Set up your club in 10 minutes.
This guide walks you through every step — from creating your club to tracking attendance pitchside. No IT skills required.
Create Your Club
~3 minutesHead to academyos.co.uk/onboard and fill in a few simple fields. When you submit, we create your organisation, generate your branded portal, and provision a Stripe Connect account in one go.
Fields explained
Your club's full name — e.g. "Bierton FC" or "Aylesbury Youth". This appears everywhere: navbar, portal, emails. A URL slug is generated automatically (bierton-fc.academyos.co.uk).
The head coach or chairman name. You'll be set up as the Head Coach with full admin access.
Your email for login and admin notifications. A confirmation link and a separate welcome email with your Stripe onboarding link will be sent here.
Pick your club's primary colour using the colour picker or enter a hex code. This is applied instantly across your entire portal — buttons, accents, links. You can change it later.
Choose the default theme your parents and coaches will see. Dark is the default; switch to Light if your club's brand is white/pastel. Parents can override this themselves from the portal.
- Your custom URL is shown live as you type the club name — e.g. bierton-fc.academyos.co.uk.
- The brand colour defaults to AcademyOS cyan (#00F0FF) if you skip it. Most clubs use their kit colour.
- After submitting, you'll see a success screen with a "Complete Payment Setup" button. Click it — that's the critical next step.
- Use a real email address — you'll need to click a confirmation link to activate your account.
- Club name and slug cannot be changed after creation. Double-check the spelling.
Complete Payment Setup (Stripe Connect)
~5 minutesWe create a Stripe Connect Express account for your club during onboarding. On the success screen, click "Complete Payment Setup" to finish identity verification and link your bank account. Until this is done, parents cannot pay for registrations.
Fields explained
Stripe asks for your club's legal name, address, and company type. Most grassroots clubs are either limited companies, CICs, or unincorporated associations.
Name, date of birth, and address of the person responsible for the account. Standard KYC — Stripe is regulated by the FCA.
Sort code and account number. Payouts from parent payments land here automatically.
Stripe will ask for a form of ID (driving licence or passport). You can upload from your phone.
- If you close the Stripe window before finishing, use the "Resume Stripe Setup" button on the success screen — we mint a fresh onboarding link.
- Stripe approval is usually instant for UK clubs with a bank account in the director's name. For newer entities it can take up to 24 hours.
- You can check payout status any time from your admin dashboard once logged in.
- Registrations open on your portal the moment Stripe approves you — not before. Don't share your registration link until Stripe says "charges enabled".
- The club bank account must be in the UK and in GBP for the default setup.
Confirm Your Email
~1 minuteCheck your inbox for two emails: a confirmation link (from Supabase) and a welcome email from AcademyOS with quick-start tips. Click the confirmation link to set your password and activate your Head Coach account.
Fields explained
Click the link in the confirmation email to verify your address. This activates your Head Coach account.
You'll be prompted to create a password. Use something strong — this protects your entire club's data.
- Check your spam/junk folder if you don't see either email within 2 minutes.
- The welcome email also contains a direct link to resume Stripe setup if you skipped it earlier.
- The confirmation link expires after 24 hours. If it expires, go to the staff login page and use "Forgot Password" to get a new link.
- You cannot log in until you've confirmed your email and set a password.
Log In to Your Dashboard
~30 secondsGo to your club's staff login page and sign in with the email and password you just set up.
Fields explained
Your login page is at yourclub.academyos.co.uk/staff/login — or just go to academyos.co.uk and click "Log In" in the navbar.
Use the email you signed up with and the password you set in the previous step.
- Bookmark your login page for quick access.
- If you forget your password, click "Forgot Password" on the login page to reset it via email.
Your Admin Dashboard
OverviewAfter logging in, you'll land on the admin dashboard. This is your command centre — KPIs, squad overview, and quick links to every admin module.
Details
Active registrations, revenue this season, open leads, and active squads — all updated in real time.
Visual bars showing how full each squad is (enrolled vs. max capacity). Instantly spot which squads have space.
One-click access to Squads, Players, Sessions, Attendance, Leads, Registrations, Reports, and Staff management.
- The dashboard updates in real time. As parents register and pay, you'll see numbers change instantly.
- Head Coaches see data for all squads. Team Coaches only see their assigned squads.
Set Up Your Squads
~5 minutesCreate your age groups and squads. This is the first thing to do — squads are required before parents can register players.
Details
e.g. "U10 Panthers", "U8 Development". This is what parents see when registering.
e.g. "U10", "U8". Used for filtering and organisation.
Maximum players in the squad (default 16). Registration closes automatically when full — waitlisted players are queued.
e.g. "2025-2026". Links registrations to the correct season.
