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New Membership (2024)

Single and group memberships, one-time or recurring payments, renewals, and self- cancellation options.

Samantha Postlethwaite avatar
Written by Samantha Postlethwaite
Updated over a week ago

Click here for what's new with memberships and how this affects your organization.

Memberships provides a consistent revenue stream, a way to foster loyalty through exclusive benefits and pricing, and cultivates a sense of community among members. Amilia SmartRec's memberships solution offers:

  • Self-serve registration to classes, drop-ins, private lessons, & online bookings

  • One-time or recurring payments and flexible billing cycles

  • Members-only registration periods

  • Members-only discount types

  • Merchandise as a fee (suggested or required at checkout)

  • Track member access to your facilities with memberships

In this article:

1. How to create memberships

Memberships can be used to keep track of your members, as a requirement to register for events, and even to grant access to your facilities. Admins need permission to view the Memberships tab as well as to create or edit memberships.

You may offer individual or group memberships with expiration dates or opt for memberships that remain active indefinitely. Note that memberships with no expiration function differently from those that do expire.

๐Ÿ”„ With no expiration

๐Ÿ“† With an expiration

Ideal for month-to-month

Ideal for annual memberships

Billed at checkout & then monthly

Billed only once at checkout

Doesn't expire

Expires after a duration or on a date

Clients can opt out

Clients can renew (with duration)

Prorated (by default) on day of purchase

No proration on day of purchase

Eligible for discounts on monthly billing

Eligible for discounts

Not eligible for installments

Eligible for installments

General

The name and description are shown in the store. The description field has smart formatting options (HTML is not supported) with a 500-million-character limit (all the space you could possibly need). Edit at any time. Changes are applied to all new and existing memberships (changes do not affect original invoices).

Tags let admins filter for memberships in the Memberships tab. One day, they'll also help your clients filter for items in the store (this perk isn't yet ready for release).

Members configuration

Does the membership apply to a single member, or to multiple members from the same account? Age restrictions (min, max, or both) are required on multi-person memberships. This can't be edited once it's sold.

Dates or duration

Choose whether the membership has a recurring billing plan & never expires, or if it's invoiced just once & will expire. This can't be switched once it's sold.

The effective date is when the membership becomes active for use, either

before the purchase date, on the purchase date, or on a future date.
โ€‹

A membership becomes inactive at 12 am (local time) on the expiration date.

No expiration (pick the effective date): Invoice at checkout and then on a recurring basis (recurring billing). Choose whether clients can opt out or request to cancel. It's possible to edit the effective date after a membership has been sold.

Duration (repurchase prior to expiration): Invoice once at checkout (only). It's effective on the purchase date and remains active for a length of time. Allow clients to renew (i.e., repurchase in the store) before it expires.

Dates (effective + expiration dates): Invoice once at checkout (only). You must set the effective and expiration dates. It can't be renewed and only admins may cancel it.

Price

Link a recurring billing plan if there's no expiration. You can change the membership's billing option at any time, but it only applies to new purchases. It doesn't apply to existing members.

Store display

When does the membership show in the store? Edit at any time.

Immediately: Clients can buy it in the store. If it's linked to an activity, clients are prompted to add it to the cart (if they don't own the active membership).

Schedule: Set a date when clients can buy it in the store. If it's linked to an activity, clients are prompted to add it to the cart (if they don't own the active membership), however this only occurs as of the scheduled date.

Hidden from store: Clients can't buy it in the store unless they're prompted to add it to their cart when selecting a linked activity.

Unavailable from store: Clients can't buy it in the store, and it's not prompted when linked to an activity. Admins can buy it on behalf of clients. Can still be used as a required membership to register for activities.

Advanced settings

Edit at any time. Changes are applied to new purchases.

๐Ÿ“ Forms: Link an adult and/or child form to answer at checkout. To export form answers, use the report template in the Memberships tab (Operations > Member list).

