Transitioning Away from GoClubPro — GoClubPro

Training Module 94 | Data Export, Member Communication, and Closing or Migrating Your Account

What This Guide Covers

Clubs occasionally need to leave a platform — switching to a different tool, merging with another club, or winding up entirely. This guide covers how to prepare for a platform transition: what to export, how to communicate with members, and how to ensure no data is lost. It applies whether you're migrating to a new system or closing the club's account permanently.

Primary audience: Club Admins, Treasurers, Club Presidents Note: This guide covers transitions away from GoClubPro. For migrating TO the platform, see Module 55.

SECTION 1: WHY TRANSITIONS HAPPEN

Common Reasons a Club Might Leave the Platform

Reason	Primary Concern
Switching to a different sports management platform	Data migration; member re-registration
Club merging with another club	Which platform survives; data consolidation
Club dissolving / winding up	Final export; fee refunds; member notification
Association mandating a specific platform	Compliance requirement; data transfer
Significant fee increase making platform unviable	Cost; find alternatives
Very small club — reduced to unmanageable size	Simplification to spreadsheets

The transition process is largely the same regardless of reason: export everything, communicate to members, close cleanly.

SECTION 2: THE PRE-TRANSITION EXPORT CHECKLIST

Export Before You Close

Once the account is closed, data may not be recoverable. Complete all exports before closing or notifying members of the closure.

Financial Data:

Treasurer → Accounting → Export → full history (all dates; not just one season) — this includes both Bank Transfer and wallet credit transactions
Aging → screenshot or export outstanding balances
Any outstanding Expense Claims → resolve or export before closing

Member Data:

Admin Panel → Members → export full member list (name, email, phone, role, team, registration status)
For each team: export team roster
Any members with outstanding balances: note separately

Schedule and Results:

Export or screenshot fixture history (useful for future association queries)
Export or screenshot results history

Communications (if you want to archive them):

Screenshot or copy significant Noticeboard posts (e.g., historical announcements, key club communications)
Note any pinned posts with important policy information

Settings/Configuration:

Note fee configuration (match fees, registration fees, Season Plan settings) — useful for configuring the next platform
Note team structure and grade names
Note Schedule Sync Integration settings (Competition IDs) if continuing to use your league platform

Wallet Credit and Pending Declarations: Clear Before Closing

Before closing:

Treasurer → Reconciliation → confirm no pending Bank Transfer or wallet top-up declarations are left unverified
Check for members with unused wallet credit balances — since there's no payment processor to reverse a charge, remaining wallet credit needs to be refunded directly (bank transfer from the club) or applied against a final outstanding fee, and recorded in the ledger
Any receipts uploaded for declarations that were never actioned: review and confirm or reject before closing

Do not close the GoClubPro account while members still have wallet credit or pending declarations outstanding. Once closed, there's no way to verify or refund those through the platform.

SECTION 3: RESOLVING OUTSTANDING MATTERS

Outstanding Fees

Before transitioning:

Option A — Chase and collect: Run a final Aging chase. Give members 30 days notice that the platform is closing and any outstanding fees must be paid by [date].

Option B — Write off: Committee resolution to write off outstanding fees at transition (practical for small amounts or large numbers of non-compliant members). Accounting → Expense → "Fee Write-Off — Platform Transition — Committee Resolution [Date]" for the total amount.

Option C — Transfer to new platform: If migrating to a new system, outstanding balances may be able to be carried over (note the balance in your export, manually recreate in the new system).

Outstanding Expense Claims

Resolve all outstanding Expense Claims before closing:

Approve and pay valid claims
Reject invalid claims with explanation
Export the Expense Claims list as evidence of the approvals

Members with Active Season Plans

If members have paid Season Plans for a competition that is ongoing at the time of transition:

The club has a liability to provide what the Season Plan covers (all match fees for the remaining season)
If the new platform can honour this (by tracking who is on a Season Plan): migrate the information
If not: the member should not be charged match fees for the remainder of the season regardless of platform

Document which members are on Season Plans in your export data.

SECTION 4: COMMUNICATING THE TRANSITION TO MEMBERS

The Transition Announcement

Time the announcement carefully — too early creates uncertainty; too late gives members insufficient preparation time. 4–6 weeks notice is standard for a voluntary platform change; longer for a mid-season transition.

Noticeboard announcement:

"Important Update — Club Platform Change

[Club Name] will be transitioning from GoClubPro to [New Platform] from [Date].

What this means for you:

Your existing match history and profile information will be [available in the new platform / exported and provided to you]

You'll receive a welcome email for the new platform on [approximate date]

All outstanding fees must be settled by [Date] via the current platform

Before [Date], please:

Pay any outstanding fees in the Payments tab

Save or screenshot any personal information you'd like to keep (match history, injury records)

Questions? Contact [Admin Name] at [email/phone].

Thank you for your patience during this transition — we're making this change to [brief reason]."

What Members Should Save Themselves

Members who want personal records should be advised to:

Screenshot their payment history (Payments tab)
Screenshot their match history / fantasy stats (Profile → Statistics)
Screenshot their injury history (Profile → Health)
Download their profile photo if they want to reuse it

The platform doesn't send each member their data automatically — it's on members to save their own records if they want them.

SECTION 5: MIGRATING MEMBER DATA TO A NEW PLATFORM

What Can Be Migrated

The export from GoClubPro provides:

A member list (name, email, phone) → can be imported into most platforms
A financial history → for reference; may not be importable into a new platform's accounting system
Fee configuration → for reference; manually recreate in the new system

What typically cannot be automated:

Match history (platform-specific format)
Injury records (platform-specific)
Noticeboard content and comments
Season Plan status (manual check required)

Notifying Members to Register on the New Platform

Send a Broadcast from GoClubPro before you close it:

"Action Required — Register on [New Platform]

We're moving to [New Platform] for Season [Year]. Please complete your registration at [link] by [date].

