New & developing clubs
Software for new private clubs, from the first founding member
Sell founding memberships, bill initiation fees and build the roster before the course opens — then switch on the tee sheet, the grill and the general ledger as each part of the club opens. One system from the first member onward.
Start clean
Why should a new club choose its software early?
A new private club starts with a membership before it has a golf course to play. The developer or founding group sells founding memberships off drawings and a routing plan, collects initiation fees and deposits, and builds a roster one household at a time — often a year or more before the first tee time.
That is the moment most new clubs pick up their first piece of software, usually a spreadsheet or a billing tool that handles the membership sales. Then the course opens and a tee sheet arrives, then a restaurant point of sale when the clubhouse opens, then an accounting package. Five years in, the club runs on the same pile of disconnected systems as a club founded in 1925.
Software for new private clubs should let you start on one system and stay there. Bubs runs the membership and billing from the first founding member, and the tee sheet, the outlets, events and the general ledger are switched on as each part of the club opens — on the same member records and the same ledger, with nothing to migrate later.
Founding memberships
Sell the membership before the first tee time
The first thing a new club sells is a membership. Bubs handles the classes, the initiation fee, the dues and the accounting from the first signature.
Member classes from day one
Founding, full golf, social, junior, non-resident — each class carries its own dues, booking windows and privileges, and a member can move between them without losing their history.
Initiation fees on the account
Initiation fees and capital dues are billed to the member account like any other charge, and autopay collects by card or bank account.
Accounted the way your auditor wants
Your accountant chooses how initiation fees are treated — deferred and recognized over time, recorded as a contribution to equity, or recognized when billed — and the ledger follows that policy.
Offerings with terms
Prepaid dues, cart plans, lockers and bag storage are offerings members enroll in, with the terms they accepted kept on the enrollment.
The roster
Build the roster one household at a time
A new club builds its roster from nothing, so there's no import to plan. The office adds each household as it signs: the primary member, spouse and children, each with their own member number in your club's numbering scheme and their own charging privileges.
When you're ready to open the app, members are invited in batches to claim their account. The invitation carries no password or code; each member proves who they are with a one-time code sent to the phone or email already on the roster. Once the account holder is in, they invite the rest of the household.
- Households with a login and member number for each person
- Charging privileges set per person
- Invitations sent in batches, with no credential in the message
- Statements and autopay from the first dues cycle
Opening day
Switch each part of the club on as it opens
Every module runs on the same member records and ledger, so turning on the tee sheet or the grill is configuration — not a new vendor, a new login or a data import.
Your brand before your first tee time
The member app ships with the club's name, crest and colors, so the first thing founding members download is yours.
The tee sheet when the course opens
Booking windows, guest rules and lotteries set up in advance, and switched on for opening day.
The outlets when the clubhouse opens
A grill, a bar and a halfway house on one register, with a kitchen display, ticket printers and member charging from the first service.
The books from the first fiscal year
A chart of accounts seeded from the club industry's uniform system and yours to edit, an opening balance entered once, and budgets by department.
Grow
Grow without switching again
Member-guests, club championships, banquets and a second course all run on the system you opened with. The data you entered from the first founding member is still the record, and it exports in full any time you ask.
Choosing
Evaluating club software for the first time?
The RFP template and evaluation scorecard list the questions to ask any vendor, including the ones about leaving.
FAQ
Questions from new clubs
What software does a new private club need?
Before opening: membership records, member classes, billing for dues and initiation fees, and a way to collect payments. At opening: a tee sheet, point of sale for the shop and food and beverage, and a member app. From the first fiscal year: a general ledger and financial statements. Starting on one system that covers all of them avoids a migration a few years in.
Can we use Bubs before the course opens?
Yes. Membership, billing and the member app can run on their own while the course and clubhouse are built. The tee sheet and outlets are switched on when those parts of the club open.
How are founding memberships set up?
As a member class with its own dues, privileges and booking windows. Founding members can keep that class for as long as the club's rules say, and every other class is set up the same way.
How does Bubs handle initiation fees in the books?
Initiation fees are billed to the member's account. The club's accountant sets the accounting policy — deferred and recognized over a period of months, recorded as equity, or recognized when billed — and the general ledger posts accordingly.
Can we use our own member numbers?
Yes. Member numbers are stored exactly as the club issues them, including leading zeros, and each person in a household can have their own.
How is Bubs priced for a club that's still growing?
The pricing page sets out how Bubs is priced. Modules are switched on as each part of the club opens, so a club that hasn't opened yet runs only what it uses.
See your club on Bubs
Thirty minutes, your club's brand on the screen, and the parts of the day you care about most.