10 Reasons to Implement a PTA Payment Solution

Implementing online PTA payment solutions can help increase your efficiency and community involvement, save time for volunteers, make payments more secure, and eliminate complicated reporting — just to name a few. Bonus: You can collect payments and create forms online, both under the same account, for free. Need more convincing? Here, we detail 10 benefits to your PTO or PTA going digital.

PTA Payment Solutions Save Time

1. Track all payments automatically.

You read that right — no more data entry! The paper trail is always there, online, stored in the same safe, secure dashboard as your payments. If you choose to accept cash and checks in addition to online payments, you will have to enter that information, but we count it!

Learn more about tracking and reporting →

2. Deposit directly into your PTA’s bank account.

Eliminate extra trips to the bank: It’s free to transfer funds directly to your organization’s bank account. Need funds to go to different places? Add multiple bank accounts, no problem. Talk about an end-to-end PTA payment solution.

How to withdraw →

3. Automate follow-up reminders for payments and forms.

Busy parents are grateful for payment reminders, and Cheddar Up eliminates the time it takes for organizers to send them.You can schedule reminders straight from the dashboard — and with a simple click, send only to those who haven’t paid.

More about messaging payers →

4. Simplify after-school enrichment registration.

Turn enrichment coordinators’ files of paper forms, check payments, class rosters and spreadsheets into one online dashboard. You can set up your registration page to include detailed class descriptions, recurring payments, and class sizes. Cheddar Up can even automate your monthly payment reminders!

Why one coordinator switched from Eventbrite →

“[For] after-school enrichment, we’ve always had a ‘first-come, first serve’ policy in terms of sign up. When we used paper, that was really hard to implement accurately. When we moved to Cheddar Up, that policy really shined.”

Andrea Fraser, After-school enrichment coordinator

5. Create a One-Stop Shop for your PTA.

Parents will love the simplicity of one webpage for all their PTA needs. We call it a Group Page. (Check out this example.) At a minimal cost, you can have one consistent URL that lists all your active collections, like PTA membership, class donations, and spirit wear. This is an exclusive feature you won’t find on other PTA payment solutions. Plus, an extra layer of convenience: Anyone can pay on your page without creating an account. Send out your custom link or QR code and they can pay immediately, no signup pop-ups in between.

Learn about group pages →

6. Manage events efficiently.

A happy byproduct of our payments + forms power duo is easy event planning. Cheddar Up rocks any program’s 3Ms — marketing, money, and management. Promote all relevant information early and often (no paper limitations), and choose whether to post all scheduled events at once or create separate collections. Easily solicit donations and sell tickets online and in-person, with every sale automatically recorded. Recruit volunteers and have all your party details, including available budget, in one spot.

Free event template and tutorial →

“Cheddar Up’s ease and flexibility is just what our chapter needed. We use it for all types of collecting — from member dues to major events with hundreds of participants. The platform’s design is simple and intuitive, which is important to me.”

Zengsha Guo, Chapter Administrator, YPO Miami

Make more money with PTA payment solutions

7. Accept in-person credit-card payments.

And you may see an increase in both profit and participation. Cheddar Up’s mobile apps plus Bluetooth card readers offer full point-of-sale functionality — which sets us apart from other PTA payment solutions. You can seamlessly transition between taking advance online payments and accepting day-of, in-person payments, and they’ll all be sorted and recorded in the same spot, no additional effort from you.

8. Collect more fundraiser donations.

Whatever your favorite fundraiser, Cheddar Up’s PTA payment solutions can help — yes, because of the convenience of donating online, but also because of our features. Cheddar Up fundraising pages are clean, easy-to-read, and visual: You can add photos for intrigue (like this beautiful plant sale) as well as a fundraising goal, which shows your page visitors how much more you need.

Create a fundraising page →

Increase PTA membership and retention

9. Boost PTA or PTO membership with online payments.

It’s the sheer convenience, friends. No paper forms lost in transit, no forgetting to find the checkbook in the bottom of … which drawer? An online PTA payment solution encourages prompt, easy payments. You can still use the same form you’ve used for years — simply recreate it online with the Cheddar Up form builder. Plus, online you can make form questions required, no more blank lines! (We’re not recommending cornering volunteers, but a “Which event would you like to help with?” is tough to bypass.)

See a membership example →

“Cheddar Up has saved us SO MUCH work! No more collecting (or worse, losing) checks and cash for our fundraisers, no more managing paper forms. Cheddar Up makes setting up a polished professional-looking collection so easy — new parents to our school think we’ve been using it for years, instead of less than one.”

Jennifer Strahl, Navy Hale Keiki School PTO

10. Get your new PTA board “on board” quickly.

Ready to pass the PTA torch to the new President? Handoff to new board members is an absolute cinch with Cheddar Up. We log a full history of past collections, trends, and PTA payments. In just seconds, you can duplicate and update your collections to use year after year. Your account remains as-is, but you can add an unlimited number of managers and set specific permissions for each.

How to convince your board to go Cheddar Up →