What is it?
A Member Type is used to define a member’s attributes, dues payment schedule, and expiration settings. If your organization has 5 types of members, you will want a member type configured for each of them. Examples of member types include Professional, Associate, Student, Organization, Lifetime, etc.
NOTE: Before configuring your Member Types, we recommend setting your Account Settings, creating an Invoice template, and configuring your Built-In and Custom Attributes.
- Configuring Default Member Type Settings
- Configuring Default Notification Settings
- Adding a new Individual Member Type
- Adding a new Organization Member Type
Member Type Structures
There are two different Member Types Structures for your database.
1) Individual Profiles: reflect the attributes of an individual person. They contain the built-in attributes (ex. name, email, address, phone) and any other custom attributes you assign. These profiles are not linked to any other profile in the database. They are stand alone and are responsible for paying their own dues each membership cycle, updating their own profile, and registering themselves for events.
2) Organization profiles: the Organization profile does not belong to a person. Rather, it is an aggregator profile that contains information about the organization (ex. address, phone, email, and any other attributes you assign) and has one or more individual linked profiles tied to it. An Organization's dues may be based on the number of linked profiles tied to that Organization, or an Attribute (ex. Total Personnel). The automated renewal reminders are sent to the email address in the Organization profile.
Linked profile: Linked profiles are the individuals who work for the organization or company. Think of them as an extension of the organization or company. Each linked individual will have their own profile, which contains the built-in attributes (ex. name, email, address, phone) and any other custom attributes you assign.
Key Contact: Key Contacts are specific linked profile/s who are viewed as the organization’s manager. An organization may have one Key Contact, or all of the linked users may be designated as Key Contacts. The Key Contact(s) can:
- Pay dues on behalf of the organization
- Edit and update the organization’s profile they're linked to
- Edit and update other profiles linked to their organization
- Register other linked users from their organization for events
How to Access
Navigate to Database > Member Types
Configuring Default Member Type Settings
We recommend configuring a default Member Type to begin, as all of the member types that you create will inherit these settings.
1. To do so, choose the option to “Edit Default Settings” at the top of the page.
2. First, under General Settings, choose whether you want to Require approval for new members. If enabled, new members will be put into "Pending" status after filling out an application form and will need to be manually changed to "Active" status by an ASA or Admin.
3. Next, configure your Payment Settings as they apply to dues renewals. For applications, the invoice template, payment processor, and revenue account will be set on the membership form.
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Select an Invoice Template: this template will be the one used to send your members an invoice once their Renewal Period begins.
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Select a Payment Processor: this processor will be used to allow renewing members to pay via a credit card.
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Select a Revenue Account: the revenue from membership renewals will go in to this account.
4. Move on to set your Membership & Expiration Settings. There are two options:
a. Expiration is based on Date: with this set up, each member will have the same expiration date (ex. December 31). NOTE: Once a member type has been created as Period of Time or Date based, that setting is locked in for reporting purposes.
b. Expiration is based on Period of Time: with this set up, each member will have a unique expiration date based on the date they joined (ex. 1 year). NOTE: Once a member type has been created as Period of Time or Date based, that setting is locked in for reporting purposes.
- Example: If a member joined April 25th, 2019 and they renewed, their new expiration date would be April 25th, 2020. Their anniversary date will be April 25th, 20XX each year. This ensures that members get a full year of membership each year.
- New Expiration Date based on Renewal Date: There is a secondary option on the period of time option that allows the member to have a different expiration date based on the date they renew. The setting is "New Expiration Date based on Renewal Date". This means that if the members expiration date is April 25th, 2019 and they chose not to renew their membership until May 5, 2019...then their new expiration/ anniversary date would be May 5, 2020.
This section also includes a toggle for Grace Period. The Grace Period begins immediately after a member expires, and will allow them to continue with member privileges for a set amount of time (ex. 30 days). The benefit of using a Grace Period is that you're able to continue messaging graced members to encourage them to renew.