Your email address from your GoClubPro account can be used to register. [Or: Your account has been pre-created — you'll receive a setup email at your registered address.]

If you have any issues registering: contact [Admin] at [email]."

SECTION 6: CLOSING THE ACCOUNT

When You're Ready to Close

Only close the GoClubPro account when:

All data has been exported and archived in Google Drive
All wallet credit balances have been refunded or applied, and no declarations are pending verification
All outstanding fees are either collected or written off
All members have been notified and given time to save their own data
The new platform (if applicable) is set up and members have been directed to it

Contact GoClubPro support to close the account — don't just stop paying and expect the account to automatically close cleanly. A formal closure ensures:

No further billing occurs
Data deletion (if requested) is handled per the Privacy Policy
Any remaining wallet credit balances are confirmed settled

VISUAL: Transition Checklist

6 WEEKS BEFORE CLOSE DATE
 ☐ Export all financial data (Accounting ledger)
 ☐ Export member list
 ☐ Resolve outstanding fees (chase or write off)
 ☐ Resolve outstanding Expense Claims
 ☐ Ensure no wallet credit or pending declarations remain outstanding
 ☐ Set up new platform (if applicable)
 │
 ▼
4 WEEKS BEFORE CLOSE
 ☐ Noticeboard: transition announcement
 ☐ Broadcast: action required / save your data
 │
 ▼
2 WEEKS BEFORE CLOSE
 ☐ Broadcast: final reminder — fees due by [Date]
 ☐ New platform: invite members to register
 │
 ▼
CLOSE DATE
 ☐ Confirm all wallet balances and declarations cleared
 ☐ Final export (catch anything since the 6-week export)
 ☐ Contact support to formally close account
 ☐ Archive all exports to Google Drive

TOOLTIPS & HINTS

Export first, close second — no exceptions; data may not be recoverable after closure
Clear wallet balances before close — outstanding wallet credit is complicated to refund once the account is closed
4–6 weeks notice to members — sufficient time to save personal data and register on the new platform
Season Plans are a liability — members who paid for a Season Plan must have those fees honoured for the remainder of the season regardless of platform
Contact support for closure — formal closure prevents billing continuation and handles data deletion per privacy policy

FAQ

Q: Can we export all of our data in a single file? A: GoClubPro allows you to export specific data sets (Accounting, member list, etc.) but there is typically no single "export everything" button. Plan for multiple exports as detailed in the checklist.

Q: What happens to member data after we close the account? A: Per GoClubPro's Privacy Policy, data is retained for a period after closure (usually 30–90 days) and then deleted. Members' personal data is handled per the Privacy Act. If you need specific data deletion timelines (e.g., for a GDPR-adjacent request), contact GoClubPro support directly.

Q: A member wants a refund of fees they paid this season after we announced we're leaving the platform. Are they entitled to one? A: Fees were paid for the season's services (match fees, registration). If the club is continuing to operate — just on a different platform — there is no basis for refund. If the club is dissolving mid-season and can't deliver the season they were paid for: yes, the committee should process pro-rata refunds for the remaining matches — as a direct bank transfer from the club, since there's no payment processor to reverse the original charge through. Direct refund questions to the Club Treasurer.

Q: We're merging with another club. Which platform account survives? A: This is a committee decision for both clubs. Typically: the larger club's platform account continues, and new members from the merged club are imported/re-registered. The smaller club's account is archived and closed per this guide. Financial history from both clubs is exported and stored in each club's Google Drive.

COMMON MISTAKES

Mistake	Consequence	Prevention
Closing the account before exporting	Data permanently lost	Export checklist completed before closure
Outstanding wallet credit at closure	Member funds in limbo; complex to refund	Confirm all wallet balances refunded or applied before closure
No member notice before closure	Members lose access to personal records without warning	4–6 weeks Noticeboard announcement + Broadcast
Mid-season transition with active Season Plans	Members rightfully angry at unmet obligations	Map Season Plan holders before transition; honour commitments
Simply stopping payment without formal closure	Billing may continue; account may not close cleanly	Contact support to formally close

SHORT ONBOARDING SCRIPT

"A clean platform exit has three phases: export everything (Accounting ledger, member list — all to Google Drive before you close), resolve outstanding matters (fees collected or written off, Expense Claims resolved, wallet balances refunded or applied, no declarations left pending), then communicate to members (4–6 weeks notice; broadcast reminders; tell them to save their personal data). Only then contact GoClubPro support to formally close the account. The most common mistake is stopping payment and assuming the account closes automatically — it doesn't, and data you needed may be gone. If you're migrating to a new platform: set it up, get members registered, and run both in parallel briefly to ensure no one falls through the gap."

MICRO-TRAINING QUICK TIPS

Export before close: Accounting ledger + member list → Google Drive
Wallet credit: confirm all balances refunded or applied; no declarations left pending verification
Resolve: collect or write off fees; approve/reject Expense Claims
Season Plans: identify holders; honour for remaining season regardless of platform
Member notice: 4–6 weeks before close; Noticeboard + Broadcast
Tell members: save payment history and profile data themselves (screenshots)
Formal close: contact GoClubPro support; don't just stop paying

Training Module 94 | See also: 84 End-of-Year Data Archiving · 55 Migration from Other Systems · 37 Payment Collection Today · 19 End-of-Season · 33 Data Privacy