Why do I have to pay a convenience fee? Is there any way to avoid this fee?

Dear Coach Derek Inc. Families,

We wanted to take the opportunity to address the new registration system with ActiveNet and new convenience fee charged per transaction. We understand the resistance to this new process and additional charge, but hope you will come to understand and appreciate that our only intention was to create a seamless, eco-friendly and more efficient way to process registrations for your children.

We have been considering this change for the last several months and carefully weighed our options when making this change. In the last three years, we have more then than tripled the amount of children we enroll in each session. When we were only registering 80-100 kids a session we could handle processing the registrations manually. Since we now have upwards of 400 kids per session, it is impossible to keep up with that much paper work and maintain order. There are literallywnot enough hours in the day to answer all the registration emails, which results in a slow confirmation time and over enrolled classes.

This new registration system (process) will automatically cap the class off once the class has reached the maximum number of kids allowed in the class. It will allow all coaches to download and print their rosters before each class. It will allow us to send emails to each class in a very quick and timely manner. This is important when want to notify your class of a cancellation or field change.

We will know exactly who is in our classes all the time. Transferring students from one class to another will take 1 minute to process. Families will receive more consistent communication from Coach Derek Inc. We will be able to process refunds and run much needed statistical and financial reports with a few clicks. And we will actually receive 100% of the tuition owed. We lose money each session when people do not pay. Every session I have on average 15-20 families who forget to pay. This system requires that you pay at the time of enrollment. You can still pay by check, but entering your check information and it will be processed electronically.

ActiveNet is also linked to our bookkeeping system and allows us to offer our families the convenience of paying with a credit card. Many of our families have asked us for years to offer more payment options. Most youth sports programs our size and parks and recreation programs use similar registration systems that charge a small convenience fee, i.e. The City of Manhattan Beach.

Our intention is to provide better service to our families, not nickel and dime them. In order for us to be able to provide this service, the ActiveNet charges a convenience fee.

One portion of the charge goes directly to the software company and the other covers the cost of processing the credit card payment.

I hope this explanation gives you more insight to why we made this change. If you have additional questions and would like to discuss this matter further, please send an email to: coachderekinc@yahoo.com

Thank you,

Coach Derek and Staff