Memberships with no expiration will only require a client to fill out the form once during the initial purchase and checkout. If new information is needed, the client can login to their personal account and update the form information in the Members section of their account.

๐Ÿ›’ Merchandise: Prompt clients each time to add (suggested or required) merch to the cart, even if it was purchased in a previous store session. For individual memberships, merch goes to the selected member. For multi-person memberships, merch goes to the account owner. Merchandise isn't included in recurring billing.

๐Ÿ’ก Pro tip: You can use this as an opportunity to charge a member fee. Create your fee as a merchandise item and keep it 'hidden' in the store. When linked, patrons will be prompted to add it to their cart when they select the membership, even if it was purchased in the past.

If required merchandise is out of stock, clients won't get a prompt and may complete the membership purchase without it.

๐Ÿ”ด Restrictions: Memberships can be restricted at the time of purchase to participants that belong to a certain gender, community segment, or require skills. Recurring billing will still apply even if an existing member no longer meets the criteria.

See the FAQ for more on individual and multi-person memberships.

1.1 How to create a recurring billing option

A recurring billing option is the configuration of a billing cycle and client cancellation method. They are only for memberships with no expiration. Access recurring billing from the Price section, or via the Accounting and finance > Recurring billing subtab. Once a billing option has been used, it can't be edited (although it's still possible to change which billing option is linked to the membership).

โ— Please note that integrated payment terminals are not

compatible with purchases that include memberships with recurring billing options.

There are 3 billing cycles to choose from:

On purchase day

The day of the month the membership is bought becomes the billing day. Each invoice covers the period until the next invoice.

Scenario: Buy a membership on Oct 18th

  • Oct 18th (at checkout), client pays for the period of Oct 18th-Nov 17th.

  • Nov 18th, client is invoiced for the period between Nov 18th-Dec 17th.

  • Dec 18th, client is invoiced for the period between Dec 18th-Jan17th.

On the first day of the month, for the current calendar month

The billing day is the 1st of the month and covers the entirety of that month. If the membership is purchased after the first of the month, any amount due is invoiced on the day of purchase.

Scenario: Buy a $31 membership on Oct 18th

  • Oct 18th (at checkout), client is invoiced a prorated amount of 14$ for the period of Oct 18th-Oct 31st.

  • Nov 1st, client is invoiced $31 for the period between Nov 1st-Nov 30th.

  • Dec 1st, client is invoiced $31 for the period between Dec 1st-Dec 31st.

On a specific day each month, for the next calendar month

The membership is invoiced a month in advance, on the billing day you specify. When it's purchased before or after the billing day, any amount due is charged on the day of purchase.

Scenario: Buy a $31 membership on Oct 18th

Billing day: 13th of every month

  • Oct 18th (at checkout), client is invoiced a prorated amount of $14 for the period of Oct 18th-Oct 31st, which covers the current month. In addition, $31 is invoiced to cover the period of the following month of Nov 1st-Nov 30th.

  • Nov 13th, client is invoiced $31 for the period between Dec 1st-Dec 31st.

  • Dec 13th, client is invoiced $31 for the period between Jan 1st-Jan 31st.


2. When you buy memberships in the store

Clients can buy memberships in the Memberships section of your store or may be prompted to add one to the cart if a membership is required to register to an activity.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Admins with permission can bypass restrictions when buying on behalf of a client.

  • If the 'Skip and pay later' option is used at checkout for a membership with recurring billing, no payment method is linked to the item. On the billing day, if the participant has a payment method saved in their Wallet, SmartRec refers to the saved payment method to process the payment, but only if your organization is authorized to use it!

Here's what to expect in the store, on the invoice and in the Purchases tab:

For individual memberships

  • Select an eligible participant. Suggested or required merch is under the participant's name at checkout.

  • Review the account owner's contact info. If a registration form is linked, complete or review it for the participant.

