A simpler Notch alternative

Notch is built to assign and pay officials in one place — payouts, a digital wallet and 1099s alongside the schedule. If you pay officials some other way and need games assigned, officials told by text or email, and their answers back, Ref Grid covers that part on its own.

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14-day free trial (card required), then $129/year or $15/month.

About Notch

What Notch is built to do

Notch — “Assign and Pay. At Scale.” — is “built for all types of umpire and referee assignors, and their clubs, leagues and/or tournaments,” across soccer, baseball, softball, basketball, hockey, football, lacrosse and more. Assignors import league and tournament schedules with tools that map their columns, set competitions up with eligibility requirements, and drag officials into open positions with their certification status and availability in view. Officials set their usual available days and blackout dates, accept or decline what they are assigned, and can request open roles.

The other half is payment. Game fees are paid when the assignor approves game reports; officials pay out the balance in their digital wallet by ACH for free, or upgrade to instant payouts; and Notch handles 1099s at no extra charge. Officials receive email, push notifications and SMS reminders, and there are iOS and Android apps.

Where they overlap

Both are for assignors working with clubs, leagues and tournaments, and both cover importing a schedule, assigning, notifying officials, accept and decline, and text reminders.

Where they differ

Notch puts paying officials in the same system as assigning them — its tagline is “Assign and Pay.” Ref Grid leaves payment out entirely: it exports what each official is owed and you pay them however you do today. That difference in scope decides the choice. If you want payouts and 1099s handled, Notch is built for it; if you do not, Ref Grid is the smaller tool.

Side by side

Ref Grid and Notch, compared

Ref Griddoes less than most products in this category, and several rows below are things it doesn’t do.

Ref Grid and Notch compared, by capability
Capability	Ref Grid	Notch
Core assigning	Ref GridIncluded A board with one cell per position. Fill a weekend as drafts, review, then send once. Warns about double-booking; does not assign anyone for you.	NotchIncluded Drag-and-drop assigning with certification status and availability in view; officials can request open roles.
Official availability	Ref GridBasic Officials update the days, times of day and divisions they prefer from a link you send. General preferences, not dates, and they never block an assignment.	NotchIncluded Officials set their default available days and blackout dates.
Assignment notifications	Ref GridIncluded Text, email or both, per official, sent as one batch. Each message shows whether it was sent, delivered or failed.	NotchIncluded Email and push notifications, with iOS and Android apps.
Accept and decline	Ref GridIncluded Officials accept or decline from a link, with no account, password or app. Replies given by phone can be recorded by hand.	NotchIncluded Officials accept or decline published assignments, and can request open roles.
Reminders	Ref GridIncluded Up to three pre-game reminders to officials who have accepted, from 1 hour to 30 days out, by text, email or both. No automatic chase of officials who have not replied.	NotchIncluded SMS reminders, per Notch’s site. Confirm timing and options with Notch.
Calendar support	Ref GridBasic An add-to-calendar (.ics) file for each accepted game. No subscribable calendar feed.	NotchVerify with provider Not described on the pages we reviewed.
Pay reports and export	Ref GridIncluded CSV of what each official is owed, per game or per official, plus a QuickBooks Online bills format.	NotchIncluded Reporting and payment reconciliation; game fees paid when game reports are approved.
Paying officials and tax forms	Ref GridNot offered Ref Grid prepares pay reports; it does not pay officials, collect W-9s or issue 1099s.	NotchIncluded Integrated payments and a digital wallet; free ACH payouts, or an upgrade to instant payouts; 1099s handled at no extra charge.
Evaluations, eligibility and self-assign	Ref GridNot offered No evaluations, certification or eligibility rules, and no self-assign. The assignor decides who works.	NotchIncluded Certification and eligibility tracking, post-game report approval, and requests for open roles.
Intended scope	Ref Grid Deliberately narrow: games, officials, assignments, messages, replies and reminders. Not a league or officiating-management platform.	Notch Assigning and paying officials for clubs, leagues and tournaments, across many sports.
Pricing structure	Ref Grid One plan: $129/year or $15/month after a 14-day free trial (card required). 2,000 SMS segments a year included.	Notch One plan at $599/year, covering scheduling, payments and payouts. Processing fees on online payments and optional fees for premium payout services. For a limited time, onboarding help to try it risk free, with no credit card required.

