Group charges in a sports group: app fees, balls or a tournament without the chaos
Adam · 
The app fee for the month. A tube of shuttlecocks or a can of balls bought from the person who ordered a bigger stock. Renting a hall for a tournament, a few new nets, a gift for the coach. Every regular group has expenses that don't belong to any single game, and yet someone has to work them out, announce them and make sure everyone pays.
It usually ends with a chat message saying “everyone chip in 5”, a list in someone's notes and reminding people one by one. Group charges in Courtino replace that routine: you issue the charge once, and the app shows who has paid, who has reported a payment and who still owes.
What a group charge is
A group charge is money owed within the group that is not tied to a session. It has a title, an amount, a due date and a receiver — the person the money goes to. The app only keeps the books: the money moves outside it, just like settling a session with the cashier (bank transfer, phone payment, Revolut or cash).
Each payer sees their charge next to their other payments, while the receiver and the admins see the full list of people with their statuses. It works just like session settlements, only without a session behind it.
How to issue a charge
- A title and an optional description, e.g. “App fee — November”.
- Who pays: the whole group or selected people. For the whole group the list is set when the charge is issued, without the receiver and without blocked members.
- Amount: per person, a total to split (the app splits it evenly to the cent — if it doesn't divide evenly, some people pay 1 cent more) or a custom amount for each selected person.
- Receiver: an admin can choose any group member, e.g. a treasurer. A regular member always collects the money for themselves.
- Due date — a week after issuing by default.
You issue a charge from the “Group charges” tab in the Cashier or from the group's session list. The people who have to pay get an in-app notification, a push and — if the group uses the bot — a Telegram message.
Approval: when a charge applies
A charge from a group admin applies immediately. A charge from a regular member — e.g. when someone sells a teammate a tube of shuttlecocks — first waits for the payer's approval. Until the payer accepts it, it doesn't count as debt. An admin can accept or reject any charge at any time, even afterwards, when a misunderstanding needs settling.
Paying and confirming
- The payer sees the amount, the due date, the receiver's payment details and an “I've paid” button.
- The receiver sees reported payments at the top of the list and confirms them one by one or with a single “Confirm all reported” button.
- The “Remind unpaid” button sends a reminder only to people who haven't paid yet.
- Mistakes can be undone: the payer can withdraw a report and the receiver a confirmation.
A payer doesn't see the names of the others. They only see anonymous progress, e.g. “14 of 24 paid” and the amount collected — enough to know the collection is going well, without putting anyone on the spot.
Monthly charges and blocking sign-ups
Fixed costs such as the app fee can be set up as a monthly charge: you choose the day of the month and how many days people have to pay, and the app issues a new charge every month by itself. With “whole group” the list of payers is set on every issue, so new members join it automatically and those who left drop out.
For each charge you can also decide whether an overdue charge blocks sign-ups for sessions — the same way unpaid sessions do. Monthly charges and blocking sign-ups are available from the Regular plan, one-off charges on every plan. See the details on the pricing page.
A group charge or a session cost?
If an expense belongs to a specific game — an extra court, balls used up in that session — add it as an extra cost of the session and the app will include it in the players' settlement. A group charge is for everything that happens around the games: fixed fees, purchases for the group and sales between members.
Don't have a group yet? Create one for free — for the first 14 days you get access to every feature.
Frequently asked questions
Does the app take the money for a charge?
No. Courtino only keeps track of who owes how much and whether they have paid. You pay each other directly — by bank transfer, phone payment, Revolut or cash. The payer sees the payment details on the charge.
Can a regular group member issue a charge?
Yes. Any member can issue a charge, but then they collect the money for themselves and the charge only applies once the payer accepts it. Charges from an admin apply immediately and can have any group member as the receiver.
Who can see who has paid?
The charge's creator, its receiver and the group admins see the full list of people with statuses. A payer only sees their own charge and anonymous progress — how many people have paid and how much has been collected.
Which plans include group charges?
One-off charges are available on every plan. Monthly charges and blocking sign-ups for overdue charges are available from the Regular plan.
