MemberLeap / Chamber Nation Help Articles (Part 2 of 2)

Silent Auctions

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Polls

Fri, 02 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT

The Polling module allows you to post a quick, one question poll visible to members or to the public. This lightweight module is designed for increasing engagement with the public, or with members and prospects. The poll can be embedded on a public web page, or can be added to your member's area menu. After a visitor finishes the poll, a bar chart or pie chart will be shown with the results, with a fully-customizable color scheme. If you want to restrict who can answer, or the number of times someone can answer, then we recommend using Surveys instead. Polls are impromptu, casual, and simple.

Creating Polls

Fri, 02 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT

From the Admin Menu, click Features, then Polls. This will take you to the Polls management page. On this screen, you can click Add New Poll to create a new poll. Then, you can type a Question and a Deadline (after which the poll will be unanswerable). Set your poll to Active status so non-admins aren’t blocked from seeing it. Use the Poll Type option to decide on the appearance of the voting screen (dropdown box or radio buttons?). Use the Graph Type option to decide whether the results will be shown in a Pie Graph or Bar Graph. Finally, click Add Option to add answers for people to choose from. You can give each answer a corresponding color, which will show up on the Results graph. Make sure to click Save when you’re done!

Managing Polls

Fri, 02 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Back on the Polls menu screen, you can see a list of polls you’ve created so far. You can click the pencil icon to edit a poll, click the trash icon to delete a poll, or click the graph icon to see the results. You can also see details about each poll and whether it’s currently Active (answerable) or not.

Sharing Polls

Fri, 02 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Before someone can answer your poll, you have to share it with them! This can be done by clicking either the Copy Link button or the Copy HTML button beside your poll. If you’re new at HTML-editing, we’d recommend just starting out with the Copy Link option. Once you’ve clicked Copy Link, you can put that link in an email, on a page in the Content Manager, or within any editable verbiage area of your website. As long as your poll is set to Active, people will be able to click that link and give their answers On the other hand, if you click Copy HTML, you can then paste the HTML anywhere you have the ability to edit HTML code. This is a more advanced technique for more experienced users, and may take some trial and error to get the hang of, but this will allow for your Poll to appear directly in the middle of any webpage.

Community Task List

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT

The task manager within communities can be accessed from the 'Update Tasks' link in the functions section of the community info page. After clicking through, the page will list tasks for the community and also gives you the ability to create new ones. When creating a new task you can enter the task name, description, set the priority, and choose who to assign it to within the committee or among admins. When a task has been completed you can click on the checkmark icon next to the task, choose the date of completion, and mark the task as complete. The task will be moved off task list but can still be access by clicking on the link at the top right of the page for 'View All Tasks'.

Community Content Management

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Committees can be granted access to edit or create individual content pages on the website. Option #1: Allow a committee chair to edit an existing Grid Page in the content manager. Admins can grant the Chair of a committee editing access to certain Grid pages that have been created in the Content Manager. 1. Locate the grid page in the Content Manager, and click on the Edit icon to the right. 2. Towards the bottom of this page will be a dropdown menu labeled Community Chair Update. Select the committee from the dropdown. 3. Click Update and Continue to Editor. 4. Click the save icon. The chair of the specified committee will now be able to edit this page from within the committee area. Option #2: Allow a committee chair, vice-chair, or member to create or edit community-specific pages. Admins can grant access to committee-specific content management via the communities admin area. 1. In the communities admin area, locate the community whose content management you want to modify. 2. Click on the Edit icon to the right. 3. Locate two options: Manage Content, and View Content. These fields determine who can edit content pages associated with the community, and who can view the content pages created by this community. 4. Click Continue to save your changes. Pages created in this manner are associated with the specified community, and will not be shown in the global Content Manager. They can be edited from the committee landing page by the members specified in the aforementioned setting..

New Member Verification

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT

There are two membership checks that can be enabled for the newest version of the New Member Registration page. Email Address Verification When enabled, the setting "Check email address for renewal?" (located on the New Member Registration configuration page under "Other Options") will check the database for records that have a matching email address. If a record is found, the member will be prevented from registering and notified that they are attempting to create a duplicate record. Advanced Field Lookup When enabled, the setting "Enable additional verification field check?" (located on the New Member Registration configuration page under "Other Options") will check the database for records that have a matching First Name, Last Name, and Company. If a record is found, a message at the top of the page will prompt the user to send an email to the email address associated with the existing account containing that member's username. These options are not mutually exclusive, and are grouped together on the New Member Registration configuration page:

Member Numbers

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Member numbers can be assigned manually, when adminstrators edit a record. They do not have to be unique. They can also be assigned automatically via a sequencer. Contact support if you'd like the sequencer enabled. Member Number Auto-Assignment via Sequencer The sequencer acts as a counter, incrementing by one each time a number is assigned to a record. It does not keep track of numbers already assigned, so it's important to avoid manually assigning numbers within it's range while it is enabled. The sequencer can also prepend the incremented member numbers with characters, and pad the number to a certain character length. Typically, only records in full member plans are assigned numbers by the sequencer, but this can be changed. Let us know in your request which plans should be included. If your organization is using Cross Referencing, the sequencer can be configured to assign member number to child records that match the parent.

Classified Ad Editor

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

The Classified Ads Editor can be found within the Content Manager Menu. You can find it from the admin menu by going to Website > Content Manager Menu > Classified Ads .

Add a Classified Ad: To add a new ad, click on the “Add a Classified Ad” link at the top of this page. There are several fields to enter.

Fields marked with an asterisk (*) will only appear when Job Board Mode is enabled in the Classified Ad global configuration settings.

Headline - The title for this classified ad. This field is required.
Category - category for this classified ad to be listed in. These categories must first be set up by an admin before they will appear in this drop down.
*Location - where the service/job mentioned in the classified ad will take place.
Details - description of the service/item for sale, or a description of the job if being used as a job board. This field is required.
*Qualifications - accomplishments that makes someone suitable for this service/job.
*Comments - any additional information that would be useful for this listing.
Contact Name, Email, City, State, Zip, Phone - contact information for the seller.
Website Address - a URL can be entered here, which will cause a “Website” link to appear with this listing. This link will direct users to the URL entered in this field.
Photo - choose a photo to upload that will appear with this listing. This must first be enabled in the global configuration settings.
File - choose a file to upload that will appear with this listing. This must first be enabled in the global configuration settings.
Post Date - the date this ad will be posted.
Expiration Date - the date this ad will be removed.

Manage Categories: Create categories to help organize different types of classified ad listings.

Manage Custom Fields: Add/Edit fields to the classified ad submission form, based on the information that is required for your classified ads.

Manage Permissions: Provide admin privileges to the Classified Ads module to anyone in your database.

Handling Member Renewals

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Because the users of the MMS have such a wide variety of skill sets and backgrounds, this document is written under the assumption that the reader may or may not have experience in handling membership renewals. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us .

1. Terminology

term - This refers to how memberships are billed, in terms of monthly or yearly membership. It also could refer to a particular year or month that a membership is in force. If an organization has annual memberships, a example of a member's term of membership might be August 1, 2003 - August 1, 2004.
effective date - the date when a member's renewal term begins.
expiration date - the date when a member's renewal term ends.
due date - for a given invoice (which contains a particular renewal term for a member), this is the date when dues must be paid in order to continue membership . The due date is computed relative to the effective date of the renewal term.
invoice posting date - the date at which invoice records are created in the system (MMS).
batch renewals - a batch process that creates invoice records at night. The MMS does this at 2:00 AM EST.

2. Procedures

3. Annual Renewals

4. Auto-drop

Full Automation - Nightly Jobs

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

The MMS can be set up such that nearly all aspects of renewal processing can be automated - posting of invoice records, emailing of notifications, dropping of non-pays.

Batch Renewal: renewal invoices can be posted automatically when a member is due for renewal. We set this up based on a number-of-days timeframe, such that if you specify 90 days, the renewal invoice record is posted to the system 90 days before it's effective date.

Batch Notification: Starting when the invoice record is posted in the system, renewal notifications can be sent every X number of days until the member pays dues (renews) or cancels. By default, X is 30 days.

Batch Drop: Non-paying members can be dropped automatically after X number of days of being past-due.

Since these features are very powerful, if they are not properly set-up, they can cause problems (posting transactions too early, dropping members too quickly). To avoid problems, we handle implementation of these on an individual basis, by request. They are typically implemented sequentially - first batch renewal, then batch notifications, then batch drop.

We only recommend these automated features for organizations that renew members year-round. If you have a fixed-year renewal (all members renew at the same time each year), we recommend the manual functions in the billing system to post invoices and send notifications.

Please contact us for assistance in order to set these features up for you.

Refunds

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Currently the MMS does not automate refunds. If the payment was made online, an Admin will need to make a correction/void to a payment and then manually use your merchant account interface to refund the money to the purchaser.

Member Billing System

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

The Membership Billing System is an extension of the member database that allows you to create membership invoices and track dues payments. This part of the MMS is designed to be flexible, offering a variety of features that an organization can pick-and-choose to meet their particular needs.

In this portion of the user manual, there is a section with a general explanation of how to handle member renewals, followed by various sections explaining the features of the billing system-

Creating Invoice Records
Documents/Notifications
Recording Payments
Processing Drops
Viewing Transactions
Reporting/Data Export

Preparations before Creating Invoices

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Updating Mobile App Info

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

When a Mobile App is published to Android or Apple/iOS, we enter some information about the app that will inform the public about your app and your organization. For best results, we recommend that you enter this information yourself and/or update this information as necessary. Note that while you are able to modify this information, we still have to manually make those changes on Android and Apple/iOS markets/stores due to restrictions by those companies. To get edit your app info, click on the "App Info" icon (cog icon) on the main Mobile App Manager Page: This will take you to the edit page. Here you can edit the Title, Description, Promo Text, and Keywords related to your app. Please note that Android restricts the app title to 30 characters and also each app title must be 100% unique among all of the Android and Apple app markets. Once you are satisfied with your changes, click the "Submit Changes" button. One of our mobile developers will be notified of the change via email and will update the app info on Android and Apple/iOS markets as time allows.

Volunteer Sessions

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

A volunteer session contains the overall information about a set of volunteer opportunities. A volunteer session must be attached to a previously existing calendar event. It can be created directly from the calendar event or from the volunteering main admin page. Title: This is the title that will display on the volunteering calendar for members Categories: This field allows you to select a category to help you organize your volunteer sessions. These categories must be created first before they can be selected on this page. Start Date: This is the date that the volunteering sessions starts End Date: This is the date that the volunteering sessions ends - if it is a single day event, this field can be left blank Cutoff Date: The session will display on the calendar until the start and end dates have both passed. To make it fall off earlier, you can use the cutoff date field. This can be left blank if you are not using it. Volunteer Coordinator: This is a list of members in your organization that you can select from to make someone a volunteer coordinator. When someone is made a volunteer coordinator, they gain admin rights to the volunteer session (but only ones they are coordinator for). They are able to change the volunteer session and opportunities, and also add and remove members. Description: This is the description for the overall session and will display in areas where the member is viewing information about the session.

Mobile App Manager

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

App Builder - Will take you to the content management page for your mobile app.
App Info - Allows you to edit the description, promotional text, keywords. You can also change which event your mobile app is currently linked to here.
Push Notifications - Allows you to setup, and send push notifications to your mobile app users (additional fees may apply)
Remove - Allows you to remove your mobile app.
Analytics - Displays how many times each particular page in your mobile app was visited, per day.
Share this App - Allows you to send a broadcast email that includes the download links for both Apple and Android versions of your app.

Features

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Features for the Mobile App are advanced content pages that have special properties allowing them to interact with the MMS database and provide dynamic content for the end user. From the Mobile App Menu Builder page (see below): To add a new feature: Click the "Feature" Link. To edit an existing feature: Click the "Pencil" Icon next to a feature in the menu list. The add/edit page for "Feature" content looks like this: Simply select the desired feature from the drop-down menu, enter the menu text/name, determine which category (if any) to place it under, select a permission level, and click the "continue >>" button. Note you can specify a "Category" to place it under and also control the security level required to view the page. Some features have additional pages where you will be asked to select and/or enter other information, but most are just one step like the one indicated above.

Spacers

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Spacers for the Mobile App are simple menu items have no action or purpose other than to insert a blank space (or a gap) in the menu of the mobile app to help separate menu items. From the Mobile App Menu Builder page (see below): To add a new spacer: Click the "Spacer" Link. To remove a spacer: Click the red "X" icon next to the spacer in the menu item list. There is no add page for the spacer as it is added directly into the menu list. You will see that it does not have a name and cannot be "edited" (no pencil icon). You can use the up and down arrows to move the spacer between other menu items. See below:

Links

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Links for the Mobile App are simple menu items that when clicked will open a new URL. From the Mobile App Menu Builder page (see below): To add a new link: Click the "Link" Link. To edit an existing link: Click the "Pencil" Icon next to a Link in the menu list. The add/edit page for "Link" content looks like this: Simply enter the link name, paste in the URL, and click the "continue >>" button. Note you can specify a "Category" to place it under and also control the security level required to view the page.

Pages

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Pages for the Mobile App are just simple content pages (similar to what you might add using the Website Content Editor for your website). From the Mobile App Menu Builder page (see below): To add a new page: Click the "Page" Link. To edit an existing page: Click the "Pencil" Icon next to a page in the menu list. The add/edit page for "Page" content looks like this: Simply enter a page name and some content and then click "Click here to publish to mobile". Note you can specify a "Category" to place it under and also control the security level required to view the page.

Creating Invoice Records

Fri, 13 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT

The first step in using the Member Billing System is the creation of invoice records. Different from the actual invoice documents that are produced, each invoice record represents a term of membership for a particular member. When created, the invoice record is marked as unpaid until a payment is applied to it.

Invoice records are created for new members (the initial invoice), or for renewing members (renewal invoices).

New Member Invoices

New Member Invoices can be created:

Automatically (usually during the manual entry of members)
One-at-a-time (if otherwise necessary)

Although typically, a new member invoice is created at the time a new member is entered, if for some reason that was not the case (misconfiguration, mis-entry or other reason) you can create invoices one at a time by selecting "Enter Single Invoice" on the Renewal System menu. You can then select the member for whom you want to generate an invoice.

