The problem
Golf lessons and rounds make good presents, but if the only way to buy a voucher is at the shop counter, many buyers pick something else. A pay-and-play course selling 10 paper vouchers over the counter each Christmas, when 40 could have sold at $67£50€60A$96C$94 misses $1,995£1,500€1,785A$2,880C$2,820 of takings a year.
What the AI does
Square Gift Cards has no monthly fee and costs nothing to set up for digital cards. Square's page lists an eGift card ordering page that buyers pay on by card, at 1.4% + 25p for UK cards, and says cards can be redeemed in person at your Square point of sale with no fee to redeem. Square's page also says the cards don't expire. Set amounts that match a lesson, a lesson block or a round, link the ordering page from the club website and your Christmas posts, and take the cards at the pro shop till.
A worked example
A pay-and-play course near Milton Keynes already uses Square at the pro shop till. In November it adds an eGift card ordering page with $33£25€30A$48C$47 $67£50€60A$96C$94 and $133£100€119A$192C$188 cards and links it from the website and social pages.
Before
About 10 paper vouchers sold over the counter each Christmas
After
About 40 eGift cards sold at $67£50€60A$96C$94 30 more than before, worth $1,995£1,500€1,785A$2,880C$2,820 a year
What it's worth
About $117£88€105A$169C$165 a month in profit, averaged over the year, at an assumed 70% margin on $1,995£1,500€1,785A$2,880C$2,820 a year of extra voucher sales (30 more $67£50€60A$96C$94 vouchers), which is $1,397£1,050€1,250A$2,016C$1,974 a year. Card fees on 40 online sales come to about $51£38€45A$73C$71 a year (1.4% of $67£50€60A$96C$94 plus 25p each), about $4£3€4A$6C$6 a month.
How to set it up
- Set up Square Gift Cards from your Square account and create eGift cards in amounts that match your lessons and green fees.
- Link the eGift ordering page from the club website, booking pages and Christmas social posts.
- Show staff how to take a gift card at the pro shop till and check a balance.
- Write the terms on the page: what the card can be used for, and who to contact for help.
- In January, check how many cards were redeemed and plan next year's amounts.
What goes wrong
- Square's page says the cards don't expire, so plan for vouchers being used years later, including after price rises.
- If lessons are booked through the pro's own account and green fees through the club's, agree whose Square account sells the cards and how the money is shared.
- Gift cards are only redeemable where Square takes the payment. If the tee sheet takes green fees through another system, the card must be redeemed at the Square till.