1. How to use this checklist
Ask every provider the same questions, in the same order, and compare the answers side by side.
Each question says briefly why it matters. The Pool Queue column gives our answers. The printed checklist adds a blank column for another provider; print one copy for each provider you talk to.
2. Getting started and support
Getting started and support: questions and Pool Queue’s answers| Question to ask | Pool Queue |
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| Can we see it working before we decide?A live walk-through shows how the software handles your club's real tasks. | Yes. Book an online demo and bring your questions. |
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| Will it work for our kind of club?Some systems are built for one sport or one kind of program. | Yes. Everything outside the swimming tools works for any sports club or association. |
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| Who moves our existing member records?Retyping records takes volunteer time and invites mistakes. | Pool Queue does. We bring your members across for you during setup. |
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| Is setup and staff training included?Setup and training are often priced separately. | Yes. Setup covers configuration, data import, and training, for a one-time fee. |
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| Is setup and training online or in person? | Online. Setup, training, and support are done remotely. |
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| Can we switch part way through a season?Your season should not have to wait for a software change. | Yes. Switch before a new season, between sessions, or part way through one; we plan the move around your dates. |
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| How do we reach support, and who answers?Help should come from people who know the product and how clubs run. | By email at support@poolq.net. Help comes from the people who build Pool Queue and know how clubs run. |
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3. Registration and signing up
Registration and signing up: questions and Pool Queue’s answers| Question to ask | Pool Queue |
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| Can members register online for seasons, sessions, and programs?Paper forms and email chains cost volunteers hours every season. | Yes, including private programs. |
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| Are capacity limits and waitlists handled for us?Overfull groups and hand-kept waitlists cause most registration-day stress. | Yes. Capacity limits and waitlists, with spots updating live as people register. |
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| Can we control who registers for what, and when?Returning members, age groups, and prerequisites need rules, not manual checks. | Yes: pre-registration windows, prerequisites, age rules, and requirements such as a card on file or a paid-up balance. |
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| Can we collect waivers and our own questions at registration?You need a record of who agreed to what. | Yes: custom questions, waivers, and versioned terms, with a report of who agreed. |
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| Does it handle accounts with several members, and adults who register themselves?Youth programs and adult programs sign up differently. | Yes. An account can hold several members, and adult clubs can use single-person accounts. |
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| Can we decide who can open an account?Some clubs are open to anyone; others admit members by approval. | Yes. Leave sign-up open, require approval before a new account can be used, or close it so visitors contact your club. |
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4. Fees, invoices, and payments
Fees, invoices, and payments: questions and Pool Queue’s answers| Question to ask | Pool Queue |
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| Can fees match the way our programs run?A system with one fee model forces workarounds. | Yes: by season, session, month, days per week, or a custom payment schedule. When you offer more than one, account holders choose. |
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| Are club-wide fees, such as a membership fee, added for us?Registrars should not have to check who has already paid a season fee. | Yes. Set a fee once and it is added to each registration, billed once per member or once per account each season. |
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| Are discounts worked out automatically?Discounts worked out by hand are easy to get wrong. | Yes: multi-member and returning-member discounts, plus promo codes. Multi-member discounts are recalculated as members register or withdraw. |
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| Are invoices created without staff typing them up?Invoicing by hand every month is a volunteer's least favorite job. | Yes. Scheduled fees turn into invoices on a day of the month you choose, and can be emailed to account holders. |
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| Can account holders pay by card and by bank account?Some account holders prefer to pay from a bank account. | Yes. Cards through Stripe or PayPal. A bank account on file (pre-authorized debit in Canada, ACH in the United States, through Stripe) is charged for registration fees and when staff collect what is owing. |
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| How do we collect fees that are owed?Chasing payments one by one wastes the treasurer's time. | Registration fees can be charged to a saved card or bank account as registrations are processed, and staff can charge saved payment methods for selected invoices in one step. |
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5. Money and reporting for the treasurer
Money and reporting for the treasurer: questions and Pool Queue’s answers| Question to ask | Pool Queue |
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| Do the books match our chart of accounts?Your accountant needs reports in your categories, not the software's. | Yes. Invoices, receipts, credit memos, yearly statements, and accounting reports are mapped to your chart of accounts. |
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| What reports come built in?The board needs answers without a volunteer building a spreadsheet. | Reports for finances, registration, events, volunteers, and the store. Registration reports can arrive by email on a schedule. |
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| Can account holders pay part of an invoice now and the rest later?Flexible payment keeps members in the program. | Yes, if your club allows it. |
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| Can the club give full or partial refunds?Withdrawals, injuries, and canceled sessions happen. | Yes: full, partial, and itemized refunds. |
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| Which currency do we bill in? | CAD or USD. Each club bills in one of them and sets its own country and time zone. |
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6. Running the season: programs, coaches, and attendance
Running the season: programs, coaches, and attendance: questions and Pool Queue’s answers| Question to ask | Pool Queue |
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| Can coaches take attendance from a phone?Attendance on paper rarely makes it back to the office. | Yes. Coaches take attendance and check members in from a phone. |
