Whether your year-end falls at the end of the calendar year or fiscal year, there are a few crucial areas you should focus on to make sure your pickleball and tennis club is in the best possible shape.
From the key metrics you should always check, to the analysis you’ll want to undertake at year-end, we’ve put together a handy list that you can use when going over your finances to help make sure your cash flow is healthy, your business is sustainable, and you’re all set for success next year.
1. Check out where ALL your revenue came from
Your first step in any financial review – and your most rewarding one – should be to calculate just how much revenue you’ve taken over the last 12 months.
More importantly, you’ll want to focus on where that revenue came from, so you see which were your most successful revenue streams, which made a healthy income you might not have been aware of, and which may need more focus next year.
Break your revenue down into sources like:
- Membership fees
- Court rentals and booking fees
- Guest fees
- Lessons & clinics
- Tournaments & events
- Merchandise sales
- Food & drink
2. Calculate all your general expenses and expenditures
Next, compile, calculate and review the money you’ve spent over the last year. Don’t worry about external costs like marketing or one-time investments at this stage (we’ll get to those), but instead just focus on all your general expenses like:
- Maintenance
- Utilities
- Wages
Achieving a clear visual picture of how much you’ve spent and where that money has gone will help you plan for next year and see where improvements can be made.
With instructor management software like CourtReserve, you’ll easily keep track of all your staff wages, and all your spending on pros, because all payments are streamlined and managed directly on the platform.
3. Analyze all your investments over the last 12 months
After assessing your general expenses, it’s time to look at those key investments you’ve made this year. What did you spend on marketing? How much did your software or apps cost you? What upgrades did you make to your facilities?
Did you open up a new site?
The costs will vary greatly here, of course, but the purpose of this exercise is the same – to figure out if it was worth it.
- Which parts of your marketing worked, and which didn’t?
- Did those upgrades make a difference to member satisfaction (retention) and/or attract new members?
- Was your software worth it?
If you’re using CourtReserve, we’d hope to answer that last question with a big yes, if the feedback from our customers is anything to go by!
4. Compare your actual results with your predicted ones
Budget comparisons are a super helpful, often overlooked part of your year-end financial review. Sit down with both your predicted and actual figures, then compare the differences. Bring your key staff members along too.
Talk about where things differ and try and understand why. What lessons can you learn for next year?
5. Review and revise your cash flow
With all those figures in hand, it should be a quick, simple next step to reflect on your historical cash flow and make any adjustments for the next year.
Don’t skip this step! Knowing what you expect your cash flow to look like month on month can help you make some really big decisions about what you’re going to spend on, what your marketing tactics should be, and how you can expect to grow your pickleball & tennis club.
6. Review your club’s key performance metrics
You might have done this already. You might be doing it every month, with the help of court reservation software.
But if not, year-end is the time to gather as many usage stats and performance metrics as possible to give you as much insight into court operations as possible.
They should include:
- Court utilization – like how often and what times all your courts are booked
- Membership growth & retention – how many new members joined, how many stayed, how many left?
- Tournament & event participation – to help you analyze the costs of running an event compared with the revenue you bring in
- Lesson & clinic enrolment – to help you decide where to spend on coaching programs
- Average revenue per member – so you can understand each member’s individual value
All these metrics – and more we’ve not mentioned – will help you put an effective financial plan in place for next year.
7. Get organized with your taxes
It’s not fun, it’s not glamorous, but it’s a must-do.
Gather and organize all those necessary financial documents for tax preparation, getting all your paperwork in order. If you’ve gone paperless with court management software like CourtReserve, you’ll find it a lot easier!
You might want to speak with a tax professional to make sure you’re compliant and to identify potential tax-saving opportunities.
8. Make a plan for next year
Finally, use all that data and insight you’ve gathered to create a strategy for the next 12 months.
With your year-end financial review done, you’ll hopefully see just how successful your club has been. You’ll be able to look to next year, and the future beyond it, and start making those plans to grow your club even bigger, to open new courts and new sites, attract more members and keep delivering an incredible tennis & pickleball experience.
