Bel-Air Country Club

BACKGROUND

The Bel-Air Country Club boasts Hollywood’s elite as members and is approaching its 100th year. The course, known for its unusual and dramatic layout, carries players through tunnels, an elevator, and over its famous white suspension bridge.

The Club has hosted several USGA National Championships, including the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in 2023. In addition, it is slated to host the Curtis Cup Match in 2026 and the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship in 2030.

Daryn Wood, Bel-Air’s Controller for over seven years, leads a small accounting team totaling four people.

CHALLENGE

Bel-Air is a private club with a board of directors, and where the members are owners. As a part of its internal controls, an officer must approve any payment over $10,000.00. The accounting team wrote checks weekly. The challenge was getting any one of the four officers in the right place at the right time to sign those check payments.

Another challenge Bel-Air faced after getting the checks signed was the U.S. postal service. Daryn explained, “I can’t tell you how many checks were mailed by us and never arrived and how many checks were mailed to us and never arrived.” This led to a series of phone calls by Bel-Air to members asking for payments that were made but had not been received. At the same time, vendors were waiting for payments the Club made but were held up in the mail.

SOLUTION

Daryn wanted to move to electronic payments to avoid the issues with check signing and delays with the U.S. postal service. The Club chose Edenred Pay’s virtual card program to automate their payments.

It is no small feat for a company to change accounting systems. Bel-Air experienced this recently when they changed ERPs. Edenred Pay was able to integrate with both ERPs to make that part of the transition as seamless as possible.

Since signing on with Edenred Pay, Daryn had the opportunity to look into other payment solutions. However, he found no reason to change what already worked so well. Edenred Pay understood how clubs work and accommodated their approval processes and workflows. “We were able to customize the payment process how we wanted it, so there was no reason to make a change,” said Daryn. The competition had nothing better to offer in terms of processes or benefits that outweighed Edenred Pay.

RESULTS

Automated payments worked well not only for Bel-Air but also for its vendors. It saved the Club time because they no longer had to cut checks, get them signed, and mail them out. However, saving time in the process was not the reason for automating their payments. “It was to simplify the process for us. If I’m approving a batch in Edenred Pay, it’s just a button I have to click.”

There were also benefits for the vendors. The vendors’ accounts receivable person could prioritize the virtual card payments, saving them a lot of time. Automation took the human interaction out of the accounts receivable process. Daryn noted, “When the payment comes in, nobody has to touch it to get it to credit to the correct account.”

“Every club I’ve talked to about this subject, I’ve told them that they are missing out if they are not at least utilizing virtual card payments.”

Yet there is another benefit to working with Edenred Pay that Daryn values above the rebate – the customer service. Daryn mentioned that he typically only has to call Edenred Pay when there’s something he can’t figure out on his own. And while he’s dealt with vendors (both good and bad) in the past, Edenred Pay’s customer service has been the best experience.

“I find it few and far between where you have vendors that want to be your partner. I have never spoken to anybody in your organization who wasn’t willing to make me the priority and take care of the problem.”

CONCLUSION

Having Edenred Pay as a payment partner helps Bel-Air fulfill its own customer service goals. “Our members own the Club. And it’s our responsibility to give them the service they want and not charge them any more than we should for that service.” The rebate Bel-Air receives from virtual card payments helps them do just that.

“The rebate you’re giving just makes it a no-brainer. That’s why I tell people if you’re not taking advantage of a payment system where they’re giving you money back for processing virtual card payments, it’s your loss.”