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| Can coaches assess skills and track levels?Level-based programs depend on consistent assessments. | Yes. Each skill is graded the way that suits it, from yes or no to a score or a short note, and members get level reports. |
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| Can registration depend on a member's level?Placing members in the right group protects safety and quality. | Yes. Registration can be limited by assessment results. |
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| Do sessions and events show on a calendar? | Yes. Events and sessions sync to a Google Calendar. |
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7. Meets and entries
Meets and entries: questions and Pool Queue’s answers| Question to ask | Pool Queue |
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| Can we exchange meet information and entries with our meet host's software? | Yes. Load the host's event file for entries, then download entry files for your meet software. |
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| Can swimmers tell us which meets and sessions they want to attend? | Yes. Swimmers choose sessions and, if allowed, preferred events; unanswered invitations can get reminders before sign-up closes. |
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| Can coaches review entries against best times and qualifying times before approving them? | Yes. Coaches review swimmers by group, with entries, best times, and meet cuts together, then approve the entries. |
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| Can coaches build strong relays while keeping control of the lineup? | Yes. A best-relay builder helps choose the lineup; coaches can leave swimmers out where needed. |
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| Will entry checks catch problems and newer best times before we send the file? | Yes. Pool Queue flags entry problems and faster recent swims before you download entries. |
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| Can meet entry and coaching fees go straight to account invoices? | Yes. Entry fees and coaching fees go straight to account invoices. |
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| Can Canadian clubs find sanctioned meets and their meet information? | Yes. Swimming Canada sanctioned meets are listed for you, with the meet package and event file when available. |
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| How does the software support our work with Swimming Canada REMS? | Import members from your REMS export, and download entry files for your club to submit through REMS. |
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| Can we see which officials are qualified for the jobs a meet needs? | Yes. Keep an officials roster with levels and observations, and require the relevant certification when volunteers sign up. |
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8. Results, best times, and standards
Results, best times, and standards: questions and Pool Queue’s answers| Question to ask | Pool Queue |
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| Can meet results update best times and identify new club records without retyping times? | Yes. Load a results file; personal bests update and new club records are found for approval. |
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| Can swimmers follow results on our website during and after a meet? | Yes. Your meet software can publish live results to your website; Pool Queue keeps meet summaries and results by season. |
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| Can account holders see whether a swimmer is improving over time? | Yes. Signed-in account holders can view swimmer progress charts and compare progress with the club average. |
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| Can we use the time standards our swimmers compete against? | Yes. Import time standards or create your own, with qualifying times shown to coaches and members. |
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| Are Canadian national and provincial time standards maintained for us? | Yes. Pool Queue provides them and keeps them up to date; your club turns on the standards it uses. |
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| Can we see which swimmers have qualified and who is close? | Yes. Swimmer pages show cuts made and within reach; coaches can report on time standard achievements across a group. |
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| Can we carry forward club records and approve new record breakers? | Yes. Add historic records, approve new records before they appear, and keep past records when they are broken. |
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| Can coaches compare race performances and see the club's strengths? | Yes. Results carry World Aquatics points, and a points dashboard shows your roster's depth and strengths by stroke. |
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| Can coaches see how each swimmer and group performed and who is improving? | Yes. Meet reports compare swims with best times, and improvement reports show who improved, held steady, or slipped. |
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9. Coaching and training
Coaching and training: questions and Pool Queue’s answers| Question to ask | Pool Queue |
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| Can swimmers find their training group's description and practice schedule? | Yes. Group descriptions and practice schedules appear on your club website, by season and pool. |
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| Can coaches take attendance and see practice participation over the season? | Yes. Take attendance from a phone, with medical notes on the list and a season summary for each swimmer. |
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| Can coaching assessments guide each swimmer's next training group? | Yes. Assessments recommend the next group, can control registration, and email account holders the coach's report. |
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| Can we measure training progress with repeatable swim tests? | Yes. Test sets show coaches who improved and who needs attention; account holders see published results and personal bests in their account. |
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| Can coaches bring existing test results in and take the results out again? | Yes. Import test results from a spreadsheet, preview them before saving, and export the results. |
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| Can account holders check their swimmer's USA Swimming registration status? | Yes. For US teams connected to SWIMS, account holders see registration status and expiry, with a link to register. |
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| Does the software support masters swimmers as well as age-group swimmers? | Yes. Masters meets are supported, and adult swimmers can use single-person accounts. |
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10. Communication and your website
Communication and your website: questions and Pool Queue’s answers| Question to ask | Pool Queue |
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| Can we email the whole club, one group, or a list?The right message should reach the right people, and only them. | Yes. Send it now or at a time you choose; when an address stops working, Pool Queue takes care of it. |