The effective date of a new member invoice is typically set to be the join date of the member. If your membership practices are different, for example if all members are effective January 1, please contact us and we can adjust your configuration.

Renewal Invoices

Renewal Invoices can be created:

by automatic renewals at night (optional)
via the Create Renewal Invoices by Date function

Automatic Renewals

If your organization has opted for Automatic Renewals (or 'Batch' renewals), invoice records will be created at night. The renewal invoices are automatically created for active members a predetermined number of days ahead of expiration of their current term. This lead time can be set in MMS Configuration. Automatic renewals are usually turned on after your MMS account has been set-up and all of your member records have been initially entered into the system.

NOTE: Since renewal invoices are based on the expiration date of the member's last dues invoices, renewal invoices will not be created for members if they do not have a dues invoice. In order for the system to work, each member will need to have at least one dues invoice.

Renewal Invoices are created with an effective date equal to the expiration date of the last invoice. Typically, during initial set-up of your organization, we will work with you to set up initial invoices/payments for all your members, to make sure that the MMS reflects the current billing status of your members. However, for some organizations, effective/expiration dates are the same for all members. (e.g. - all are March 1 - March 1). If this applies to your organization, we can customize the renewal process to observe this rule.

Create Renewal Invoices by Date

Please see section 6.2.1 for preparations before creating invoices.

If you don't have automatic renewals enabled, you can create renewal invoice records by using the Create Renewal Invoices by Date function. Using this feature, you can enter the effective date of the renewals you would like to create, you will then be shown the invoices that will be created and given the option to go ahead and create them, or to abort the procedure. (If you don't see the Create Renewal Invoices by Date function, contact us.)

At the time of invoice record creation, the billing system will use the member plan on the member database record. If the member has a $0 member plan, no invoice record is created.

NOTE: After the invoice record is created, it will remain the same unless changed from the member billing system. Changes to the member database are not automatically reflected in the member billing system.

Mailing Labels & Avery Forms

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT

The MMS can print labels and name badges on standard Avery Forms. This is done using PDF files. Unfortunately, Acrobat Reader can stretch and offset the printing differently depending on your settings within the Reader.

To compensate for this, there are settings that you can adjust within MMS Configuration, Quick Reports & Reporting Configuration. These settings allow you to adjust the printing up and down the page, and stretch it vertically if necessary. This will require a little trial and error, so you will want to print the 1st page on regular paper, see how it looks superimposed on your Avery forms held up to the light, make adjustments, and repeat the process.

If the addresses are off at the top, bottom, or middle (that is, their alignment within the label is different as you go down the page), you have a vertical scaling issue. You will want to adjust the scaling factor up or down until all the addresses are printing the same all the way down the page.

If all the addresses are off (falling off the top or bottom of the label), then you have an vertical offset issue. You will want to adjust the offset up or down until the addresses are centered within the label.

If you have both problems, you'll want to correct the vertical scaling issue first, then adjust the offset.

Mailing Label Notes:

Employer (Business Name) and Position can optionally be included in the mailing label. See MMS Configuration, Quick Reports & Reporting Configuration.

Labels II output is ideal for most all organizations.

Labels I output is ideal for small organizations where members are individuals (not businesses) and do not require using an second address line.

Reporting, Lists, Labels

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Reports/Lists/Labels can be used to quickly create a report. There are four steps in using this tool:

1. Select a Document Type

2. Select a Query

3. Exclude Email recipients?

4. Pick a Sort Order

Exporting to Excel

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT

To export data for usage, the system offers several ways to create comma-delimited files (.csv), which can then be opened in Excel.

For member data, you can do this via reporting/lists/labels and choosing Extract or Detail Extract. You can also create custom reports, and use Extract as an output type.

Within event registration, member billing, and other modules; you'll frequently see similar functions to create 'csv' files or 'extract' files, all of which can then be opened in Excel.

Members & Admins

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT

There are two primary security levels within the MMS- member-level access and administrative-level access.

Admin-level access is intended for your organization's staff or board members. Admins have access to view and edit all member data, use the various content management features, set up event registrations, surveys, and more. The utility of the MMS is primarily intended for admin-level users.

Member-level access is for general members. Members can view and edit their own information. Members can (depending on configuration) view other member data, but cannot alter another member's data.

In addition, you have the option of granting certain admin-level privileges to member-level users. Ask us about turning on this feature so you can have finer control of granting access to members.

As a general rule, on the main menu of the members' area, Members can see all features except those under the Administrative Functions subheading. Admins are unrestricted, and can see and use all features. In our most up-to-date version of the Members Area, Admin and Member views are split into two separate screens, both of which are visible by admins. See section 15 for more information.

Reporting

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT

There are variety of reporting features included in the MMS system. Many organizations have specific reporting needs, so if you don't see a report or label that will work for your group, feel free to ask for an accommodation. Often, a customization can be accomplished at low cost or at no cost.

Quick Reports - these are some basic, ready-made reports that are available to all members. The Quick Reports are available under the Members Area Features subsection of the main menu.

Member Name Search - under the Members Area Features on the main menu, this is a feature that allows all members to search for a particular member based on name (first name, last name, business name).

Member Directory - largely used by organizations in Business mode, the MMS offers a facility that can be linked to outside of the members area. This presents the public with a way to search for members based on business name, keyword, category. There is also an option to allow the user to view all members.

Reporting/Lists/Labels - this feature allows a quick method for an admin to create a report, mailing labels, or to extract data to a comma-delimited file (.csv).

Custom Reports - this is a more powerful, but more complex method for setting up reports that can be re-used again and again. These reports can also be included in the quick reports section, making them available to the general member (member-level) users. Custom Reports are not recommended for billing purposes.

Application Time-Out

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT

For security purposes, you will automatically be logged out after 2 hours of inactivity. This means if you sign in and leave your desk for more than 2 hours, when you get back you'll have to sign in again.

This is designed to protect users who sign in from a shared computer.

Responsive Directory

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Keyword Search: entering a keyword will filter results that include that keyword in the first name, last name, employer, country, city, address, profile, and business category fields.
Name Search: entering a search term in this field will filter results based on the contents of the first name, last name, and employer fields.
City Search: entering a city will filter results that contain the term in the record's city field.
Location State/Province Search: selecting an option from the dropdown will filter results by the specific selected value.
Location Country Search: the options presented in this dropdown are based on actual Country values entered by your members.
Zip Code Search: this filter uses the latitude/longitude of the entered zip code to identify members located within the specified range.

Member Search/Directory

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT

The Member Name Search and the Member Directory are both search facilities that allow for a user to search for a particular member or for a member based on certain criteria. Member Name Search - under the Members Area Features on the main menu, by entering first name, last name or business name (or a portion thereof), the search will return a list of members matching what was entered. Member Directory - used by organizations in Business mode, usually from the organizations website (but also from within the members area - look for Member Directory under Members Area Features). The user can search by category, search by business name, search by keyword, or view all businesses. A link to the directory can be found in Configuration > System Links > 1. Member Directory > 1.1 Responsive (Bootstrapped). In General Configuration, an Admin can choose to 'Use Contact Form in Directory,' which will hide the members' email addresses and use a Contact Form to send an email through the system. If you would like to change the version that appears in the member's menu or change the name of the directory to something else, you can do that by going to: Configuration > Main Menu Then click on “Member Area Features” You can change the name of the directory with the field called “Name for Member Directory” and if you would like to replace the link with a different one from "System Links", you can paste that into the “Alternative Page for Member Directory” field. You can check the box for “Hide Member Name Search” if you no longer want that version to appear. Then click on “Save Configuration” to save the changes. There are various setting for the Member Directory that can be found by going to: Configuration > Member Directory Keep in mind that some settings on this page only apply to certain versions of the directory. Contact support if you have any questions.

Managing Redirects

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Name - this is only for your use and has no effect on the redirect itself
Redirect Rule - this will be the page name that falls at the end of your redirected page: e.g. https://yourdomain.com/ our_events - you will only enter the page name - in this example, our_events , into this field (no spaces are allowed)
Redirect URL - this is where you will enter the full url for the target page where the user will be redirected

Feature Fulfillment

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Raison d'etre
Turning on.
Creating Features.
Recording Fulfillment of Features.
Fulfillment Reporting

Raison D'etre

Creating Features

From the Main Menu, go to Configuration.
Under Member Database/Billing Options , go to "Plans (Member Types)".
Scroll to the bottom of this screen; beneath the list of Plans that you currently offer, you should see a link to "Edit Member Plan Features". If you do not see this link, please submit a support ticket to learn more about turning this on.
To add a new Feature, click the "Add New Feature" button. to edit an existing Feature, click the 'Edit' pencil next to that feature.
1. The Description field is a descriptive name for the feature.
2. The Internal Notes field allows you to more fully describe the feature.
3. Feature Type indicates whether the Feature is intended specifically for new member or renewing members. Leave it as "Simple" if it should go to both.
4. Default Note allows you to have a default note added to the Feature upon fulfillment.

From the Member Plans menu, click the pencil next to the plan to which you wish to add Features.
Scroll to the bottom of the page, below the "Continue >>" button, click the "Add features to this plan" link.
Check the boxes of the Features that you offer for this plan, and then click "Continue >>".

Recording Fulfillment of Features

In the Member Database, click the pencil next to the member whose Feature Fulfillment you wish to record.
Near the bottom of this page, click the "Update Fulfilled Features for this Member" link.
You will see a list of links to the terms during which this member has been active. Click the one for the features you wish to record.
To mark a feature as "fulfilled", fill in the date on which it was fulfilled. You can add an extra note about the fulfillment to the "Fulfillment Notes" (e.g., "member mentioned upgrading next term").
Click the "Submit Changes" button when you're ready to save.

Reporting on Fulfilled Features

Designations

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 00:00:00 GMT

The Designations field can be enabled in Configuration -> Member Database -> Admin Profile Edit Page Options by checking the box to Activate Member Designation Service? This enables a global field with options to tag a member with specific features. These features are global, and cannot be changed/edited. The field selections of each member can be modified by admins, but not the member, nor are they naturally visible to the member. The selections are published to the Member JSON feed (if enabled).

Image Manager

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT

The Image Manager displays images that have been uploaded to your site. Images that have been uploaded through the website page editors, or via any field that offers image insertion, are placed in a category called Auxiliary Photos. This category can include images from throughout the MMS, as images can be inserted in several locations, such as Calendar descriptions, Message Board topics, and Survey questions. Organization of Auxiliary Photos You can organize Auxiliary Photos by assigning them to categories: Click the "Edit Auxiliary Photo Categories" button in the Image Manager to create a new category. Enter the default Auxiliary Photos category. Check the box beside any images that should be moved to your new category. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select that category from the dropdown, and then click "Reassign Category." Deleting Auxiliary Photos When you attempt to delete an Auxiliary Photo, a brief search is performed to detect if the image is present in any major areas of the MMS. If so, the image cannot be deleted. If the image is not detected, that does not mean it is not in use; and while deletion is allowed, it is not recommended. Instead, we suggest moving any potentially unused images to a separate category via the method explained above. If you are concerned about hosting space, contact support. Images do not typically take up a significant amount of space; our staff can help identify the true cause of high storage use. File Archive and Photo Albums Images labeled as being from the file archive or photo albums must be managed from within those modules, rather than from within the Image Manager.

Mobile Push Notifications

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Push notifications allow you to send messages to people who have installed the mobile app on their device. You have the option to send to individual members or to all devices that have the app installed. NOTE: the ability to identify a specific member's device is only available IF the member has logged in to the app with their user/pass. If they have not logged in, they may receive push notifications, but only the ones sent to all devices with the app. The push notifications show up on the device if the app is running or not. If the app is not running, clicking on the push notification will start the app. The intent of the push notifications is to increase usage of the app, but in the case of event-based apps (conference apps), push notifications are a handy way to get a quick message out to conference-goers.

Elections Video

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Tax Rates

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Configuration

Name
Rate
- express as a decimal - e.g. enter 0.065 for 6.5%
Default Rate?
- Marking this checkbox will make the system use this as the default tax rate to be applied automatically to all non-dues and event registration invoices
Dues Rate?
- Marking this checkbox will make the system use this as the default tax rate to be applied automatically to all dues and new member registration fee amounts
Use in Online Store?
- state and/or city tax will be applied to products marked as "taxable" in the store, when purchaser is from specified location
State
Is this a City Tax rate? If so, please enter city name
and city zip
QB Tax Code
QB Tax Rate

Usage

Tax Rates by State

Does the member have their State field filled in, and if so, is there a Tax Rate for it? If so, it will use the tax rate you've set up for that state
If they do not, it will instead use the tax rate which has the Dues Rate checkbox marked

Certification Video

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Creating and Awarding Certifications

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Click the Add a new Certification button
Enter a Certification Name and Description
You can enter a number into the Days Until Expiration field to specify how many days that the certification remains active before expiring.
If you're creating an image-based certificate, enable the Create Downloadable Certification Image checkbox.
- If you've enabled this option, press Save and Continue to continue to the next page and you will be prompted to upload your certificate image. This image file (JPG or PNG) should be a certificate template with empty spaces for any member-specific information that you want to include. The tool will allow you to superimpose that information on top of the empty spaces, and will automatically update with the information from the members who are awarded the certificate.
  
  After you've uploaded your certificate image, the page will show a number of options on the left-hand side for superimposing member information on top of the template. You can set the Font Used and Font Color fields to choose your font and font color which will apply to all of the fields that you display. You can then choose to add these following fields to your certificate:
  1. Display name on image
    When enabled, you will be able to position the member's name on the certification image
  2. Display completion date on image
    When enabled, you will be able to position the date the certification was awarded to the member on the certification image
  3. Display expiration date on image (only enable if this certificate expires!)
    When enabled, you will be able to position the date the certification expires on the certification image
  4. Display member plan
    When enabled, you will be able to position the member plan on the certification image
  5. Display member number
    When enabled, you will be able to position the member number on the certification image
  6. Display member employer/organization
    When enabled, you will be able to position the member's employer/organization on the certification image
  7. Display member address
    When enabled, you will be able to position the member's address on the certification image
- When you enable any of the options above, new options will appear to position the superimposed text on top of the blank space of your certificate image.
  
