We all do, we lose something on the golf course, find a club near the green, and then reach out to the golf shop for guidance. Because of this, many shops are stuck with inefficient, unorganized methods for managing lost and found items, including paper binders, sticky notes, and a cluttered drawer full of found items. But we understand the joy it brings someone when they recover a lost item.

If your shop also suffers from this chaos, we have the feature for you: Lost and Found Management. This feature is designed specifically for golf shop operations with the following key features:

Quick Item Logging: A simple item entry form to log lost and found items along with pertinent information (and even images)
Centralized Dashboard: This easy-to-use dashboard provides a comprehensive view of all lost and found items, allowing easy management, filtering, and searching.
Automated Notifications: Efficiently keep your members informed about the status of their lost items with automated text and email notifications
Custom Settings: Create custom item categories and authorized pickup locations

This feature will create an organized and efficient process for managing lost and found items. Your members will surely appreciate it as well.

In this article, we will discuss the following items for getting started with and managing lost and found items with Golf Shop:

Overview.
General Settings.
Lost Item Management.
Found Item Management.
Viewing Lost and Found Items.
Editing Lost and Found Items.
Viewing Deleted Items.
Analytics.
Daily Snapshot.
Reports.

Overview

Golf Genius - Golf Shop has an area dedicated to managing lost and found items (as shown below).

You have multiple options:

Dashboard: A single location for all lost and found items. Click Here for more details on viewing the dashboard.
Analytics: An interactive dashboard allowing manager to view detailed analytics and statistics for the lost and found. Click Here for more details.
Settings: Before entering lost and found, it's important to define the setting that impact categorizing lost and found items. Click Here for more details.

General Settings

The Lost and Found Settings comprise the default settings for Lost and Found. When tracking lost and found items, these settings are the defaults:

Lost and Found Item Number.
Current Location: Create locations for easy assignment, where items can typically be picked up.
Item Categories: Create item categories that can be used to filter the dashboard.

To define these defaults, go to Services > Lost and Found > Settings. For more details, Click Here.

Lost Item(s) Management

Every lost item undergoes a process, as the golf shop is notified that an item has been misplaced. Below is a summary of the process:

Lost Item Reported: When a member or guest loses an item on the golf course or leaves it in the clubhouse, they typically call the golf shop to ask if it has been found. When this happens, you can add the lost item to the Lost and Found Dashboard via a web browser. Capture the member or guest information, a description of the item, and categorize it to easily locate it on the dashboard.
Lost Item Found: When a staff member, another member, or a guest finds a lost item, they are typically brought to the golf shop. When you receive a lost item that has previously been reported, you can inform the person who lost it that the item has been found, and where they can recover the item. Note: Review the next section of this article for details on tracking unclaimed found items.
Lost Item Returned to Owner: When a lost item is finally returned to the owner, it goes through the process of being finalized (found). The lost item can be marked as returned and removed from the dashboard.

For more details on these steps, Click Here.

Found Item(s) Management

Every found item undergoes a process, as the golf shop is notified that an item has been discovered. Below is a summary of the process:

Found Item Reported: When a staff member, member, or guest finds an item on the golf course or in the clubhouse, they typically turn it into the golf shop to manage. When this happens, you can check the Lost and Found Dashboard to verify if it was already reported as lost, or add it as a found item to the Lost and Found Dashboard via a web browser. Capture the information of the individual who found it, provide a description of the item, and indicate where it was found. Categorize the item to easily find it on the dashboard, and assign the location where it is being stored.
Found Item Claimed: When a member or guest loses an item on the golf course or leaves it in the clubhouse, they typically call the golf shop to ask if it has been found. When this happens, you can review the Lost and Found Dashboard to verify if it was already reported. If the item was reported, you can mark the item as "Found and Claimed" until the owner picks up the item.
Found Item Returned to Owner: When the owner of a lost item, which was tracked on the Lost and Found dashboard, recovers it from staff, the item goes through the process of being finalized (returned). The found item can be marked as returned and removed from the dashboard.

For more details on these steps, Click Here.

Viewing the Lost and Found Items

To view the lost and found list, go to Services > Lost and Found > Dashboard. Current lost and found items are listed by status and sorted by the "Status" column (i.e., Lost, Found, Claimed, etc.) (as shown below).

For more details on the available options on the Lost and Found dashboard, Click Here.

Editing Lost and Found Item(s)

You may need to edit the information for a lost or found item. For instance, you may need to edit the item's description or where it was found. To edit lost and found items, click the action dropdown icon and click "Edit" (as shown below).

Viewing Deleted Item(s)

To view deleted, lost and found items, go to Services > Lost and Found > Dashboard, and click "Lost and Found Dashboard Search." Check the box for "Deleted" and then click "Search (as shown below).

Analytics

The lost and found analytics is an interactive dashboard that allows users to view detailed statistics for the lost and found. This dashboard comprises useful charts, graphs, and other data filtered by specific time ranges. To access the Lost and Found Analytics page, go to Services > Lost and Found > Analytics. For more details, Click Here.

Daily Snapshot

The Daily Snapshot is an email that every manager can receive daily or on the chosen notification frequency of activity tracked in Golf Genius Golf Shop. This email can include updates for lost and found items. To manage your daily snapshot, navigate to Manager Details > Snapshot. For complete details, Click Here.

Reports

There are lost and found reports available for download. To access the reports, go to the Report Center and select the "Lost and Found" category (as shown below).