5. Finally, choose your Renewal Settings.
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Auto-Renew: if Auto-Renew is set to Optional, members will be able to choose the option to keep a credit card on file so that their membership is automatically charged to their credit card each year. If Auto-Renew is set to Required, each member will be set to automatically renew. The member will receive a renewal reminder prior to their expiration date with the renewal invoice attached.
NOTE: Auto-Renew must be set up with your payment processor, as member's credit card information is stored on the payment processor side rather than in MemberClicks. -
Lapsed Renewals: here you determine what happens when a member expires, then rejoins - their expiration date can be based on their renewal date, or they can keep their existing expiration date.
Configuring Default Notification Settings
Before creating new member types, we recommend setting the default notifications, as these notifications will be used for all new member types you create.
1. Start here by turning Notification Delivery ON, which controls all of the notifications on this page. NOTE: This option must be toggled ON in order for warning messages to go out, or for the renewal process to begin.
Default notifications will be used for each member type that has notifications enabled. New member types will inherit these notifications automatically, but they can be overwritten on a per member type basis.
Notifications can be automatically sent to members at times relevant to 3 key renewal-related events: expiration, optional grace period, and when membership truly lapses. If no grace period is enabled in this member type's settings, a membership expiring and a membership becoming truly lapsed happen at the same time. Each event can have up to 4 notifications, each sending at a different time, totaling 12 notifications.
2. Configure a new notification by clicking Add a Renewal/Grace/Lapsed Notification.
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Set the Number and Days or Months according to when you want the message to go out (ex. the message above will go out 10 Days prior to a member’s expiration date).
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Configure the Subject Line, From Name, and From Email.
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In the body of the message, we recommend linking directly to the Membership form.
NOTE: In addition to expiration notifications, member types that allow automatic renewal will receive 1 of 2 notifications dealing with payment confirmation or payment problems.
3. At the bottom of the page, configure the Payment Notification settings.
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Payment Confirmation: this message will be sent after a successful renewal payment has been made.
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Payment Failure: this message will be sent if an auto-renew payment fails.
Adding a new Individual Member Type
1. To add a new Individual Member Type, click Add an Individual Member Type at the top of the page.
2. Enter a name for your new Member Type, select your Pricing Structure, and decide if you'd like to copy another Group's Permissions.
3. Update this Member Type’s General Settings:
- Choose whether you want to Require approval for new members. If enabled, new members will be put into "Pending" status and will need to be manually changed to "Active" status.
- Assign Custom Attributes: choose the custom attributes that are applicable for this Member Type, then click Update.
4. Set a Landing Page for this Member Type. Members of this type will land on the specified page upon logging in (ex. Member Landing Page, My Profile).
6. The Payment Settings and Membership & Expiration Settings pull in from your configuration of the Default Member Type Settings detailed above. Change them so that they’re specific for this Member Type if need be.
7. Under Renewal Settings, the Auto-Renew and Lapsed Renewals settings pull in from your configuration of the Default Member Type settings. In this same section, you also have the ability to define Renewal Paths.
Renewal Paths determine whether members of this type have the ability to upgrade or downgrade to another Member Type. Select the possible options this Member Type can renew as in addition to their existing Member Type, then Save (ex. this option would allow a Professional Member to upgrade to an Enterprise member, or downgrade to an Associate Member).
8. Finally, configure Pricing Settings at the bottom of the page as applicable.
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For Period of Time Memberships: use the Add a Duration button to configure the settings for members who want to purchase multiple membership periods. This will allow you to discount multi-year memberships purchased at once, or set up an option for Lifetime membership. The options listed here will be available on a membership form for members applying, and inside the member profile for members renewing.
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For Date-Based Memberships: use the Add a Date Range button configure pro-rated membership settings if needed. You can set membership prices for the initial year, when the members can join within specific date ranges and, optionally, on which date membership begins to rollover into the next year.
