
Meet Mike
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
HOW HE USES CHEDDAR UP
- Student formal dances
- Graduation events
- Law school merchandise sales
- Raffle collections
- Sports and other events
When Toronto-native and recent law school grad, Mike Cappabianca, was elected VP of Finance for the Windsor Student Law Society, which oversees activities for nearly 70 different clubs, he knew the only way he could manage the role on top of his studies was through automation. After finding Cheddar Up and realizing the efficiencies and oversight it brought to the organization, the law society added a clause to its bylaws mandating that Cheddar Up be used whenever funds are collected.
We also used Cheddar Up to sell merchandise. Prior to Cheddar Up, this was all done manually with cash, order forms and data entry. Setting up what was essentially an online store on Cheddar Up was easy. And it provided a great online shopping experience for our members. I was able to add items with pictures along with the colors and sizes available. Our online Cheddar Up store helped us make more sales because it was so easily accessible. We would add our Cheddar Up store to our Facebook page, and it would catch the eye of so many law students who probably would not have normally purchased something.
It also creates transparency around the refund process. For example, if someone claimed they had purchased a ticket for an event and wanted a refund, all I had to do was verify that the purchase was made via Cheddar Up and initiate a refund. Prior to Cheddar Up, validating a purchase to know whether someone could receive a refund was not as straightforward. On Cheddar Up, once the refund is made, the organizer and the payer know the refund is in motion through automatic refund confirmation emails sent to each party. Everyone is in the know.
In addition, Cheddar Up definitely helped our law society earn more revenue. This was simply because of Cheddar Up’s online nature. It allowed us to publicize events and merchandise sales more broadly, expanding our reach both on and off campus. And the simpler way to pay—online with a credit card—also brought in more sales. This was huge for us. Even though we’re a non-profit, maximizing revenues is a big goal of the organization, because our revenues are what we used to cover our expenses and fund events.
Actually, I do. Every year the law school has a formal party, which is essentially like our prom. As it turns out, the event fell amid the early shut down caused by COVID-19. Because of this, the day before the event we decided to cancel it, which meant we needed to refund over 450 people’s ticket purchases. Because the funds had already been deposited into our bank account, it made refunds a bit more involved. I reached out to Cheddar Up Support for help because I really wanted to avoid having to write 450 checks! It’s something we certainly never anticipated so I was preparing for the worst. I was delighted to learn that Cheddar Up had a solution for these types of situations. We were able to make the refunds quite seamlessly via the platform, and in a matter of days, people’s refunds simply showed up on their cards. I greatly appreciated the hands-on assistance from their team.
I would just reiterate that as amazing as the Cheddar Up platform is, their customer support team is even better! Cheddar Up is not difficult to use. Sometimes I would go months on end without needing any help, but in the instances when I did need a little help, their team was always available and would help me solve issues right away. I’ve worked in customer service before, so I know good customer service when I experience it!