Associations Profile
The Association Profile is displayed once you have entered a new Association into the netFORUM application. If you want to navigate to and view a specific profile page:
- Click on the Membership module from the Module Menu drop-down.
- On the Group Item menu, click Associations. You can then choose to List Associations or to Find Association items.
Depending upon which Association you choose, its Association Profile will display.
The Association Profile provides you an overview of the Association you have created or manage within NetForum. You are able to view the following information about your Association:
- Association Code: The acronym created or used for your Association.
- Grace Period: The amount of time a member has after his/her expiration date has passed to continue receiving benefits before cancellation or payment is received.
- Update Dates When: Specifies when member dates are updated for this Association such as when payment is received versus when the member is invoiced, for example.
- Percent Paid: Specifies the percent that must be paid before member dates are updated if the Update Dates field value is set to percent paid.
The Association Profile also details what kind of default dues were set-up for this Association, anniversary or calendar and the associated values assigned for both. For example, if anniversary dues were arranged, the sell next month after day field is displayed. If calendar year dues were selected, as shown in the example above, the values for sell for next year after month and sell for next year after day fields are displayed. The start month and start day values for both are present.
Finally, there are several child forms and action bar options that can be accessed from each profile as well. Child forms are accessed by clicking on the various tabs found at the bottom of each profile page while action bar options are access by clicking on the icons.
Each childform is discussed below while action bar functionality is discussed in the Association Profile Action Bar Functionality section(s).
Dues Tab
The Dues tab contains information about the membership packages you sell to the members of this Association. It contains two child forms, the membership packages child form and the association dues products child form. As with all netFORUM child forms, you must click the Expand folder to view the information within each line item and the Edit icon if you want to modify any data inside. The green GoTo arrow will take you directly to a line item and away from the Association Profile.
Membership Packages Child Form
The membership packages child form is where you will define the membership packages you will sell to your customers with this Association. When you sell a membership, you must choose a membership package. The membership package may include just the membership itself. Or you may choose to include additional items with the membership to new (or renewing) members such as a member directory or an item from inventory with your organization's logo on it, for example. The membership packages child form is where you set-up the packages for each Member Type defined for the Association.
Adding a Membership Package to an Association
Note: Before you may add new membership packages, you must define what member types are allowed in them on the Membership tab first.
To add new membership packages to your Association, click the Add Record button. The Add Association Dues Package window will appear.
The top section of the Add Association Dues Package is the Dues Product Information section. The required fields are:
- Association: Select the Association you are setting up this dues package for in the Association drop-down.
- Business Unit: Select the Association's Business Unit.
- Product Name: You must create a unique product name for this dues package. It should be related to the type of membership itself.
- Member Type: Select the Member Type that you are selling in this package. It will be pre-populated based upon the Member Types you have created for this Association. In the example above, we are creating a dues package for an individual membership.
Other fields to note in this section include the ability to sell this dues package online by specifying start, end, and post/remove from Web dates. As well as the ability to allow installment billing for this membership package if desired.
The association dues package is taxable by ensuring the taxable flag is selected.
Finally, note the initial status drop-down. This relates to the flipped status that is defined when setting-up Member Types discussed in the preceding section. The initial status is the membership before the effective date is updated. Once the effective date is updated, netFORUM will automatically 'flip' the status to whatever is set as the 'flipped status' under the add related status link. If the flipped status is set to Active, it will flip to Active upon renewal of a membership.
The bottom section of the Add Association Dues Package is the Dues Product Rate Information section. It includes information on your General Ledger accounts and where payment will be placed. Most fields in this section are required before you can save this renewal package.
You must also decide if you want to prorate dues. Standard proration options are by month or by quarter. If you use a different formula for prorating dues that is not accommodated, you can manage it yourself by setting up a dues package for the prorated dues amount and then specify the start dates and the end dates of the membership.
NetForum will prorate either the first year or second year of dues. Since you may only prorate if you are using calendar year dues, the example demonstrated above is assuming prorating is beginning with a July join date. The organization can then choose to either prorate the first year and charge the member only half of the regular dues invoiced right now or prorate the second year of dues and the member would pay the full amount for this year and then the renewal for the next year would only be 50%. It is up to the Association to decide how to manage this.
Adding a Product to a Membership Package
Notice that when you expand the NATW Anniversary-based membership in the sample Association below that first, an anniversary-based membership is included for sale (a membership that is renewed based on anniversary date rather than on calendar dates) and, also included is a paperweight with the NATW logo imprinted upon it. To add more products, if desired, to this package, the add products link is clicked on this child form.
When you click the add products link, the Add Package Components window appears which will enable you to add different products to your membership package if you wish.
The required field are:
- Product: Click the LookUp button to select the product you want to distribute with this membership package.
- Price/rate: You can choose to give this product away as part of their membership purchase/renewal or to simply discount it.
- Quantity: Used to specify how many of the product(s) you will include as part of the membership package.