Multi-Year pricing can be used with Date-Based Memberships - the prices listed in the Multi-Year pricing section are for subsequent year(s). The pricing for the first year of membership is managed in the original table above. Lifetime memberships can also be created here, and ignore the pricing in the original table above.
Adding a new Organization Member Type
1. To add a new Organization Member Type, click Add an Organization Member Type at the top of the page.
2. Enter a name for your new Member Type and Linked Member Type, select your Pricing Structure, and decide if you'd like to copy another Group's Permissions.
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Number of Linked Profiles: the pricing structure will be based on the number of users linked to an Organization Member Type
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Attribute-based pricing: the pricing structure will be based on a Custom Attribute NOTE: The Custom Attribute needs to be assigned to the Organization and/or Client in the above settings.
3. Update the General Settings for the Organization. NOTE: The Organization profile does not belong to an individual - it is an aggregator for the organization's membership.
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Choose whether you want to Require approval for new members. If enabled, new members will be put into "Pending" status and will need to be manually changed to "Active" status by an ASA or Admin.
- Assign Custom Attributes: choose the custom attributes that are applicable for this organization Member Type, then click Update.
4. Update the General Settings for the Linked Profiles. NOTE: Linked profiles are the individuals associated with the Organization.
- Assign Custom Attributes: choose the custom attributes that are applicable for the individuals Member Type, then click Update.
5. Set a Landing Page for the Linked Profiles. Members of this type will land on the specified page upon logging in.
6. The Payment Settings and Membership & Expiration Settings pull in from your configuration of the Default Member Type Settings detailed above. Change them so that they’re specific for this Member Type if need be.
Under Renewal Settings, the Lapsed Renewals settings pull in from your configuration of the Default Member Type settings.
7. Under Pricing Settings:
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If pricing is based on Number of Linked Profiles: use the Add a Price Point button to configure the tiers of pricing for Linked Profiles.
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If pricing is based on the Size of Organization: use the dropdown to choose the attribute that Organization Size is based on, then enter the price per person to set the total price.
8. Set the Maximum Number of Linked Profiles here if applicable.
Comments
28 comments
How do we add a bcc to a renewal notification email?
Hi Gabrielle - It isn't currently possible to receive a BCC of the renewal reminder messages. If you would like to submit product feedback, please send an email to help@memberclicks.com with the feedback summarized in the subject line and detailed in the body - the Help Team will forward it along to the Product Team so that they can evaluate and incorporate it based on other customer feedback!
One of our renewal path settings doesn't seem to be working right. We have an Introductory membership which is good for only one year. We've set the renewal paths so that an Introductory member can renew only at the Friend, Associate, Partner, or Full levels. But yesterday one of our introductory members (Heidi White) successfully renewed for a second year as an introductory member! Can you help me figure out why this didn't work correctly? Is there an additional setting besides the renewal paths that I've overlooked? Thanks!
Hi Linda - I've created a Help Ticket on your behalf since this problem is specific to your organization. Please expect to hear back tomorrow once we've reopened.
This article needs to be updated for "Attribute-based pricing" instead of "Size of Organization."
When I create Add an Organization Member Type the pricing choices are :
Choose a Pricing Structure for this Member Type's Dues
Can there be more than one "Linked Profile Type" connected to the Organization?
Hey there Sean,
Thanks for bringing that edit to our attention; that's been updated at this time.
The Organization/Client set-up for Member Types is a 1-for-1 set-up, so there can only be one "Linked Profile Type" connected to the Organization. If you have additional questions, shoot an email over to our Help Team at help@memberclicks.com!
Wondering if Linda resolved her issue above as we have the same issue (a membership only valid for one year that is auto-renewing as the same type of member).
Wondering if Linda resolved her issue above as we have the same issue (a membership only valid for one year that is auto-renewing as the same type of member).
Hey Jeanine! I've opened a support ticket for you as well, per your comment on another article. Our Help Team will be in touch to assist.
Do lapsed members ever become prospects automatically if they don't renew?
