Golf club software contract notice periods

Your golf club software contract notice period is the date the whole switch hangs on. Read three clauses together, the contract length, the renewal clause and the notice clause, and they tell you the last day your notice letter can arrive.

Miss that day and a contract that renews automatically carries on for another term. A committee can vote to switch in November and then find the contract renewed itself the month before, so find the date before the vote, put it in the committee papers and plan the move around it.

This guide covers the clauses a committee should ask about. It is not legal advice. If a clause is unclear or the sums are large, ask a solicitor to read the contract.

Why does the notice period matter so much?

Because it decides when you can leave, and the rest of the plan follows from that date. Our eight-week plan to change your golf booking system puts the vote and the notice letter in weeks 1 and 2. That only works if the notice window is still open when the committee meets.

In a survey of UK clubs by Golf Genius, a golf software company, to which 5% of the market responded, two thirds said they were exploring alternatives to their current supplier.

The survey did not ask about contracts. If your club is one of them, read the contract before the committee meets, while every date is still open to you.

How do you work out your notice date?

Put three things side by side: the start date, the term and the notice period. A worked example:

• The contract started on 1 April and runs for 3 years, so the first term ends on 31 March three years later.
• It renews automatically for another year unless either side gives notice.
• Notice must be in writing, at least 3 months before the end of the term.

So the letter has to reach the supplier by 31 December, three months before the term ends on 31 March. If the committee meets in mid-January, the club has missed that window and is signed up until the following March.

Check whether the contract counts from the day the letter arrives or the day it is sent, and whether it names an address or email for notices. If the wording says "received by", post it recorded or email it and ask for a reply.

Thinking about a move? Book a 30-minute demo

What should you check in a golf club software contract?

Seven clauses, whether you're signing a new contract, coming up to renewal or about to give notice.

1. 
   1. Contract length. How long the first term runs and the date it ends. Write the end date down; the rest of the sums start there.
2. 
   2. Renewal. Whether the contract renews on its own, and for how long: another full term, a year, or month to month.
3. 
   3. Notice period. How much notice either side must give, how (letter, email, a form) and to whom. Note who at the club is allowed to sign it.
4. 
   4. Charges on leaving. Whether anything is owed if the club leaves early, and whether payments carry on to the end of the notice period.
5. 
   5. Price changes. Whether the supplier can change the price at renewal, and how much warning it has to give.
6. 
   6. Your data at the end. What you get back, in what format, how soon, and when the supplier deletes its copies.
7. 
   7. Linked services. Whether the app, the booking page on your website, card payments or hardware sit under the same contract or under separate ones with their own dates.

Take care over the seventh. A booking system, a card payments agreement and a website can each have their own notice period. List every one, so the club doesn't give notice on the tee sheet and stay tied to the rest.

What happens to your data when the contract ends?

Your member records are personal data, and your club decides how they are used. The supplier holds them on your behalf. The ICO's guidance on contracts between the two says the contract must cover what happens at the end: the supplier deletes or returns all the personal data, at the club's choice, and deletes its remaining copies unless UK law requires it to keep them.

That is the legal floor. For a switch you need more detail, so ask your current supplier now, before notice:

• What's in the export. Names, email addresses, membership numbers and membership categories at least, plus booking history and bookings already made for future dates.
• The format. A spreadsheet file the club can open.
• The timing. How soon after you ask, and whether you can have exports during the notice period while the old system still runs.
• A sample. One small export now, so you know what the files hold while there is time to ask for more.

Bookings made months ahead need planning with the new supplier. What happens to bookings already made is covered in the eight-week plan.

When should the committee give notice?

Straight after the vote, in writing. If the notice window closes before the next meeting, take the decision by email or call a short meeting. If the contract renews for a year, a vote two weeks late can tie the club in for that year.

Work out one thing first: when the old contract ends compared with the day you want members booking on the new tee sheet. If notice ends after your first Saturday, the old system can stay open as a read-only reference copy until then. If it ends before, you need the exports in hand and the new tee sheet ready by that day.

Here is a notice letter any club can adapt. Change the details in brackets:

Add if your club offers it:

• A request for the export as soon as possible, so you can check it while the old system still runs.
• The name and email address of the person at the club handling the move.
• A request for written confirmation that the supplier has deleted its copies of your members' data once the service ends.
• A list of any linked services (card payments, the website booking page, hardware) the club is also ending.

What should you ask a new supplier before you sign?

The same seven questions, before the committee signs anything. You'll be reading this contract again in a few years, so ask now what the notice period is, how renewal works and what you take with you when you leave.

Ask for the answers in writing, and for a short plan with dates: when you sign, when the setup call is, when you check the new tee sheet and when members start booking. Switching golf club software: 20 questions lists the rest of the questions committees ask, from members' apps to competitions.

How does the move work with Tuvabook?

We move your club across, and your data stays the club's. We move your courses, tee time structure, prices and member list across, you check everything over, and nothing goes live until you have seen it. We aim to have you live within three weeks of signing.

1. You give notice to your current supplier
2. We import your members and set up your tee sheet
3. You check it over
4. Members start booking

• Bookings already made. We plan these with you and agree which future tee times and competitions come across.
• Your data. Export your members, bookings and payments whenever you like. If you ever move on, you take everything with you.
• One member's records. Export data on a member's page downloads everything the club holds on them, for a member who asks.

What's the next step?

Find your current contract today and write three dates in the committee papers: the end of the term, the last day for notice and the first Saturday you want members booking on a new tee sheet. Then read the switching guides for the rest of the move, and see how switching works with us.

Common questions

How much notice do we need to give our golf software supplier?

The notice period your contract sets, counted back from the date the current term ends. Read the term, renewal and notice clauses together to find the last day the letter can arrive, and send it in writing well before.

Does our golf club software contract renew automatically?

Check the renewal clause. It tells you whether the contract rolls over on its own and for how long, which is why a missed notice date can tie the club in for another term.

Can we get our member data back when we leave?

The contract should say. ICO guidance says it must cover what happens to personal data at the end, with the supplier deleting or returning it at the club's choice. Ask for a spreadsheet export of members and bookings, and a sample before you give notice.

When should the committee give notice to the current supplier?

Straight after the vote, in writing, and before the notice window closes. If the window closes before your next meeting, take the decision by email rather than wait.

What if we have already missed the notice date?

Ask the supplier in writing whether it will agree an earlier end date, and keep the reply. If not, note the next notice date and plan the switch so your first Saturday on a new tee sheet comes after the contract ends.