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Frequently Asked Questions - Treasurers

The questions below are to assist school treasurers with the accounts payable tools using ArbiterSports software. For questions concerning how the ArbiterSports software works or for technical support of its products, please contact the ArbiterSports help desk at 800-311-4060.

Questions from School Treasurers

What is ArbiterPay?

ArbiterPay (formerly) RefPay is the software that pays officials electronically (EFT). ArbiterPay is completely integrated with ArbiterOne and ArbiterGame so school administration can pay officials with the click of a button.

What are the benefits of paying officials through ArbiterPay?

  1. There are many benefits to using ArbiterPay
  1. Can eliminate vouchers
  1. Eliminates check processing
  1. Eliminates checks to the wrong official
  1. Eliminates postage
  1. Eliminates lost or stolen checks
  1. Eliminates bookkeeping headaches
  1. Eliminates stop payments
  1. 24/7 online payment tracking
  1. Payment history
  1. Mass pay multiple officials
  1. Assigning and scheduling integration
  1. Increased tax compliance
  1. Reduces liability with sensitive information
  1. Conserves the environment/resources
  1. Saves money
  1. Saves time
  1. Officials are able to research their pay better
  1. Streamlined 1099 submission
  1. Combined school's tax reports

What are the steps to sign-up for ArbiterPay?

A step-by-step guide has been developed to assist school treasurers with setting up ArbiterPay. 

Do schools have to pay officials using ArbiterPay?

No. The choice to use ArbiterPay is up to each school district. However, for the regular contests, OHSAA has determined to transition to ArbiterPay for tournament events.

Is the OHSAA paying for a school's ArbiterPay account?

No. Each school district will need to register through ArbiterSports to obtain an ArbiterPay account.

How does my school treasurer access our ArbiterPay account?

ArbiterPay can be accessed through www.arbiterpay.com. This is where the schools will transfer funds to their accounts and view the different reports they will need for accounting purposes. Once ArbiterPay accounts are set up, the athletic department can pay officials directly through ArbiterGame or ArbiterOne.

Are there any costs to using ArbiterPay?

Yes, there are fees for using ArbiterPay. The ArbiterPay fee is simply a transaction fee that is charged to the school for every official that is paid. This fee is deducted from the school's trust fund at the time the official is paid. However, the transaction fee is far less than the current costs incurred with paying officials by check. This includes the man-hours to process these payments, the cost of the check, the costs of the printer and ink, the cost of postage, the costs to replace a lost or stolen check and the costs associated with paying the wrong official. Once the money is transferred to the official's account, they have a no cost way of getting their money. Officials also have choices through Arbiter on how to receive their payments through electronic transfer of funds, an Arbiter debit card or a paper check. 

As a new school using ArbiterPay for the first time, there are officials who show on the ArbiterPay screen, but the school has already paid them through a regular check before going live with ArbiterPay. Is there a way to clear out officials we already paid with a check from the payment screen on ArbiterPay to eliminate the risk of a double payment?

Because these officials haven’t been paid through ArbiterPay, the system assumes NO PAYMENT has been made yet. If the officials have been paid by the school through some other means, they can be removed from the “unpaid” filter as follows:
 
  1. Check the box to the left of any official to be removed from the list
  2. Click the “Remove” button on the right side of the screen, underneath the “Selected Payments” toolbox.
 
This removes the officials from the “Unpaid” filter, but their information will still be visible on the “All” filter when reviewing payment information.