Hello Lisa! Lapsed Members will remain in their assigned Member Type. An administrator can always move them to Prospect if that suits your workflow.
Is it possible to delete a member type? If so, how?
Hey Nicole! If there is no one in the Member Type (including Deleted users), the MT will be able to be deleted. That said, feel free to send an email to help@memberclicks.com with the name of the MT, and we'll be able to get it deleted for you.
What would cause the Member Status to NOT be labeled "Pending" after completing a membership application. We do have "Require approval for new members" toggled "On".
Hey Jason! Can you send some more details over to help@memberclicks.com, or give us a call at 404-879-2800? We'd be happy to dig into that with you, we'll just need more information.
How do I change a current member into a prospect record in the database after their renewal lapses, so we can track them for future prospect purposes?
Hey Kathleen! If you go into a user's profile, you can edit the Member Type there and change it to Prospect. If you have a lot of lapsed users to tend to, you can run a search for them and tag them. From the Actions bar in your search, you can bulk Change Member Type so you're not doing multiple people one at a time.
Thanks for the response, Jay, but appears not to be working. I followed your instruction, all looks ok but after I change the Member Type to propsect for the tagged profiles, I get no confirmation message or anything, the screen just goes back to the previous list view, and the member type is not changed in the profiles I had selected. I have waiting 10 mins, have logged out and logged in again, and still no change...
I'm sorry you're having trouble with that Kathleen. If you send an email to help@memberclicks.com, or call us at 404.879.2800 with more details about who you're trying to move, we can help you resolve this!
I have a question around Member Types and invoicing. First question is how I set up a Member Type that will result in quarterly invoicing for 1/4 of the annual amount. I know I need to make this a new Member Type, but what are the settings for that, and when I put in the amount in the pricing part, am I putting the 1/4 amount or the full annual amount and then the system calculates the quarterly amount due. And what will show on the invoice? The total still due for the year and the quarterly installment amount, or just the latter?
Also, for new members that join after the calendar year (our membership period) has started, like if they join in March, etc. will the invoice generated be pro-rated to represent only the portion of the year remaining? How do we set it up to do that? Thanks!
Hello Kathleen! I was going to create a Help ticket for you to address this, but it looks like you've got on in the works about setting up quarterly dues. If you have any additional questions or need further clarification, please let us know there!
We are doing a membership drive for the month leading up to our conference. I know that I can not use a discount code for the new membership application form and gathered that I could do date based pricing from the above article. Our professional memberships are set as Period of Time though and I can't seem to add any different options. How would you suggest going about offering 20% for all new (not renewing) members for the next month? Can this be done without creating a new member type?
Hey Ryan! We don't have a percentage option in either Discount Codes or Date-Based Pricing at this time, so you would have to calculate the 20% adjustment and add it to either your Discount Code or D-B Pricing. In this scenario, I actually would suggest utilizing a Discount Code, and putting it in the section that says "This area will only appear for new members" on your Form's Membership Section. Looking at your set-up, you should be able to use a discount code, unless you're trying to discount your Organization/Client set-up. I hope that helps clarify! If you have additional questions, feel free to reach us at help@memberclicks.com or 404-879-2800, too.
All of our "prospects" have the status of "active" even if they only created an account to attend a conference years ago. This makes searching for "active members" convoluted. I feel as though each status type obviously refers to the status of their membership so someone who has never had a membership should not be "active". I also do not want to require approval for anyone who registers though. Is there a way to create a new status type in addition to active, lapsed, graced, deceased, or pending; such as "inactive" or "prospective"?
Hey Ryan! There is not an option for that at this time, but I encourage you to leave feedback about it! In the meanwhile, you can also run an Advanced Search based on Member Type, and exclude Prospects from your list (be sure to Save Criteria for that search so you only need to set it up once!).
How do we not have all the linked profiles show up in the transaction description on the invoices?
Hello Mitch! At this time, there is not an option to exclude the Linked Profiles. If that's something you're interested in, be sure to leave us some feedback!
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