US Guide

Swim Team Treasurer's Guide to Collecting Dues and Fees

Collecting swim team dues comes down to four things: name every fee you charge, pick a billing cadence families can plan around, accept the payment methods Americans actually use, namely cards and ACH bank transfers, and keep clean records so the books close cleanly at the end of the season. This guide walks a volunteer treasurer or board member through each step, with the fee types and pitfalls that are specific to a US swim team.

The fees a swim team collects

The single most useful thing a treasurer can do is stop thinking about one lump sum and start thinking about distinct fees. A family who sees dues, a membership charge, and meet fees as separate items on their bill understands what they are paying for and questions it less. You, in turn, can reconcile each stream on its own and spot a problem before it compounds.

USA Swimming offers several athlete membership categories, including Premium, Flex, and Outreach, each with its own validity dates and meet limits. Fees and categories change from season to season, so always confirm the current figures on the USA Swimming athlete membership page rather than quoting a number from memory.

Choosing a billing cadence

Billing cadence is how often dues go out, and it shapes how much chasing you do. There is no single correct answer, only the one that fits your team:

• Monthly. Spreads the cost across the season and keeps each charge small. With recurring billing the charge goes out automatically on the same date, so you send far fewer reminders. This is the most common choice for year-round teams.
• Per session. A single charge for a defined block, such as a short course or summer season. Simple to explain, though it asks families for a larger amount up front.
• Annual. One payment for the whole year. The least admin for you, but the highest barrier for a new family deciding whether to commit.

Whichever you pick, align it with how your own costs fall. If you pay coaches and rent lanes monthly, monthly dues keep your cash flow steady. Publish the schedule and the charge dates before the season so no family is surprised.

Payment methods used in the US

US swim teams almost always settle on two electronic payment methods. Knowing the trade-off between them helps you keep processing costs down without making life hard for families.

Offering both, and gently steering larger recurring payments toward ACH, is a practical way to lower the fees your team absorbs. Processing rates differ by provider and change over time, so confirm the current card and ACH fees with whichever payment processor you use before you set prices. Note that US swim teams do not use UK-style bank debit schemes; ACH is the American equivalent for pulling recurring payments from a bank account.

Handling late and failed payments

Late payments are the part of the job most treasurers dread, because chasing money from people you see on the pool deck is uncomfortable. A written policy removes the awkwardness: you are applying a rule the whole team agreed to, not singling anyone out.

1. Let automation catch the easy cases. Many failed card and ACH payments are an expired card or a timing issue. Automatic retries clear a large share of these without you doing anything.
2. Send a calm, factual reminder. A short note stating the amount, what it is for, and how to pay resolves most of the rest. Skip the penalty language.
3. Offer a payment plan. For a family genuinely stretched, splitting an overdue balance keeps the swimmer in the water and the money coming in. That is usually a better outcome than a late fee.
4. Apply the policy consistently. Whatever grace period and consequences you set, use them the same way for everyone. Consistency is what makes the policy fair and defensible.

Keeping clean records

Clean records are what let you answer a parent's question in seconds, close the season without a scramble, and hand the role to the next volunteer without losing a week to a messy handover. A few habits do most of the work:

• Keep each fee type on its own line so dues, membership, and meet fees never blur together.
• Reconcile payments against your current roster on a regular schedule, not just at year end.
• Record who has paid, who is on a payment plan, and who is overdue in one place everyone on the board can see.
• Separate money you are holding to pass through, such as USA Swimming fees, from the team's own operating funds.
• Keep a simple audit trail so the next treasurer can pick up the books without a handover headache.

The pass-through point deserves emphasis. Money you collect to register swimmers with USA Swimming is not the team's to spend; keeping it visibly separate from operating funds avoids an honest mistake at a busy time of year.

Where Swimly fits

Swimly keeps your membership records and billing in one place, so the fees above stop living in a stack of spreadsheets. You can track who is registered, bill recurring dues in USD by card or ACH, and see at a glance who has paid and who is overdue. It does not replace your USA Swimming membership or act as your accountant; it handles the day-to-day collection and record keeping around them so a volunteer treasurer spends less time chasing and reconciling.

See what is included on the features page, compare plans on the pricing page, or email us at hello@swimly.club with a question before you start.

Frequently asked questions