Golf Society Society Banking

Green Peter

Hi Folks, I'm involved in the running of a golf society @ 40 members but 30 active. The bank fees are @ €15 a quarter and we have a cheque book. It's not very flexible or feesable. Does anyone have any idea of a more easier way to deal with funds. A card would be very handy. Everything seems difficult when trying to open accounts
Thanks in advance.

Seve OB

Green Peter wrote: »

Hi Folks, I'm involved in the running of a golf society @ 40 members but 30 active. The bank fees are @ €15 a quarter and we have a cheque book. It's not very flexible or feesable. Does anyone have any idea of a more easier way to deal with funds. A card would be very handy. Everything seems difficult when trying to open accounts
Thanks in advance.

why are you bothered with a bank account?
i dont see the need to with so few members, be different if you had a couple of hunderd
Cash all the way man

Green Peter

Seve OB wrote:

why are you bothered with a bank account? i dont see the need to with so few members, be different if you had a couple of hunderd Cash all the way man

I can see you point, but many clubs require a deposit and they can be a distance away, I think cash is kinda messy and it's nice to have some kind of bank record of funds to cover the treasurer

jtown

We have 65 paying members in our society. 5 outings a year

We have a bank account and a cheque book with it.

Most players pay cash (sub and green fees) and a few cheques. We have the option for members to transfer into account if they so wish.

We pay the golf clubs with cash we collect on the day and if required the balance with cheque. We also pay for prizes this way.

Our bank fees are about €50 a year

Seve OB

Green Peter wrote: »

I can see you point, but many clubs require a deposit and they can be a distance away, I think cash is kinda messy and it's nice to have some kind of bank record of funds to cover the treasurer

can you not just pay the deposit by one of your own cards and get the cash for it?

i mean unless you are talking thousands, is it really woth it to have a bank account with all the fees etc which could go towards a few pro vs for the longest drive?

oh yea, and cheque books!!! really?

Green Peter

Seve OB wrote:

can you not just pay the deposit by one of your own cards and get the cash for it?

Seve OB wrote:

oh yea, and cheque books!!! really?

I guess I was looking for a solution that would avoid me using my own card and that would leave the society with something that could be passed on to a new treasurer easily and not cost the society such fees. Yes i was hoping to also replace the cheque book , they still work by the way.

morrga

Green Peter wrote: »

I guess I was looking for a solution that would avoid me using my own card and that would leave the society with something that could be passed on to a new treasurer easily and not cost the society such fees. Yes i was hoping to also replace the cheque book , they still work by the way.

Open up a Paddy Power account and request their Mastercard. If you already have an account, set one up in the oh or family member and use it just for golf. They charge no transaction or deposit fees and fellas could if they wanted to deposit cash into the account in any shop nationwide.

I have a Mastercard and its great, no transaction fees at all and free from any banking red tape.

Just dont gamble away the money

Seve OB

morrga wrote: »

Open up a Paddy Power account and request their Mastercard. If you already have an account, set one up in the oh or family member and use it just for golf. They charge no transaction or deposit fees and fellas could if they wanted to deposit cash into the account in any shop nationwide.

I have a Mastercard and its great, no transaction fees at all and free from any banking red tape.

Just dont gamble away the money

you still have to pay the stamp duty each year though?

morrga

Seve OB wrote: »

you still have to pay the stamp duty each year though?

No stamp duty applicable. It’s a prepaid card and no fees apply. Paddy covers them all.

bren2001

morrga wrote: »

Open up a Paddy Power account and request their Mastercard. If you already have an account, set one up in the oh or family member and use it just for golf. They charge no transaction or deposit fees and fellas could if they wanted to deposit cash into the account in any shop nationwide.

I have a Mastercard and its great, no transaction fees at all and free from any banking red tape.

Just dont gamble away the money

Realistically, 99% of payments will still be cash. So you'd have to top up the mastercard with your own cash and you're back to square one. There are other options like Revolut where people can transfer money but I think it just gets messy the morning of the outing. I'd much prefer to get cash in hand. The only time cash was annoying was booking and paying for the night away.

I was treasurer of a society last year and just found cash the easiest solution. Naturally, its important to keep a good record and receipts.

morrga

bren2001 wrote: »

Realistically, 99% of payments will still be cash. So you'd have to top up the mastercard with your own cash and you're back to square one. There are other options like Revolut where people can transfer money but I think it just gets messy the morning of the outing. I'd much prefer to get cash in hand. The only time cash was annoying was booking and paying for the night away.

I was treasurer of a society last year and just found cash the easiest solution. Naturally, its important to keep a good record and receipts.

If 99% of transactions are cash then thats fine, at least there is somewhere to deposit the money and make seamless payments using the card thereafter.
Nothing should or will change for the society members in terms of their preferred payment method,the process just becomes a source of convenience for the organiser without unnecessary bank charges which is the original goal of the OP.

And for anyone who has organised golf outings that is top of any treasurers wishlist.