  NOTE: The superimposed text starts centered at the very top of your image and may not be visible at first, so you must adjust the following values until it is visible . It's best to add a font size and then increase the Y Offset value until you can see the superimposed text, and then you can click and hold the up/down arrows on each option to change their values and see the text move within the preview on the right.
  - Font Size - this is used to control the size of the text, enter a number that's high enough for the text to be visible on your certificate
  - X Offset (left of center) - Increasing this value will shift your superimposed text to the right, and decreasing this value will shift the text to the left.
  - Y Offset (from top) - Increasing this value will shift your superimposed text downwards from the top of the image, and decreasing this value will shift it back upwards.
  - Left Align (instead of centering) - Enabling this checkbox will move the superimposed text's starting point to the left side of the image, rather than being centered.
- Once you've finished adding member information to display over the Certificate Image, this page will automatically save any changes that you've made. You can use the navigation links at the top to return to the Main Menu or Certifications pages.

Admins can manually award certifications to members from the main Certifications page. There is a Members icon underneath the "Actions" column on that page which will allow you to see the list of members who have been awarded the certification. This page will also have an "Add Member to Cert" button - clicking this will let you add individual members from a drop-down menu and optionally specify their certification's Assignment and Expiration dates.
Certifications can also be automatically awarded to members who complete an Online Learning Course. If you enter the Online Learning module and select the Courses link, you can edit your created courses and use the Certification option to enable any of your certifications to be awarded automatically to members who successfully pass the Course.
Certifications can also be automatically awarded to Event Registration attendees who are marked as "attended" via the checkbox on the Attendee List page (attendees: edit) . This can be configured by editing your Event Registration and searching under Advanced Event Options for the option called Award Certification(s) when Attendees are Marked as Attended . This will show a list of checkboxes for all of your certifications, and you can enable the one(s) you want to be awarded by the event.

Afterwards, you can go to the Attendee List page and click the checkboxes next to each Attendee to mark them as attended. Doing so will automatically award the certification to them as soon as their attendance is marked. Please note that the Attendees must be matched to their member records to be able to do this, and you can track and manually match attendees using the Attendee Member Match Tool found in the event's reporting section.

Member Billing Videos

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Below are some instructional videos about the member billing system.
(You may want to use the expand button in the lower-right to view the videos at full size.)

Creating Invoices and Sending Notifications

Individual Member Billing Records

Invoice/Receipt Verbiage Configuration Options

Overall Member Billing Training

Member Billing Reports

Quickbooks Interface

Digital Membership Card

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Admins can use the Membership Cards manager to generate digital cards, certificates, etc. for the general membership (regardless of certification, course completion, etc.). Members can easily access these cards in the member portal under My Membership > Membership Information. Admins can restrict these digital cards to only members who are paid up as well as only select member plans. Members can either display the digital cards on their phone or computer and then download them. With our mobile app, we already have a feature that lets members scan a QR code provided by another member and collect their contact information. Member QR Code ID allows members to display a QR code that can be scanned by another member with the Lead Retrieval feature. Lead Retrieval also allows for the viewing of scanned leads, and exporting to a CSV.

Merchant Account Privacy, System Policies, and Copyright

Wed, 31 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Membership Portal

Thu, 25 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

We know how important the member experience is. Watch this video to see what a member sees when they login. The video below shows how to edit the custom member menu.

Volunteer Module

Thu, 25 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

The volunteer module can be used to keep track of volunteers for your events and also track long-term volunteer credit hours over numerous events. Volunteer events must first be started by using a calendar event you have created. You can create a new volunteer session directly from a calendar event or by going to the main volunteering admin page. Volunteer sessions are created with a hierarchical structure. The volunteer session is the overall umbrella for the session and contains the overall start and end date and the volunteer coordinator. Within the session, you may create as many volunteer opportunities as you wish. Within the opportunities, you can create as many time slots as you wish. For example: Company A is having a Chili Cookoff and wants to create a volunteer session to sign people up to help. Within this event, they have numerous things they need help with. They will need people to man the ticket desks, others to help with food prep, others to act a security, etc. A volunteer session must first be created, Chili Cookoff Volunteers. Once that is created, they will start adding volunteering opportunities. In the instance above, we will enter opportunities for 'Ticket Desk', 'Food Prep', and 'Security', along with others that need to be filled. Within each opportunity, we then need to create time slots for the volunteers to sign up for. If the event is long, you may have several shifts you need to cover. In the example above, we need to get volunteers to man the ticket desks all day, but we need 2 shifts of volunteers. In this case, we create 2 time slots within the ticket desk opportunity and volunteers can sign up for either or both. Volunteer Session Set Up Video: Volunteer Sign Up Video: Volunteer Admin Advanced Features:

Drip Marketing

Thu, 25 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Our Drip Marketing System is the best way to keep your members engaged with your organization. Drip Marketing campaigns are basically a set of emails on a timeline. When an event occurs for a member (such as signing up or renewing) the member will automatically start their Drip Marketing Campaign.

Drip Marketing Main Page
From your Administrative links, click the one labeled Drip Marketing. The drip marketing page has a table containing all of your current Drip Marketing Campaigns, and a link at the bottom of the page to start a new Campaign.

The table has a few helpful pieces of information

Name - The name of the Drip Marketing Campaign
Triggers - This column displays what a member must do in order to be added to the campaign.
Functions - The edit pencil for changing details, The Delete X for removing a campaign, and the Scheduled clock. Clicking the Scheduled clock will show you a list of members already added to the campaign.

Creating a Campaign/Editing a Campaign
To edit a campaign, click the pencil next to its name. To create a new one, click the Add New Program link at the bottom.

The first page will be the Campaign Details

Program Name - The name of the Drip Marketing Campaign. Popular Campaigns include things like Renewals or New Member emails.
'From' Name - A friendly name like "Jane Smith" or "Pastry Chefs of America"
'From' Email - The email address members should respond to. This is useful if your campaign raises questions of membership payments or status.
Triggers - Select one or more triggers. These triggers are the events that will add a member to the Drip Marketing Campaign
Effective Date Scheduling - This option is for renewals only, and triggers when a member's account is reset.

Days Out - The number of days after the Trigger event that this email will be sent. If you're creating a renewal reminder campaign, set the Trigger to Member Join, and set the days out 335 to let your members know that their membership will expire one month before it does.
Target - A select box that determines who will receive the email.
- Member Only - Selecting this option means the email will only go to the member.
- Member Rep Only - Member Rep's refer to our staff members. If you have a member rep, you can use this option, otherwise it will do nothing.
- Member and Member Rep - Send to both the member and your member rep.
- Other (fill in Extra E-mail field below) - If you'd like to inform one of your staff members when someone is up for renewal, this is the option you would select.
Extra E-Mail? - Only used when "Other" is selected from the Target option above.
Use Wrapper - If selected, this email will use the same wrapper as your Broadcast Message System
Email Subject - The subject of the email
Email Message - Your email messages can be very powerful, containing dynamic data useful to the member who receives it. In the column to the left of the editor box, you'll see a list of replacement keys that look like ##MEMBER_FIRST_NAME## and ##MEMBER_PHONE##. These replacement keys can be copied and pasted into the message. When the message is sent, the replacement keys will be swapped out for their actual values, so "Dear ##MEMBER_FIRST_NAME## ##MEMBER_LAST_NAME##" would be sent as "Dear Jane Smith"

Online Learning

Thu, 25 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Online Learning Module

The Online Learning Module gives you the ability to offer educational courses to your membership that can be completed at the member’s convenience. A course can consist material created by you in the form of:

Videos
Informational web pages (slides)
Tests

As members complete their work, they will know immediately how well they have performed on the tests.

Courses can be created by using the Online Learning option in the admin panel under Member Area Functions.

Steps to Creating a Course

Inside the Online Learning Admin:

Click the link to Add a new course
Give your course a name and description. This information will appear for the member as they are selecting the courses they are interested in. (note: leave the check box, Publish Course, unchecked until you are ready for members to begin taking your course)
Add course elements:
1. Videos: we currently support AVI, MP4, MPG, and WMV video file formats
2. Slides: these are web pages that you embed in the course that provide content for your coursework. This content can be in the form of text and images.
3. Tests: multiple choice questions. Members will know almost immediately which questions were answered correctly and which questions were not. You have the option of providing information for incorrect answers that help explain why that answer is incorrect.
Place your course elements in the correct order. The admin gives you the ability to reorder your course elements.
Once you have completed setting up your course, return to the Online Learning Course Admin and find your new course under Pending and click on the ‘edit’ icon. Then, check the Publish Course check box and click on Continue.

Certification Reminders

Thu, 25 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Learn how to set up reminder emails for your certifications.

Monthly Payments with CIM

Tue, 23 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Some organizations may wish to collect dues on a monthly basis. To offer this to members, you will need to allow for a monthly automatic credit card payment or bank debit. (Otherwise, you'll be relying on members manually processing a payment each month). To do this, the MMS features an interface with Authorize.net's Customer Information Module (CIM). Using CIM allows the MMS to store credit card info, and charge a members card on a monthly basis.

Managing monthly membership is more complex than annual membership, so it is important to understand how this portion of the system works so that when problems pop-up, you'll be able to determine the problem, and use the tools to solve the problem.

Invoices

Just like annual membership, monthly membership is handled by creating invoice records that correspond to the term of membership, in this case the term of membership is one month-long. When a member joins, the effective date is by default the join date (but can be altered by customization), and the expiration date would be 1 month later (example: if the member joins on the 10th, the term expires on the 10th of the next month).

Invoice Record Posting

You have the option of manually posting invoice records for members using Create Renewal Invoice Records by Date, or having it done automatically at night. For monthly membership, we recommend having batch renewals turned on, so that members are automatically renewed at night. This keeps things consistent as to when invoices are posted for members. Please ask us to turn on batch renewals for you.

There is a timeframe that dictates when a renewal invoice record is posted. By default, it is 15 days, but can be changed - look for "Invoice Posting Lead (monthly invoices)". The 15 day timeframe means that a renewal invoice is posted in the system 15 days before ex piration. So if a member's current term expires on May 20, a renewal invoice is posted on May 5.

Autopay Information

For members on monthly plans, they have the option to have auto-pay information on file, so that as invoices are posted, payments are processed using their card on file and recorded in the system. Note: autopay is triggered based on open invoices, both dues invoices and non-dues invoices. So, if you post a non-dues invoice for a member with autopay, these invoices will also be automatically paid at night.

Entering autopay information (card info on file)

When a members joins online using a monthly plan, and then pays online; autopay information is stored at that time.
Admin-level user can update the auto-pay information using member database admin. Look for the 'ap' link to the right of the member's info
The Member can update their auto-pay information themselves by logging into the member's area - 'Enter Autopay Info'

Autopay Payment Posting

Once an invoice is posted, it's a candidate for payment using the member's autopay information. There is another timeframe for payment "Auto-pay Lead". This is the number of days before the invoice date that the system will attempt to process a payment. By default it's 0 days, but it can be changed. This lead time is set up so that invoices can be posted ahead of time, but payments are not necessarily processed immediately. (Example: on May 5, an invoice is posted 15 days before the current expiration of May 20th. May 20 then becomes the effective date/invoice date of the new invoice, but payment for this invoice is not processed until 3 days before the invoice date, which would be May 17th.) Please ask us to turn on batch payments (autopay) for you.

Email Notifications

renewal invoice notifications - optional for handling monthly members, these can be sent automatically, and can include a PDF of the invoice. They include links in them for the member to renew or to cancel

payment receipts - when an autopay payment is processed, an email is sent to the member informing them of this.

payment error notification - if an autopay payment fails, an email message is sent to the member asking them to log-in and correct their autopay info.

Reports

To make it easier to manage auto-pay, there is a report in member billing - "Members with Auto-Pay". This shows the members with auto-pay set up, and includes unpaid invoices and error messages from attempted payments. To the right are links to view details on the member's transactions, as well as a link to update their auto-pay info. Next to the invoices, are links to process payment - this will allow you to process payment immediately using the auto-pay info for a member (as opposed to waiting for it to process at night).

At the top is also a link to "View Member Timelines", which allows you get an at-a-glance look of these member's transactions.

*Note: Auto-Pay does not process event or store invoices.

Reinstating Members

Wed, 17 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Admin Reinstate

I f there are no invoices, you'll need to create one: use Enter Single Invoice Record from the billing menu.
If there is an invoice, is it paid?
- If it's paid, you'll want to create a renewal invoice record- use Enter Single Invoice Record. When done, is the term of membership (effective and expiration date) correct?
  - If not, correct the terms of membership
- If it's not paid, you may want to correct the term of membership to reflect the new term of membership for the member.

Self Reinstate

Membership Add-Ons

Wed, 17 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Typically, membership invoices have only one amount associated with them- the amount for dues.

However, if your organization needs to package additional services with membership that are optional, the MMS allows for what are called Membership Add-Ons .

When turned on in MMS Configuration, this allows for additional items to be packaged with dues. To set up the items that are available as add-ons, edit them via non-dues invoice items (look for item-list link, next to Enter Non-Dues Invoice Record). Enter the item to be available for add-on, and check the "Offer as Membership Add-On?" checkbox. You also have the option of indicating whether the item is available as a single purchase, or as multiple purchases such that a person when selecting would use a checkbox or enter a number (to purchase 1 or more of these items).

You can also indicate whether the item is a recurring item using the 'Recurring?' checkbox. If checked, this allows for an ongoing add-on from term to term. So if it's indicated in the member database for a member, it would be added-on with each renewal (ex: a boat-slip rental fee, that would continue year-to-year, until the member indicated otherwise). If unchecked, indicating a non-recurring item, and the item is indicated in the member database for the member, it would only be added to the next renewal invoice created and then cease to be indicated in the member database afterwards so that it would not be included in future dues invoices. If the member wants a recurring Non-Dues item removed from future invoices, an admin-level user can remove it via member database admin.

This feature works similarly to membership plans in that the invoice records are created based on data entered in the member database, but after the invoice record is created it is independent and not affected by further changes to the member database record.

After a dues invoice has been posted with membership add-ons, you can still alter the detail on the invoice. View transactions for the member, click on chg next to the invoice, and click on chg again next to 'Renewal Terms Included'. You'll be able to edit the add-ons included in that invoice.