  • The invoice for an individual membership shows the member's name and Amilia ID. In the Purchases tab, the membership is listed underneath the member's name.

For multi-person memberships

  • Select the eligible participants (up to the max). Suggested or required merch is under the account owner's name at checkout.

  • Review the account owner's contact info. If a registration form is linked, complete or review it for each participant that was selected.

  • The invoice for a multi-person membership shows each member's name only. In the Purchases tab, a 'Multi-person memberships' section shows the membership with the member names listed underneath.

For memberships with no expiration

  • Memberships with no expiration are usually prorated at checkout and then invoiced in full on the billing day of each billing cycle. Admins and clients can 'learn more' about what's being charged and when to expect the next invoice.

  • The next billing date is also shown in the Purchases tab.

For memberships with an expiration

  • Memberships with an expiration are invoiced in full at checkout. That's it. The expiration date is visible on the order confirmation page.

  • The membership's expiration date is also shown in the Purchases tab.

โ— You can't add people to a group membership after it's purchased.

See the FAQ for more on invoicing memberships.


3. How to handle memberships and members

In the Memberships tab, you can edit your memberships, generate up-to-date patron lists from the Members list subtab, or get access to registered members and modify their membership by clicking on the number beneath the Members column.

Manage your memberships from the main tab

  • To sort your memberships, use filters.

  • To change the order they're listed in the store, click & drag (clear filters first).

  • To send an email to all a membership's active members, add a check mark and click the Operations button.

  • To export membership data, add a check next to the membership(s) and click the Operations button.

  • To edit or archive a membership, use the Actions column.

  • To manage members and perform actions, click under the Members column.

How to filter and export your custom Members list

Click the Memberships > Members list subtab to view the full list of members. Apply filters to fine tune your selection and then choose columns for your export, such as age, contact information, membership details and/or community segments.
โ€‹

โ— This report is only available with our new Memberships solution.

It includes all the memberships ever created in the Memberships tab.

How to manage specific members and export form answers

To perform actions for a specific member of a particular membership, click the number under the Members. This brings you to the Members page for that membership.

  • To jump to client's file, click their name.

  • To view their date of birth and contact info, click the chevron.

  • To export answers from the linked registration form(s), send an email, or to print membership cards, check mark the member name(s) and click Operations.

  • When you add a check mark to a member on a multi-person membership, a check mark is automatically applied to the other account members that were registered to the multi-person membership at the time of purchase.

How to edit a client's membership

Use the Actions column on the Memberships > Members page to edit one member's membership at a time. Clients are unable to edit their own membership.

If the client's membership has no expiration, add notes, edit the recurring price, and/or the billing day (if so, the next invoice is prorated to reflect the change).

If the client's membership expires, add notes, and/or edit the expiration date.

How to cancel a client's membership

Cancel a client's membership from the Memberships > Members page or the client's Purchases tab. When a multi-person membership is cancelled, it's for all account members. For now, it's not possible to replace a membership with another.

When you cancel a membership with an expiration date, it's no longer active. Issue a refund or apply the credit to another invoice directly in Client Billing.

For memberships without an expiration date, cancellation allows continued access until the end of the current billing cycle. For instance, if the client was billed for services spanning February 1st to February 29th, the membership remains active until 11:59pm on the final day before the next billing cycle begins on March 1st.

How to pause a client's membership

In the Memberships > Members page, click Actions and select Pause. While paused, a membership is considered inactive. The client isn't charged.

  • When pausing a membership with a duration expiration, it pushes the expiration date forward the length of the pause. The new expiration date shows in the client's Purchases tab. When the pause is over, no new invoice is created.

  • When pausing a membership with no expiration, the next billing day shows in the client's Purchases tab. The client's next recurring payment is updated in Upcoming payments. When un-paused, the next invoice may be prorated.

  • Pausing a membership does not pause a client's planned installment payments.