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| Can we reach members quickly when plans change?Closures and schedule changes cannot wait for an email to be read. | Yes: push notifications, an in-app notification center, and a site-wide notice banner. |
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| Is there an app for members?Members expect their club on their phone. | Yes. An installable app with your club's name and icon; no app store needed. |
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| Are member pages available in French?Bilingual communities expect to register in their own language. | Yes. Member-facing pages are in English and French, following the browser language. |
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| Can we survey our members? | Yes. Surveys are built in. |
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| Is a club website included, on our own domain?A separate website is one more system to pay for and keep up to date. | Yes: pages, menus, member-only pages, a blog, and page history, on your own domain name. |
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| Do we have to design the website from scratch? | No. Start from ready-made themes and page blocks. |
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| Do messages from the website reach the right person? | Yes. Contact forms are routed to the right club department. |
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11. Events, volunteers, tickets, and the store
Events, volunteers, tickets, and the store: questions and Pool Queue’s answers| Question to ask | Pool Queue |
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| Can members sign up for events and trips, with fees?Competitions, camps, and socials each need sign-up and payment. | Yes. Open events to chosen groups, find out who is coming, collect per-event fees, and organize team travel. |
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| Can we sell tickets to a banquet, gala, or fundraiser? | Yes. Sell tickets with QR codes and check people in at the door. |
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| Can we organize volunteer shifts?Most clubs run on volunteers, and paper sign-up sheets get lost. | Yes: sign-up, reminders, points, check-in, and a compliance report. Jobs can be limited to certain groups. |
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| Can we set volunteer or fundraising commitments for each account?Commitments only work if someone can see who met them. | Yes, with an optional fee if a commitment is not met. |
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| Can we run a donation campaign? | Yes. Campaigns with goals and member pages. |
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| Can we sell team clothing and gear?Collecting team orders by spreadsheet is slow, and so is collecting the money. | Yes. An online store with sizes, stock, and names on items; orders are billed to the account. |
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12. What account holders can do themselves
What account holders can do themselves: questions and Pool Queue’s answers| Question to ask | Pool Queue |
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| Can account holders see their invoices and pay online?Every answer a member finds alone is one less email for your volunteers. | Yes. Invoices and receipts are in their account, and they pay by card online, in full or in part if you allow it. |
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| Can account holders keep a card or bank account on file? | Yes. A saved card, or a bank account where your club offers bank payments, can be charged for registration fees and when staff collect what is owing. |
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| Can they get a yearly statement for their records? | Yes. Yearly statements sit in their account beside invoices, receipts, and credit memos. |
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| Do members get a membership card?Facilities and partners may ask for proof of membership. | Yes. A digital member ID card with a QR code that anyone can check. |
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| Can they follow their store orders? | Yes. Orders show in their account, and each order is confirmed by email. |
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13. Data, privacy, security, and permissions
Data, privacy, security, and permissions: questions and Pool Queue’s answers| Question to ask | Pool Queue |
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| Where is our club's data stored?Some boards must know which country holds their members' records. | In Canada, on Microsoft Azure. Payment and email providers process some data on their own systems. |
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| Who handles card details?Card data is the most sensitive data a club touches. | Our payment providers. Card numbers go straight from the browser to Stripe, PayPal or Intuit. Pool Queue's servers never receive or store them. |
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| Can we limit what each person can see and do?Coaches, volunteers, and the treasurer need different access. | Yes. Pool Queue has robust permission boundaries: everyone who helps run your club gets access to only what their job needs. |
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| Is two-factor sign-in available, and can we require it?A stolen password should not open your members' records. | Yes. A code from an authenticator app means a password alone is not enough to get in, and your club can require it for chosen roles. |
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| Do you sell our members' data or show them ads?Your members trusted the club with their details. | No. Your members are not our product. Pool Queue never sells your club's data to other companies, and shows no ads. |
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| Is the service monitored for security threats? | Yes. Monitored around the clock by Microsoft's cloud security service. |
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14. Pricing and contract
Pricing and contract: questions and Pool Queue’s answers| Question to ask | Pool Queue |
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| Is the price per club, or does it grow with the number of members?Per-member pricing rises as your club grows. | One flat monthly price, whatever your club's size. |
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| Are we locked into a long contract?Boards change, and a long contract can outlast the people who signed it. | No. Pool Queue is month to month, plus applicable taxes. |
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| What does setup cost, and what does it include? | Setup from $375 CAD, one time (configuration, data import, training). The setup cost depends on your club's size. US clubs: from $275 USD. |
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| What do online payments cost the club?Processing fees add up across a season of payments. | Stripe or PayPal processing at their rates, plus a platform fee set in your club's agreement. |
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| Can the club pass processing costs on to account holders? | Yes, with an optional surcharge, where allowed. |
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| Are lower processing rates available to non-profits? | Non-profit organizations can apply for PayPal's discounted non-profit processing rates; PayPal decides who qualifies. Contact us to see whether you qualify. |
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