Reporting/Data Export

Wed, 17 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Reports

There are a variety of reports available within the Member Billing System to aid a Membership Director in tracking dues payments, determining who is paid and who isn't.

Billing Status

Member Status Summary - shows a balance for each member, sorted by member name. This report is across multiple invoices (if there are multiple invoices due, the balance shows the total due).

Aging Report - this report shows various unpaid invoices and how far past due they are. 'Current' column reflects invoices that are unpaid, but not past due. 1-30, 31-60, 61-90, 91+ columns reflect invoices that are unpaid and are within those respective ranges of days past due. There are different views in the aging report:

Members with Balances: member has a balance due (sum of all inv/pmt)
Members with +/- balances : member has a balance due or is paid ahead (sum of all inv/pmt)
Members with aging invoices: members with at least one unpaid invoices AND the total of the amounts due is non-zero. (in the case a member has two invoices – one over paid by $10, the other underpaid by $10. in this particular case would not show on this report, but would show on Members with unpaid invoices (see below)
All: all members
Members paid ahead: members that have a positive balance
Members with unpaid invoices: member has at least one invoice not marked as paid

Paid/Unpaid Members Report - this is actually two reports, with a link allowing the user to toggle back and forth. The report is based on the balance due for each member. If the member is paid ($0 balance) they appear on the paid report, otherwise they are included in the unpaid report.

Last Term Status - Payment/Credit - Table of members whose last term was paid with a Payment or Credit, can be configured to include members who do not have a 'last term' (new members).

Process Diagram - infographic that explains the MMS billing process.

Invoice Report (by date) - this report is not across all invoices, but is designed to show specific invoices based on statement date. Enter a range of statement dates in order to show a summary of invoices and their amounts.

Paid Thru/Expiration

Paid-Through Report - shows members who have a paid invoice that is active on a specified date.

Paid Through With Member Info - generates a list of all current members with most database fields, including Paid-thru date.

New/Drop/Renew

New Members Report - generates a list of dues-paying members (with invoices) that have joined in a specified date range.

Referred By Report - generates a list of all current members with the name of the person or organization who referred them. Works with the 'Offer Referred-By field' checkbox in Configuration > General.

Renewed Members Report - generates a list of members who were renewed in a specified month.

Dropped Members Report - generates a list of all members who were dropped within a specified date range.

Monthly Board Members Report - monthly version of the Board Members Report. Generates a report that will show, in any given month,
     Aging Report - how many records fall into different categories based on age of the record.
     Dropped Members
     New Members
     Renewal Payments
     Upcoming Renewals

Quarterly Board Members Report - a version of the Board Members Report that covers a range of months.

Invoice/Payment

Invoice Report (by date) - shows member billing invoices across a specified date range.

Invoice Report (item detail) - shows member billing invoices across a specified date range, also includes filters based on item / invoice notes.

Batch Renewals (future invoice) Report - shows members will be due for renewal based on a specified posting date range, or a specified effective date range.

Member Invoice Graphs - shows the sum of invoices and number of open invoices for each member.

Payment Report (by date) - shows members who have a paid invoice that is active on a specified date.

Unassigned Payments - shows payments that are not assigned to invoices. By default payments must apply to invoices, so this report typically does not exist in the system.

Overpayments - shows payments that exceed the balance on the invoice they are applied to.

Terms of Membership

Terms of Membership - shows the current membership term for each member.

Terms in Which Members Were Paid - shows all members that had active, paid dues invoices during a specified date range.

Member Timeline Reports - shows the member timelines of all members. You can view timelines by membership type as well.

Other

Combined Reporting (Mem/Evr/Store) - generates an export of transactions throughout the system within a specified date range.

Event Registration Reporting - opens up the 'all-event reporting' screen from Event Registration.

Store Transaction Reporting - opens up the transaction report from the Online Store module.

Data Export

If you need to export billing data for use in another software product, the billing system includes a function to export invoice and payment data. To use this, select the "Export Invoice/Payment Data" option from the Member Billing System menu. Enter the begin and end dates of the transactions you would like to export. Select Invoice, Payments, or Both; then click on submit to create a comma-delimited file (.csv) that will contain the data.

Corrections / Voids

Wed, 17 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Corrections

To make corrections to an invoice or payment, you'll need to view the transactions for the particular member. Look for the 'chg' link to the right of the transaction.

If it's a membership dues invoice, you will want to pay special attention to the dates.

If you need to change the dates of the term of membership (effective and expiration), click chg next to the invoice, then click chg again next to 'Renewal Terms Included'.

Voiding

For potential audit purposes, invoice and payment records cannot be deleted. If you need to remove them, use the void function. If an invoice already has a payment attached to it, the payment must be voided before the invoice can be voided.

Dropping Members

Wed, 17 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

As members receive notification (either via email notifications, phone calls, or printed invoices/statements), some will choose not to renew their membership.

If they receive an email notification, there is a link within the email to allow them to cancel their membership. If the member clicks this link and follows the instructions, the member will be dropped.

To drop a member manually, use the Member Database Admin area. Find the member, edit their record, and change their status to dropped. Some versions of the profile edit will have a 'drop this member' link, which you will need to use instead.

Batch Drops

There is an option available in the MMS to automatically drop a member for non-payment. This is a batch process that runs at night. If members are a set number of days past due, they will automatically be dropped. The time-frame (number of days past due) can be set through MMS Configuration > Billing > Auto-drop Days. If the Auto-Drop email field is entered in MMS Configuration, a warning email will be sent to this address to alert them (typically a membership director or admin) if someone is coming up for batch drop (it details the members who are scheduled to be dropped in the next 30 days, giving a membership director time to call and potentially get the member's dues payment).

The Batch Drop function is very powerful, and if not monitored or set-up properly can drop a large number of members causing chaos. Because of this, you must request this function to be turned on. Please contact us if you are interested in using the Batch Drop function.

Drop Methods

Members can be dropped from active membership in two different ways: Directly dropping the member, or dropping the member to a Prospect record.
Directly dropping the member will maintain the member's 'Membership Type', but change their 'Status' to Dropped . This can be useful for reporting purposes, as you will be able to get an accurate count of the members who were dropped from particular membership plans.
Dropping the member to a Prospect record will maintain the member's Active 'Status', but it will change their 'Membership Type' to Prospect. This will not allow you to report on dropped members from particular Membership Types, but it is useful for members who would like to self-reinstate their membership after dropping themselves. For more info on this, see section 6.6.1. Reinstating Members .

Receipt Documents

Wed, 17 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

The member billing system has a feature for creating receipt documents. If a member specifically requests a receipt document, you can print or email one by viewing transactions for the member, then clicking on chg next to the payment (receipts are tied with the payment). At the bottom of the page, there is a link to send a receipt email. After clicking on this link you can either view and print the receipt, or click the Send Email Receipt button.

Alternatively, you can find a receipt link on the member's transaction timeline.

Non-Dues Invoices

Wed, 17 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Along with the dues invoices (for new members and renewals), the MMS Billing System allows for the creation of non-dues invoices. These are invoices for other items that you may want to bill a member for. This might include:

T-shirts/Chapter gear
Advertising Space in Newsletter
Rental of meeting space

NOTE: do NOT use non-dues invoices to bill for dues!
The dues invoices are special in that they include information about the terms (dates) of membership. If you use non-dues invoices to bill for dues, you WILL cause problems with the creation of renewal invoices.

Creating a Non-Dues Invoice Record

To create a non-dues invoice record, choose 'Enter Non-Dues Invoice Record' from the billing menu. On the next page, enter the first few letters of the member's name in the search box. Below, a list of matches will appear. Click on the name of the member you want to invoice.

On the next page, you can add items to your invoice. Either select an item from the list and click on Add Item from List, or click on Add Item not in list. Repeat to add the items you're billing the member for. Click 'Continue' when finished.

On the next page, you can edit the posting and due dates for the invoice as well as assign the invoice to a general ledger account if you wish. A note can be added, identifying the contents of the invoice. Click continue to complete the invoice entry.

Once the invoice record has been created, you can create PDF documents and send invoice emails similar to how you would for a dues invoice.

Editing the Items List

You can assemble an items list of frequently used items. These would be items that you frequently bill members for. To edit this list, look for the 'edit items' link to the right of the 'Add Item from List' button mentioned above. From here you can add/change/delete items from your items list.

Recurring Non-Dues Invoices

You may want to routinely bill a member for an item. Click on "Schedule Recurring Non-Dues Invoices" in the billing menu, then click on "Schedule a Recurring Non-dues Invoice", and then click on the member's name.

On this screen you can specify an item description and price, and select a general ledger account. These determine the data that is used when creating the invoices. The next fields - Frequency, Iterations Left, and Next Date will determine when the invoice will first be posted, how often, and how many times it will be repeated in the future. Frequency determines how often the invoice will be posted, Iterations Left determines how many invoices remain to be posted, and Next Date indicates the next date when the invoice will be posted.

Viewing Transactions

Wed, 17 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Invoices and Payments can be viewed via the View Transactions functions in the Billing Menu.

View One Member's Transactions

This can be done either via the "View One Member's Transactions" option or from various links within reports such as the Member Status Summary, Expiration Date Report, and others (usually the link is 'details'). You can also search the member's last name using the Search function in the 'View/Edit Transactions' panel.

View All Transactions

You can view all transactions by clicking on "View All Transactions". Within this view you can specify a range of statement dates in the upper right to narrow down the list.

Data Displayed

Within the view, the following information is available:

Date - date associated with the invoice/payment. In the case of an invoice, it's the statement date of the invoice by default. In the case of a payment, it's the date the payment was entered
Name - member's name (or account name)
Entry Type - INV: Invoice, PMT: Payment. If "(pd)" is next to the Invoice, the invoice has been paid.
Due Date - date the invoice is due
Amount - amount of the invoice/payment

Member Renewals and Duplicates

Tue, 16 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Sometimes members who want to renew will simply use the new member registration process to join again.

This leads to a situation where the billing system maintains their original record with an unpaid invoice and adds a new member record with an invoice and payment record.

When this happens, in most cases you want to drop the new record and manually record a payment against the original invoice record.

To avoid this situation, it is useful to:

Send out periodic reminder email notifications (which will include a link for the member to renew online)
Make a note on your website that the member registration is for NEW MEMBERS ONLY, and that renewing members can log-in and renew, or respond to an email renewal notification
There is a feature called "Renewal-Email: Retrieval Feature" in Billing Configuration. When turned on, it will display a note on member registration informing the user that this feature is for new members only, and that if they are a renewing member they can click a link to request a renewal email. They will then receive a renewal notification via email, from which they can click the link and renew online.

Recording Payments

Tue, 16 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Online Dues Payment

If a new member signs up online and pays their dues online (provided you have a merchant account or PayPal account), a payment is recorded in the billing system automatically.

Similarly, if an existing member chooses to renew online, this payment is recorded automatically as well.

Members can renew and pay dues after receiving an invoice email. The invoice email includes links to renew and pay online or to cancel.

Members can also pay renewal dues and other invoices within the members area. If they have an unpaid invoice, a "Pay Membership Dues/Fees link is presented under My Membership.

Avoiding Confusion

On the public side of your website, it's important to explain how people can join online or how existing members can pay renewal dues online. Otherwise, you may have the problem of existing members trying to pay renewal dues by joining again as a new member. That creates a mess with double records.

Where you have a link for people to join, include information about how to renew. Mention responding to email renewal notifications, logging in to the members area, or where to send check payments.

One handy feature that can help avoid this confusion is to offer a link to allow members to request an invoice to be re-sent to them. (in case they lose the renewal email mentioned above). The URL for this link is available in MMS Config, system links. Look for Renewal Invoice Request

Manual Entry (check payments)

As members pay their dues by check, it is very important that these payments be entered into the system. Select "Enter Payment" from the Renewal System menu. After you select the member, enter the amount of the payment.

Manual Entry (credit card)

Organizations who are using Authorize.net as a merchant account gateway have the option to process card transactions from the member billing system. Look for "Process Payment via Authorize.net".

Members Area Widgets

If your organization is using the V6 Custom Member Menu, you may add a widget to your member's area that shows the member's current balance due. If the balance is greater than zero, the widget will contain a button that allows the member to pay their dues.

Email Renewal Notifications

Tue, 16 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Email Renewal Notifications

In addition to the printed notifications, email notifications can be sent as a batch using the "Batch Renewal Email Notifications" option, or they can be sent one at a time using "Send Renewal Email to Specific Member".

Link to renew
If you have a Merchant Account/PayPal account integrated; these notifications include a link to allow the member to pay their renewal dues online.

Link to cancel (drop)
The notifications also include a link that allows the member to cancel (drop) their membership. If you would like to suppress this feature (forcing the member to contact you in order to drop), this can be turned off in MMS configuration.

Attached PDF
The pdf invoice document can optionally be attached to these emails (this is useful so that members can submit such a document to their employer, if their employer pays their dues).

Automatic Email Renewal Notifications

Even more convenient than the functions listed above, email renewal notifications can be sent automatically. Configurable via MMS Configuration, notifications can be sent every X number of days until the member renews or cancels (drops). When enabled, notifications will begin to be sent to the member as soon as the invoice record has been posted in the system.

Since this feature is very powerful, and if not properly set-up can cause problems (sending out emails too early, too frequently, or too late), please contact us for assistance in order to set this feature up for you.

Open Detection of Email Renewal Notifications
To help determine if your members have opened their billing emails, you can enable open rate detection for them. In order to do this, you will need to make sure that you have the following:

You have a header image and border enabled in Broadcast Messaging.
You have the Renewal-Email Use Header/Border option checked in Billing Configuration.

Coupon System

Tue, 16 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

The MMS has capabilities for managing member coupons and special offers that appear in the following places:

On web/email coupons and offers available to consumers (designated "Web/Email Offers" and "Web")
- On the web search page and on member traffic catcher pages
- On emails and web postings
In our printed coupon book (Chamber Welcome Book) – (designated "Printed Coupon Book" and "Print")
On "member promotions and opportunities" emails (designated "Member to Member" and "M2M")

Four basic types of coupons can be created:

A coupon composed entirely of text information
A coupon composed of text information containing a small graphic image (e.g. a logo or other image) in the upper left hand corner
A coupon with a large graphic image at the top and text information underneath
A coupon that is entirely a graphic image (no text info).