Features and pricing change. Verify current capabilities directly with each provider before deciding.

Based on: joinnotch.com, Notch pricing, Notch help: assigning officials, Notch help: availability, Notch help: post-game reports.

Product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Comparison information is based on publicly available information and may change. Ref Grid is not affiliated with any product named on this page. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Choosing

Which one fits

Ref Grid is probably a good fit if…

You pay officials outside the software and do not need payouts, a wallet or 1099 filing.
You want officials to answer from a link in a text or email, with nothing to install.
You assign every game yourself, rather than taking requests for open roles.
Your season runs without post-game reports or eligibility tracking.

Notch may suit you better if…

You want to assign and pay officials in one place, with payouts to a digital wallet and 1099s handled.
Game fees should be paid when post-game reports are approved.
You need certification and eligibility tracked, or officials requesting open roles.
You want native iOS and Android apps for officials.

What Ref Grid does

Assigning, replies, reminders and a pay report

Set up from the spreadsheet you have

Import officials and games from CSV files, with a preview before anything is saved, or add them by hand. A short checklist gets the first assignment out.

Assign a weekend in one pass

Fill positions as drafts, see double-bookings flagged as you go, then review the batch and send it once.

Text and email in one send

Each official gets their games on the channel they prefer, and delivery is reported per assignment, so a failure is named.

Accept or decline from a link

No account, password or app for officials. Accepted games come with an add-to-calendar file.

Reminders you configure

Up to three reminders before each game — an hour to 30 days out — by text, email or both, to the officials who accepted it.

See what still needs attention

The dashboard counts unfilled positions, assignments awaiting a reply, and declines, and each links straight to those games.

A pay report, not a payments system

Export what each official is owed from accepted games — per game, per official, or as QuickBooks Online bills — and pay them your usual way.

Straightforward pricing

One plan with every feature and as many administrators as you need. Nothing to size, tier or add on.

The Ref Grid dashboard: counts of unfilled positions, assignments awaiting a reply, accepted and declined, each linking to the games behind it.

How it works

From import to reminder

01
Import games
Upload your schedule as a CSV, or add games one at a time.
02
Add officials
Import a roster, add them yourself, or invite them to fill in their own details.
03
Assign
Fill positions as drafts with double-booking warnings, then review and send.
04
Officials respond
Each gets a text or email and accepts or declines from a link.
05
Ref Grid reminds
Your configured reminders go out before each accepted game.

Pricing

One plan, one price.

$129/year

or $15/month

Try Ref Grid free

14-day free trial. Card required.

Everything in the plan

Unlimited games, officials and assignments
Assignments by text and email
Accept or decline from a link, with no account for officials
Pre-game reminders to officials who accepted
CSV import and pay report export
2,000 SMS segments a year
More than one administrator

No tiers, no per-game fees and no add-ons to price out.

Questions

Notch and Ref Grid: common questions

What is a simpler alternative to Notch?: If you use Notch mainly to assign games and get confirmations, and you pay officials another way, Ref Grid covers that core without the payments side: assign, send by text or email, collect accepts and declines, and remind officials before the game.
Is Ref Grid like Notch?: In the assigning half, yes — both import a schedule, put officials on games, notify them and record their answers. Notch also pays officials, tracks eligibility, approves game reports and handles 1099s. Ref Grid does none of that.
Can Ref Grid pay officials the way Notch does?: No. Ref Grid produces a pay report — what each official is owed, per game or per official, or as QuickBooks Online bills — and moves no money. Notch’s wallet, payouts and 1099 handling are designed for that part.
How does Ref Grid’s price compare with Notch’s?: Both publish a single plan. Notch is $599 a year, including payments and payouts, with processing fees on online payments. Ref Grid is $129 a year or $15 a month and handles no payments. The fair comparison depends on whether you would use Notch’s payments; check both vendors’ current pages.
Can officials request open games in Ref Grid?: No. The assignor makes every assignment and officials respond to what they are offered. Officials requesting open roles, for the assignor to approve, is a Notch feature Ref Grid does not have.

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