Apricot Manage grew up as an agency tool: the system we build client sites on and run them from. Four of those clients, a sports club, a trade association and two business networks, now use it in a way that looks a lot like a product. Memberships and a shop for the club; events, email and a member directory for the networks; contacts and a website for all of them.
So we are turning that into an edition: a preset of the platform shaped for clubs and associations, small enough for a volunteer treasurer to run.
The order matters more than the list
First, trust and security. Password handling, secrets, the lists that print what members typed, the payment webhooks. None of these are features; they are the reasons a treasurer, a data protection officer or a bank could say no. They also protect the clients we already have, so this phase happens whatever the product decision.
Second, the edition itself: a real membership record with renewal dates and lapsed lists, member profiles that publish to a directory, events with registration and follow-up, and email a club can send safely from its own domain.
Third, a paid pilot with the four organisations that already use it and at least one club we do not know yet. If a stranger will not pay, the existing four are proving loyalty, not demand.
Only then, self-serve signup and billing. That is the expensive bet, and it waits for proof.
What stays out
Team sheets, fixtures and match reporting: other tools do this well and free, and we would rather connect to them than compete. Accommodation booking. The full agency reporting suite. And any AI tool that deletes, changes templates or publishes without a person clicking Publish.
If you run a club or an association
We would like to talk to you, especially if you have never heard of us. The pilot needs organisations that will tell us plainly what does not work.