Club Software Evaluation Scorecard and Demo Script

This club software evaluation scorecard gives a selection committee one consistent way to compare club management software vendors: a weighted scoring table, a 1-to-5 scoring guide, a scripted demo that every finalist runs with the club's own scenarios, reference call questions and a summary for the board. It's vendor-neutral. Copy it, adjust the weights to your club's priorities before any vendor is scored, and have every committee member score independently.

How to use the scorecard

1. Agree the weights first. Set category weights before the first demo, so no one adjusts them to favor a vendor afterwards.
2. Send the demo script in advance. Every finalist runs the same scenarios, in the same order, with the same data.
3. Score independently. Each committee member scores each vendor during or right after the demo, without discussion.
4. Combine and discuss. Average the scores, then discuss the biggest disagreements. Change a score only for a documented reason.
5. Check the result against Must requirements. A vendor that misses a Must is disqualified, regardless of total score.

Use this alongside the club software RFP template, which provides the written requirements the scorecard draws on.

The scoring guide

Use the same definitions for every criterion.

Score what you saw. If a feature was described but not demonstrated, score it 1 or ask for a follow-up demonstration.

The weighted scoring table

Suggested weights are shown; adjust them to the club's goals. The weights must total 100%.

Calculating the weighted score

For each category, multiply the average score by the weight. Add the results for the vendor's total, out of a maximum of 5.00.

For example, if Vendor A averages 4 in tee sheet and golf operations (weight 15%), that category contributes 4 × 0.15 = 0.60.

Scoring cost

Cost is scored like any other category. One simple method: the lowest five-year total cost scores 5, and each other vendor scores 5 × (lowest cost ÷ their cost). A vendor 25% more expensive than the lowest scores 5 × (1 ÷ 1.25) = 4.0. Use the total cost worksheet from country club software cost.

Detailed criteria by category

Break each category into criteria for the committee member responsible. Average the criteria to get the category score.

Tee sheet and golf operations

Member billing and receivables

Point of sale and F&B

Data, migration and exit

Build similar tables for the remaining categories from the RFP requirements.

The scripted demo

Send this script to every finalist at least a week before the demo, with the club's sample data: a handful of member households in different categories, a menu, a tee sheet configuration and an event. Ask vendors to follow the order, use the product being proposed, and avoid slides. Allow two and a half to three hours. Committee members score the relevant section as it happens.

Part 1: Member and tee sheet (40 minutes)

1. Show the Anderson household: two adults and two dependents, a full golf membership, and a dependent charging limit.
2. As Mrs. Anderson in the member app, book next Saturday at 9:10 for herself and two guests. Show the guest limit being checked.
3. As the pro shop, take a phone call from a member without the app and book a foursome for Thursday.
4. Two members attempt to book the same time at the same moment. Show what happens.
5. Set up a lottery for next Saturday before 10:00. Enter ten requests, including groups, run the draw, show how the result was decided, and publish it.
6. Show the waitlist for a Sunday afternoon twosome and what happens when a time opens.
7. Check in the Saturday group and show the guest fees on Mrs. Anderson's account.

Look for: how many clicks the shop needs for a phone booking; whether the lottery can be explained to a member; whether the guest fee reached the account without re-keying.

Part 2: Food and beverage (35 minutes)

1. In the grill, open a check for a table of four, add items with modifiers and an allergy note, and fire the order to the kitchen.
2. Show the kitchen display or printer ticket at each station.
3. Split the check: two members charge to their accounts; one guest pays by card.
4. Disconnect the register from the internet. Ring and close another check. Reconnect and show what happens.
5. Show the charges on the members' accounts and their F&B minimum progress.
6. Place an on-course order from the member app for delivery at the turn.

Look for: whether the register kept working offline; whether minimum progress updated immediately; how the kitchen sees modifiers and allergies.

Part 3: Billing and accounting (35 minutes)

1. Show a member statement for the current period with dues, grill charges, guest fees and a payment.
2. Close a quarter and post F&B minimum shortfalls. Show one member who met the minimum and one who didn't.
3. Show autopay settings for a member paying by ACH.
4. Record a disputed charge, resolve it with a credit, and show the history.
5. Produce the AR aging.
6. Show the month's journal or general ledger entries for sales, tenders, member charges and payments.
7. Show how the processor's deposits are reconciled.

Look for: whether the statement is readable by a member; whether the shortfall calculation matches the club's rules; how much of the close is automatic.

Part 4: Events (25 minutes)

1. Book a 120-seat wedding rehearsal dinner for an outside client with a deposit.
2. Build the floor plan and assign three entrée choices by seat.
3. Produce the BEO and the chef's production counts.
4. Change the guaranteed count and show the effect on the invoice.
5. Show the final invoice and how it posts to accounting.

Look for: whether the BEO is something the kitchen would actually use; whether seat-level meals flow to counts and place cards.

Part 5: Golf events (20 minutes)

1. Set up a member-guest with six-team flights playing a round robin of nine-hole four-ball matches at 90%.
2. Show how Handicap Index® figures for members and guests are obtained.
3. Enter scores for one match and show the flight standings update.
4. Show how a player posts their score after the round.

Look for: how long setup takes; whether handicaps come from the source; whether standings update without manual entry.

Part 6: Data and exit (15 minutes)

1. Export the club's full data set. Show the format and its documentation.
2. Walk through the conversion plan for a club like ours, including a staged go-live.

Look for: whether the export is complete and usable without the vendor's help.

Part 7: Committee questions (20 minutes)

Hold questions until the end so every vendor gets the same time on the script.

Reference call questions

Ask to speak with the controller and the head golf professional, not only the general manager.

1. How long have you used the system, and what did you use before?
2. What went wrong in the first ninety days, and how did the vendor respond?
3. What do you still do outside the system?
4. How does support respond on a Saturday morning in season?
5. How accurate are member statements? How many billing questions do members raise?
6. How long does the month-end close take?
7. Have prices changed since you signed? Were there costs you didn't expect?
8. Have you exported your data? How did it go?
9. Would you choose the same system again?

Red flags to note on the scorecard

• A scenario skipped or replaced with slides
• A feature described as available but not shown
• Different data or a different product version than the one proposed
• Pricing that excludes items shown in the demo
• Reluctance to demonstrate a full data export
• References that are all recent, all from one region, or not similar to the club

Summarizing for the board

Present a one-page summary:

Add a short paragraph explaining the recommendation and the main risks. For guidance on what boards should ask, see club software selection for boards, and for the overall process, how to choose country club management software.