Ronney

Prepaid Credit Card probably a bit better option than the Paddy Power Card

Here are the ones available in Ireland, One that allows free Bank a/c transfers probably best

https://www.bonkers.ie/compare-prepaid-credit-cards/your-results/

morrga

Ronney wrote: »

Prepaid Credit Card probably a bit better option than the Paddy Power Card

Here are the ones available in Ireland, One that allows free Bank a/c transfers probably best

https://www.bonkers.ie/compare-prepaid-credit-cards/your-results/

I would tend not to agree. I have tried both. To lodge €20 in a shop costs you €23.00. To make a payment costs about €1.75 per transaction.
To lodge money you need the prepay credit card with you so individuals cannot deposit if they wished to. To do a bank transfer you have to lodge money in to your bank account. Again its all hassle.

Paddy Power is a pre paid credit card that has no gimmicky transaction costs. People can pay in person to the treasurer or pop into the local PP shop and deposit in to the account as long as they have the account user name. No ID is required to deposit.

Not sure why people are so against it with alternative ideas that are clearly not better. The PP credit card has all the user friendly convenience and none of the costs of other methods which is what the OP is after. Statements are also provided on request to allow easy reconciliation to your own records.

Ronney

Did you look at all the Options on the Link I posted? (first one "Revolt")

morrga wrote: »

I would tend not to agree. I have tried both. To lodge €20 costs you €23.00. To transfer money costs about €1.75 per transaction.

Not true, free transfers possible

To lodge money you need the prepay credit card with you. That means individuals cannot deposit cash if they wish to.

Again Untrue as you can Wire Transfer

.

I agree the PP card is a great product for the consumer (have one myself), I would however be a bit nervous about having A societys funds Directly linked to a Betting Account

morrga

Ronney wrote: »

Did you look at all the Options on the Link I posted? (first one "Revolt")





I agree the PP card is a great product for the consumer (have one myself), I would however be a bit nervous about having A societys funds Directly linked to a Betting Account

Any reason why? The account password is held by one person so no one else can access the account.
If your worried about the treasurer gambling the money then there is the same risk as collecting cash and he walking into a betting shop. A trustworthy treasurer should have no issue with this method.

Ronney

morrga wrote: »

Any reason why? The account password is held by one person so no one else can access the account.
If your worried about the treasurer gambling the money then there is the same risk as collecting cash and he walking into a betting shop. A trustworthy treasurer should have no issue with this method.

I am probably not as trustworthy as you. Have previous experience of a Treasure in an organisation pilfering money and Gambling it.

I wouldn't be too worried in a small society of 10/12 mates but would be a bit more cautious in a bigger work/pub society of 40+ members where I wouldn't know everyone.

The idea that someone could access the funds and have them all on a horse in the space of 30 seconds, 24/7 would not sit easy with me.

thewobbler

I find this thread a bit odd.

There’s two separate issues at play.

The first one is he wants to be able to clearly separate his personal finances from his society’s finances. But here’s the problem. He can’t. He’s the treasurer, and he’s appointed in trust, and the reason why every organisation of 2-2bn people has accounts, is to safeguard that trust. If he (or his successors) wishes to keep a little for themselves there’s much easier and less transparent ways to do so. Plus I can promise you that handing over an independent bank account to a successor, is not any easier than messaging all members with the new treasurer’s bank number and sort code.

The second issue is that he wants a financial service that provides the majority of the services, flexibility and security of a bank, but doesn’t want to pay bank fees. I can’t blame him for wanting this, but while we are at it I want a new set of Mizuno Irons for €50..

morrga

The second issue has already been proven as achievable.

thewobbler

morrga wrote: »

The second issue has already been proven as achievable.

I wouldn’t like to lose a prepaid credit card all the same.

Plus, anyone hunting for a mortgage might not appreciate seeing a series of direct debits to Paddy Power on their bank statement.

Green Peter

thewobbler wrote:

The first one is he wants to be able to clearly separate his personal finances from his society’s finances. But here’s the problem. He can’t. He’s the treasurer, and he’s appointed in trust, and the reason why every organisation of 2-2bn people has accounts, is to safeguard that trust. If he (or his successors) wishes to keep a little for themselves there’s much easier and less transparent ways to do so. Plus I can promise you that handing over an independent bank account to a successor, is not any easier than messaging all members with the new treasurer’s bank number and sort code.

We have a separate bank account as it is in the name of he society. It's just not very flexible. Why would I mix society monies with my own accounts and be texting members my bank details. It's the complete opposite I'm trying to do. In handing over the account I would like to be able to show what funds are there and pass on the bank card and password.

newindublin

New here to Ireland so I dont know if it is an option, but in the US we used PayPal exclusively for this type of thing in the golf groups I was in. They would issue a credit card to the organizer that was good enough for the courses to hold tee times and everyone could send money online to the card holder. Not sure how they dealt with cash payments though.

Maybe check it out, can't promise it will work.

sofireland

Our society operates a bank account, the treasurer also maintains spreadsheets with expenses etc that the society accrues, and reviews each year.

Something like Revolut would be great, but it's for individuals, but you can provide an IBAN for bank transfers etc.