Q: Will a club receive printed statements in the mail?
A: No, the club billing contact receive an email when a new bill statement is generated with a link to view it online in the Golf Nations Billing and Roster Management.
Q: How does a club become aware of its balance?
A: The club billing contact will receive an email on the first of each month which will include the club's balance. In addition, all club officials who have been given access to Golf Nations for the club can log in and view the balance, the bill statement and its details. This includes access to previous bill statements.
Q: Can a club pay its balance by sending a check to the SCGA?
A: Yes. The SCGA address is on the billing statement.
Q: Can a club pay its balance by credit card?
A: Yes, a club can pay its balance using a credit card through Golf Nations. When a club owes the SCGA money, the club's admin will see a “Make a Payment” button on the Account Balance page. Click the button to make a payment. The maximum credit card payment that will be accepted is $10,000. At this time there are no fees associated with paying a balance by credit card; however, the SCGA reserves the right to modify this policy, especially for large credit card payments.
Q: What credit card types can be used to pay the club's balance?
A: Visa, Discover and MasterCard only.
Q: Is the credit card information secure?
A: Yes. You will notice the https:// in the URL bar on Golf Nations. This industry standard Secure Socket Layer encrypts all information you submit on the page, including your credit card number.
Q: Can a club pay its bill by an electronic check from its bank account?
A: Yes, you can set up an
ACH account under The Payment Profile tab in Golf Nations.
Q: Can a club print out its bill statement?
A: Yes. When viewing the statement, you'll see a View as PDF button in the upper right-hand side of the screen. Click the button to view and/or print a pdf of your bill statement.
Q: Can the club change its administrators who access Golf Nations?
A: An existing club administrator with log-in credentials can add or delete club administrators through the Admins section of the Administration Portal. The SCGA does not need to be involved in these changes. Note, all club administrators have full access to all features of the administration portal. (
Tutorial)
Q: If a club administrator wants to change their username or password to Golf Nations, can this be done?
A: A username cannot be changed. Passwords can be changed by the user when logged in using the edit profile feature.
Q: Are there any billing email notifications sent?
A: Yes, the person identified in the admin portal as the club billing contact email will be sent an email notification in three scenarios:
- Each month when a new bill statement is generated showing the balance;
- Each time the SCGA posts a check payment made by the club;
- When the SCGA generates a check for the club to offset a credit balance (see next question).
Q: If a club allows its members to pay online via the Membership Commerce Portal, what happens to the club portion of the dues?
A: The club portion of dues collected is credited to the account and integrated into the bill statement balance.
Q: If a club has a credit balance on a statement, will the SCGA automatically send the club a check?
A: No. Recognizing that in most cases there will be an ebb and flow between a club owing the SCGA money and the SCGA owing a club money (for clubs that allow their individual members to pay online), the following will apply: Any club with a credit balance on a bill statement of $200 or more will automatically be sent a check for the credit balance amount. If a club desires to receive a check for smaller credit balances, please contact the SCGA to arrange this.
Q: Now that our club is using Golf Nations to access it bill statements, does this mean we are required to use the online Membership Commerce Portal that allows golfers to pay their dues online?
A: No. While these products both use the same platform, a club is not required to offer the option for its members to pay dues online. Members can continue to pay clubs as they have in the past.
Q: There is a payment status in Golf Nations roster. What does this mean?
A: This is in relation to SCGA dues. The paid status will protect a member identified as active from paying online a second time for dues for an existing membership/subscription or for the club from trying to pay for someone who is paid up for the existing subscription/membership.
Q: We understand that it is important to track our individual members’ SCGA dues payment. How do we identify which members we are paying for?
A: If the club pays by check for less than the full amount of the balance due, it should identify which golfers it is paying for with something in writing. If the club pays by check for less than the full balance due and does not identify which golfers it is paying for, then the SCGA will default the payment to those members who have been identified as unpaid for the longest time. If the club pays by credit card and does not choose to pay the full balance due, it will be presented with a list of unpaid golfers and can “postpone” payment for those golfers. The “postpone” action will decrease the amount that the system thinks that the club is paying for at that time.
Q: What does Prepay mean in connection with the billing platform?
A: If a club collects membership money from its members in advance of being billed by the SCGA for members, it has the capacity to pay in advance, or “Prepay.” If the club chooses to use a credit card for this, it can use the prepay section of Golf Nations. This also can be used to immediately pay for and activate a golfer who has previously been on a club’s roster but is currently inactive. Also, nothing precludes a club from sending in a check to prepay for members not yet billed, yet if a club does this, it should identify which members it is paying for in writing in some manner.
Q: Is there any sort of credit procedure to the club available for erroneous actions made by the club or its members?
A: Yes. For any golfer who is entered manually by a club official, the following policy applies once the member appears on the bill statement and is listed as unpaid:
- Inactivate within 30 days: 100% credit for SCGA dues (normally $36);
- Inactivate 31-60 days: 50% credit for SCGA dues;
- Inactivate 61 days or more after being on a bill statement: no credit for SCGA dues.
To facilitate this action, the golfer must be inactivated. A club can inactivate a golfer from Golf Nations Roster by clicking on the gear next to the golfer’s status. Inactivation can also be accomplished in Golf Nations when trying to pay a bill via credit card. Just click the “deactivate” button next to the golfer’s name while on the payment screen. The credit, if eligible, will be applied automatically after the golfer is inactivated. You do not need call the SCGA to facilitate this credit action, just inactivate the golfer.
Q: Is any of the membership related information available through GHIN (USGA Admin Portal)?
A: Very little. We STRONGLY encourage clubs to use Golf Nations for most of their membership activity and to monitor the payment activity. GHIN is meant to address scoring and handicap information, as well as when a club wants to generate a report of its members contact information and/or handicap-related reports. Otherwise membership items should be addressed via Golf Nations.