International numbers and a new feature

We are now into the third year of the Squaddle beta. As we start getting ready to come out of it and begin promoting Squaddle more widely, we have some exciting developments to announce...

International numbers

Some of you may have already noticed that it's now possible to use international numbers on Squaddle. This sets us up for global expansion, and ensures that international players in the UK can easily use their existing WhatsApp number.

This is a change we've wanted to make for a long time, but we've had to prioritise other things as part of inevitable startup growing pains. We're now ready to handle the potential increase in users (and types of user) that could result from this change. So far we are limiting the countries we support but if there are any additions that you want us to activate, please get in touch.

For now we continue to accept payment in GBP only, but we're planning to add Euros soon.

Charge late dropouts

We've also just added a new feature related to how payments and refunds work.

Until now, any player dropping out would be refunded, even if this happened right before kickoff. Late dropouts can be very frustrating for organisers and players so it's now possible to turn on "Charge late dropouts" when creating an activity.

When this new switch is turned on, players who drop out less than 24 hours in advance will not be refunded (and players who've not yet paid will have that game added to their outstanding payments). The hope is that there will be fewer late dropouts, and less last minute drama trying to fill spots.

If you want to use this new feature for your squad, you'll need to cancel and recreate any existing repeating activities (we recommend doing this after an activity before the next invite is sent so that there's no need for a cancellation message).

To use or not to use?

Whether or not you want to consider turning this feature on for your activities will depend on the nature of your squad.

I myself live in a small town and invites only go out on the morning of the activity, with a high degree of trust between players (if someone drops out, everyone knows who it is!).

On the the other hand, lots of Squaddle users are in cities where new players come and go more frequently, and with more expensive pitch hire. These squads benefit from sending invites out a few days in advance. For these squads, the new feature should be useful to encourage players not to commit until they are sure they can play, and to leave plenty of time to find replacements for dropouts.

Coming soon

Next, we are considering some changes to how the reserve list works, and to make it possible to require payment upfront. The changes to how reserves work is particularly tricky, so if this is a feature you use regularly we would love you to send us your thoughts on how we could improve how it currently works.