DR JOHN MORGAN

MANAGEMENT SERIES
PHOTO: WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/ ANDREY_POPOV
Managing membership income and payroll are key to the success of any business, whether private or public sector
focused finance director to drive
through the analysis and maintain an
overview across the chain or group, he’s
clear that ‘top-down’ budgets agreed
at board level and handed down to
local managers who have had no say
in the matter rarely work: “Put simply,
this practice doesn’t make people
accountable. Anyone operating like this
should take a step back, regroup and
consider how they can turn this system
on its head. It takes a little getting used
to, but it really works.”
Jefford also requires his centre
managers to take control of their
budgets, and believes they pay more
attention to finances as a result. “Each
site has specific requirements and
considerations, so a ‘one size fits
all’ budget handed down from the
management team will not be helpful,”
he says. “Every centre manager must
put in for what he or she thinks is
needed. Once it’s agreed, they head
up the implementation and I offer
guidance where necessary.”
Profit & loss
Income streams differ between private
and public facilities, with the latter
Many businesses run
scared of giving P&L
responsibility to their
centre managers, but
my view is if you can’t
trust them on this, you
don’t have the right
person in the job
generally having more emphasis on
casual exercise lines. However, managing
membership income and payroll are the
key to a successful business across the
board, says Jefford. Both sectors are
also equally accountable to their
stakeholders and members and both
need to be profitable, including ‘not for
profit’ clubs which are obliged to invest
their profit into improving their business.
As with budgeting, Jefford hands his
centre managers the responsibility for
their profit and loss accounts. “Many
businesses run scared of giving such
responsibility to their centre managers,
but my view is if you can’t trust them
on this, you don’t have the right person
in the job,” explains Jefford. “That
doesn’t mean all our centre managers
have accountancy skills. Instead we
have bespoke software, so all they
need to do is input sales and purchases
accurately as they happen. The software
will do the rest. Very quickly, a good
centre manager will learn how to
interpret the outcomes clearly and look
to address any losses that are showing.
Any problems, come to me and I’ll help,
but they save a lot of my time by keeping
an eye on the day-to-day income and
expenditure of their centre.”
Real-time tracking
Gone are the days where month-end
could bring unpleasant surprises, as
there’s now plenty of software
available to track income versus
expenditure in real time.
Jefford requires a daily income
check to ensure any discrepancies
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November/December 2014 © Cybertrek 2014