Topic: self management

[argali]

Hi All, Our association is considering taking control of our allotment site from the local council. We have recieved a draft agreement from them and will have to manage the waiting list and collect the rents for approx 80 plots. We are seeking advice from associations who run their own sites as to how they think the best way is to collect rents and maintain membership lists. Not all plot holders are connected to the internet and some much prefer to manage their expenditure with cash.  Cheers for you time Paul.

[BarriedaleNick]

We are a private site so we manage our own affairs.  We used to collect rents at the AGM but over the last few years we get more payments via online banking and very few people pay with cash.  This is good as it reduces overheads but it has also reduced the amount of people at the AGM!  I think we have to offer payments in cash or via the internet but in practice very few pay by cash.
We maintain lists using excel - basic but sufficient although I have being  going to make a database app for it for the last 10 years!

[johhnyco15]

we are also a private site however we are the opposite  to nick 95% of our rent is cash with the rest made up of checks each plot fills out their own reciept at payment day ie name address  contact number plot number and email if they have one so each year we have an upto date record of details hope this helps

[Digeroo]

excel - basic

Excel does not have to be basic.  For a small number of records it will do more or less everything a data base will do.  And when I say small I mean a couple of thousand.  I just gets progressively slower.  If you do not have Excel Open Office Calc is good and does most things.
.

[argali]

Thank you all for you replies. I used excell a lot before I retired and am sure that will be OK to run our membership lists. Cheers, Paul