Using the system...

A member may have multiple coupons/special offers
Adding or deleting a coupon for a member requires opening the member’s record in change mode, scrolling all the way to the bottom of the page to select the “ EcTown Launch Page: click here to edit EcTown info ” option, selecting the “ Traffic Catcher Site Center ” option, then the “ Coupon Creator for Local Directory and Search Engine ” option.

· Coupons/special offers can be managed from the “Coupon Report” on the Quick Reports menu in the admin interface or from the “ EcTown Launch Page: click here to edit EcTown info ” option in the member’s record

o The coupon report and the “view coupons” option can be filtered for category of coupon (“web”, “print”, and “M2M”

o The coupon report and the “view coupons” option can be filtered to show all coupons regardless of start date or expiration date, or just to show currently active coupons

o A “print version” option strips the “view coupons” display of header and footer information leaving a web display that can be inserted into email messages or a web page.

· Coupon images are stored in ECTown and can be copied or saved to use for other purposes.

Adding a coupon

Coupons are sub-records of member records, so must be created from within the context of a member record. To add a coupon on behalf of a member, log in to the admin interface and open up the member’s record in change mode. Then:

scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to select the “ EcTown Launch Page: click here to edit EcTown info ” option,
select the “ Traffic Catcher Site Center ” option,
select the “ Coupon Creator for Local Directory and Search Engine ” option
click on the “ Add Coupon ” option
enter the date that the coupon should become active in the “start date” field
Choose one or more publishing options depending on the audience desired for the coupon/offer.

- choosing “Web/Email Offers” means that it will be active on web/email coupons and offers available to consumers:
  - On the web search page, in the member directory, and on member traffic catcher pages
  - On emails and web postings
- choosing “Printed Coupon Book” means it is designated to appear in future editions of our printed coupon book (Chamber Welcome Book)
- choosing “Member to Member” means it can be used in “member promotions and opportunities” emails and web notices
Enter a title for the coupon; best is a brief description of the offer
Enter a description of the coupon/offer; for text coupons/offers, this entry will describe what is being offered. Information about the offer or is not required as that will automatically be inserted from the member record information.
Enter disclaimer info as desired. For instance, “one per customer” or “Valid on weekends only” are examples of disclaimers
Checking the “Full Graphic Coupon” box indicates that an uploaded image will serve as the coupon. This is a requirement for coupons that are desired to be used in the printed coupon book. If this box is left unchecked, any image that is uploaded will be shrunk to fit in the upper left hand corner of the text coupon.
To upload an image, browse for and select the image
Click the “Continue” button

The coupon is added to the member’s list of coupons. From this list it can be edited, deleted, or viewed.

Viewing coupons and special offers on the Chamber’s web directory search page, in the member directory, and on member traffic catcher pages

Only coupons/special offers that have the “web/email” publishing option selected show up on these pages

Chamber’s “Search-able Directory” page (“Shop the Chamber” menu on homepage) has a special offer button that brings up a listing of coupons/special offers
A member’s directory listing has a “special offer” icon next to it if they have an active coupon or special offer. Clicking on the icon opens the coupon/offer.
A member’s Traffic Catcher page has a link to their coupons/special offers on it.

Publishing

The following links are for public use (change [org_id] to your organization id).

Web/email, active coupons with no header in alphabetical order:
http://www.chamberorganizer.com/members/directory/onlinecoupons_list.php?org_id=[org_id]&type=W&print=Y

To randomize the order:
http://www.chamberorganizer.com/members/directory/onlinecoupons_list.php?org_id=[org_id]&type=W&print=Y&ord=R

Alternately, the following link is a public link to M2M, active coupons in alphabetical order:
http://www.chamberorganizer.com/members/directory/onlinecoupons_list.php?org_id=[org_id]&type=M2M&print=Y

The same coupons sorted in random order are at:
http://www.chamberorganizer.com/members/directory/onlinecoupons_list.php?org_id=[org_id]&type=M2M&print=Y&ord=R

Using ECTown to Assist in Printing the Coupon Book

A webpage with the coupon images that have the “printed coupon book” publishing option selected can be accessed by clicking on “Quick Reports”, then “Coupon Report”, then “View Images”. The “Print” and “Only Active Coupons” filters need to be clicked to select the appropriate images for the print coupon book.

The coupon report can also be filtered for the active, print coupons. There is a link from each coupon listing to the original uploaded image (at full resolution). Using this link, original images can be copied or saved to use in the coupon book layout.

Instructions for Members: Adding a coupon

To add a coupon the member must log in to their member page. Then:

Click on the “Manage Website” button
select the “ Coupon Creator for Local Directory and Search Engine ” option (note: although you can just add a coupon, it is advisable to complete all of the various applicable steps on this page to optimize your presence on the web
click on the “ Add Coupon ” option
enter the date that the coupon should become active in the “start date” field
Choose one or more publishing options depending on the audience desired for the coupon/offer.

- choosing “Web/Email Offers” means that it will be active on web/email coupons and offers available to consumers:
  - On the Chamber’s web directory search page, in the member directory, and on member traffic catcher pages
  - On emails and web postings
- choosing “Printed Coupon Book” means it will appear in future editions of our printed coupon book (Chamber Welcome Book)
- choosing “Member to Member” means it can be used in “member promotions and opportunities” emails and web notices
Enter a title for the coupon; best is a brief description of the offer
Enter a description of the coupon/offer; for text coupons/offers, this entry will describe what is being offered. Information about the offerer is not required as that will automatically be inserted from the member record information.
Enter disclaimer info as desired. For instance, “one per customer” or “Valid on weekends only” are examples of disclaimers
Checking the “Full Graphic Coupon” box indicates that an uploaded image will serve as the coupon. This is a requirement for coupons that are desired to be used in the printed coupon book. If this box is left unchecked, any image that is uploaded will be shrunk to fit in the upper left hand corner of the text coupon.
To upload an image, browse for and select the image
Click the “Continue” button

The coupon is added to the member’s list of coupons. From this list it can be edited, deleted, or viewed.

Member’s should always view their coupon after adding it to proofread and to make sure it looks like they intended it to look.

Help is available by calling the member services coordinator at 855-233-6362.

Invoice Documents

Tue, 16 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

To make sure your members know that their membership is coming due, there are several tools that the MMS provides for notifications. One of the most frequently used are printed invoices documents and statements.

Printed Invoice Documents

Printed invoices can be accessed one at a time via the 'inv' links on any of the "View Transaction" views. Printed invoices can be printed in batches using the "Renewal Notices" option under Batch Printing on the Billing Menu. Enter the range of dates and invoices will be generated for all of that invoices within that range. These renewal notices (invoice documents) are designed to be used with windowed envelopes. Although, if desired, mailing labels can be created similarly using the "Renewal Mailing Labels" option on the Renewals Menu.

Statements

The MMS can also produce statements for members. The statements include transaction detail (invoices and payments) for a member, between specified dates. The statements also include an aging summary (how long unpaid invoices have been unpaid).

To print statements, look for Statements under Batch Printing on the Billing Menu. Statements can also be printed using the 'Create Statement' link in member billing functions.

Send Lead to Members (Video)

Mon, 15 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Message Boards

Mon, 15 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Message Boards are a useful tool allowing members to communicate with one another. The Message Boards operate on a hierarchy organized by "Board" -> "Topic" -> "Post". Boards can only be created by admin users and are used as primary categories for organizing topics. Topics can be created by any member and are used as primary discussion points. Posts (also known as "Replies") can be created by any member and are directly related to the topic.

There are a number of different settings and options for the message board module and those will be discussed in sub-sections of this help file.

NOTE: The rest of the documentation on the Message Boards is for the "New" Message Boards, implemented in 2012-2013. If you are not using the new message boards, you may switch over to it via MMS Configuration, Message Board configuration.

Website MakeOver

Mon, 15 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

If you would like a beautiful new Chamber of Commerce / Organization website and you are a current customer we offer a terrific service. Please call or email our support center to get started.

Member Documents

Mon, 15 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Member Documents Change Highlight (highlights changes made to member documents)
Member Documents Change Notify (notifies an admin when a change is made to member documents)
Member Documents - Admin Only? (Member Documents only applies to Admins - does not work with 'member documents requirement')
Member Documents Requirement? (Forces Member Documents on)
Member Document Requirement Hide on Main Menu? (Hides the document requirement notifications in the Members Area)

Granting Access to Members

Fri, 12 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

While adding or editing a member's information, you can grant them access to the member's area. To do this, fill in the username field and make sure there is a valid email entered in the email field.

If you scroll to the bottom of the screen and click 'Submit', you will be given an option to send a welcome email to the new member. This will send an email with the member's username and computer-generated random password. Verbiage for this welcome message can be changed via MMS configuration, New Member Registration Configuration.

Case Sensitivity

When users have difficulty logging in, one of the most frequent explanations is that caps lock is turned on. If a user is having trouble and is asking for help, first confirm that they are capitalizing their username / password correctly (Example: JSmith is not the same as JSMITH or jsmith).

Resetting a member's password

Sometimes, members will forget their password and need to reset it. On the log-in form, there should be an option to allow the member to reset their password. The member will enter their email or username and an email will be sent to them with a link and instructions for a password reset.

This same password reset email can be sent by an admin-level user from within the member database admin. Edit the member's info by clicking on the pencil icon , then look for the link to the right of the username field.

There is also a link to re-send the member's welcome email, but this should only be used when a member is first being introduced to the system.

Granting access to all members at once

Within MMS Configuration, there is a link for 'Rollout Tools'. These can be used to grant access to members, by sending welcome emails to all members. First you will want to verify that the welcome message is formatted to your desired specifications (you can alter the verbiage via MMS Config, general config). Then, using the rollout tools, assign usernames/passwords to all the members (the script will do this for all members who do not already have one assigned). Then, you can use the rollout tools to send out the welcome messages to all members.

Granting access to non-members

You can grant access to non-members if you so choose (list-only records, prospects, etc.) using the process outlined in the previous section.

Administrative Access

If you are an admin-level user, you can grant admin-level access to other users. Edit their member record via member database admin, and set their Member Security drop-down to Administrative.

Member-specific Permissions

This option is available in MMS configuration, general configuration. With this setting turned on you can grant admin-level access to specific modules to member-level users, by checking off checkboxes at the bottom of the member profile edit page.

Data Conversion Process & Quickbooks Integration

Thu, 11 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

General Concepts

Thu, 11 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Focus on needs of Associations We are a website services firm that focuses on the needs of associations. Our flagship product is an association management system that allows organizations to easily manage membership, handle event registration, and keep their website up-to-date. Members Area vs Public Website The websites we develop are built around two different areas, the member's area and the public website. The public website is the part of the website that the general public sees. The member's area is the part of the website that members see after logging in. All of the association management tools (admin tools) are accessed via the members area (for members/users that have administrative privileges). Software-as-a-Service Our software is an example of software-as-a-service. While many software packages are purchased outright and installed, our product is purchased as a subscription on a monthly basis. This service includes website hosting, data backup, and ongoing service that we provide to our users.

News Manager/Press Releases

Thu, 11 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

News Manager - designed to publish news about your organization . Using this module you can create a list of news items to be presented on your website. Each news item can be linked to further details you enter, a separate document within the file archive, or a link to a page anywhere on the web. On your website, these news items can be presented as a list, within a scrolling news box, from an RSS news feed as well.

Press Releases - designed to publish news from your members . Members can log-in to the members area and submit their press release. An email is then sent to the press release editor email address (set within MMS Configuration), at this point the editor can accept or reject the press release. If accepted, it will then be posted on the website. ( Ask us about the different presentation methods that can be used to post press releases on your website.)

(News Manager Video)

CRM System

Thu, 11 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

The CRM System is used to track your contact (interaction) with members and prospects. With this tool, you can record your emails, visits, and phone calls with your members and prospects. You can also report on these contacts.

It is also helpful for recording historical data (membership plan history, committees previously served on, etc.).

To record a contact, search for the member by entering the first few letters of the member's name in the search box, then click on the member.

Click on Record New Contact.

Enter the Contact Type, Details, and Contact Date.

Mass Contacts - You can add members by Member Type or Category (if they are enabled). It will preview those records that will be added a mass contact, remove individual members from the list if you want to make any exceptions, and then click a continue button to move on to the page where you specify the details of the contact (i.e. meeting with several members).

( Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Video)

Please note: "Ticklers" are now called "Admin Reminders"

News Manager/Press Releases

Thu, 11 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Editing a Newsletter/New Newsletter

Thu, 11 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

To create a new Newsletter, head to the Newsletter Manager and click the Add Newsletter button at the top of the page.

To edit an existing newsletter, head to the Newsletter Manager and click the edit pencil next to the newsletter you'd like to change.

Once you've done either of these, you'll be taken into the first page of the Newsletter wizard

Add/Change Newsletter - Page 1
On page one, the General information about the newsletter, you'll see options for Template, Issue Name, Publish Date, and Status.
Template - This is the template file that will be used for the newsletter. If you need help creating a template, please see our help file on creating Newsletter Templates .
Issue Name - The Issue Name will appear at the top of the newsletter.
Publish Date - Select a date in the future to coordinate your newsletters. This allows for the creation of multiple newsletters at once with different publish dates for each.
Status (Active/Inactive) - Select Active if this newsletter is ready, or Inactive if you'd like to work on it more before releasing it to your membership.

Add/Change Newsletter - Page 2
Page 2 of the newsletter editor is where the bulk of the content is added. You'll see your newsletter template, and options to add features.

Types of Features

At the time of this writing, there are 5 different types of features that you may include in a newsletter:

Article / Text / Image - This is the standard newsletter feature, an article. You specify a title, author, an intro (blurb), and the full text. The title, author, and blurb show up on the main newsletter page (the email), with a link to allow the viewer to read to the article full text. Images (in png or jpg format) will automatically resize down to the width of the column you are placing them in.

Index of Articles - Ideally in the left column at the top, this is a summary list of all the articles in the newsletter.

Calendar Events Import - This feature allows you to grab event information from the calendar of events, and load it into a newsletter feature. The events have links to their respective event details page (part of the calendar module). Once imported, you may update the feature, adding/editing/removing events.

New Member Database Import - Similar to the Calendar import, this allows you to import a list of new members (to recognized new members who have joined recently).

