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Workflow Example: Automated Membership Renewal Reminders

Updated

The following example of an automated membership renewal workflow is based on memberships that renew on anniversary dates, for invoices generated 90 days prior to Next Bill Date (renewal date), that are Due on Receipt. There are actually two workflows involved; one for membership invoice creation up to due date, and one for overdue membership invoices. I split things into two workflows to be more accurate with the timing for overdue membership invoices; both workflows will remove contacts from the workflow as soon as the invoice is paid, written off, or voided.

 

Please note that if you manually approve memberships, you may have some new members that could appear in these workflows and receive an automated notification, but they will drop off the workflow as soon as the membership is approved and the invoice is paid. If needed, you can add a wait step to the beginning of each workflow to help filter out those new membership invoices.

 

What these workflows CAN do:

  • Create a list of contacts (businesses and/or individuals) with open or overdue membership invoices by date/aging
  • Address the text of the email message to the Membership Billing Contact
  • Include a link to the invoice for payment
  • Send the message to the membership owner (i.e. the default email address of the organization or individual)

What these workflows CANNOT do:

  • Attach the actual invoice for the membership
  • Deliver the renewal notification message to the Billing Contact

 

Currently, the only way to deliver an invoice to the membership billing contact is to use the Pending Delivery tab or the Sales/Invoices tab, filter to the desired invoices to be sent, and manually send the batch of invoices/emails.

 

These reports and workflows will need to be recreated and copied each year; a contact can only go through a workflow once, and the dates on the reports will need to be refreshed.

 

Workflow 1: Open Membership Renewals

This workflow is based on invoice creation date, not due date/next bill date. It will require that invoices be created on a regular schedule, i.e. always/at least 90 days in advance (or whatever you determine) to ensure the timing is correct. Creating all invoices for the target month on a single day, or running invoicing once a week if needed, should be sufficient for this workflow.

 

For the purposes of this example, we will set this report up to cover a full calendar year. If you are trying to implement mid-year, you may need to adjust the beginning date of your range until you get "caught up"; then when the year changes you can set the dates for the new report to the following full year.

  • Report for source list: Transactions by Contact Report
    screenshot
    The Transactions by Contact Report, pulling all open membership invoices for 2024.
    • Sale Entry Date = invoice creation date: 1/1/2024- 12/31/2024
    • Transaction Type = Invoice
    • Fee Item Type = Membership Dues
    • Additional Criteria = Balance Greater Than 0
    • Fields to Display: you can adjust this however you like; for this report I reduced these down to Contact Name, Txn Type, Item Type, Created Date, Txn Date, Ref Number, Description, and Balance. You can also click the field display icon    to rearrange your displayed fields into the order you prefer. 
  • Workflow: Create a new workflow and call it the same as the report and list (example: 2024 Open Membership Renewals).
    • Source List: 2024 Open Membership Renewals
    • Configure any other workflow settings as preferred.
    • Workflow Steps:
      • Step 1: Use a "Wait" step for your average new member approval/payment period. This will filter out MOST new members (you may have one with a delayed payment get through from time to time, but as soon as they make a payment they will drop off the report results and exit the workflow). For the purposes of this example I will use a 2 day wait step, but feel free to adjust (or remove!) to your preference.
      • Step 2: Send Email (@ 2days)
      • Step 3: Wait 28 days
      • Step 4: Send Email (@ 30 days)
      • Step 5: Wait 30 days
      • Step 6: Send Email (@ 60 days)

You can add another combination of wait/send email steps to get you closer to the actual due date of the invoice if needed; then end this workflow.

 

Don't forget to activate the workflow when all your email templates are set up and your workflow steps are added!

 

Workflow 2: Overdue Membership Renewals

This workflow will message contacts with membership invoices more than 1 day overdue (based on due date per terms applied to the invoice; i.e. Due on Receipt)

  • Report for source list: Open Invoices Report
    screenshot
    The Open Invoices Report, showing all open membership invoices more than 1 day overdue.
    • Report Date = 12/31/2024
    • Fee Item Type = Membership Dues
    • Status = Active
    • Days Overdue = 1
    • Additional Criteria = Due Date Before 12/31/2024
    • Fields to Display: you can adjust this however you like; for this report I left these with the default fields. You can also click the field display icon    to rearrange your displayed fields into the order you prefer.  
  • Workflow: Create a new workflow and name it the same as the report and list (example: 2024 Overdue Membership Renewals)
    • Source List:  2024 Overdue Membership Renewals
    • Workflow Steps:
      • Step 1: Use a "Wait" step for your average new member approval/payment period. This will filter out MOST new members (you may have one with a delayed payment get through from time to time, but as soon as they make a payment they will drop off the report results and exit the workflow). For the purposes of this example I will use a 2 day wait step, but feel free to adjust (or remove!) to your preference. OR- adjust the report to pull invoices more than 1 days overdue.
      • Step 2: Send Email (@ 2 days; "Your Membership Dues are past due")
      • Step 3: Wait 28 days
      • Step 4: Send Email (@ 30 days; "Your Membership Dues are 30 days past due")
      • Step 5: Wait 30 Days
      • Step 6: Send Email (@ 60 days; "Your Membership Dues are 60 days past due")
      • Step 6: Wait 30 days
      • Step 7: Send Email (@ 90 days; "Your Membership is in danger of being dropped")

You can add more steps if you like; end the workflow when you feel is appropriate.

 

Don't forget to activate the workflow when all your email templates are set up and your workflow steps are added!

 

Again, these reports and workflows will need to be recreated or copied each year; a contact can only go through a workflow once, and the dates on the reports will need to be refreshed.

Email Template Merge Fields

You can set up your email templates using some of these suggested fields:

  • Primary Membership Billing Contact Name: this is the membership billing contact
  • Primary Membership Invoice URL: this is the link to the membership invoice
  • Primary Membership Next Bill Date: if your invoices are set to Due on Receipt, this would be the date the invoice is considered overdue.

In general, fields listed in the "Contact's Primary Membership" section SHOULD work, in addition to many others. Generally it's helpful to have a test contact with a membership that you can test fields out on while setting up the email templates. Working fields may vary depending on membership ownership and type of destination contact (business vs individual), so please test in advance to make sure your emails populate with the correct desired data!

 

 

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