A drawer full of vouchers
Saturday's medal had three divisions, with prizes for the top three in each and twos sweep payouts. The results go up, and the office writes out paper vouchers or adds names to a prize list for the pro shop. Members come in over the following weeks to spend them. Some lose the voucher. Some come in twice. Some never come in.
At the end of the month, the professional sends the club a list of prizes redeemed, and the treasurer compares it with the prize fund. They never quite match, and nobody can say exactly why.
Why prize credit is so hard to track
The prize is decided in the competition software, written on paper by the office, redeemed at the till, and settled through the accounts. Four steps, often three people, and no shared record.
Twos sweeps and entry fees add complexity. The pot depends on the number of entries and twos, and calculating the split by hand after each competition is error-prone.
The professional often has a different view of the same prizes. For them, a prize voucher is a sale they fund from stock and are later paid for by the club, so an error in the list means either the shop is out of pocket or the club pays twice. It is a common source of friction in an otherwise good relationship.
Members add to the confusion innocently. A winner asks the assistant to put a prize towards a new driver on order, or to split it with a playing partner, or to hold it until the spring sale. Each request is reasonable, and each one is handled on a scrap of paper.
And unredeemed credit is a quiet problem. The club may have promised prizes worth more than has been spent, and nobody can see the balance.
What that costs
| Problem | Effect |
|---|---|
| Paper vouchers | Lost, doubled or disputed |
| Pots calculated by hand | Errors in prize amounts |
| No running balance | Members unsure what they have to spend |
| Settlement from lists | Club and professional disagree |
| Unredeemed credit unknown | Liability the treasurer cannot see |
How the club treats prize funds for accounting and tax purposes is for your treasurer and accountant. We make the records clean.
How we track prize credit end to end
- When results are confirmed, prize amounts are calculated from the rules for that competition, including divisions and twos sweeps, and shown to the competition secretary to approve.
- Approved prizes are credited to each winner's prize balance, with a text or email telling them what they have won.
- At the pro shop till, the member's balance is shown and can be used against a purchase, reducing the balance and recording what was bought.
- Members can see their balance and history on their phone.
- A monthly settlement report shows prizes awarded, redeemed and outstanding, split by competition, for the club and the professional.
- Balances that stay unspent past a time the club sets are flagged for the committee to decide what happens.
Some club management and EPOS systems have member accounts that could hold prize credit. If yours does, we connect to it instead of adding another balance.
After the next medal
The secretary confirms the results and approves the prize list. Winners get a message on Saturday evening. On Sunday one of them buys a glove, and the balance drops at the till. At the month end, the settlement report is agreed between the club and the professional in minutes.
- No paper vouchers to lose
- Prize pots calculated from rules
- Balances members can check
- Monthly settlement without arguments
Does this describe your prize admin?
- Prizes are paid as paper vouchers or on a list at the till.
- Twos pots are calculated by hand.
- Members ask the pro shop how much they have left.
- The monthly settlement never quite balances.
- Nobody knows how much prize credit is unspent.