Community Posts - If your organization has Newsletter Submissions enabled, adding a Community Posts feature will pull in approved posts that your members have submitted for a date range that you specify.

Editing

To add a new feature, simply click on the 'Add Feature' button at the bottom of any column. From there, select which feature you want to create and follow the prompts from the pop-up dialog.

To edit a feature, you can click on the edit pencil above the article, or simply click within the article itself. This will open up the editing dialog where you can make changes to your newsletter.

To add additional story content (that the user will have to click a link at the bottom of the article to see) click on the 'Add Additional Story Content' at the bottom of any article. This will again bring up the dialog editor and you can add all of your additional content from there.

Mobile App Manager

Thu, 11 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

The Mobile App Manager Module of the MMS allows an admin-level user to order and manage mobile apps and content. App Demo (Mobile App Demo Video) If an app has already been ordered (and/or created), the app will be visible on the main page for this module. See below: A new app can be ordered by clicking the "Add New Association App" button. To edit the content for a mobile app: click the "App Builder" link. To edit the description, promo text, or keywords: click the "App Info" link. To view the launch page for the app: click the "App Launch Page" link.

Volunteer Module

Thu, 11 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

The volunteer module can be used to keep track of volunteers for your events and also track long-term volunteer credit hours over numerous events. Volunteer events must first be started by using a calendar event you have created. You can create a new volunteer session directly from a calendar event or by going to the main volunteering admin page. Volunteer sessions are created with a hierarchical structure. The volunteer session is the overall umbrella for the session and contains the overall start and end date and the volunteer coordinator. Within the session, you may create as many volunteer opportunities as you wish. Within the opportunities, you can create as many time slots as you wish. For example: Company A is having a Chili Cookoff and wants to create a volunteer session to sign people up to help. Within this event, they have numerous things they need help with. They will need people to man the ticket desks, others to help with food prep, others to act a security, etc. A volunteer session must first be created, Chili Cookoff Volunteers. Once that is created, they will start adding volunteering opportunities. In the instance above, we will enter opportunities for 'Ticket Desk', 'Food Prep', and 'Security', along with others that need to be filled. Within each opportunity, we then need to create time slots for the volunteers to sign up for. If the event is long, you may have several shifts you need to cover. In the example above, we need to get volunteers to man the ticket desks all day, but we need 2 shifts of volunteers. In this case, we create 2 time slots within the ticket desk opportunity and volunteers can sign up for either or both. Volunteer Session Set Up Video: (Volunteer Session Set Up Video) Volunteer Sign Up Video: (Volunteer Sign Up Video) Volunteer Admin Advanced Features: (Volunteer Module Advanced Features Video)

Drip Marketing

Thu, 11 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Name - The name of the Drip Marketing Campaign
Triggers - This column displays what a member must do in order to be added to the campaign.
Functions - The edit pencil for changing details, The Delete X for removing a campaign, and the Scheduled clock. Clicking the Scheduled clock will show you a list of members already added to the campaign.

Program Name - The name of the Drip Marketing Campaign. Popular Campaigns include things like Renewals or New Member emails.
'From' Name - A friendly name like "Jane Smith" or "Pastry Chefs of America"
'From' Email - The email address members should respond to. This is useful if your campaign raises questions of membership payments or status.
Triggers - Select one or more triggers. These triggers are the events that will add a member to the Drip Marketing Campaign
Effective Date Scheduling - This option is for renewals only, and triggers when a member's account is reset.

Days Out - The number of days after the Trigger event that this email will be sent. If you're creating a renewal reminder campaign, set the Trigger to Member Join, and set the days out 335 to let your members know that their membership will expire one month before it does.
Target - A select box that determines who will receive the email.
- Member Only - Selecting this option means the email will only go to the member.
- Member Rep Only - Member Rep's refer to our staff members. If you have a member rep, you can use this option, otherwise it will do nothing.
- Member and Member Rep - Send to both the member and your member rep.
- Other (fill in Extra E-mail field below) - If you'd like to inform one of your staff members when someone is up for renewal, this is the option you would select.
Extra E-Mail? - Only used when "Other" is selected from the Target option above.
Use Wrapper - If selected, this email will use the same wrapper as your Broadcast Message System
Email Subject - The subject of the email
Email Message - Your email messages can be very powerful, containing dynamic data useful to the member who receives it. In the column to the left of the editor box, you'll see a list of replacement keys that look like ##MEMBER_FIRST_NAME## and ##MEMBER_PHONE##. These replacement keys can be copied and pasted into the message. When the message is sent, the replacement keys will be swapped out for their actual values, so "Dear ##MEMBER_FIRST_NAME## ##MEMBER_LAST_NAME##" would be sent as "Dear Jane Smith"

Donations / Wish List

Thu, 11 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

If your organization takes donations, whether they be monetary or material, you can manage both with the Donations and Wishlist Module.

Donations

If you already have an Online Payment Gateway such as PayPal or Authorize.net set up, you can take advantage of the monetary donations module right now! Simply head to the Donations and Wishlist module and copy the Donations URL located towards the bottom of the page. Add a link to the navigation, or to individual pages using the Website Content Manager.

Wish List

If your organization is looking for specific items, you can add them to your Wish List, letting donors know and giving them the option to give you money, or purchase an item from your Wish List.

To set up the Wish List, navigate to the Donations and Wish List module. From here, click the Add New Item link, or click Change next to the item you'd like to update. On the next page you'll see the following options:

Item Name - The name of the item you would like the donator to donate.
Item Description - A brief description of the item
Donation Page Verbiage - This is a great area to tell the visitor why you need this particular item. Some organizations find that making this area about how the item will help, along with photos of the people it will help can be very effective.
Item Price - The price of the item.
Quantity Needed - If you need a set number of items, for example table settings for a shelter, the number of items you require would go here. The MMS will keep track of how many have already been purchased towards the goal. If the item you need is a consumable, and a constant supply is required, check the Unlimited Quantity box.

Simple Process - All donation information is gathered on one simplified page.

Donor Tracking - Connect donations to individual members and contacts within your database. Allow members to enter their email address instead of logging in to track donation back to associated member record.

Donation Types - Choose between Simple Donation (default), Memoriam, In Honor of, and Bequest.

Memoriam/Honor Indicator - This label can be changed by an admin, so you collect details about who their donations are being made in honor of.

Purpose of Donation - Donors can include a note about their donation.

Gift Amount - You can establish pre-selected amounts for donors to choose from or they can enter any dollar amount.

Individual Campaigns/Funds - Create separate fundraising funds to allow donors to target donations to a particular campaign.

Anonymous Donors - Allow donors to anonymously give without making their donation available publicly, which also excludes them from mass emails, marketing campaigns, etc.

Recurring Donations - Include the option to establish recurring monthly donations (Authorize.net payment gateway with a CIM setup required).

Custom Confirmation/Thank you - Customize the verbiage in the thank you email that is automatically sent to a donor after they have make their donations.

Goal Tracking Thermometer Graphic - Post a thermometer graphic on your website to illustrate progress towards a fundraising goal.

Donation Reporting - Generate reports based on the following criteria:

Donor: All or an individual
Campaign: Any or a specific fund
Minimum Amount Donated
Maximum Amount Donated
Begin Date
End Date

Graph pinpointing each donation's date and amount
Total Donation Amount
CSV download
List of donations, which can be sorted by date, first name, last name, email, campaign, and amount

Administrating the Job Board

Fri, 05 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Administrating the Job Board

Employers

Adding a new employer

Modifying an existing employer

Adding members to administrate employers

Jobs posted by the employer

Editing a job posting

Send a message about a job posting

Click on the red "x" in the Actions column to delete a job posting or employer.

Jobs

Job Seekers

Skills

Certifications

Associations

Job Board

Wed, 03 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Email - enter an email address for the job board manager. (via mms configuration, job board configuration)
Skills list - all jobs will need to specify skills required, and candidates will need to specify skills acquired as well. These skills will be specific to your organization (and industry), so you will want to take some time and come up with a list of skills, and enter them via the job board admin area (Admin menu>Website>Content Manager Menu>Job Board / Career Center>Skills).
Pricing Options - You can add different prices for 30 day, 60 day, and 120 day ads. Ads are the job postings that Employers can post. To setup pricing options, go to Configuration>Job Board (Under 'Other Configuration Options')

Privacy ON - no employers can see your profile
Privacy OFF - any employers can see your profile
Privacy OFF, some restricted - any employers, except the ones specified, can see your profile

Ratings

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT

A member uses the Engagement -> Vendor Ratings link to enter the member rating area. They will choose the member they want to rate and review from a dropdown list of eligible members.
Once a member is selected, a star rating and comment box will appear. They can select a star rating from one to five, and enter their comments.
Upon clicking submit, the score and comments will be placed in a Pending status, and an administrator will be notified by email.
An administrator receives the notification email and logs into the website. They access the Ratings admin area by going to Communication -> Ratings in the admin menu.
The administrator locates the Pending review in the Ratings table, and clicks on the magnifying glass icon to review it's content. They can then choose to Approve the rating. This sends a notification to the subject of the rating, informing them of the score and comments. The rating will also being to appear on any feeds that have been placed on the website.
The subject of the rating can log in to the Member's Area, and go to the Engagement -> View My Ratings link to see the rating. They select the reviewer from a drop-down menu, which displays the score and comments, and a box in which they can submit a response.
If they choose to submit a response, an administrator will be notified.
The administrator approves responses in the same way they approve ratings. When a response is approved, the original rater is sent an email containing the response. Unlike ratings, responses are not included on rating feeds.

Member Vehicle Module

Thu, 20 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Classified Ads as Job Board

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMT

The Classified Ads module can be used as a Job Board. To turn on this functionality, go to Configuration > Classified Ads and check the box that says 'Job Board Mode'. Be sure to click 'Save' after changing this configuration setting.

Anchors

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Anchors work differently in the Grid Page Editor and the regular Page Editor. When you want to link to an anchor in the text of a regular page, you can do so by using the flag-shaped 'Anchor' icon to drop an anchor in the text and then link to that anchor. In the Grid Page Editor, you can only link to either rows or columns based on row or column ID. Open up the row or column settings using the gear-shaped icon in the top right of the element. Give the row or column an ID. Open up the Source of the link that you'd like to direct to the ID'd element. Place the ID of the element after 'href="#', so that it appears 'href="#[ID]"' (no brackets). Click 'OK'.

Admin Reminders

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMT

As part of the CRM system, which allows you to record contact with your members or prospects, there is an admin reminder feature.

Admin reminders are reminders to take an action in the future. This is very useful to establish a pattern of repeated contact with prospective member or current members in order to encourage them to join or renew.

In the CRM system, an admin reminder would be a reminder to yourself to make contact with a given member.

To set an admin reminder, search for the member the same way as if you were to record a contact, click on the member, then click on Set New Admin Reminder at the bottom. Then enter the alarm date (the date that you want to be reminded on), a message, and the type of contact you intend this to be.

So if you want to be reminded on May 15 to call Bob about sponsorships, enter may 15 as the alarm date, projected contact type as 'phone call', and the message as 'call bob about sponsorships'.

When May 15 comes, you'll be sent an email reminder to do this. You can then make the call, and go back into the system to view contacts/admin-reminders for Bob, and then you can use the function to 'Mark Done' the reminder, which will then change the reminder to a contact (recording that you had completed the task).

Admins can set up admin reminder series, which allows them to group various reminders based on certain triggers (i.e. new member joins series - call member to welcome them, call them 6 months later to check in, etc.).

Configuration
CRM System
Admin Reminder Series
Click to edit admin reminder series

Custom Members Area - Video

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Row Operations

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Adding Rows

To add a row, click on one of the buttons in the blue bar near the top of the editor. Each row is 12 ‘units’ wide, and the numbers on each row correspond to the widths of columns that will be generated in each row upon clicking the button. So adding ‘ + -6-6 ’ will add a row with two columns that are each 6 ‘units’ wide, ‘ + -3-3-3-3 ’ will add a row with four columns each three ‘units’ wide, et cetera.

Copying and Deleting Rows

Rows can be removed using the Remove row button located in the bottom right-hand corner of the row. Rows can be copied using the Copy row button, located directly to the left of Remove row . The copied row will appear directly beneath the original row.

Additional Row Operations

There are two components to a row: The outer row itself, and the columns that appear inside the row. The two buttons that appear in the top left-hand corner of the outer row are the Move and New Column icons. Move allows the user to click and drag the row either up or down to a different location on the page. New Column creates a new column to the left of any existing columns in the row.

Column Operations

The four operations that can be performed on a column are Move , Make Column Narrower , Make Column Wider , Select Column , and Add Editable Region .

Editable Regions

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT

We have rows and columns that together create cells for content to populate, but in order to add content to a cell there must be an editable region within the cell. We can add an editable region to the cell by clicking on the Add Editable Region icon in the top left of the cell, beside the four other icons for row operations. The editable region will take up the full width of the cell, and will say ‘New Content’ by default. Clicking on the ‘New Content’ text will bring up a Modal Dialogue box titled ‘Choose Element Type’, and from here you can choose the type of content that is to be added to the cell. The types of content that can be added are:

Text/HTML - This is a standard text element that will add a ‘WYSIWYG’ editor to the cell, and allow you to modify HTML by hitting the button in the top left of the editor’s toolbar.
Embed Script - This element will bring up a field where Embed Script can be pasted. This can be used for embedding YouTube videos, Tweets, Facebook posts, etc.
Stat Display - This element adds a stat display that can be configured to show one of several different statistics.
Panel Feature - This element creates a panel with a button that can link to a given URL. There are a number of pre-defined panel features to choose from, or you can configure a panel feature by selecting –Create Empty Panel–.
System-Driven Widgets - These elements pull data from the MMS to display widgets with information that your members may find useful or convenient. There are currently 21 system-driven widgets to choose from:
- Calendar (original) - Feature that shows upcoming events as they are entered in the Calendar.
- Calendar 2 - Updated feature that shows upcoming events as they are entered in the Calendar.
- News - Feature that displays content set to ‘show’ in the News Manager.
- RSS Feed - Feature that displays an RSS feed from a given URL.
- My Membership Menu - Member Dashboard, contains links for changing / viewing profile information.
- My Profile - Displays limited profile information.
- My Profile v2 - Updated profile feature that can be configured to display members’ profiles in multiple ways, can be configured to display links found in My Membership Menu.
- My Profile - Fields - Feature containing selected fields in members’ profiles. HTML can be written in this field.
- My Photo - Feature that displays the member’s profile photo.
- My Event Registrations - Feature that displays events that the member is registered for.
- Event Registrations Tasks - Displays Event Registration tasks, broken down by event and date.
- Project / Committee Tasks - Displays tasks assigned to the member from their associated projects / committees.
- My Projects / Committees - Feature that displays and links to Projects / Committees the member is signed up for.
- Renewal Info / Button - Feature containing information about the member’s renewal date, as well as a button that will allow them to generate a renewal invoice for themselves.
- Balance Due Button - Feature containing information about the member’s balance, with a button that takes the member to a page that allows them to pay the balance if a balance exists for the member.
- Member Trend Graph - Feature containing graph of Membership trend for your organization.
- Store Widget 1 - Feature containing available products in your Online Store.
- Admin Reminder Widget - Feature that will allow admins to set ticklers for themselves.
- CRM Contact Widget - Feature that displays contacts recorded in the CRM.
- Association Contact Info - Feature that displays contact information for your association.

