Reply To: The finances of running a games club

[limburger 21708xp 2]

It sounds like your club is growing from ‘just a bunch of friends/regulars’ to a ‘proper club’.
As they say : things are about to get ‘real’ …

I’m no lawyer, but if there is free legal advice in your area then ask them about details and local laws regarding this sort of stuff. Taxes may already apply … (or on the plus side : you may qualify for tax breaks/exemptions too)

There is never such a thing as too much money for rainy days … especially when the proverbial excrement does hit the spinning blade. Although with interest rates being what they are it’s not beneficial to keep a lot stashed either.

A quick google for non profit organisations suggests a reserve of 3 to 6 months worth of expenses.
So keep that in mind before you spend money.

There is such a thing as spending too little to keep your club afloat, but make sure you keep a record of what gets bought and by who. Also factor this into your budget for next year. Reason ? Those nice tables you buy from that bit of ‘extra’ cash are going to need replacing and you’re going to need to start saving money to cover replacements in x amount of time (I think 2-3 years is a good target).

If you haven’t then you might look into whatever papers you need to make it an ‘official club’ as per your local laws&regulations, so you cover things like who checks the cash, who gets to be a member and how to deal with the bad stuff that might happen. That is if you haven’t done so already.

Things can get ugly when people think they are owed money from the club or stuff gets ‘misplaced’. Having this stuff on record will save a lot of trouble even though it sounds like overkill during happy times.

If this is the sort of thing that scares you then you may be in over your head already.