If you are running a sports club, it is one of your top priorities to make sure that everyone in the club is happy and satisfied. This is true for members, administrators, officers, assistants, coaches, parents, and everyone else. But whilst you can make everyone happy by being transparent and setting clear and concise objectives as well as encouraging everyone to do their part, it is another matter to manage your sports club’s finances effectively. Proper financial management is vital to your sports club’s operations, and if not done right, this could well lead to disastrous consequences. So how can you more effectively manage your sports club’s finances? Here’s your essential guide.
Why it’s essential
In order for your sports club to be a complete success, you need to turn a profit. But at the same time, you also need to have a good supply of cash-on-hand, so you can easily pay your bills and utilities, pay staff members, replace or buy whatever sports equipment you need, or even just take care of general maintenance for your facility. With a good system for financial management, you can help everyone focus on their own tasks and responsibilities and not have them worry about how to make ends meet, which may well detract from their purpose.
For effective financial management, you should:
- Try to avoid making too many investments in assets that are fixed, such as office equipment. If you don’t need that extra printer, then don’t waste money on it. Spend your money on something that you really need, such as first aid kids, sports equipment, and the like.
- Make it a point to maintain your short-term operating expenses or capital so you can support your inventory and accounts receivables in a more efficient way. Ensure that you always have available funding to pay your staff or pay a tradesperson for repairs. An available supply of cash is essential.
- Set your goals and objectives on sales. You need to focus on growth as opposed to just taking orders. For instance, rather than just getting dues from your members, make sure to go out and promote your sports club so you can get an increase in sign-ups and registrations. You can start a campaign on social media where you can target a community audience, especially those who reside or work near your sports club and make sure to offer them something they couldn’t resist.
- Concentrate on more efficient business operations by making sure to keep your general expenses as well as sales and administrative costs low. This means cutting costs on non-essentials or encouraging people to save on supplies such as printing paper and other office supplies.
- Stay on top of your membership payments. You can do this by setting up payments automatically with the help of good membership softwares that allow you to send out payment reminders and even receive payments with one click. With this, you can even manage your member profiles with ease – all in one place.
- Set up appropriate planning and preparation for taxes. If you don’t plan for this well in advance, you could end up paying fines and penalties with the littlest mistakes. Invest in a tax consultant so you can cover all your bases in terms of taxes.