is there a software that maybe US Chess developed to handle the transactions for clubs and associations that sponsor tournaments, receive donations and grants and sponsor Scholastic events?
I don’t think US Chess has ever done that, there are several third party sites that handle things like event registration and collecting entry fees, but I tend to doubt they’re set up to handle donations, grants or sponsorships.
There are also several packages for accounting for clubs, associations or non-profits. Some of them may be able to handle non-profit donations, assuming your organization has 501(C)(3) status.
Yes we are and thank you for the input. As we are small I am handling it with Excel but we will grow out of that.
But should US Chess do that?
That’s probably a question for those who set US Chess policies and goals.
I would wonder, however, if US Chess has the necessary expertise in software development or whether those tasks (event management and fundraising) are ones in which US Chess has specific expertise that would lend itself to creating something that is unique from what other entities might have already created or could create.
And the market (chess clubs and organizers) seems rather small for what could easily be a 6 digit project.
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I am sure among the membership of US Chess there are subject matter experts that could advise on any of these software questions. My observation on the overall functionality of the US Chess website (new.uschess.org vs uschess.org) and the prolonged timeline to consolidate onto a single environment is most likely a reflection on the budget allocation rather than the availability of talented resources.
Some pages contain legacy data that cannot currently be edited, for example, Tournament Director contact information at - US Chess Federation which cannot be edited because the link on the top of the results page is a dead link.
While I think recommendations for accounting software, player registration system, etc. would be useful, I also think that should come from the user community rather than directly from US Chess.
Now how can we drive more engagement on the forums to tap into all the experience and expertise of the membership?
Is that a link you have bookmarked or is it still in a current page somewhere? The tournament director list is now accessed (for TDs and affiliate officers) from the affiliate page once you log in to your member dashboard.
That is right, if you follow the link from an affiliate page it brings you to a choice of search page by geography or by certification level. The results lists has a link to edit your information and that link goes to an old site page that has been deprecated. I have attached screenshots I captured this evening.
I can’t change my email as displayed on the results page which goes to an account that was compromised and lost years ago… I have spoken to Korey and he told me it won’t be fixed for a while.
Send me an email or message with the email address you want in your public contact field, I think I know where it can be updated from. (I’ve tested updating it on my member record from the staff interface, but I won’t know if it is updated on the TD experience pages until tomorrow.)
mnolan @ uschess dot org
Thank you! After trying to find a way to correct this for at least three years I finally found the right person! Thank you @nolan !!!
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For clarification, are you looking for something to keep track of all the money flows (which sounds like the excel part) or are you looking for that plus an accounting system that will help you report it and aid in filings?
@ngl5000 I would like something to generate reports, track pay for TD (create 1099’s)…
Quickbooks seems like a candidate but the subscription price…
Yes, I was going to say it seems like the solution already exists. The tricky part is that this is clearly not that big of a problem for you (otherwise, you’d be willing to pay the quickbooks price which i think is $50 a month). Someone would have to build “quickbooks for chess” which is a smaller audience and at a substantially lower price point. This is likely why there is not and probably never will be the solution you are looking for.
A chess club is a small business, and it is going to need tools that small businesses use, including things like Quickbooks. I don’t know the rules in every state, but tournament entry fees may require charging sales tax, you already mention filing 1099’s, which could apply to both prize funds and TD fees. Income taxes are possible, too.
You’ll have bank fees and possibly insurance issues, too. And nearly all digital transactions are being tracked these days.
Hard to escape the increasingly long arm of the taxman these days.
Not necessarily. What if someone cannot afford $600 a year but still very much needs good bookkeeping services?
In my experience as an organizer, I have used Wave Accounting to keep my books; its basic bookkeeping service is free. Among other things you can generate all the normal financial statements for any period of time you choose. If you wanted to track pay for 1099 purposes you could create an account in your chart of accounts for each TD and then run an account balance report for the tax year to see the net movement in each TD account.
I do not know about other states but I have never charged sales tax for the chess tournaments in Texas I organized. My authority for this was Sec. §3.298(c) of the Texas Administrative Code. This should not be construed as tax advice.