refbook

What refbook does

refbook is a cloud-based SaaS platform that enables sports organizations to manage, assign, and pay sports officials across the full lifecycle of competition administration. The platform provides a centralized officials database, competition configuration tools, an assignment engine with conflict management, panel group controls, self-assigning capabilities, financial management for game payments and travel, communication tools, and reporting/forms — delivered via a web application and native iOS/Android apps with no software download required. The offering is organized into three solution tiers: Elite for professional competitions with advanced analytics and travel logistics, Grassroots for local clubs with simplified configuration and self-service replacement, and Tournaments for carnivals and championships requiring bulk processing and temporary official recruitment. The platform supports 12+ sports across 10+ countries and processes millions of game assignments.

The business operates on a SaaS subscription model, with quote-based annual organization licences and a freemium individual profile tier that supports bottom-up adoption. Go-to-market combines enterprise field sales for organization licences with product-led growth through self-serve individual registration, mobile app store presence, and email/newsletter marketing. Distribution is multi-channel: web application, mobile app stores, direct sales for enterprise enquiries, and an API/integration layer for embedding within broader sports administration ecosystems. Refbook is GDPR and Australian Privacy Principles compliant and stores data across Australia, Germany, France, and the USA.

The company is incorporated as Refbook Australia Pty Ltd (ACN 660 809 334), headquartered in Boronia, Melbourne, and operates with 1-10 employees. It was founded in 2019, co-founded by Jon Chapman, and is advised by a team including figures from FIBA, USTA, EngageRM, and Sports Rights Tech. The company appears founder-owned and bootstrapped aside from a 2021 Startupbootcamp Australia accelerator participation, with no institutional venture capital or private equity backing disclosed.

Name

refbook

Legal name

Refbook Australia Pty Ltd

Website

https://refbook.online

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

refbook is a cloud-based SaaS platform that helps sports organizations manage, assign, and pay referees and umpires across 12+ sports, serving elite, grassroots, and tournament segments in 10+ countries via web and mobile apps.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Officials Management Software

NAICS

Spectator Sports (71121)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Data, Analytics & CRM Services (Fan Data, Insights, Audience Development) (MPAKAKAO)

Keywords

• Sports officials management
• Referee assignment software
• Umpire scheduling platform
• Sports administration SaaS
• Game assignment software

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Software Subscription: Refbook operates as a SaaS platform with subscription-based licensing. Organisations pay for access to the platform to manage and assign sports officials. The contact page references licences and pricing for organisations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

refbook is a cloud-based SaaS platform that enables sports organisations and assignors to manage sports officials (referees and umpires). It centralises officials databases, competition scheduling, game assignment workflows with conflict management, financial processing (game payments and travel), communication, and reporting. The platform is offered through a modular architecture (Assigning, Finances, Communication, Reporting) tailored to Elite, Grassroots, and Tournament use cases, and is accessible via web browser and native iOS/Android apps.

Product overview

refbook is a unified cloud-based sports officials management platform with modular architecture. The core refbook Platform serves as the central system, supplemented by four functional modules: Assigning (officials database and assignment workflows), Finances (payment processing and expense management), Communication (notifications and crew messaging), and Reporting (forms and analytics). The platform is offered across three solution tiers: Elite (for professional competitions with advanced analytics and travel management), Grassroots (for local clubs with simplified configuration), and Tournaments (for events with bulk processing and pooling features). A mobile app extends functionality to officials on the go. The platform supports 12+ different sports across 10+ countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• refbook Platform Cloud-based referee and umpire management software platform that enables assignors and officials to connect, manage game assignments, handle finances, communicate, and generate reports. Completely cloud-based with no software download required.
• Assigning Module Comprehensive officials assignment management featuring an officials database, competition configuration, assignment workflows, panel groups, conflicts management, and self-assigning capabilities for sports officials.
• Finances Module Financial management module handling game payments, expenses claiming, automatic calculations, travel requests, financial reporting, travel logistics, bonuses and loadings, with visual dashboards for expense tracking.
• Communication Module Communication and notification system enabling officials to receive assignment updates, crew memos, inbuilt chat functionality, and organisation news broadcasts.
• Reporting Module Reporting and form management module with prebuilt reports, inbuilt form builder, flexible reporting, external form linking, and automatic report generation scheduling.
• Elite Solution High-level sports officiating solution featuring detailed mode portal with real-time statistics, resources module, travel payments, panel members management, travel logistics, and forms and match reports for elite competitions.
• Grassroots Solution Simplified officiating solution designed for local and grassroots activities with optional competition settings, auto assignment, appointment deniability, game claiming, assistant assignors, self-service replacements, forms, and venue staffing capabilities.
• Tournaments Solution Specialist event solution for sporting tournaments, championships and carnivals with grouping features, travel payments, problem game highlighting, temporary connectivity for external officials, itineraries, and game overlap management.
• refbook Mobile App Official mobile application for Apple and Android devices enabling officials to view officiating summaries, appointments, confirm/deny assignments, update availability 24/7, modify personal profile info, and view fellow contact details.

Quantifiable outcome

• Save time and reduce errors through automated assigning workflows
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• EngageRM: EngageRM provides sports administration and member-management software used by elite bodies including FIBA. It is the most directly comparable sports-tech platform to refbook, and is closely connected via refbook's advisory team.
• Assignr: Assignr is a North-American referee assigning and scheduling platform. It is a direct competitor to refbook's Assigning module, serving similar assignor and official personas in ice hockey, soccer, and other sports.
• Officials360: Officials360 is a referee/umpire management solution offering scheduling, payments, and communication. It overlaps directly with refbook's core platform across grassroots and tournament use cases.

Regional players

• PlayHQ: PlayHQ is an Australian sports administration platform widely used by community sporting organisations. It is a regional peer focused on grassroots competition management, with overlapping but broader scope than refbook.

Broad incumbents

• SportsEngine: SportsEngine is a large US-based sports management platform serving leagues, clubs, and tournaments. It is a broad incumbent whose ecosystem overlaps with refbook's grassroots and tournament use cases at much greater scale.
• TeamSnap: TeamSnap provides team and league management software used by hundreds of thousands of sports organisations. Its scheduling and communication features compete indirectly with refbook at the grassroots level.
• Active Network / Community Brands: Active Network (part of Community Brands) offers activity and event management software, including sports registration and league operations. It is a broad incumbent competing for the same grassroots sports organisation budget as refbook.
• Stack Sports: Stack Sports is a sports technology platform offering registration, websites, scheduling, and tournament tools. It competes with refbook in grassroots and tournament workflows through a broader product suite.
• Genius Sports: Genius Sports is a global sports data and technology company serving leagues and betting operators. It overlaps with refbook at the elite level through officiating data, integrity, and performance technology offerings.

Others

• Catapult Sports: Catapult provides athlete tracking and performance analytics to elite teams and leagues. It is thematically adjacent rather than directly competitive, but addresses the same elite sports organisations and could expand into officiating data workflows.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about refbook