The current economic climate is taking its toll on almost every business with less disposable income being spent on luxuries. Golf club revenue has been particularly badly hit with many people deciding that having to work harder for less money means they have less time and money for their favourite hobby. Even clubs where membership hasn’t fallen are experiencing a drop in bar revenue as people play a little less.
But the bills aren't going down and golf courses cost as much to maintain as ever.
So what can you club do to ensure that it's profitable and managed well?
Whether your club is member run or proprietary, A4G can help. Our experience of working with hundreds of businesses enables us to help you in many ways:
The A4G survey of forward thinking golf clubs
In 2011 A4G undertook a survey on how golf clubs performed over the last 12 months and how pro-active they are in generating new income. We have recently sent out all of the reports to those who took part.
We will be repeating the suvey in 2012.
Getting everyone working towards the same goal
Having a clear strategic plan that gets all the key members of your team working towards the same goal and uses the goodwill of your members is key. Advisers 4 Golf Clubs offer a Strategic Planning day where you can take a day away from the golf club to identify where you want your business to be in five years time and how you will make the changes you need in order to get there.
Maximising revenue without upsetting your existing members
Understanding your Management Accounts is key to knowing where there is potential for improving your cash flow, achieving profitable growth and reducing your costs. A4G can also help with regards to your restaurant/catering arrangements as well as advising about online booking and teetime management systems.
VAT reclaims
Following the First Tier Tribunal decision on HM Revenue and Customs v Bridport & West Dorset Golf Club, protective claims can be made to recover VAT paid on green fees by non-members of a private members golf club. If the final outcome of this case results in VAT being refundable to private members clubs, these protective claims should result in VAT refunds being paid.
Gaining a hole in one from your Sales and Marketing
Having a clear sales and marketing strategy in place will help you to not just retain your members, but find new ones and increase revenue gained by other areas of the golf club such as the clubhouse. A4G can advise you about the best use of the various Social Media channels as well as how to run a Referral Marketing Strategy, advice about email marketing techniques and can also offer specialised training for your sales team.
Join the Advisers 4 Golf Clubs Linkedin Group
Trouble-shooting helps you to get it right!
“We all know how tough it is for golf clubs at the moment. For a golf club, developing any kind of strategy is hard enough, but getting everyone to buy in to it is even harder. With A4G, in just one day we’d developed a proper strategy, one that encompasses all sorts of issues and needs, and got everyone involved pulling in the same direction at last.
I’m now convinced this isn’t something you should do internally, which is why we asked A4G’s Malcolm Palmer to come and do one of his 'trouble-shooting' workshops with us. He brings that essential outside perspective that comes from helping all sorts of small to medium size businesses, combined with an accountant’s focus on the bottom line.
I simply can’t recommend one of these mornings strongly enough to any golf club, especially in the very challenging environment in which we all find ourselves now and in the future.”
Stephen Billings, Redlibbets GC
A4G are happy to provide a quotation for dealing with your annual accounts and tax affairs.
If you would like a no-obligation quotation, just send us a copy of your full accounts and we’ll work out a price.
To speak to a member of our specialist team give us a call on (01474) 853 856.