How clients cancel their own membership

Client self-cancellation methods are toggled when the admin configures a recurring billing option. This means it's only supported for memberships with no expiration.

Client can cancel or request to cancel in My account:

  • In their personal account, the client must click the Purchases tab and select the organization in the drop menu. They must scroll the list of purchases until they find the membership and click the 'Cancel membership' button.

  • Depending on which self-cancellation method is configured, they can request to terminate or terminate the membership. A notification email is sent to your organization's main contact (look at the email address in the Account > Main information subtab) informing them that a client has cancelled or has requested to cancel.

  • If the client has to send a request to terminate the membership, you should notice two buttons appear in the client's Purchases tab. At this point, you have the opportunity to contact the client first to keep the membership active before you confirm the cancellation.

  • If the client can terminate the membership, a notification is sent to the organization's main contact (in Account > Main Information) to let them know.

How clients can renew their own membership

Clients can only renew a membership if it expires after a duration (not if it has a specific expiration date). In addition, an admin must make repurchase available at least 1 day before the expiration date.

  • The account owner is emailed an expiry reminder prior to its expiration. To receive this reminder, clients must go to the Communications tab in My account and enable emails from the Amilia team.

  • If they click the blue button, they'll be taken to the store to renew (i.e., purchase) the membership. If no action is taken, the membership expires as planned.


4. Frequently Asked Questions

1. What permissions do admins need for memberships?

Admins need the 'View memberships' and/or 'Manage memberships' permission.

To purchase on behalf of a client, admins need the 'View client accounts' and 'Invoicing' permissions.

2. What if a member doesn't fall within a membership's age restrictions?

Only admins may bypass age restrictions in the store. Otherwise, the participant must fall within the membership's age range at the time of purchase.

If a member already has the membership and ages out of the range, their membership remains active until it expires or they opt out (if it's billed on a recurring basis). Otherwise, an admin must cancel the membership.

You can export your list of members and filter by age in the Memberships > Members list subtab.

3. Can I use an integrated terminal to take payment for memberships with recurring billing ?

You can't take payment at the checkout with an integrated terminal if a client is purchasing a recurring membership, or wishes to pay in installments. You'll notice the integrated terminal option is not available for admins at the checkout if either of these elements are in the cart.

4. Can I buy a multi-person membership for less members than the max?

Yes, you can buy a multi-person membership for less members than the max. number specified. However, you can't purchase a multi-person membership for more members than the max. number of people specified.

5. Can I add or swap members on a membership after it's purchased?

No, it's not possible at this time to add a member to a (multi-person) membership after it's been purchased, nor is it possible to swap one member for another. You must cancel the membership and repurchase it for the correct members. These steps ensure we have all membersโ€™ information as they pass through checkout.

6. Can clients use a membership before the effective date?

Clients may purchase a membership before its effective date, but it can't be used to access your facilities or register to activities that require the membership. A membership only becomes active for use as of its effective date.

7. Can clients cancel a membership by themselves?

Clients may only cancel memberships without an expiration date. Clients may not cancel memberships that expire after a duration or on a specific date.

Choose whether clients can request to cancel or may cancel themselves while configuring the recurring billing option's cancellation method.

8. Can clients renew their membership?

Clients can only renew memberships that expire after a duration and can be repurchased at least 1 day prior to its expiration. If so, clients can purchase the same membership in the store before their current one expires.

โ— You may be required by law to provide renewal options to your members. It's up to each organization to configure their membership(s) appropriately.

The account owner is emailed a reminder when they can repurchase the membership. They must click the blue button and will be brought to the store to buy (i.e., renew) the membership. If no action is taken, the membership expires as planned.

To be sent this type of reminder, clients must have emails from the Amilia Team enabled in the Communication tab in their personal account.

9. Do discounts work on memberships and with recurring billing?

All discounts can be applied to new memberships; whereas most discounts (including Membership required) will continue to be applied to the monthly invoices as long as the discount criteria is met by the upcoming billing date.