Hiding Elements of the Member Dashboard

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Hiding the Member Dashboard in the Member Menu

The Member Dashboard (My Membership Menu) can be hidden within the main bar of the Member Menu, under ‘Members’. Contact support to have this enabled.

Hiding the Member Menu

The Member Menu can be hidden entirely. Contact support to have this enabled.

Message Board Moderators

Thu, 29 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMT

The message boards allow you to set up moderators to approve messages before they are posted publicly on the boards. Moderators can be assigned to all boards or just individual ones. Full and partial administrators can see any pending topics/posts (and also approve/reject) from the admin board listing page. Moderators can be assigned from there as well. If someone is assigned as a moderator they will receive a notification email when a new message is posted with direct links to approve/reject the message and a link to view all currently pending posts and topics. Admins will only receive a notification under the following circumstances: 1. They are also assigned as a moderator, or 2. There is no current moderator assigned to the message board, or 3. A global configuration option in the message board config is turned on (Automatically Give All Full and Partial Admins Moderator Permissions to All Boards) In the case of options 2 and 3, anyone in the member database will full admin permissions or partial admin permissions to the message board would get this notification email. If assigned to particular boards (and not an admin) then a moderator can only see and approve/reject messages from the boards to which they are assigned. If someone is assigned as a moderator they will also see quick links to the moderation page from the main member menu and the breadcrumb links at the top of the message board pages.

Public News Article Submission

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMT

QuickBooks Online Interface

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Many of our clients use QuickBooks Online to manage their organization's finances. To help cut down on your manual labor, we have an interface available to export transactions from Member Billing, Event Registration, and the Online Store to your QuickBooks Online Company file.

Brief overview of what can be exported to QuickBooks:

Member Billing

Members show up in QuickBooks as Customers.
Member dues show up in QuickBooks as Products/Services.
- You can create separate Products/Services for each Member Plan.
- You can also assign Classes to each Member Plan.
Member dues transactions can be exported as Invoices/Payments, or as Sales Receipts.

Event Registration

Event Contacts (the primary registrant) show up in QuickBooks as Customers.
- Event Contacts show up as separate customers from members, and are distinguished by an '(EV)' at the end of their name. (For example, member record: "John Smith", event contact record: "John Smith (EV)".)
You can create a separate Product/Service for each event.
Event registration transactions can be exported as Invoices/Payments, or as Sales Receipts.

Online Store

Store Customers show up in QuickBooks as Customers.
You can create separate Products/Services for each product in the store.
You can also assign Classes to each product in the store.
Online store transactions currently can only be exported as Invoices/Payments.

Setting up the Interface

We will establish a connection between the MMS and QuickBooks.
We will show you how to map Products/Services in QuickBooks to G/L Accounts in the MMS.
- We will also show you how to assign those G/L Accounts to various transactions.
If you are using Classes in QuickBooks, we will show you how to map those to corresponding Classes in the MMS.
- We will also show you how to assign those Classes to various transactions.
We will show you how to map Member records in the MMS to existing Customer records in QuickBooks.
We will determine which transactions in the MMS, if any, should not be exported to QuickBooks. (If you have been using one or both systems for a long time, we want to make sure we do not create duplicate records in QuickBooks.

Getting Started

Intuit

CRM System Video

Fri, 21 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Auto CRM

Fri, 21 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT

General Idea As an additional feature to the CRM, AutoCRM allows a user to make a quick record in the CRM, of their day-to-day emails to prospects and members. This is done by bcc-ing the autocrm@systemdomain.com address (where "systemdomain.com" is the native domain name of the system that you are operating within). Configuration To configure, go to Configuration > CRM System Find the Auto CRM Settings Enter the emails to accept from, and enter the email addresses of the association rep(s) that will be using AutoCRM. This will limit usage to only emails with a from address matching these. Select a type for Record as Contact Type. This is the contact type for the contacts that will be recorded by AutoCRM If an email is bcc'd to autocrm@, it will need to match with 1 database record only on the from address (the association rep) and 1 database record only on the to address (the member or prospect being communicated with). If there is not a match, an error message will be returned to you via email. Error Report In the configuration area, there is a link to an error report. In case you are having difficulty using the system... this will show the errors that are logged, when an email is set to autocrm@

Sun, 09 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Note: The Advanced Broadcast Message system is a newer and more mobile responsive version of the Newsletter Editor. See more information here . or Section 5.9. Please contact Support if you would like this feature enabled.

The system offers a newsletter editor that allows an organization to edit and publish an electronic newsletter. The newsletter is then stored on your site, and emailed out to your members if you so desire.

The newsletter editor works by first setting up 'templates' for the publications you want to create. The template allows to you set up the common attributes for the publication such as the header image, masthead, colors and more.

Once a template is created, you can add a newsletter (issue) and add/edit articles within the newsletter. As months go by, you can copy a prior month's newsletter to make it easier to create a new issue.

NOTE: HTML-formatted emails can be tricky at times, given that there are so many email clients out there (Outlook, Thunderbird, Gmail, etc.). They don't all render HTML in the same way. As a rule-of-thumb, keep things simple . If you keep the formatting simple, you increase the odds that your newsletter will be look good in all email clients.

PDF VERSION : To create a PDF version of your website, when viewing it in a browser, choose your browser's print option, then instead of actually sending it to a printer, change the printer destination to Save as PDF, and then save the document to your hard drive. You can now print the newsletter and distribute it by snail mail to your members.

Admin Rating Approval

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Any full administrator can view and approve ratings and responses submitted by members. The Rating admin area can be found in the Admin Menu -> Communication -> Ratings. There are two tables - one for Ratings, and one for Responses. The default view displays ratings and responses that are already approved. You can change the view to show only ratings and responses that are Pending, or both, by clicking on the shortcut links at the top of the page. Ratings and responses can be viewed by clicking on the icon in the far-right column. The content of the rating will appear in a pop-up box in the middle of your screen. If a rating or response is Pending, an option to Approve the rating will also be available. Approved ratings are automatically included in any rating feeds present on your site. When ratings and responses are approved, notification emails are sent to both the rater and the rating subject, notifying them both of the approval. The score and comments of both ratings and responses cannot be edited by admins. Entire ratings can be deleted by clicking the icon. If a rating is deleted, any associated response will be deleted automatically.

Photo Album

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMT

The Photo Album is a fun system allowing your organization to upload photos of events and people. Once uploaded by an admin-level user, these photos are arranged as part of a multi-page photo album that can be integrated within the public side of your website.

Alternatively, photos can be kept private... presented within the members area only. This can be configured via the MMS Configuration page, using the "include album in members area" option.

For more information on how to create albums, upload photos, and manage photos, check out the help file on Managing Photos below.

Member-level Features

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Your general member-level users have access to change their contact information, view other organization-related information, participate in surveys and message boards, register for events, submit classified ads for approval, and a variety of other features that the MMS can offer. These features can be accessed from the Member Menu after your members log in.

Ideally, all the member-level features are the easiest and most-intuitive features to use, and should have adequate help information embedded within those pages. If there are features that members find difficult to use, please let us know.

Managing Photos

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Any admin-level user can upload photos into the album. After logging into the Members Area, select Photo Album under the Content Manager System subheading. You will then see a list of all photos in the album. For each entry, you will see a thumbnail of the photo, title, caption, and functions to manipulate the photo.

Uploading Photos
To upload a new photo, click on the "Add New Photo" link. You will be prompted for several fields:

title - title of the photo
caption - an optional caption to describe what's in the photo
file - use the Browse button to select the photo file to be uploaded from your PC's local directory.

NOTE: Only web-suitable formats can be used with the photo album. These include .gif, .jpg, and .png.

After filling in the fields, click on Submit to begin the upload. This may take a few seconds depending on the size of the photo file being uploaded. If you experience problems, please contact us.

The uploader will attempt to take EXIF rotation information for the photo into account, and rotate the uploaded image accordingly.

Managing Photos

Change - To change the title and caption of photos at any time, click on "change" next to the photo's entry.
Delete - To delete the photo, click on "delete" next to the photo's entry.
Move Up/Move Down - You have control over the order of presentation of the photos. To re-arrange, click on these links to move an individual photo up or down in relation to the other photos.

Approving Submitted Photos
Photos submitted by members (if you allow this option), are placed into a pending status. When you receive a notification of this, you will need to go into the editor, edit the photo to change it's status to active, then use one of the publish options to re-publish the album.

Publishing Photos
Our newest version of the editor will publish photos automatically.

In the previous version of the editor, you are actually working in a 'staging area'. To make your photos visible to the public, click on one of the "Publish" links at the bottom. There are currently two formats. The first formats the photo album in a 4-picture per page format with larger size images. The second publishes in a 10-picture per page format, with smaller thumbnails. In the published version, these thumbnails can be clicked on to view a larger image.

Community Post Submissions

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Member Submissions The Member Submission system will be found through a link that is labeled Community Posts on the Member's Features section of the main page. Near the bottom of the main page in the box labeled Interactions is where this link will be found. (In the newer member menu, it is found under Communication.) Once you click on this link you will find: This page will automatically create a submission date of the current date and an expiration date 30 days later. There are several text boxes that are clearly labeled for their intended purposes but will take a varying amount of essentially any text. None of these boxes are mandatory. Below these is the submit button. Once you click this you will be taken to a confirmation page that will show what has been submitted. You will also be given a link to return to the Member's Main page. The Member Submissions feature will give proper credit to the member for individual membership types as well as employer and member name credit for business member types. Your organizations membership type is determined within your organizations General Configuration options. We do not suggest changing this for purposes of this system's credit behavior. Non-Member Submissions Admin can find this link in System Links menu. You can add this link to your public website or to emails to allow any visitor or recipient to submit articles. This system is much like the Member Submission system except that the submission will not be tied to member records. Therefore, the credit for the article will depend on the name submitted by the user.

European Union GDPR

Thu, 19 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMT

The regulation took effect on May 25, 2018 and applies to all companies and other organizations established anywhere in the world that offer goods and services to people in the EU, or collect and analyze personal data of EU residents. The people whose personal data you collect, use, or process in any way are referred to in the GDPR as Data Subjects. This new complex set of rules aims to allow data subjects full control over their personal data by imposing strict obligations to which organizations that process their data will need to comply. A breach of those obligations may incur a fine of up to 4% of annual global turnover or €20 million (whichever is greater). For more information about GDPR, please visit MemberLeap's European Union GDPR webpage.

QuickBooks Interface

Fri, 24 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT

The QuickBooks interfaces are written for Quickbooks Online (QBO) and QuickBooks Desktop (QBD) for Windows version 2016 and later. The two interfaces operate roughly the same, with exceptions noted below. It is designed to allow you to push transactions in the MMS over into QB so that they will match. This pushing of transactions (invoices and payments from the member billing and event registration modules) is done when you execute the sync operation, located at the top-right of member billing (once you've granted the MMS access to your QB account.

The primary difference between the two interfaces is that in the QBO interface, the data is pushed directly into QBO; and in the QBD interface, the data is pushed into a cloud environment (intuit anywhere), which can then be synced to your desktop using a 2nd sync operation within QBD.

NOTE: initially setting up the QB interface can be tricky, we recommend working with one of our staffers to guide you through the process one step at a time.

NOTE: keeping two systems in sync requires an ongoing commitment to verify that the two systems do not diverge. Although our interface contains tools to prevent this, there are no guarantees that you as a user do not create or change transactions in QB that the MMS is not/cannot be aware of, making the two system fall out of sync. Since the bulk of problems that occur arise from user error, we can not be responsible for providing forensic accounting services to help you determine the source of a problem. In the event that the two systems get out of sync, if the source of the problem turns out to be a system error, we will correct it. However, determining the source of the divergence (specific transaction) is YOUR responsibility.

Connecting

for QBO

In MMS configuration, under Quickbooks configuration, there is a link 'Click here to add/edit a connection'. Click on this and it will take you to a QBOE login screen where you can log-in with your user/pass info, and then follow a series of pages that will allow you to grant the MMS access to your QBO account.

The user who does this must have company administrator access rights.
When going through the process, be sure to grant access rights for All Accounting.
For login security, answer 'No, Anyone who can log in... can use the connection.'
Once completed, QBO will send the MMS a 'connection ticket' which allows the MMS to submit transactions to your account.

for QBD

You will first need to sync your company file to the Intuit Anywhere cloud. To do this use the Intuit Sync Manager. (Look for online services in the menu, then 'setup online services / sync manager'. From the intuit sync manager screen, login with your user/pass or click on 'new to Intuit app center - find out more' and go ahead and create a login. Then later log-in with your user/pass on the intuit sync manager screen.)

Once that is done, go to MMS Config, QB Desktop Config; then click on the Connect to QuickBooks button. You'll be asked a series of questions, and at the end... the MMS will have a connection to the cloud version of your company data.

Mapping Members

When starting out, if you have your members listed as customers in your quickbooks, it's important to link them to their corresponding Members in the MMS. We have a script that can accomplish most of this... but there may need to be some manual intervention on your part.

