What to look for in club and class booking software (Australia)
Six things worth checking before you commit, and how to check each one in a real account
1st month free. A card is required to start, and nothing is charged until your free month ends. The free profile and free tiers never need one.
TL;DR
Choosing on the features page versus choosing on a real payout statement
- Ask for a real payout statement, not a pricing page: that is where separate processing fees and split payouts show up.
- Check term billing with a real late joiner and see whether pro-rata happens or you calculate it.
- Fill a class, cancel a booking, and watch whether the waitlist fills the spot or you do.
- Check the price is in Australian dollars with GST stated, and that the tier you would actually use is the one being quoted.
- AllSquads' answers to all six are on this page and can be checked in the free trial; the vendors on the best-of pages should be held to the same six.
Most club and class booking software looks similar on a features page. The differences that actually matter to a coach or a club committee show up in how each product handles payments, term billing and the weekly admin grind - not in the marketing screenshots. This checklist is written for the person who will run the thing on a Tuesday night. For each criterion it says what to check, how to check it inside a trial rather than on a demo, and what AllSquads does, so you can hold every vendor on the best-of pages to the same test.
Try it on this term's class
1st month free. A card is required to start, and nothing is charged until your free month ends. The free profile and free tiers never need one.
How most clubs choose booking software today
Someone on the committee searches, opens four tabs, compares feature grids, and picks the one with the most ticks or the nicest demo. The questions that will decide whether the treasurer still hates Sundays in six months, how the money lands, what a late joiner pays, who fills the waitlist, are never asked because the features page does not answer them.
- Feature grids compared tick for tick
- A demo led by a salesperson through the parts that work
- Price read off the cheapest tier, which is never the tier the club uses
- Nobody tries a real payout, a real late joiner or a real cancellation
Where choosing on the features page breaks
It breaks in the first term. Every line below is a thing a club discovered after signing.
- Card processing fees appear as a second line on the payout that was never in the price
- Court hire, memberships and classes pay out on three different schedules
- A mid-term joiner needs a spreadsheet and an argument
- The waitlist is a list, and the coach is the one working through it
- The generic class calendar has no idea what a holiday camp or a make-up session is
- Support is a ticket queue in another time zone when the term starts on Monday
The six criteria and how to check each one
Every row is something you can test inside a trial without a salesperson. The last column is what AllSquads does, stated so it can be checked the same way.
| Criterion | How to check it in a trial | What AllSquads does |
|---|---|---|
| Payout shape | Take a class payment and a court payment; look at the payout summary | One payout every week, all payment types, fee already netted off |
| Processing fees | Ask for a real payout statement and look for a second fee line | Stripe processing included in the platform fee; no separate line |
| Term billing and pro-rata | Enrol a test player two weeks into a term | Pro-rata calculated automatically; drop-in can share the roster |
| Waitlists | Fill a class, waitlist one more, cancel a booking | The freed spot is offered to the waitlist automatically |
| Sport-specific formats | Create a holiday camp, a private lesson and a court hire | Terms, camps, clinics, lessons, social play and court hire are all native formats |
| Support once live | Ask what happens mid-season and who answers | Australian support, plus a club-facing AI agent for questions from your own data |
1. How payouts work
Check whether every payment type (classes, court hire, memberships, packs) lands in one payout on one schedule, or whether you'll be reconciling several separate payment flows. The way to check is not to ask, it is to take one payment of each kind in the trial and open the payout summary. AllSquads pays weekly, one payout, platform fee already netted off, whatever the payment type.
- One payout or several: count the payment flows the treasurer will reconcile
- One schedule or several: weekly is easier to reconcile than on-demand
- Who is paid: the club, the coach, or both, and whether that can be split
2. Whether processing fees are separate
Some platforms pass Stripe or card processing fees through as a separate deduction on top of their own fee - ask to see a real payout statement, not just the pricing page. A published monthly price with processing on top can be a third higher in practice than it looks. AllSquads absorbs processing fees; they never appear as a line on your payout.
- Ask for a payout statement from a real club, with the club's details removed
- Look for a percentage that is not on the pricing page
- Check whether refunds return the processing fee or the club wears it
3. Term billing and pro-rata
If you run term programs, check whether a mid-term joiner gets billed pro-rata automatically or whether you're calculating it by hand each time. The test is to enrol a test player in week three and read the price. Then check whether the same term can take a drop-in player on the same roster, because a program that needs two rosters for one class is two rosters to keep in sync.
- Pro-rata by the platform, not by the coach
- Drop-in on the same term roster, if the club wants casual players
- Make-up sessions, and whether they exist at all
4. Waitlists
A full class should queue new bookings and re-offer a spot automatically when one frees up - not require you to keep a manual list. Fill a class in the trial, waitlist one more player, cancel a booking, and watch. If the vendor shows you the waitlist screen instead of the spot filling, that is the answer.
- The offer goes out without a message from the coach
- The reader can see who was offered and whether they took it
- It works on court time too, not only on classes
5. Whether it's sport-specific or a generic class calendar
Generic fitness-class scheduling software often doesn't model sport-specific formats - term programs with make-up sessions, court hire alongside classes, junior participation programs. Check it fits how your sport actually runs, not just gyms and studios. The test is to create the three formats your club actually runs and see whether the platform has a shape for each or you are bending a gym class into a camp.
