New Season Checklist - Swim Clubs

Work through this checklist at the start of each season to ensure your club is ready to collect member dues and open for the season.

​Ensure you completed your End-of-Season Wrap-Up first: Before starting your new season setup, make sure you've completed all end-of-season tasks from the previous year. See End-of-Season Wrap-Up – Swim Clubs to ensure you've properly closed out last season before configuring for the new one.

Review all your products to ensure pricing reflects your current season rates. Even if prices haven't changed, verify each product to catch any outdated amounts.

Navigate to Products and hover over each product to click Edit. Update the amounts in the Flat Rate Pricing or Per Member Pricing sections as needed. Don't forget to click Update to save your changes - unsaved edits won't apply to member accounts.

If you offer early bird discounts or charge late fees, update the date ranges for the new season. These date-based price variations need to be reconfigured annually.

Edit each product that uses price variations, then scroll to Flat Rate Pricing - Variation Type. Enter the start date and end date for each discount or late fee period. Use your club's season closing date if there's no specific end date for late fees. Update the variation amount (positive numbers add fees, negative numbers create discounts) and add a clear description like "Early Bird Discount - Paid by March 15" or "Late Fee - After April 30". Click Update to save.

Account tags help you offer price variations to specific groups within your membership, such as board members, seniors, or families with payment plans. Review your existing tags to ensure they're still relevant and accurate for the new season.

Navigate to Settings > Account Tags to review, add, or remove tags as needed. Remove tags that are no longer used to keep your system clean and organized.

Before going live, test that members will see the correct pricing for their account type. Use a test account (many clubs have one with the last name "Test" or "Admin") to verify products display correctly.

Search for your test account, then click Switch To to view their account as they would see it. Change the test account's account type to each type you have (Family, Couple, Single, etc.), then click the Pay Now link to verify the correct products and prices appear. Repeat this test for every account type to catch any configuration errors before members start paying.

Important: If you made changes to account type names, go back into each product and save it again (even without changes) to update the product rules with the new account type names.

Navigate to Settings > Member Splash Settings and review each section to ensure policies are current for the new season.

Account Settings - Verify which account types members can select, maximum household size limits, and other account-related policies. These typically don't change year to year, but review them to be sure.

Front Desk Settings - Ensure all account types that should be allowed to check in and make reservations are included. This is critical for opening day.

Payment Settings - Verify payment methods (credit card, ACH, checks), service fees, and terms and conditions pages are accurate. Update check mailing addresses if needed.
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​Forms - Check that any forms (waivers, registration forms) are active and configured correctly.

Guest pass prices often change annually, so you'll need to update pricing in two locations:

Location 1: Guest Pass Products

If members can purchase guest passes in advance through their account portal, update those product prices. Navigate to Products, find your guest pass products (they typically use the Guest Fee type), and edit the pricing for the new season. Click Update to save your changes.

Location 2: Front Desk Check-In Settings

For guest passes sold at the front desk during check-in, update the pricing in your check-in settings. Navigate to Member Splash Menu > Check In, then click the Settings icon in the upper left corner. Update guest pass prices and any other front desk settings as appropriate for the new season.

Both locations should reflect the same pricing to maintain consistency across your club.

The start of a new season is an ideal time to clean up member data that doesn't conform to your club's rules and policies. Use the Account or Member filter screens to quickly identify and correct data issues.

Common cleanup tasks include removing inactive accounts, correcting mismatched account types, updating emergency contact information, and ensuring all required fields are complete. Clean data makes reporting more accurate and reduces confusion during the season.

Once everything is configured and tested, reset all accounts to Unpaid status so members can pay their current season dues. Use the bulk change feature to update all accounts at once rather than editing them individually.

Navigate to Membership > Accounts, select all accounts using the checkbox at the top of the list, then choose "Change Payment Status to Unpaid" from the bulk actions dropdown. This ensures every account starts the season with a clean slate and ready to pay.

Remove all products from draft mode so they become active and visible to members. Products in draft mode will not appear on member accounts or be available for purchase.

Navigate to Products, find any products marked as "Draft", edit them, and change the status to Published. This makes them live and available for the new season.

With everything configured and tested, it's time to notify members that dues are ready to be paid. Member Splash eliminates the need to print and mail invoices - simply email members with instructions to log in and pay.
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Use our Member Mail tool to send a season announcement that includes a link to your member login page, payment deadline and any early bird discount information, and key dates for the upcoming season. Keep the message clear and include a call to action: "Log in to your account and pay your dues today."

Before opening your season, confirm you've completed: