Pitchero and Playfinder have agreed a partnership that enables Pitchero clubs to increase their revenue and move to online bookings through Playfinder’s booking system, Bookteq.

The deal will enable clubs to hire out their sports facilities and boost revenue by giving local communities better access to book online.

Pitchero clubs will now be able to rent out their facilities showing live availability and bookings calendars for their indoor and outdoor spaces.

Pitchero is the UK’s leading club management system, helping clubs manage their membership, teams and club communication online.

The platform boasts over 10,000 clubs that can now benefit from an unrivalled set of features to generate additional revenue.

Mark Fletcher CEO of Pitchero said: "This is a perfect partnership for Pitchero. Our mission is to increase participation and club revenue whilst reducing volunteer admin.

"Our innovative integration with Playfinder will do just this.

"Clubs can maximise the revenue from their facilities, renting indoor and outdoor spaces, whilst volunteers have access to a first-class digital platform to manage online payments, email confirmation and invoicing.

"At a time when clubs are emerging from lockdown seeking extra revenue, whilst families and companies are rescheduling events this is win win - more revenue, less admin.

"We anticipate thousands of Pitchero clubs embracing Playfinder and Bookteq over the coming months"

The integration will allow Pitchero clubs to boost their revenue coming out of the 3rd national lockdown, with Bookteq adding over 29% of income at clubs such as Tooting and Mitcham FC in the first year.

Jackie Watkins, Venue Manager at Tooting & Mitcham United, said "The booking system has provided us with a great tool to manage our bookings and easily sell our available slots – they have found us new customers and increased our pitch utilisation."

COVID-19 has left sports clubs crying out for alternative funding methods.

Where clubs might not have seen maximising utilisation or streamlining operations as essential before, they are now looking for cost-effective options to improve cash flow.

An affordable cloud-based software, Bookteq also gives access to the Playfinder digital marketplace, which sees 100k visits each month from players booking pitches and courts.

Playfinder reported a record month of traffic in September following the end of the first lockdown.

Players are craving their dose of sport, and it’s likely that clubs like Tooting & Mitcham United will reap the benefits by offering online bookings.

The alliance between Pitchero and Playfinder will help get venues back on their feet following the impact of the pandemic.

By opening up additional facilities across the country they will make it that much easier for anyone to book their local pitch, court, or clubhouse.

Jamie Foale, CEO of Playfinder, said: "This pairs two highly complementary services for sports clubs under one roof, helping them maximise revenue from their facilities through the Pitchero website.

"We’re delighted to work with a team as passionate about helping
sports clubs as we are and are looking forward to what the future holds.”