Tuesday · 9:14pm
The old way
“Anyone want Thursday powerskating?” posted to three group chats. Four parents ask the same question, and the answers drift apart by bedtime.
Compare
RinkHQ vs DMs, spreadsheets and bank-transfer archaeology. Here's one week of sessions run both ways — then the honest table.
One week, both ways
“Anyone want Thursday powerskating?” posted to three group chats. Four parents ask the same question, and the answers drift apart by bedtime.
Sixty messages to work out who's actually in. The spreadsheet says six, the chat says seven, and one bank transfer arrived with no name on it.
The same reminder typed eleven times, then a paper list at the gate. The no-shows you find out about on the ice.
The bank app against the spreadsheet: two mystery transfers and a polite chase you'll put off until Sunday.
Side by side
Every RinkHQ cell below is the shipped product — where something needs the £15 Coach plan, the cell says so.
Post in the chats, tally the thumbs-up, hope you counted right.
Parents book from your page in three taps. Capacity counts itself — full is full, and full sessions can run a waitlist (Coach plan).
“I'll sort it Friday” — then a transfer with no name on it.
Card via Stripe, bank transfer, cash or PayPal — each booking against its own reference, paid direct to you. 0% commission.
You, at 9pm, typing the same message eleven times.
The day-before reminder emails itself for every confirmed session. Unpaid-booking nudges come with the Coach plan.
Refund maths in the chat, and IOUs nobody wrote down.
A cancelled paid booking becomes a full-value credit automatically, ready to spend on the next session.
A spreadsheet tab that was right two weeks ago.
Paid or unpaid against every booking, live. The finance view totals your week and exports it (Coach plan).
An allergy mentioned in a DM, four hundred messages ago.
Skater profiles carry medical notes with a severity flag — must-read notes surface first on your roster.
Word of mouth evaporates when the chat scrolls on.
Parents review after sessions; you approve what's published, and it appears on your page — anonymously, by design.
The money story
At 10% commission, a £30 session loses £3 every time it's booked — five bookings a week is about £65 a month, forever. RinkHQ takes nothing from bookings: parents pay you direct, and the £15/mo Coach plan is the whole deal. Starting costs £0 — five sessions a month free, no card.
Run it the calm way
Publish a session tonight, send one link, and retire the spreadsheet by Friday.