You can also decide if you want to show this product on the invoice as a line item or if it is an optional purchase. In a discount situation, it may be an optional purchase, for example.
The date fields are there if you are running a promotion and have decided to offer this product if they renew or buy membership by a certain date. You only need enter the date restrictions for that promotion in these fields and NetForum will manage it for you automatically.
When you are finished, click the Save button and this product will now be included when this membership is sold.
National Dues Products Child Form
The national dues products child form data is created automatically by NetForum each time you create a new membership package on the membership packages child form for your Association or add a new national dues product by clicking the add national dues icon on the Association Profile action bar. It contains each membership package that has been created within the Association. If the membership is able to be prorated, such as calendar-based memberships, you are able to view and edit that data such as in the screenshot shown below.
You are also able to set-up price attributes for each product by clicking on the GoTo arrow.
Membership Tab
The Membership tab contains information about each Member Type that will be part of this Association. It contains one child form, the member types child form. As with all netFORUM child forms, you must click the Expand folder to view the information within each line item and the Edit icon if you want to modify any data inside. The GoTo arrow will take you directly to a line item and away from the Association Profile.
Member Types Child Form
To add an additional Member Type to your Association, click on the Add Record button on the member types child form on the Member tab. The Add Member Type window will display, depicted below.
Adding a new Member Type is very similar to when you first set up your Association in that you must determine what kind of membership you are adding for this specific Member Type (as opposed to the entire Association). Remember, when you first entered your Association values, you were entering your default values. As a result, note that those values are in place when you first open a new Member Type window to add a new membership. For example, the test Association created for this page is based on calendar dues memberships so, when the Add Member Type window opens, those boxes are checked as the default. You are able to modify those boxes, of course, if you decide that the new Member Type that you are creating in this case should be based on Anniversary dates. All values entered in this window will take precedence over the default values entered in the Association Profile as previously noted.
Other items to be aware of in the Add Member Type window are the receives member benefits and benefit flow down check boxes.
- Receives member benefits should be selected if you intend for this Member Type to receive member benefits from the Association once membership is confirmed based upon the criteria set in the update dates field when you add an Association.
- Benefit flow down should be selected if linked records to member records of this type should also receive member benefits. A detailed explanation of benefits flow down and how to use it can be found on the Member Type - Benefits Flow Down page.
Once you have added your member types to your associations, click the Expand button to view the add related status link.
Clicking this link enables you to set status states related to your Member Types. For example, in the screenshot above, the Member Types have two status states that the member types can be set to: Active and Inactive. Further, you may set a flipped status state for NetForum to activate or automatically flip to (such as active or inactive) when the application flips the Member Flag, Effective/Expire dates or Member Benefit Flow Down flag. You may choose to add more such status states as Processing or On-Hold and so forth, depending upon your Association's business rules if you do not see a status state you would like to use by clicking on the add related status link and naming the status you want to appear. It will then appear member status and flipped status drop-downs.
Note: In addition to the method described above, you can add Member Types from the Membership Setup page, member type child form as well.
Business Units Tab
Your Association must be tied to at least one Business Unit which is considered the financial entity in NetForum where your General Ledger is stored. In many cases, an Association is only linked to one Business Unit but not always. For example, an Association may have two separate accounting books; one for the Association and one for the Foundation which would require two Business Units within NetForum. The Accounting module had detailed information on the set-up and use of the Business Unit. As with all NetForum child forms, you must click the Expand folder to view the information within each line item and the Edit icon if you want to modify any data inside. The green GoTo arrow will take you directly to a line item and away from the Association Profile.
Business Units Child Form
To link or add a new Business Unit to your Association, click on the Add Record button on the business units child form on the Business Units tab. The Add Business Unit window will display, depicted below.
You must enter the Business Unit code and name which are required fields. The association and currency fields are drop-down fields that you will specify with your Association's name and the currency you will use. Keep in mind that if this is a new Business Unit you will still need to set-up the values required for it such as the General Ledger accounts and the accounting Fiscal Year values you plan to use. It is important that this information is in place before you begin to sell memberships and products. More information about this set-up can be found on the Business Unit page.
Renewals Tab
Once you begin selling memberships to your Association you will subsequently begin the process of renewing the memberships that expire. The Renewals tab details the Renewal Process Report that is created each time you run the Dues Renewal Process in NetForum. As with all NetForum child forms, you must click the green GoTo arrow to go directly to a line item and away from the Association Profile.
Renewals Child Form
The Renewals child form is part of the Renewals tab and enables you to go directly to each Renewal Process Report that is created for this Association by clicking on the green GoTo button beside it. Each renewal listed on the child form is code named by the batch membership renewal invoices will be placed into when payment is made. You are also able to see what stage the renewals are currently in such as completed in the example above, or processing for example, if you have not invoiced or completed processing your report in full. Finally, you are able to view who created each specific report and to export it if you wish (and have the administrative rights).