Notes
based on talk given by Chris Wallis of Tring RFC to HRFU General Committee
September 2004.
Chris has had experience of managing a group of pubs and has transferred the
practices there to Tring RFC.
There are four ways Club bars are usually run
1. Rota System
·1 Unreliable figures
·2 Can’t get volunteers
Downside, no control - people helping themselves.
2. Paid Manager/Steward
·1 Expensive
·2 Profit not guaranteed
·3 Prone to dishonesty
·4 National Insurance/PAYE
Difficulty with agreeing opening times, etc
3. Franchise
·1 Control away from the club
·2 Bar staff all to paid for
·3 National Insurance/PAYE
Lose control again - how many bar staff, etc
4. Profit Share
·1 Incentive to manager
·2 Self employed
·3 More manager earns, more club earns
·4 More simple to run and control
·5 Central buying (discounts, etc)
·6 Help with social side and lettings
·7 Part time or full time
·8 Pleasant working relationship
·9 No rent
This fourth option was operating at Tring very successfully on a 60/40 profit share basis. Whoever runs the bar has a contract with the club, i.e. is not employed by the club. The club is registered with Inland Revenue which gets round the Insurance/PAYE problem. The more money the manager takes, the more profit both they and the club makes. Decisions on beers, equipment, etc, are discussed at meetings. It is a simple to run system. Weekly sheets filled in on a daily basis. They go to the club treasurer with bills/invoices, etc. There is a profit share every three months. The Manager draws £150 a week on account. From her half of the profit, she pays the staff. All the other costs are picked up by the club including electricity and cleaning. All the manager pays for is staff and herself. She can get outside functions in to help boost bar profits, particularly out of season. She does, however, do the match teas, therefore the split is 60/40 in her favour. Nobody is trying to cheat the other party.
Treasurer checks income and outgoings. The form used has gross sales, expenditure and then staff, her own £150 and any other expenditure that she is responsible for. She also fills in a form for the VAT man - drip trays, cleaning, breakages, expired goods, tradesmen, etc. An independent stock take is done every three months. If there is a big discrepancy, she is charged all the losses at sale price. A Profit and Loss account is prepared every three months. Overheads come off the gross profit. Divide the net profit by 2 - take off any error, anything she has drawn, staff, etc. gives the final figure that she is paid quarterly. She gets a breakdown of the profit split four times a year which she can take to her accountant. It includes the fact that she has paid staff, etc, but if they only work a certain number of hours she is not responsible for their tax and NI.
It is a simple contract with the aim of increasing profit for both parties. There is one month’s notice on either side. She does not have to attend committee meetings unless she particularly wants to. The club has the licence, not the manager. New laws coming in will mean that she will have to have her own licence.
Clubs have to work out a fair split dependent on the scope of the duties of the manager.