Sponsorships keep clubs running β and keeping on top of them doesn't have to mean a spreadsheet and a prayer. TidyHQ has everything you need to track your sponsors, send invoices, follow up on renewals, and give sponsors the visibility they're paying for. This guide shows you how to pull it all together.
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1. Add Your Sponsors as Contacts
Every sponsor should have a Contact record in TidyHQ. This is the central record you'll attach invoices, notes, and tasks to.
Go to Contacts > + New Contact and fill in the business name, key contact person, email, and phone number.
TidyHQ includes a default Sponsors group that can't be deleted β add each new sponsor contact to this group so you can communicate with and report on all sponsors easily.
π‘ Tip: If you're setting up for the first time and have existing sponsors, use Contacts > Import Contacts to bulk-add them. Just make sure you've set up your Custom Fields first (see below).
2. Set Up Custom Fields for Sponsor Details
Custom Fields let you record sponsor-specific information directly on each Contact profile β things like their sponsorship tier, agreement dates, and what you've promised them.
Go to Organisation Settings > Custom Fields > Add Custom Field and set up the following recommended fields:
Field Name | Type | Why it's useful |
Sponsorship Tier | Dropdown (e.g. Bronze, Silver, Gold, Principal) | Quickly see what level each sponsor is on and filter by tier |
Agreement Start Date | Date | Know when each sponsorship began |
Agreement End Date | Date | The most important one β drives your renewal reminders |
Annual Value | Number | See your total sponsorship income at a glance |
Benefits Promised | Text | Record what you committed to deliver (logo on website, newsletter mention, signage, etc.) |
Benefits Delivered | Text | Tick things off as you deliver them β great for keeping sponsors happy and your records clean |
Once these fields are set up, fill them in for each sponsor from their Contact profile.
3. Send Sponsorship Invoices
When it's time to invoice a sponsor, go to Finances > + New Invoice.
In the To field, find the sponsor's Contact record
Add a line item with the sponsorship amount and a clear description (e.g. "2025 Gold Sponsorship β Westside Football Club")
Set the Category to something meaningful like "Sponsorship Income" so your finance reports stay clean
Use Complete and Send to email it directly, or Save as Draft if you want to review it first
You can also send payment reminders from the invoice if a payment is overdue β just open the invoice and select Remind.
4. Set Up Renewal Reminders
This is the biggest gap in a manual sponsor management process β forgetting to follow up before an agreement expires. Here's how to handle it in TidyHQ using Tasks.
For each sponsor, create a Task a set number of weeks before their Agreement End Date:
Go to Tasks > + Add Task
Set the Assignee to whoever manages sponsorship (e.g. the Treasurer or President)
Set the Due Date to 6β8 weeks before the sponsor's Agreement End Date
Add a description like: "Follow up with [Sponsor Name] re: 2026 renewal β agreement ends [date]"
Optionally link the task to the sponsor's Contact record
π‘ Tip: Create a Smart Group for sponsors whose Agreement End Date falls within the next 60 days. Go to Contacts > Groups > + Smart Group and filter on your Agreement End Date custom field. Check this group at the start of each month to see who needs attention.
5. Level Up: Use a Membership Level for Integrated Payment and Renewal Tracking
If you're collecting sponsorship payments through TidyHQ (via Stripe), there's a more integrated option: create a dedicated membership level for sponsorship agreements. This combines payment, expiry tracking, and automated renewal reminders in one place β no separate invoices needed.
π‘ Is this right for you? This approach makes most sense if sponsors are paying through TidyHQ. If they pay by bank transfer or cash outside the system, the Tasks approach in section 4 is simpler and achieves the same result.
Setting it up
Go to Memberships > + New Membership Level and name it something clear, e.g. "Sponsorship Agreement β Annual"
Set the duration to match your standard sponsorship period (e.g. 12 months, fixed or rolling)
Set the price to match your sponsorship amount
Set the Finance Category to "Sponsorship Income" (or your preferred category) β this keeps sponsorship revenue correctly labelled in your finance reports, separate from membership fees
Under Access & Sharing, set Visible To: Anyone with the Link β this keeps it off your public Memberships page entirely, while still allowing sponsors to renew via a direct URL
Under Member Messages, customise the emails to be sponsor-appropriate:
Renewal Reminder β e.g. "Hi [Name], your sponsorship agreement with [Club] is due for renewal on [date]. We'd love to have you on board again next season β click below to renew, or reply to this email to chat."
Expired Notice β a friendly nudge if they haven't renewed
Set reminders at 60 days and again at 30 days before expiry
Under Admin Notifications, add the Treasurer or whoever manages sponsorship β they'll be notified of any renewal activity
Set Auto-add Member to Group to use the built-in Sponsors group.
Enrolling existing sponsors
Once each level is set up, follow the usual process to add each sponsor as a member.
When the time comes, the system will email the sponsor automatically. They can renew via the direct link, or you can renew on their behalf from Memberships > Reports.
6. Display Sponsors on Your Website
Once you've got a sponsor on board, it's easy to give them visibility on your public-facing TidyHQ site.
Go to Organisation Settings > Web Page Settings > Sponsors and add each sponsor's:
Name
Logo (PNG with transparent background works best β images display at 80px high)
URL β the sponsor's website address. When added, the logo becomes a clickable link. Sponsors notice this, and it costs you nothing.
Reorder sponsors by dragging the hamburger icon (β Ώ) to reflect their tier β principal sponsors at the top.
To configure the display, go to Web Pages > Home and set a Sponsors Block Title (e.g. "Thanks to our sponsors") and optional description text.
For full details, see: Adding Sponsors to the Home Page
7. Communicate With Your Sponsors
Because your sponsors are in the Sponsors contact group, you can email them all at once at any time.
Go to Communicate > + New Email, select the Sponsors group as the recipient, and send your update, end-of-season report, or renewal offer.
π‘ Tip: A short mid-year update showing sponsors what's been happening β events attended, members reached, logo placements delivered β goes a long way toward renewals. It doesn't need to be fancy.
Putting It All Together: Suggested Workflow
Here's a simple annual rhythm that works for most clubs:
Season start β issue invoices to returning sponsors, add new sponsors as contacts, update Custom Fields, enrol sponsors in the membership level if using that approach
Mid-season β send a brief sponsor update email from the Sponsors group
6β8 weeks before agreements expire β Task reminder fires (or membership level reminder emails go out automatically); reach out to discuss renewal
Off-season β review who renewed and who didn't; update Agreement End Dates; archive lapsed sponsors by removing them from the Sponsors group