Booking by phone and notebook compared with a booking platform

In the manual approach, a venue takes bookings by phone or message, writes the schedule in a notebook and collects deposits by bank transfer. It costs nothing in software and is familiar to both owners and regular customers.

This post compares the manual approach with Sol26 Sport ERP at each stage: taking bookings, holding deposits, collecting payment, sending reminders, and managing staff and merchandise.

Taking bookings and checking free slots

With a notebook, the schedule exists only where the notebook is kept. Players have to phone to ask about free slots, and when two people answer calls at the same time a slot can be written down for two groups.

On Sol26 Sport ERP, players browse venues with photos, names, ratings, locations and prices, then choose on a map that shows bookable and unavailable pitches. Venue staff see the same data in the staff app, by booked and free slots.

Holding slots and taking deposits

With phone bookings, a reservation usually comes without clear cancellation terms. The owner has to chase the deposit and decide case by case whether to refund when a customer cancels.

The platform is designed with five booking statuses: pending confirmation, awaiting deposit, deposited, in play and paid. A single cancellation policy applies: a 100% refund within 1 hour of the deposit, 70% after that if more than 7 days remain before the match, and no refund at 7 days or less.

Collecting payment and reconciliation

In the manual approach, deposit transfers must be checked against bank statements and then written in the notebook. With many transactions in a day, finding one customer's transfer takes time and is easy to miss.

On the platform, players pay by bank, e-wallet, credit card, international card or coins from the in-app wallet. The platform is designed with static QR codes for on-site payments and dynamic QR codes for online payments. In the operations back office, a bot checks player transfers and updates the amounts in the system.

Reminders and customer care

In the manual approach, the owner or staff phone or message customers before their match. Regular customers' numbers are scattered across individual contact lists.

The platform's admin system has an automatic push notification template for every match, along with SMS, ZNS and chatbot channels. Owners keep a list of loyal customers and create campaigns around venue events such as tournaments and competitions.

Staff and merchandise

With a notebook, who took a booking, who sold goods and how much was sold depends on each person's notes. On the platform, owners manage staff records, permissions, timekeeping and staff activity history.

Goods for sale and items for rent have separate lists. On the Premium plan, owners manage stock and see merchandise revenue separately from pitch fees.

Comparison summary

• Schedule: a notebook at the counter versus a pitch map shared by owners, staff and players
• Deposits: verbal agreement versus five booking statuses and a time-based refund policy
• Reconciliation: manual statement checks versus a bot that checks transfers
• Reminders: calling each customer versus automatic push notifications
• Merchandise: loose notes versus item lists, stock and separate revenue

The manual approach still works when a venue has few pitches and one person takes every booking. As pitches are added, several staff take bookings or the venue starts selling and renting goods, the risk of double bookings and payment errors grows. Sol26 Sport ERP offers Free, Basic and Premium plans so owners can start at the level that suits them.

Frequently asked questions

Does Sol26 Sport ERP have a free plan?

Yes. Sol26 Sport ERP has Free, Basic and Premium plans. Stock management and merchandise revenue reporting are part of the Premium plan.

How can players pay?

The platform is designed to accept bank transfer, e-wallets, credit cards, international cards and coins from the in-app wallet.

Do venue staff have their own app?

Yes. The venue staff app is designed to show pitch status by time slot and to sell goods at the venue.

Is Sol26 Sport ERP already in live operation?

Sol26 Sport ERP is still in the design stage. The features in this post are the scope the product is designed to deliver.