got easier – Square

Tournaments, ,

Square credit card reader

A few weeks ago, we signed up for a Square account to test with a small consumer product line we have that is mobile.

Wow, were we impressed.

The sign up process was easy. We simply needed an EIN number, a verifiable bank account and we were set up to accept credit cards (on site only, no phone or Internet sales.) Within a week, Square shipped a credit card swipe reader which gets plugged into an iPhone, iPad or Android smartphone. Download the app, log in and you are taking credit cards. You can even take a picture of the customer holding up the product they bought as part of the receipt!

There are no set up fees, no equipment to buy. Square sends the small reader free of charge. The fee is 2.75% per swipe for all cards (higher for manual entry) The funds are transferred into our account later that night and available the next business day.

Our Advice: Sign up with Square and start taking credit cards at the fields for t-shirts and other concessions. Be sure to control the sign up process at the treasurer level and above and make sure the account is set up under the tournament’s brand. Square sends out one free reader as part of the account, but I think they will send out more if needed for multiple locations. We will send them an email and follow up when they reply. Answer is online at this page.

Control the card readers as you would any other financially sensitive equipment. Establish as few points of purchase as possible and only with trusted staff. You may even want to purchase iPads for use by the concessions staff only so your login credentials and accounts are not compromised. Change the passwords immediately after the event or shift change.

You will need an internet connection or smartphone (iPhone, Android) with 3G at the fields.

2012 is the year soccer tournaments will become mobile very quickly. Technology and services like Square will help us get there.

Early bird pricing specials

Tournaments

We generally get a lot of questions around this time from spring soccer tournaments regarding how to set things like early brid pricing or multiple team pricing, etc. The short answer is: The pricing is controlled in the Team Applications>Set Up Applications Groups/Fees>Go! Just set your pricing lower there for the divisions and on the deadline, set them back up.

The long, more substantive answer is we’ve never seen early bird or multiple discount pricing actually move the needle on attracting teams to a tournament. Teams who want to come play at your event will come because it is a great experience that fulfills the needs of their team development, not because it is a few bucks cheaper. Everyone SAYS that price determines their participation, but their actual behavior really doesn’t reflect that. For the few teams that it does, you will never be cheap enough anyway…

Generally, though, the teams are all applying later and later to the deadline. I think it is mostly because our culture is moving to a Just In Time mentality where everything is delivered next day, downloadable immediately, etc, etc. Soccer tournaments are just one more thing a coach can apply to today for a tomorrow deadline,.

Our Advice: Instead of giving an early bird pricing break, why not do a guarantee on something teams really value, like custom scheduling? For example, the first three teams to apply in each division guarantee a late Sat start or a multiple-coach schedule with no conflict,.. something like that? Then you have a legit “Sorry, we can’t accommodate your multiple team coach because you applied the day before the deadline” rationale.

The early bird gets the worm. So too should the early bird to apply to your soccer tournament.

Soccer tournaments looking forward to 2012

Tournaments

2012 will be our thirteenth year providing an end-to-end, comprehensive tournament system for soccer tournaments. With each year, we continue to add more features as the soccer market continues to evolve rapidly around the fastest-growing team sport worldwide. It’s an exciting time to be involved in the sport.

This year, our 2012 youth soccer tournament calendar is shaping up handsomely, with most of our top of the year events already taking applications. I opened the calendar this morning and already see a Jan 6 deadline for the Total Soccer College Showcase! That sure came fast

2012 will be the year mobile really starts taking off. For our part, we have outfitted all of our tournaments with QR Codes so parents with smartphones can take advantage of fast-loading scores, DEALS and news no matter where they are, on the field or off.

Next weekend, TourneyCentral will be at the NSCAA, THE SHOW to be at for anyone in the soccer industry. We are looking forward to meeting up with old friends and making new ones at the show. Stop on by and say hi!

Overall, 2012 is going to be a kicking year.

This blog post is part of a blog-off series with a group of bloggers from different professions and world views, each exploring a theme from his/her world view. This was about exploring the theme, what are you looking forward to in the new year? To explore how others handled the theme, check them out below. I will add links as they publish.