If you're reading this, you're probably the person on your team who's been tasked with figuring out how to collect dues without losing your mind. Maybe you've been Venmo-requesting 40 people individually. Maybe you inherited a Google Sheet with half the roster missing. Maybe you're starting from scratch.

Good news: you can have a fully functional online dues collection system running in about 20 minutes. Here's exactly how. Let's go.

What You'll Have When You're Done

Before we dive in, here's the end state:

No spreadsheets. No Venmo chasing. No "did you pay?" conversations. Let's set it up.

Step 1: Create Your Organization (3 minutes)

Go to Fieldraiser and create an account. You'll need:

Once you're logged in, create your organization:

Hit create, and you're in. Fieldraiser automatically creates a General Fund campaign for your org. You'll use this or create a dedicated dues campaign in a few minutes.

Step 2: Connect Stripe (5 minutes)

Stripe is how your team accepts payments and receives money. Fieldraiser uses Stripe Connect, which means payments go directly to your team's bank account. Fieldraiser never holds your money.

From your dashboard, click the Stripe setup prompt in the onboarding checklist. You'll be redirected to Stripe's onboarding flow, which asks for:

This is a standard Stripe Express account setup. Thousands of organizations use it. Once complete, your team can accept card and ACH payments immediately.

Important: You'll need access to your team's bank account details. If you don't have them, talk to your team's faculty advisor or the outgoing treasurer before starting.

Step 3: Add Your Roster (5 minutes)

You need your team's players in the system so you can track who owes dues and who's paid.

Option A: Import from a spreadsheet. If you have a roster in a Google Sheet or Excel file, export it as a CSV and use Fieldraiser's CSV import. Map your columns (name, email, phone, graduation year) and import. The system validates the data and flags any issues. This is the fastest way.

Option B: Add manually. Go to the Roster page and add players one by one. For each player, enter their name, email, and any other details you have. Set their contact category to "Team."

Option C: Send invitations. Go to the team invitations section and send email invites to your roster. When players accept, they create accounts and appear in your roster automatically. This also lets them view the team directory, calendar, and their own payment status.

For dues collection, you need at minimum each player's name and email address. Everything else is helpful but optional.

Step 4: Create a Dues Campaign (5 minutes)

Now the core of it: setting up the actual dues collection.

Go to your Campaigns page and create a new campaign:

For a dues campaign, Fieldraiser tracks each roster member's payment status (paid or unpaid) so you always know exactly where things stand. No more guessing.

Step 5: Share the Link (2 minutes)

Your dues campaign has a public URL. Share it everywhere:

When a player clicks the link, they see:

They enter their payment info, click submit, and they're done. Receipt generated automatically. That's it.

What Happens Next

Once dues start coming in, your dashboard updates in real time:

Contribution ledger: Every payment appears with the player's name, amount, date, and payment method. You can search, filter by date range or campaign, and export to CSV for your records.

Dues tracking: The dues campaign shows a clear list: who's paid, who hasn't, and how much is outstanding. No manual tracking needed.

Reminders: For players who haven't paid, you can send targeted email reminders through Fieldraiser. Filter your audience to unpaid members and send a polite nudge with the payment link.

Receipts: Every player gets a receipt they can access and print. If someone claims they paid, you can verify it instantly in the ledger. No more he-said-she-said.

Common Questions

"What if a player wants to pay in installments?"
You can create multiple dues campaigns at different amounts (e.g., "Dues - Installment 1" at $250 and "Dues - Installment 2" at $250) or work with players individually. The contribution ledger tracks everything regardless of how payments are structured.

"What about processing fees?"
Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 for card payments and 0.8% (capped at $5) for ACH. On a $500 dues payment, that's $14.80 by card or $4.00 by ACH. Donors can cover these fees at checkout by checking the "Cover processing fees" box, so the team receives the full $500.

"Can parents pay on behalf of a player?"
Yes! Anyone with the campaign link can make a payment. The contribution is recorded in the ledger, and you can associate it with the player in the roster.

"What if someone overpays or needs a refund?"
Admins can issue refunds directly through Fieldraiser. The refund is processed through Stripe and recorded in the contribution ledger with a note.

"Do players need to create an account?"
No. Anyone can pay through the campaign page without creating an account. If they do create an account, they can track their payment history across all campaigns.

You're Done

That's it. In about 20 minutes, you've gone from "how do we collect dues?" to a fully operational payment system with tracking, receipts, and a permanent record.

Next semester, you won't need to set this up again. Duplicate the campaign, update the dates and amounts, and share the new link. When you graduate, the next treasurer logs in and picks up right where you left off.

No Venmo. No spreadsheets. No chaos. Just a system that works.