PSA: Ask Hosts for Money to Obtain Money

[Cody]

A surprising number of tournaments I've mirrored in recent years involve me reaching out weeks late to find out how to pay the tournament writers. In the most extreme cases, I've been told where to send a check: 57 days after the tournament (after forgetting to reach out) and 46+ days (after reaching out 32 days after). That's not terrible, but it's because I try to be proactive: not all hosts are! So, tournament writing teams:

You wrote a tournament. You set up a bunch of mirrors. Please do the easiest part of the process: calculate a host's mirror fee and send them an e-mail stating how much they owe, who they should write a check to, and where they should send the check.

While you're probably never going to get all your hosts to pay you in a reasonable timeframe (<1 month), promptly sending out e-mails about payment tells hosts you are serious about payment, so they'll probably send you money sooner rather than later. Certainly much sooner than if you don't send them an invoice for a month or two! It's a win-win.

Addendum:
Hosts: posting stats promptly facilitates this process, so do that.

[Ike]

Cody is dead on. There really isn't much more to say than that, except that I'll add that you as a host should be depositing your money as soon as possible. When I asked hosts for money, the fact that I heard some tournament hosts say "Oh, I haven't deposited the money yet" even though it's one week after the tournament has been run is appalling and irresponsible.

[Gautam]

you as a host should be depositing your money as soon as possible.

Most reputable banks offer mobile check depositing. All teams with bank accounts should work with their bank to get this facility. Usually there are some limits (like a ceiling of $5000/month) but for most quizbowl purposes, mobile check depositing works like a charm.

-Gautam

[Good Goblin Housekeeping]

PLEASE DEPOSIT CHECKS ASAP. I don't know about other programs but at Illinois, we have 30 days until after an event to put together paperwork for reimbursement, and proof that you deposited our check and took my money is part of that!