Redway Runners – Admin Down 90%, Income Up £1,000

Redway Runners

When Redway Runners was founded in 2011, they started with the expectation of 15 members joining who had previously shown interest in a running club. Fast forward to 2018 and they now have over 1,800. Given the wide variety of socials and events, the club regularly offers, it is no surprise they received such a vast increase in membership.

Unfortunately, though, as their membership grew and exceeded their expectations, so did their time spent on admin. Soon, they realised they couldn't out-run their problems which led them to seek a long-term and sustainable solution. LoveAdmin.

The Challenge

Redway Runners' Microsoft Access database had quickly become outdated and ineffective for their increased membership numbers. Club officials were relied upon to collect fees, relay communications to members and deal with new member applications before and after runs.

Chairman and administrator, Martin Lawrence, said:

"We used to use a Microsoft Access database which allowed us to interpret data quite well. But, eventually, it took far too much time to key in the data manually and didn't help us with payments."

To compound these issues, by relying on paper renewal forms, safeguarding member information could be compromised. In the face of these challenges, they began looking for a solution that could support Redway Runners' needs more effectively.

As well as their information database, payment collection was also an issue.

Relying on club officials to collect cash payments before a run or waiting for members to pay via bank transfer, Redway Runners' cash flow was suffering. When they received cash payments (which were often), they would then have to go to the bank to cash it into their account – something else which drained their already limited time. As the club rapidly grew, they realised their current processes were inadequate and identified key areas for improvement.

The Solution

Redway Runners wanted to find a software solution that would modernise and improve the way they managed their membership.

Key to their choice was the need to reduce administration time, improve their membership database and automate payments.

LoveAdmin's 'real time' payment reports have helped them keep track of everything that was paid and owed, and as payments came in, the system would reconcile the payment automatically saving many man-hours. And, because payments are received electronically, there are fewer trips to the bank and the club's cash flow has drastically improved.

Additionally, the software provides members with their own online account where they can keep their membership information up-to¬date. The process of the member logging in and checking whether their information is accurate means club officials, like Martin, no longer need to waste hours on administration.

And, because fields can be made mandatory for completion, vital information like medical details and emergency contact details are collected in full, improving the safeguards for both the members and the club – something key to achieving GDPR compliance.

For new people joining, no longer do club officials, such as Martin, have to act as administrators - new registrations are done online, and information and payments are recorded on the database instantaneously. This saves a vast amount of time, and as a result, allows the club to focus on what they love doing most – running.

The Result

Redway Runners have seen great results since switching to LoveAdmin.

After using the admin software, they have decreased their time spent on admin by 90%, gained over £1,000 in additional fees collected and collect payment 4x quicker than ever before, drastically improving their cash flow.

“With plenty of support during the transition phase, we have seen immediate improvements to some of the most mundane tasks. LoveAdmin has given us much more control over what we do.”

Here at LoveAdmin, we consider ourselves experts in admin and this is reflected in the results we achieve with our clients.

We hope to help your organisation achieve the same results - if not better - too.