โ— Please note that a discount will apply to the recurring billing if the participant is eligible by the time billing comes around. For example, if you have an 'Early bird' discount that is active from say June to September...anyone who purchased the membership in the past who still has it will have the discount applied on their recurring billing, because the membership is being invoiced while the early bird discount is active. Be careful! And be sure to retire discounts when they are no longer needed.

If a member no longer respects the restrictions (e.g., gender, community segments, skills) applied to a membership (with no expiration), it will still be invoiced each billing cycle, until an admin cancels the client's membership (or the client opts out).

๐ŸŽ—๏ธ Multi-person and combo discounts will only re-apply if the billing date is the same day and the same credit card or eCheck is used to pay the invoice.

10. What is proration on memberships?

Proration involves the proportional division of something, often related to finances or time. When an item is "prorated," it means that it's been fairly distributed in proportion to its use or duration. For example, in the case of buying a membership that doesn't expire in the middle of the month, the charge for that month might be prorated, allowing you to pay only for the specific portion of the month during which you began using the membership after its effective date.

  • Proration does not apply to memberships with an expiration.

  • Proration is calculated based on the number of days in the month.

  • Proration is calculated after the discounts and automated fees are applied.

When proration is applied at checkout, click 'Learn more' for more details on how the amount was calculated.

11. How do I link a membership to an activity?

Admins with the right permissions can link a membership to an activity. It's possible to link hidden and unavailable memberships to an activity.

  • Go to the Activities > Edit subtab.

  • Open the edit window of an activity and scroll to the Additional settings and expand the Memberships section.

    • All selected memberships are required: The participant must have all the selected memberships to be eligible and add the activity to their cart.

    • At least one membership is required: The participant must have at least one of the selected memberships to be eligible and add the activity to their cart.

12. What are client cancellation options?

Client cancellation options are available for memberships with no expiration only. Admins can choose whether a client can request to cancel or cancel their membership themselves.
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A notification email is sent to the organization's main contact (look at the email address in the Account>Main information subtab) to inform them if the client has cancelled or requested to cancel. If the client requests to terminate the membership, two buttons appear in the Purchases tab in the client's account. Admins have the opportunity to contact the client first to keep the membership active before they confirm the cancellation.

13. Can clients pay with an account credit during recurring billing?

By default, if the client has a credit in their account, the credit is taken into consideration before processing an automatic payment. For example, if the recurring invoice amount is 100$ and there's a 30$ credit in the account, a payment of only 70$ is charged. Admins will have to manually reconcile the credit amount to the right membership invoice.

You can toggle the 'Use for upcoming payments' feature on and off in the Accounting and Finance>Payments subtab and scrolling down to the Client balances section.

14. Is there a way to preview a Billing cycle?

The best way to determine membership billing is to go ahead and add the membership to the cart and view the billing details at Step 1 of checkout (don't make the purchase!).

  • ๐Ÿ“† Memberships with an expiration are charged once (in full), at checkout.

  • ๐Ÿ”„ Memberships with no expiration may be prorated at checkout (i.e., the price is adjusted in proportion to when it's purchased) based on the recurring billing option, the effective date, and/or the billing day.

Click here to see recurring billing examples on memberships with no expiration.

15. How do I check if a member is still eligible for a skill?

At this time, you must refer to the list of participants in the Skills tab. Click the number beneath the 'assigned persons' column to see the list belonging to that skill. You will need to cross reference with the list of members you generate in the Memberships > Members list subtab (Members list report).

16. How do I print membership cards?

Members can use the Amilia mobile app and show their Amilia ID to scan. If your organization would like to print physical membership cards, there are two options.

Go to the Memberships tab and click on the number beneath the Members column. Add a check mark next to the names and use the Operations to save the membership cards for printing.

You can also print ID cards from the Clients tab. You can learn more here.

* Last updated in April 2024

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