The question behind the bar
Your club includes a bar and catering levy in some membership categories: a sum loaded onto the member's card at renewal, to be spent in the clubhouse during the year. Members also top up their cards with their own money and use them for competition entries at the till.
The only way to see the balance is to hand the card over at the bar and ask. On a busy Saturday evening, the bar staff are asked the same question many times. In the last month of the levy year, members suddenly realise they have a large amount left and either rush to spend it or complain when it lapses. Some complain that they were never told.
Why balances are invisible
The balance lives in the EPOS system behind the bar, which is built for staff, not for members. Many clubhouse EPOS systems can produce a statement, but sending statements to members is manual, so it rarely happens.
The levy and the member's own top-ups are sometimes held in the same balance, so members cannot tell what will expire and what will not.
And the office cannot easily see who has spent what until the year end, so there is no chance to prompt members with large unspent levy while there is still time.
What that costs the club
| Problem | Effect |
|---|---|
| Balances only at the till | Staff time and queues at the bar |
| Levy and top-up mixed | Confusion about what expires |
| No reminders | Complaints when levy lapses |
| Year-end rush | Busy bar, stock and staff under pressure |
| No view of unspent levy | Hard for the committee to judge the policy |
Whether your club has a levy, and what happens to unspent amounts, are decisions for your committee and members. We help members see where they stand under those rules.
How we put the balance in members' hands
- We connect to your clubhouse EPOS or member card system, through its data connection or regular export, to read balances and transactions.
- Levy and personal top-up balances are shown separately if your system holds them separately, with the levy end date clearly stated.
- Members log in with their membership number and a text code and see their balance and recent spending on their phone.
- Reminders go to members with unspent levy at points in the year the club chooses, with a friendly note about upcoming events and menus.
- Members top up their card online, through Stripe or a similar provider, and the top-up is added to the card through the EPOS system if it allows it.
- The office and committee see unspent levy by category, and spending patterns across the year, to inform future decisions about the policy.
Several clubhouse EPOS providers already offer member apps or statements. If yours does and it is not switched on, we help you set it up first.
After the change
A member checks their balance on the way to the club, sees the levy runs out in six weeks, and books the Sunday lunch for the family. The bar staff are asked about balances far less. The committee sees how much levy is typically unspent and can discuss the policy with facts.
- Balances on members' phones
- Levy and own money shown clearly
- Reminders well before the levy period ends
- Online top-ups for members
The year-end rush becomes a spread of visits across the last few months, which is easier on the bar staff, the kitchen and the stock order.
Is this the conversation at your bar?
- Members ask bar staff for their card balance.
- Members complain about levy lapsing without warning.
- Levy and personal top-ups are hard to tell apart.
- There is a rush to spend levy at year end.
- Top-ups can only be done at the till.