Fee Groups / Memberships - Using Paid Memberships

Navigation: Main Menu »» Selects »» Fee Groups

Applies To: Enterprise Plus

Overview

The Paid Memberships feature is used to create Fee Groups that can be purchased.

Paid Memberships are only available for sites set up as InvoiceB and InvoiceC payment methods.
Paid Memberships operate independently from the Eligibility feature of Fee Groups. If using the Paid Membership feature, it is not recommended to also utilize the Eligibility method of Fee Group assignment.
From the Admin and WebReg modules, Memberships can be purchased in the same manner as a course section can be purchased.
Based on the Membership purchased, a Fee Group is automatically added to the client or the existing Fee Group expiration is extended.
When a new Fee Group is added, the current active Fee Group is automatically expired.
The term of the Membership is set when the Membership record is created. The term is based on the number of days. For example, 365 would set the Membership term as one year. There is no restriction on the term length.
One fee can be set for each Paid Membership. However, to allow for membership fee changes over time, multiple fees can be added and dated to allow for fees to expire and new fees to take effect automatically.
When a Membership expires and the client does not renew, the client is automatically set to the default Fee Group.
Discounts are not supported for the purchase of Memberships.

How to Create Paid Memberships

Use this process to create the Membership records used for memberships that can be purchased. Once an active Paid Membership record exists, certain background functions are automatically triggered to occur. If not utilizing the Paid Memberships feature, do not create the Membership record. If allowing both a paid and unpaid membership, be sure to repeat these same steps for the unpaid membership and set the fee to zero.

For each Membership:

Go to Main Menu »» Courses »» Courses.
Click New in the blue toolbar.
Select Membership as the Product Type and click on the Info tab.
Add a Membership ID. This is the same field as a Course ID. Follows the same formatting rules as all Course IDs.
Add a Membership Title. When Paid Memberships are made available in the WebReg module, this title is visible to clients and used to identify a Membership.
Add a Membership Description. When Paid Memberships are made available in the WebReg module, this description is visible to clients and used to provide details about the Membership such as membership features. Be sure to provide all the content you desire the Client to know when reading about the Membership. The Fees created for the Membership will automatically display in the WebReg module.
If two or more Memberships link to the same Fee Group, use the [Label Extender] field as a method to add text to the Membership Name. This text will be added to the end of the label when displayed on the WebReg module. Example: 12-month label versus 24-month label.
All other fields are optional.
Click OK to save the main Membership record.
Once in view mode of the Membership record, click the Sections tab to add a new Section.
Click the Sections New button. There is no restriction on the number of Membership sections that can be added. Each Most commonly, each Section could have a different term and different rate.
Section ID: Add a unique Section ID. Examples could be 1year, 2year, 6month. Follows the same formatting rules as all Section IDs.
Status: Set to Offered to enable the membership.
Membership Term: Enter the length of the membership term in days. Example: 365 days = 1 year.
Maximum Enrollment: Number must be greater than zero but the maximum is not enforced.
Location: Set to a generic value such as TBD. Required field.
Teacher 1: Set to a generic value such as TBD. Required field.
All other fields are optional except those related to offering memberships via the WebReg module.
Click OK to save the Section.
Go to the Finances »» Fees tab of the Membership section.
Click the Fees New button to add a new fee. Each Membership section can have only one active fee. If more than one fee is added, the start and end dates must not overlap. This allows for a fee amount to change without removing the prior fee amount.
Revenue Item: Select the Revenue Item for this fee. Required field.
Primary Fee: Enter the cost of the membership. Required field.
Fee Group: Select ONE fee group. This is the Fee Group that will be added to the client when they purchase the Membership.
Include in Balance: Always check this field. Required field.
Active Start/End Dates: These are the dates the fee is active. If only one fee is entered, this fields may be left blank. If more than one fee is added, start and end dates must be added for the period the fee is active.
Fee Method: Must be set to Required. Optional fees are not supported for Memberships.
Click OK to save the Fee record.

How to Purchase a Membership

From the Admin Module

Purchasing a Membership is very similar to adding an Assignment.

Go to View mode for the client desired.
Go to the Profile tab and choose Membership from the select options.
Click the Memberships New button.
Select the Membership and click on the Info tab.
Enter additional fields as desired.
Click OK to save the Membership record.
- Client Invoice is automatically created.
- Client Fee Group is automatically added or extended. The expiration date will be based on the term set in the Membership record.
Receive and record payment in the same manner as payments for Assignments.

From the WebReg Module

To allow the purchase of Memberships via the WebReg module, perform these setup steps.

Enable WebReg Paid Membership: Go to Admin Menu »» Settings »» Branch Profile. Edit the Profile and go to the Web Options tab. Scroll down until you locate the field called Enable Select Features. Select the "Memberships-Paid" option. Be careful not to un-highlight other options. Of all the Membership options, only the Paid option should be selected. Other Membership options should not be highlighted.
Fee Groups: Tag each of the Fee Groups/Memberships that are available for purchase via the WebReg module as Web Display = Yes. Each of these Fee Groups should have a corresponding Membership record and fee, even if the fee is zero. See above steps for setting up Paid Memberships.
Instruction Boxes: There are text options for both New and Existing accounts. We recommend adding an Instruction Box for both circumstances.
Informational Page: Use the View Page feature to create an informational about Memberships for potential clients that do not yet have account profiles.

Once set up, clients can purchase Memberships through MyAccount.

My Memberships will display on the MyAccount menu. Clients can review their Membership history and current status.
Clients can renew their Membership online or purchase a different Membership level.
If the current Membership does not have an expiration date, Clients can purchase a different Membership level.
If a free or default Membership is available, Clients can select the free level in place of paid Memberships.
To purchase, Clients will select the Membership level desired and add it to their cart. The cart cannot contain both a Membership and a Course/Product, so Memberships must be purchased alone. Once the Membership purchase is completed, the client can make a course purchase with the new Membership.
If a client makes a purchase of a different Membership level than their current Membership within the last three weeks of their current Membership, the new Membership takes affect that same day and the prior Membership will expire the day prior.
Clients cannot make Membership purchases for other clients online.
If a Family or Corporate Membership is created, the client can make the purchase of the Membership online but must contact your office to identify the other Client records that should be part of the Family or Corporate Membership.
When a New Account is created, the Client is automatically directed to make a Membership purchase and must complete that process before making a course registration purchase.
It is recommended to create a View Page for Memberships so potential clients without an account profile can review the Memberships available. This page should also be displayed as a custom menu option.