To Budget or Not to Budget? Cancel The title field is required!

1. James Smith

   

   112 posts
   
   10/6/2014 12:10 PM

   I guess I am just venting but how many of you do not work with a budget?
   
   I have not had a budget since 2005 and a true budget since 2003.
   
   Every year I make one up and send it into my BOD but they never get around to doing anything about it. around 2009 they found out that the GM was manipulating the budget sheets to his benefit and canned him only to never do another budget. We have a CPA that serves as our treasurer that has the attitude that we do not need a budget (although I do not think he knows anything about budgeting). I am getting tired of running this place by the seat of my pants. I have a really good handle on our money situation at all times but it still bothers me that we do not budget our club.
   
   Am I the only one that has to work like this?
   Am I wrong to want a budget?

   
   
   
   
2. David Brandenburg

   

   3 posts
   
   10/6/2014 3:10 PM

   James,
   
   I am at a muni now so we have budgets but my other 12 years and three courses we did not have formal budgets. I made one up for my own use to compare the past two years to the current and the coming year but it was never approved by anyone.
   
   I provided it, they looked at it and that was it. It still helped me manage my department and if the owners or board did not want to use it or formalize it I did not worry about it. It seemed they appreciated my budget and I am sure it helped improve their opinion of my business skills.
   
   The difficult part for the superintendent without a budget is to know when to stop spending.

   
   
   
   
3. Michael Vogt

   

   2 posts
   
   10/7/2014 1:10 PM

   James:
   If you don't know where you're going, you might wind up someplace else.
   - Yogi Berra
   
   Even if you make the budget just for yourself, like was mentioned by David, a budget should be a guide, almost a business plan for this year's work.

   
   
   
   
4. Hardy Andrew

   
   10/8/2014 5:10 AM

   No budget here either. My owner will not go to a budget because he fears waste spending. So I have numbers that I use to track my expenses. But the being told to spend "whatever it takes to get the job done" days have to come to an end soon. And I want to be prepared with numbers for what it will take to get the job done when that day does come.
   
   Running without a budget and then crying poor at the same time is an interesting business strategy.

   
   
   
   
5. Keith Pegg

   

   0 posts
   
   10/8/2014 4:10 PM

   Budgets are an interesting part of business, Staff (in our business item one).
   
   Staff and wages:
   Related expenses, taxes, overtime (or not), health care, bonuses, meals, travel, education and more.
   Utilities:
   Power, water, heat all semi fixed items with only some control.
   Fertilizer, chemicals:
   Again based on staff size, level of quality wanted almost a fixed amount.
   Capital:
   Course improvements, new turf areas and buildings all can be captured in a depreciation program 10 to 20 years with updates every years and 5 years.
   Parts:
   Repairs to equipment not a set amount and yet each course will find its center and remain very stable, based on staff size, months per year open, rounds of golf per month, grass types and more.
   
   In the end that is the budget and it really starts with staff. It then feeds down from that point to every other part of the operation, you can control some of it however the bottom line is, it is what it is even if it's not on paper.
   Keith

   
   
   
   
6. James Smith

   

   112 posts
   
   10/9/2014 6:10 AM

   Well it is good to see others have to work this way also, or at least understand the benefits of having one.
   Every fall I build a new budget by building my maintenance programs and then plugging in the numbers to coincide with the programs. I place a budget for labor which is basically the same every year for the most part (I have lost about 3-4 staff members off my crew over the past 12 years which has brought that area down a good bit). Even if my board does not look at my budget (and I know they dont) I still have it to run by and I generally pull the numbers two months in advance when they ask me what I will need in the near future (this makes it a lot easier to be ready for our monthly board meetings).
   I will be working with our office manager this winter in hopes of building a budget for the club. I honestly think they do not know how and that is the reason they leave it as is. Running a business by the seat of your pants is not going to be very successful.

   
   
   
   
7. Dustin Riley

   

   8 posts
   
   10/10/2014 6:10 AM

   James,
   
   I'm not in your situation but do you get monthly financials relating to your expense? If so, why not compare those numbers to the budget you assembled and sent to the board. At the end of the fiscal year, submit a recap comparing actual vs budget. If anything, it'll prove to them that you've examined your needs to maintain the golf course can be accurate in following those forecasts.
   
   Just 2c

   
   
   
   
8. Mark Van Lienden

   

   14 posts
   
   10/10/2014 7:10 AM

   I had a budget but the GM quit letting me use. A weak way of saying bye bye.

   
   
   
   
9. James Smith

   

   112 posts
   
   10/10/2014 12:10 PM

   Dustin Riley, CGCS said: James,
   
   I'm not in your situation but do you get monthly financials relating to your expense? If so, why not compare those numbers to the budget you assembled and sent to the board. At the end of the fiscal year, submit a recap comparing actual vs budget. If anything, it'll prove to them that you've examined your needs to maintain the golf course can be accurate in following those forecasts.
   
   Just 2c

   
   No I do not get any financials. The sheets that is presented to the board members at the meetings are worthless to be honest. I retrieved them from the office Wednesday before our Board meeting and was going over what id provided and it is really just a general sheet telling how much we took in and how much we spent. no breakdowns and what I found out was that our large monthly note ($4,300) was not even on the sheets.
   
   I have stepped up and presented the club president with the offer to build a budget for the whole club before the end of the year and he thought it was a great idea and wants me to run with it. My office manager is with me on the issue also (seems like 20 year seniority has a few perks). At least this way we will know what to expect over the next few months instead of weeks.
   
   As I see it, it is to my benefit to do these things in order to help us stay on the right path.
   Good question though.

   
   
   
   
10. Trevor Monreal

    

    5 posts
    
    10/13/2014 12:10 PM

    Going on 7 years working without a budget.
    The only thing bothersome is having to hit a moving target (expectations) or doing things on a whim.
    Other than that, I prefer it.
    It's nice having a face to face meeting with the owner and being asked to spend more money or buy new equipment rather than having to justify future expenses.