- Holiday camps as a format, not a week of classes
- Court hire beside classes on one member list
- Family accounts, because a parent books children
6. What support looks like once you're live
Ask what happens when something goes wrong mid-season - is there a real person to reach, and how fast. Check the time zone. Check whether the answer to a data question (how many enrolled, who has not paid) is a report you run or a question you ask. AllSquads includes a club-facing AI agent that answers from the club's own data, alongside Australian support.
- A real person, in an Australian time zone, before the term starts
- Data questions answered without building a report
- An export of your members and history if you ever leave
Where a quick pick is fine
A coach with one drop-in session a week and no waitlist can pick almost anything cheap and be fine. The checklist matters when the club runs terms, has more than one payment type, or has a volunteer treasurer.
Which of these matter for your club?
We only run one drop-in session a week.
Worth knowingCriteria 1 and 2 still matter, because every platform takes money, but the rest can wait. AllSquads' free tier covers a single session with online payment, and the term and waitlist features are there when the club grows into them.
We run terms, a camp and court hire and the treasurer is a volunteer.
Good fitAll six apply, and payout shape is the one to test first. AllSquads' one-weekly-payout model with processing included is built for exactly this treasurer, and the term, camp and court formats are native rather than workarounds.
We are already on a platform and it mostly works.
Worth knowingRun the six tests on it anyway. If the payout has one line and waitlisted players hear about a spot straight away, your current tool is doing its job. If you are calculating pro-rata by hand and explaining a processing fee at the AGM, the trial on this page takes an afternoon.
We want to hold the vendors on the best-of pages to the same test.
Good fitThat is what this page is for. Every best-of page on this site links back here, and every product section there can be read against these six criteria in a trial or a sales call.
Choose the platform that passes the six tests
Choose AllSquads if
- One weekly payout with processing included is the shape the treasurer wants
- Terms need pro-rata and a waitlist that tells players when a spot opens
- Camps, lessons, court hire and memberships should be native formats on one list
- You want Australian support and an agent that answers from your own data
Stick with WhatsApp if
- One session a week, paid on the day, and nobody wants a login
- Your classes are a gym timetable and a studio platform passes the tests
- The club has no volunteers, only staff, and a quoted enterprise system fits
Rather have it walked through?
A free 30-minute call. Two minutes to book, no pitch.
Run the checklist in your first week on AllSquads
Each row of the table above is a thing you can do in the trial. This is the order to do them in.
Take one class payment and one court payment
Both appear in one payout summary, fee already netted off, no processing line
Enrol a test player two weeks into a term
The pro-rata price is calculated and shown
Fill a class, waitlist one player, cancel a booking
The freed spot is offered to the waitlisted player automatically
Create a holiday camp, a private lesson and a court hire
Each has its own format on the same club page
Ask the club agent who has not paid for the term
It answers from your own bookings, in chat
Got a question right now?
Instant answers, in the page, without leaving it.
What AllSquads is
AllSquads is booking, payments and admin software for sports coaches and clubs. Players find your classes, book and pay online, and get reminded before every session. You get the roster, the money and the contact record in one place, with a payout to your bank every week. It runs term programs, casual classes, camps, private lessons and court hire side by side, so the whole operation is in one system rather than a booking tool plus a spreadsheet plus a payment app.
- Over ten thousand
- bookings taken
- Thousands
- of players
- Hundreds
- of classes live
- A growing group
- of Australian clubs
Less admin
Automated booking confirmations, 24hr and 1hr reminders, waitlists, credits, and cancellation management. Stop chasing people.
Get paid weekly
Players pay online at booking, via payment links, or you manage payments manually. Payouts are paid weekly, for the week ending Sunday, direct to your bank account.
Player contacts & CRM
Every booking adds a player to your contacts automatically. Import your existing list via CSV. Track membership, booking history, and notes.
Messaging & group chats
Message players one-on-one or in groups. Class group chats created automatically. Broadcast announcements to all followers.
Analytics built in
Track revenue, bookings, and player retention over time. Coach view, club view, and court hire stats — all in one dashboard.
Court hire management
Day-view calendar with one column per court. Member and non-member pricing. Peak and off-peak rates. Your cancellation policy.
“I had all of term 1 paid in the first week. 75% less admin, 100% fewer late cancellations, and 80% fewer emails and phone calls.”
Talk to a person
Two minutes, no pitch.
Founding rate locked for life
First 100 paying signups lock the founding rate, no matter what we change later.
Frequently asked questions
Where this comes from
- AllSquads' pricing page and the fee that includes Stripe processing
- Pricing page
- The one weekly payout and what is netted off it
- Help centre: Payments
- Pro-rata term joining and drop-in sharing a roster
- Help centre: Term classes
- Class types AllSquads runs natively
- Help centre: Class types
- Court hire beside classes on one member list
- Help centre: Court hire
- The club-facing AI agent that answers from your own data
- AllSquads AI agents
Put your first class online tonight
Start your free trial - full tier access, 1st month free. A card is required to start, and nothing is charged until your free month ends. The free profile and free tiers never need one.