Allowing your members to pay their gym membership fees via direct debit has many benefits, for both your club and your members. Let’s take a look at the top 5.
1. Automated Recurring Payments for better cash flow
Direct debit payments are set up to be requested on the same day each month, which means you know exactly when money is coming into the business. Direct debits also allow your members to plan and budget for their payments, which greatly reduces the risk of missing or making a late payment, resulting in higher payment success rates than other payment methods. Once it is set up, there is no need for your member to lift a finger and you get more certainty around your income.
2. Secure
It’s important to choose a billing provider that has FCA accreditation. The strict FCA safeguarding requirements work to protect your funds. If your chosen billing provider is FCA accredited, you have peace of mind and can be confident that your membership fees are collected in a secure and trusted fashion.
3. Reduces Administration
Direct Debit collections are automated and processed electronically. This reduces paperwork and eliminates time consuming reconciliation as it’s all done for you. Direct Debit collections means you don’t have to keep track of which members have paid and which haven’t. When your direct debit collection service is fully integrated with your club management system, the time you save becomes significant, as all your billing data is available to you in real time. This means you are kept fully aware of every member that has fallen into arrears so that you can address the issue directly with the member. In addition you have complete control over your memberships so that you can quickly change the status of any member i.e put them on freeze if necessary.
4. Cost effective
Direct Debit is a very cost-effective payment method, particularly when you compare it to processing card payments. As direct debits are automated, you will also save valuable time on tracking payments and chasing members. Choosing a good club management system with integrated billing and membership management will be revolutionary, as not only will it save you time but you are able to seamlessly keep up-to-date with the status of every member’s account.
5. Fast and secure member sign-up
Direct debit payments allow you to streamline your member sign up process as its quick, easy and secure. Direct debits also support a paperless process and works really well in tandem with Digital Signature Technology, making it easy for your members to set up their direct debits and sign their membership form online or in app, helping you stay ahead of the competition.
Find out how the ClubWise Club Management System with fully integrated billing can help you implement a direct debit payment facility to improve your cashflow, reduce your admin and streamline your member sign up process! Book a FREE demonstration or simply have a chat with a member of the team.