My Experience with Planubo — From Tennis Coach to Versatile Sports Entrepreneur

My name is Tim Haneklaus. I am a state-certified tennis instructor with honors, still actively play in the Men’s 40 Regional League (Germany’s highest league) for my home club, and have owned my own tennis school for over 20 years.

What started out small has grown steadily over the years. As my tennis school continued to expand, the business gradually evolved into a multifaceted sports company with diverse areas of operation—ranging from tennis instruction and camps to events, padel, a retail shop, and tennis travel.

However, as the business expanded, the organizational, communication, and accounting tasks also continued to increase. Eventually, I faced the challenge of balancing my high standards for professional play on the court with the ever-growing workload behind the scenes.

When Organizational Work Becomes a Challenge

At first, I decided to outsource the bookkeeping and part of the office work. While this provided some relief, it naturally incurred additional costs.

Added to this were the numerous different email distribution lists, invoice formats, and billing processes for tennis lessons, camps, trips, and the sale of tennis rackets. Administration became increasingly complex, confusing, and time-consuming. At the same time, operating costs rose.

When I finally decided to gradually step back from day-to-day training operations and expand my areas of activity off the court, a professional and efficient organizational structure became increasingly important.

With Planubo, I’ve found the right partner for this.

A platform for my entire sports company

Planubo allows my customers to quickly and easily create their own customer accounts. There, they have clear access to the various products and services offered by my sports company and can easily book them.

A particular advantage is that customers only need to register once. This eliminates the need for repeated logins and many individual administrative steps.

Billing has also become significantly easier. We’ve all been there: You’ve provided your service and then have to chase after the money.

By implementing a general SEPA direct debit mandate, I can centrally collect the amounts due for various services and products—from tennis lessons to racquet sales. This greatly simplifies payment processing and ensures greater reliability in receiving payments.

In addition, I can use Planubo’s various email distribution lists to communicate directly with my customers and send them the information that’s relevant to them. This allows me to centralize organization and communication, rather than having to work with different distribution lists and siloed solutions.

More time, lower costs, and better planning

With Planubo, I can handle the billing, communication, and organization of my sports company myself. This not only saves me a lot of time but also reduces the costs for external office and administrative services.

Another key benefit is improved financial planning. Due dates are automatically collected via direct debit. This reduces the effort required for payment reminders and provides a clearer overview of incoming payments.

For me, Planubo is therefore much more than just administrative software. It’s a key component for efficiently organizing my various business areas, developing new offerings, and advancing my company in a forward-looking way.

My Conclusion

I want to devote my time and energy to where I can create the greatest value—for my clients, for sports, and for the continued growth of my sports company.

Planubo helps me streamline administrative tasks, reduce costs, and create the flexibility I need to further develop my business.