Team Fundraisers: getting started
Have a club, school or college team work your event, and pay the team instead of each player. You staff, text and check in the players on Event Staff like anyone else. Tourney Direct adds up what they earn for the team, and you pay the team once after the event.
The whole picture
You'll use two pages: Event Staff for the people and the event, and Team Fundraisers in the left menu for the teams and their payments.
What works today, and what's coming
- Add your teams
- Mark players as paid to a team on Event Staff
- Team totals from check-in and hours, with no-shows at $0
- Set a flat amount if you agreed on one
- Record the payment you make to the team, with history and CSV export
- Pay the team directly from Tourney Direct, from the bank account you use for payroll
- A secure setup link for each team to sign a W-9 and connect its bank account
- Payments arrive in 2 business days
Why paying from Tourney Direct isn't on yet
Today, the first payment to anyone through our payment process files a state new hire report. Many states require these, and they use them for things like child support collection. For a team, that report would list the person who set up the team's account, such as a booster club treasurer, as your new hire.
- An organization isn't a new hire, so no report should be filed.
- A wrong report could cause real trouble for a volunteer who only set up their team's account.
- We're removing the new hire step from the process for team payments.
We'll turn on team payments once that step is removed, and we'll let you know when it's live. Until then, pay the team your usual way (check, bank transfer or cash) and record it in Tourney Direct. Everything else in this guide works today, and nothing you set up now changes when direct payments turn on.
1. Add the team
Left menu → Team Fundraisers → Add a team
- Enter the team or organization name, like "Westlake HS Lacrosse".
- Pick the type: Club team, High school, College, Nonprofit, or Business or LLC.
- Add a contact, mobile and email if you have them. They're optional for now. We'll use them later to send the team its setup link.
- Click Save team. You only do this once, then use the team at any event.
You can also add a team while you're marking players on Event Staff (step 3). Teams are organizations, never one person. For college teams, payment usually goes to the school or its athletics foundation, so check with the team before you pay.
2. Staff the event like you always do
Left menu → Event Staff → select your event
Add the players to your roster and schedule them on Event Staff the same way you schedule anyone. Ask for availability, build the schedule, and publish it so Teddy texts them their shifts. Their Staff Directory group doesn't matter: a player in a group like "Tampa Staffers" can work for a team at one event and be paid as usual at the next.
Set their rate as usual (hourly, flat or per game). That's what each player earns toward the team.
3. Mark the players as paid to the team
Event Staff → Schedule → Pay view
- Switch the schedule to the Pay view (or All columns).
- Check the box next to each player working for the team.
- Click Pay to team in the orange bar, choose the team, and click Move to the team.
| Staffer | Role | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| Jordan Blake | Field marshal | WLWestlake HS Lacrosse$90.00 · Earned for WL |
| Avery Chen | Field marshal | WLWestlake HS Lacrosse$90.00 · Earned for WL |
| Liam Brooks | Parking | WLWestlake HS Lacrosse$0.00 · No-show |
| Taylor Morgan | Site lead | Individual |
Marked players show the team in the Paid to column, with what they've earned for it underneath. They won't be paid individually, and they don't need to set up a payment account. To change one person, click their Paid to button and pick a team or Pay individually. A Team fundraisers at this event strip above the table shows each team's running total.
4. Event day
Event Staff → Event day view
Run check-in the same way as always. Team players get their check-in texts like everyone else. Each player's earnings count toward the team once they've checked in. Anyone who doesn't show up counts as $0, so the team's total only includes the players who actually worked.
5. Check the team's total
Left menu → Team Fundraisers → Payouts
Once the event starts, each team shows under Ready to pay, one row per team per event. Before that, it's under Coming up with the total so far.
Agreed on a set amount with the team? Click Adjust, choose Flat amount, enter it and click Save flat amount. To go back, choose Use earned.
6. Pay the team and record it
Team Fundraisers → Ready to pay → Record payment
- Pay the team your usual way: check, bank transfer or cash.
- Click Record payment on the team's row.
- Confirm the amount, enter the date paid, choose how you paid, and add a check number or note if you like.
- Click Record payment. No money moves in Tourney Direct; this keeps your records in one place.
Why record it
- No one gets paid twice. Recording locks that team's players for the event, so nobody can switch them back and pay them individually.
- You always know who you still owe. Unpaid teams stay under Ready to pay until they're recorded.
- Proof and year-end records. The date, amount and check number for every team payment, plus a CSV for your accountant.
The payment moves to History. Recorded the wrong thing? Click Undo in History and record it again. Click Export CSV in History any time for your books.
Good to know
Never paid twice
At each event, a player is paid individually or counted toward a team, never both. Someone who's already been paid individually can't be moved to a team.
No tax forms for players
Players counted toward a team aren't paid individually, so they don't receive anything from you. The payment goes to the team's organization.
Meal reimbursements
These are separate from pay and are still paid to the person, not the team.
Taxes
Tourney Direct doesn't provide tax advice. Check with your accountant on how to record team payments in your books.