Setting Up a Calendar-Based Membership

A Calendar-Based Membership is a membership that starts on a specified month and day (e.g., January 1st) and expires on a set number of months later (e.g., 12 months later). The membership start and end dates are determined by the numbers entered in the Month to Start Term and Length of Membership Term fields when you set up the Member Type. For example, for a 1-year membership that starts on January 1st, you would enter 1 for Month to Start Term and 12 for Length of Membership Term.

If you want to prorate the dues so that a customer can purchase a membership any time during the year and not have to pay the full membership fee, select the Prorate Dues check box. The dues will be based on the number of months left in the membership term. For example, if the customer purchases the membership in June, they will only have to pay 50 percent of the original cost of the dues.

To set up a Calendar-Based Membership:

1. Hover over the Modules tab in the top navigation bar. In the fly out menu, click Administration.
2. On the Administration / Overview page, click Add a Member Type.

3. In the Membership Type Information section (seen below), enter the Member Type Code and Product List Order.
4. Enter the Member Type Name (name of the membership).
5. Enter the Primary Priority of the membership if your entity allows multiple memberships.  This is required. View Setting Up Multiple Memberships for more information.
6. Enter a Description for the membership.
7. From the Customer Type drop-down list:
• Select Individual to specify that the membership is only for individuals.
• Select Organization to specify that the membership is only for organizations.
• Select All to specify that the membership is for both individuals and organizations.
8. Select an Affiliate from the drop-down menu. The Affiliates module may be used to define those chapters, special interest groups, sections and so forth affiliated with a member type, committee, event, etc. An affiliate group may be thought of as a more permanent data grouping with its own Website and resources than just a member type or event group. For more information, view What is the Affiliates Module.
9. Select the Calendar-Based check box.
10. To set up the Sell for Next Year functionality, select the month that customers can begin to purchase this member type for the next calendar year in the Sell for next year after month field. Select the day of the month that customers can begin to purchase this member type for the next calendar year in the Sell for next year after day field. For example, in the image below, memberships will begin selling for the next calendar year after November 15th.
11. Select the Length of Membership Term (e.g., 12 months).
12. Select the month you want the membership to begin from the Month to Start Term drop-down list.
13. If you want to prorate the dues so that a customer can purchase a membership any time during the year and not have to pay the full membership fee, select the Prorate Dues check box. The system will automatically calculate the amount due based on the number of months left in the membership.
14. If you select the Allow Benefits Flow Down check box, the membership benefits that are set up for this membership type will also be available to linked organizations or individuals.
15. If you select the Start Membership Immediately check box, the term of the membership will start immediately and run through the following term.
16. The Members Only check box is selected if only members may purchase this calendar membership.
17. The Allow Recurring Renewal check box is selected if this member type may be renewed by customers on a recurring payment basis. It is only present if recurring renewal memberships have been set up for your entity by Abila support. View Recurring Renewal Membership Rules for more information.
18. Select View By Non-Members if you want the member type to be viewable by non-members.  This check box is only visible if the Members Only check box is selected.
19. In the Grace Period field, enter the number of days the member has to renew the membership after it expires. For example, if the membership expires on 12/1/12 and the membership drop process is run on 12/15/13, even though the membership has technically expired, the member won't be dropped because they still have a grace period in which to pay.  If the member has not paid as of January 1, when the January drop process is run, the member will be dropped, because the grace period is over.
20. Select the Member Type Status that will be assigned when this member type is purchased or renewed (e.g., Active, or Pending). (You might want to use Pending for the status if the customer needs to meet certain criteria before membership becomes active.)
21. If you want to base membership activation on payment amount, you can set up a Percent Paid requirement. For example, if Payment in Full is a requirement for membership, select 100 as the Percent Paid requirement. If only half the payment is required up front, select 50 for the Percent Paid amount. If the customer is not required to make a payment in order to become a member, select 0 for the Percent Paid requirement. If 0 Percent Paid is entered, the end date will increment on any (first) payment.
22. Enter Keywords if you want to be able to search for this membership online based on a keyword. (Separate the keywords with a comma.)
23. Use the Confirmation Template drop-down to specify which template that will be used to send a confirmation of purchase to customers who purchase this calendar membership from the online store.

22. In the Membership Type Availability for Sale section (seen below), enter the Availability for Sale dates. This is the time period the membership will be available for sale in the internal Shopping Cart.
23. The Member Type Available From and To dates specify when the Member Type is available for sale both internally and in the online store.
24. The Show as New From and To dates specify the dates that the Member Type will be featured as new in the online store.
25. The Featured Product From and To dates specify the dates that the Member Type will be available in the featured product bar at the top of the online store.

Note: If you select the Inactive check box, the membership will not be available for sale internally or in the online store. It is completely inactive. This is useful if you need to amend or make changes to the member type and need to ensure it is not available for purchase in the meantime.

26. In the Online Information section (seen below), select the Sell Online check box to sell the membership on your Web site. To set the specific time period for the membership to be available through the Online Store, enter the Sell Online start and end dates.
27. Select the Exclude in External Directory to exclude the membership in the external find directory.
28. Click Save to create the Member Type Profile.

To add the Dues Rate:

1. Go to Member Type Profile.
2. Click the Add Dues Fees button (or, on the Membership Dues Rate child form, click Add.)
3. In the Member Type & Dues Rate Information window, enter the Dues Rate Code.
4. Enter the Dues Rate Name.
5. Click the Default Dues Rate check box if this is the default dues rate.
6. Click the Available Online check box if the membership is to be sold in the Online Store.
7. Enter the Member Fees. Renewing Member Fee is what the member will be charged for a membership renewal.  New Member Fee is the price of a new membership.
8. Select the Charge Code.
9. The Allow Installments check box is visible if installment billing is available for your entity. It enables customers to pay off the membership price in the installments you specify in the Frequency and  Installments drop-down such as by quarters.
10. Click Save.

On the Individual or Organization Profile, in the Membership Information section, you will see that the membership starts on the first day of the month selected in Month to Start Term field. If you make the membership available for sale on 01/01/12 and select 12 for the Length of Membership Term, the membership Join Date and Effective Date will always be 01/01/2012. The Expire date will always be based on the Month to Start Term, plus Length of Membership Term.

For example, if the Month to Start Term Date is 1 and the membership term is 12 months, the Expire Date will be 12/31/2012.