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Add a New Membership Type

Updated
The Goal: Create a new membership type, including its name, term length, renewal options, automation, and description.

Microlearning Overview

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Click Settings in the left-hand rail.
  2. Click Membership Types in the Settings section. A list of membership types currently set up in your system will be displayed.
    The Membership Types list
  3. Click the Add button.
    The Add button

On the Add Membership Type screen, configure the following:

  • Membership Name: Enter a name for the new membership type. This is the name that will appear on your member application, as well as within the database where you may choose a membership type, filter by membership type, report on membership type, etc.
  • Inheritance Type: This selection allows you to determine if an organization membership should be inherited by the staff of that organization. Choose Full Inheritance if staff should benefit from the membership. Choose Owner Only (this means the business is the owner) if individuals should not benefit from the membership. View our How it Works tutorial for more details. What does it mean if individuals do not benefit? All individuals (including the primary contact) will be listed as non-members and would not benefit from things that you may offer based on membership type (i.e. event registrations).
  • Term Length: Enter the duration of this membership, in months. The default is set to 12 months.
  • Owned By: This setting allows you to set this membership type as either organization or individual level. If Business is selected, invoices will be billed to the organization; if Individual is selected, invoices will be billed to the individual. This setting will also drive where the membership type can be selected in the database.
  • Category: Membership Categories provide a way to further filter and report on your membership types. Select a Membership Category from the drop-down list, or click the plus sign to add a new membership category.
  • Is Active: Enable this option to activate the Membership Type. Best practice, when no longer using a Membership Type, is to de-activate.

Membership Type Renewal Options

  • Renewal Pricing: This setting allows you to indicate if pricing for recurring membership dues will automatically be updated when pricing changes are made. Choose Recalculate Price if you do want pricing to automatically be updated. See Manage Membership Recalculated Pricing for further information.
  • End Type:
    • Manually Ended: Select this option if you wish to manually drop a member if their membership invoice is not paid.
    • Automatically Expires: When this option is selected, enter the Grace Period.
  • Renew Everyone On: This setting allows you to establish the renewal date to be applied to all members. The default is On Anniversary Date. The membership setting “Enforce Date Rules on Fixed Renewal Month Memberships” will drive whether changes can be made to fixed renewal dates. See Global Membership Settings for more details.

Membership Type Automation

  • New Membership Project: If you are subscribed to the Projects/Tasks module, you are able to have a specific project template automatically applied when a membership is activated. This can save staff time from having to remember to apply a project to each new member.
  • Renewal Project: If you are subscribed to the Projects/Tasks module, you are able to have a specific project template automatically applied when a membership is renewed. This can save staff time from having to remember to apply a project to each new member.
  • Add to List: Specify the list to which you wish to add new members. For example: You may wish to create a New Members list then use this list for Marketing Automation.
  • Description: Provide a description of the membership type. This description may be displayed on your website. You may use the standard word processing icons (i.e. bolding, italicizing, etc.) to format the text. You may also add images and/or links to the description.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The invoice template needs to be the same across all membership types when using BRP. If you are using Billing Responsible Party invoice templates across all applicable membership types, they should be identical.

Next Steps

Once you have created your membership types, you may wish to:

Common Pitfalls
  • Mismatched BRP invoice templates: When using Billing Responsible Party, the invoice template must be identical across all applicable membership types, or billing will not behave as expected.
  • Leaving a retired type active: When you stop using a membership type, de-activate it (clear Is Active) rather than deleting it, to preserve historical data.

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