When this squad trains. Shown to parents on the schedule page and in the portal.
Training ground name/address. Shown on the schedule and in email notifications.
Set a primary coach and optional assistant coaches. Coaches only see data for squads they're assigned to.
- Create all your squads before inviting parents — the registration form pulls from this list.
- You can create as many squads as you need. There's no limit.
- Squads can be edited at any time. You can change capacity, times, and coaches mid-season.
- Parents cannot register until at least one squad exists.
- If you set max capacity to 12 and 12 players register, the 13th parent will be automatically waitlisted.
Create Sessions & Fixtures
~5 minutesAdd training sessions, matches, tournaments, trials, and camps to the schedule. Parents see these in their portal and receive automatic reminders.
Details
Training, Match, Tournament, Trial, or Camp. Each type has specific fields.
Which squad this session is for. Parents only see sessions for their child's squad.
When and where. Shown in the parent portal and used for attendance tracking.
For matches: opponent name, home/away, meet time, venue address with postcode. Parents get all the info they need.
Add players to the lineup with position and jersey number assignments.
After a match, record the score, goalscorers, and assists. Shown in the Match Centre.
- Sessions appear on the parent portal calendar automatically. No need to message parents separately.
- You can cancel a session with a reason — parents are notified automatically via email.
- Matches with results populate the Match Centre on your public-facing club page.
- Create squads first (Step 6) — you need at least one squad to create a session.
Invite Parents to Register
~2 minutesShare your club's registration link with parents. They sign up, choose a squad, pay online, and get instant access to the parent portal.
Details
Your link is yourclub.academyos.co.uk/register — share it on WhatsApp, email, or your website.
Name, email, phone, address, emergency contact. All validated with UK formats.
Child's name, date of birth, gender, and any medical information (conditions, allergies, medications).
Parent picks a squad and registration type (Trial £10, Term £150, Annual £420 — you set these prices).
Terms acceptance, medical consent (required), and photo consent (optional). All recorded and auditable.
Stripe Checkout opens. Parent pays by card. A small booking fee is added at checkout. Your club receives 100% of the registration amount.
- The easiest way to get parents started is to drop the registration link in your existing WhatsApp group.
- Parents can register multiple children — they go through the form once per child.
- The parent portal is available immediately after payment. Parents can view the schedule, track attendance, and manage payments.
- You set the prices per registration type in your admin settings. The defaults are sensible starting points.
- Your Stripe account must be fully approved (charges + payouts enabled) before parents can pay. If you skipped Step 2, finish it now — the admin dashboard shows a banner if Stripe is incomplete.
- Make sure your squads are created before sharing the registration link.
Add Your Coaching Staff
~3 minutesInvite your coaches to the platform. Each coach gets their own login with role-based access to the admin dashboard.
Details
Enter the coach's email and name. They receive an invitation email with a link to set their password.
Head Coach (full access), Team Coach (their squads only), Assistant Coach (limited access), GK Coach, or Admin.
After creating the coach, assign them to specific squads from the Squads page.
- Head Coaches see all data across all squads. Use this role sparingly — typically just the chairman and main head coach.
- Team Coaches only see their assigned squads. Perfect for age-group coaches who don't need to see other teams.
- Coaches can mark attendance from their phone pitchside. No laptop needed.
- Only Head Coaches and Admins can invite new staff, edit squads, or view financial data.
Track Attendance
OngoingOn session days, open the Attendance page to mark who showed up. Coaches can do this pitchside on their phone in under a minute.
Details
All sessions for today are listed. Expand a session to see the full roster.
Tap checkboxes next to player names. Bulk "Mark All Present" for quick entry.
Quick-update a player's status: Active, Injured, Suspended, or Trialling.
Parents see their child's attendance percentage in the portal. It updates in real time.
- Attendance data feeds into the Reports page — you'll see attendance rates per squad over time.
- Parents can report absences in advance from their portal, so you know who to expect.
Reports & Analytics
OngoingThe Reports page gives you a full picture of your club's performance — revenue, attendance, and match results all in one place.
Details
Total revenue, broken down by registration type (Annual, Term, Trial). Monthly trend chart included.
Average attendance percentage per squad. Spot which squads are engaged and which need attention.
Total enrolled players, active vs. inactive, and registration status breakdown.
Win/draw/loss record, recent fixtures, goalscorers, and assists.
- Reports update in real time — no need to export spreadsheets or calculate manually.
- Use the revenue breakdown to plan your pricing for next season.
- Share the attendance chart at committee meetings to show engagement.
Go-Live Checklist
Make sure everything is ticked before you share the registration link with parents.
Ready to get started?
Your club portal is 10 minutes away. Create your club, set up your squads, and share the registration link with parents.