From the Main Menu, click the "Membership Billing" link.
Under the "QuickBooks Interface" subheading, click the "Member Status" link.
Members who have been successfully mapped to QB customers will have "cust:###*QB" in the second column, while unmapped members will have "(none)*" in that column. For now, we'll focus on the members with "(none)*".
1. Click on the "(none)*" link for a particular member.
2. You will be taken to a screen where you can search your QB Company file for a customer. By default, the name in the search box will be "first last". Because your QB customers are stored as "last, first", you will need to edit this field. (I would recommend just deleting the first name and space, and searching on the last name.) Click the Submit button.
3. You will see the name and contact info of the member in the MMS, followed by any QB customers the search found. If you see the QB customer that this member should be linked to, click the "Click to link this Customer" link under them.
4. You may get a result of "NO FINDS!". In this case, the system was unable to find a QB customer corresponding to the name you searched on. You can press the back button on your browser to try a different search. If it is still unable to find a QB customer, you may want to double-check that the customer exists in QuickBooks. If they do not exist, then you do not need to do anything else; the MMS will add them as a QB customer the first time you sync transactions. If they do exist, please let me know who did not show up, and we'll investigate this further.
5. You'll need to repeat steps 1-4 for all members who have "(none)*" in the second column.
If you think that a member was mapped to the wrong QB customer, you can double-check it by doing the following:
1. Click on the "cust:###*QB" link for that member in the second column.
2. Enter the name you want to search for in the search box, and click the Submit button.
3. If you want to change the QB customer, click the "Click to link this Customer" link for the correct customer.

Starting out 'In-Sync'

Before we can start pushing transactions over to QB, the two systems (the MMS as well as QB), need to be 'in-sync'. This means that the AR (Accounts Receivable) numbers on QBO must match that which is in the MMS, as of a particular date AND any transactions after that date are only in the MMS and not in QB . The idea is that by doing this, there is a starting point of agreement, such that we can easily detect out-of-sync conditions if necessary. The best report to use in the MMS is the aging report within member billing (view active and drop, members with +/- balances), then compare the number at the bottom to the numbers in AR in QB. Or better yet, compare to Member Balance Detail to see where the disagreement is.

Once you have reached an in-sync point, you will want to mark all transactions before the in-sync point as no-go (such that they will not be re-sent to QB, causing duplicates), and mark transactions after the in-sync point as 'go' (assuming they are not already reflected in QB). See the next section on how to do this...

Transactions - go or no-go?

You have the option of having some transactions to not be synced. This is useful if you have been using the MMS for a long time, and for many of the older transactions... you simply do not want pushed over into QBO, because they are already reflected there (via double entry of transactions, journal entry, etc.). Consult with us on how best to get your QBO started if this is the case.

To mark individual transactions as go/no-go, you can use the two Transaction Status reports at the top-right of member billing, under Quickbooks Interface; and then click on the links to the right of each transaction to toggle between export/do-not-export.

To mass-mark all transactions not yet synced as non-export (typically used when starting out with the QBO interface), look for the link at the top of MMS Config, then Quickbooks Config.

Mapping of Transactions

In addition, we also need to set up a few items such that transactions in the MMS can map 1-to-1 and field-by-field.

In order to map individual transactions in the MMS to QB GL (General Ledger) accounts and QB invoice items, We first map individual transactions to MMS GL accounts, and then in turn map those MMS GL Accounts to QB GL accounts and QB items.

For the first part of this, the mapping of (invoice) transactions to MMS GL accounts works in 3 ways:

Membership Invoices (New Member and Dues) - GL accounts are assigned as a package, all new member invoices are assigned to a particular GL account, all renewal invoices are assigned to a particular GL account. This is done in Member Billing -> Edit General Ledger Accounts -> Select GL Accounts for Membership Invoices.

Non-Dues Invoices - GL accounts are assigned on an invoice-by-invoice basis, when they are entered.

Event Registration Invoices - GL accounts are assigned at the event level when the event is created/edited. There is a default GL account for event registrations, which can be set via MMS Config -> Quickbooks Config

For the second part of this, for any MMS GL account, it will need to be mapped to a gl account and an item (products/services) in QB. This can be done via Member Billing -> Edit General Ledger Accounts.

If an appropriate GL account or item is not available for selection, you will need to create it first in QB.

This diagram attempts to explain the linkage between transactions and QB items (listed as Products and Services in QB) and GL accounts:

We also have class codes that can be mapped to classes in QB, in an identical manner as the GL accounts (however, as of this writing, classes are only available in QB in the higher-tiered QB plans)

AR Accounts - transactions from the MMS can also be mapped to AR accounts in quickbooks. This can be done via MMS Config -> Quickbooks Config. This feature can be very useful in dealing with out-of-sync issues (see below).

Running the Sync Operation

The sync operation is where the transactions are actually sent ('pushed') to QB.

You'll want to do this on a regular basis. Probably weekly or monthly, however often you want to make sure things are synced up. The sync operation is located in the upper right of the billing menu, at the bottom of the Quickbooks functions.

The sync operation works in two stages (and two corresponding pages). You will run the sync, and scroll to the bottom looking for a 'continue' button- two times one for each state (page).

The first page deals with problems with transactions detected on the MMS side
The second page deals with problems with transactions detected on the QB side

If a problem is detected in either, the script will stop and give you an error, you will then need to make corrections to the data/system and try the sync operation again. This can be tedious the first few times if there are lots of errors, but over time, it will get easier.

Keeping In-Sync

Not every action in the MMS is automatically sent through to QB. Changes and voids to transactions in the MMS, need to be MANUALLY reflected in QB. NOTE: Once you are up and running using the QB interface, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to periodically compare numbers between QB and the MMS to make sure the two systems are in sync .

Dealing with Out-of-Sync problems

There are several reports that are available that will help you track down the mismatched transactions in out-of-sync situations. Assuming that you have all transactions in the MMS over in QB and vice-versa (there are no transactions in QB that didn't originate in the MMS), this will make keeping things in sync easier.

If this is not the case, probably the best way to do this is to have MMS-based transactions all go into a particular AR Account. Then you'll be able to use reports to get totals on the QB side, exclusive to the MMS transactions. Which you can then match up to equivalent MMS reports.

Elections

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMT

The Elections feature allows an admin-level user to create an election with a variety of different questions, and send out emails to the membership to prompt members to complete the election. Within the emails, there is a link to follow, which allows the member to complete the survey. The election is also posted within the member's area, so those who are granted access to the member's area can log-in and complete the election there.

NOTE : the election system is designed to allow only one vote per person . The emails sent to members will provide a link that will require them to login to complete the election.

Members must login to complete an election.

Elections Main Page
The main page of the Elections module presents an admin with two main features- a table containing any current and past elections, and a link at the bottom of the page to Add New Election.

The table contains some useful information:

Election - This column shows the name of the election, the start and end date of the election, and the Election Description
Actions - You'll see the familiar Edit pencil to change election details, the red Delete X, a Send Email envelope icon, and a Reports icon
Column 3 - Column 3 tells you how many eligible voters have not yet voted.

For more information, take a look at these related pages:
Creating Elections
Election Emails
Election Reports

Tours

Wed, 02 Oct 2019 00:00:00 GMT

The tours module is integrated with the mobile app to allow for a self guided tour of businesses in a community. QR codes are scanned with the app to indicate a tour stop was visited.

Waivers

Fri, 05 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMT

You can provide information for your members to read and then require them to sign the waivers during new member registration, membership renewal, event registration, online store checkout, and message boards submissions.

Multipost / Social Networking

Wed, 30 May 2018 00:00:00 GMT

In several locations in the MMS, you will see links labeled 'multipost' or 'mpost'. This is a link to the Multipost feature. Multipost allows to you create a single post, and then post it to multiple social networks in one step. Multipost currently allows posting to the following social networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the MMS' internal member social network. We are working on adding other social networks to this list.

To use this feature, click on the link. You will then be presented with a page where you can enter text for your post. It will often be pre-populated with info based on where you clicked the mpost link (if in the calendar, it would pre-populate with that event's info, so you can post about your event).

Before sending a multipost, you will first want to link your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts. What this means is that the Facebook or Twitter account will be linked to your member record, so that anytime you want to multipost, you will be able to post to the social networks you have access to. (When other users use multipost, they will have to link their accounts to their own member record.) To link your Facebook and/or Twitter accounts, click on the button at the top - My Accounts. Then click on the Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn tab, and click on the button to connect. From there, follow the instructions.

There is an optional date and time field available. This will allow you to schedule when the multipost is made (this is so you can set up a reminder for an event to be posted at a later date/time).

Connections to social networks (aside from the MMS social network) are only valid for 60 days. Be sure to reconnect your account every 60 days if you're scheduling posts. (as of this writing, 11/4/13, it's not clear that scheduled multiposts will not refresh the validity of your MMS-to-FB, MMS-to-Twitter, MMS-to-LinkedIn linkage).

Newsletter Editor Videos

Wed, 23 May 2018 00:00:00 GMT

IP Address for email spoofing issues

Fri, 07 Jul 2017 00:00:00 GMT

If there is an issue where they need to have their SPF record updated to indicate that emails can ALSO come from our server 209.59.164.32.

Use Gmail for 1and1 Email

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Log into Gmail, or click here: www.gmail.com
Top right corner, click on the gear
Click on Settings
Click on the Accounts and Import Tab
Scroll down where it says “Check mail from other accounts (using POP3)” and click on “Add a POP3 mail account you own”
A pop up will appear, enter your email address “youremail@yourdomain.com” and click on Next Step
Under Username enter your email address “youremail@yourdomain.com”, enter the password you usually use for your email address on 1and1 email, Pop Server: pop.1and1.com and Port: 995, check the box “always use SSL” and check the “Label Incoming messages”, (Note: if you would like to keep a copy of your emails on your 1and1 server, check the box “Leave a copy of retrieved message on the server.”) and finally click on Add Account.
Check the box “yes I want to be able to send email as…” and click on Next Step.
Enter the name you wish to show up when sending an email (leave the box treat as Alias checked) and click on next step
SMTP settings: SMTP server should be smtp.1and1.com – the port should be 587, and TLS enabled. Enter your username youremail@yourdomain.com, enter your password and click on add account.
The last step is to verify: They will email you a confirmation code. Login one last time to your 1and1 email account from 1and1.com webmail application, and open the email from “gmail Team”. Copy and paste the number and click on “verify”. The pop up disappears, you are all set! !

Miscellaneous Chamber Nation Help Topics

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMT

See the topics below for some Miscellaneous Help topics for Chamber Nation that do not fit into one of the categories above.

iFrame Weebly Code

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMT

If you are using the Weebly web editor for your website and would like to embed something in an iFrame, please use the following code in the "Code Box" to do so: [iframe src="The URL that you want goes here between the quotation marks" width="100%" height="3000" style="border: 0px;"][/iframe] (NOTE: you must replace the brackets [ ] with the arrows < > for this to work. The < goes at the beginnings where the [ is, and the > goes at the ends where the ] is.)

Code Required for CN Scrolling Banners

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMT

If you are using the Chamber Nation System to create Scrolling Banners, when you are done creating them you can click on the "code" option to get the HTML code to embed in your website. However, if you are using the Weebly web editor for your website, there is one line of code that is REQUIRED to be at the very top of the code in order for it to display on the live website (it will display properly in the editor only without the following line of code). Please add the following line of code to the beginning of the Scrolling Banner code you get from the Chamber Nation system: [script src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-latest.min.js" type="text/javascript"][/script] (NOTE: You MUST replace the beginning and ending bracket [ ] with the arrows < >)

Community Posts

Fri, 06 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT

A member submission system found in the Member's Features section of the main member's page.
A non-member submission system that will allow anyone from the general public to submit an article for admin approval.
A Community Post Management system that lists all past and present submissions to allow admin to edit, approve and post them to social media.
An option in the Newsletter Editor that will allow the user to pull all admin approved submissions into the Newsletter for publication.
The post feature is a web page that can be included on your public website that will list all articles with a current date range that have been approved by admin.

The check box to turn this feature on and off. All the links associated will be turned off too.
The alternate title for Community Posts which will replace the name Community Posts on the links on the Members Page and through out the system headers.
The Editor Email Address, which is the address that will be notified when a submission is made.

Honoraria Activity Tracker

Thu, 22 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMT

The honoraria activity tracker is an accounts-payable tracking feature, designed to allow an organization to track compensation in the form of honoraria for participation in conf calls, meetings, and other activities. This feature is available on request at no charge.

Chamber Merchant Account (.com)

Tue, 22 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Chamber Merchant Account is pleased to be working with Chamber Nation and Tiodew.

With so many new mobile payment options coming available that will interface with this system, it's important to work with an advanced merchant account group. A merchant account is no longer what it used to be... it's actually a strategy - this is why Fair Commerce has opted to work closely with Chamber Nation (EcTownUSA, LLC.) and Tiodew.

To GET STARTED

Verified Chamber Member

Sun, 20 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

VerifiedChamberMember.Com Study after study shows that the public is much more likely to do business with a verified Chamber of Commerce member. The Real Value of Joining a Local Chamber of Commerce A Research Study (See Attached PDF) VERIFIED CHAMBER MEMBER means that: 1. You can verify the online business identity by contacting the Chamber. 2. You can verify their membership term to see if likely to be around in future. 3. You can contact Chamber to see if any complaints have been registered. 4. You can access more information on this member through the Chamber website. 5. You can often check with other members of the Chamber about a business. The point is the vast majority of Chamber of Commerce members are up-standing legitimate business people who invest in their community and their customers. The Chamber of Commerce cannot gurantee any of its members products or services, but members typically join because they want to be found... in other words not a "fly-by-night" operation. If you would like to become a VERIFIED CHAMBER MEMBER, you might want to read all about the reasons to join a Chamber at www.ChamberMe.com. CLICK HERE to download the Document "The Real Value of Joining a Local Chamber"

Merchant Account Information

Sun, 20 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

This section provides information on Merchant Account Providers and services, as well as integrating it in your Chamber Nation System.

Optional Upgrades

Sun, 20 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Here are Optional Upgrades that you can purchase with Chamber Nation

Administrative Cheat Sheet - Great Tips to Remember

Sun, 20 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Chamber Onboarding

Sun, 20 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

This section provides information on topics related to starting your service with us.

Broadcast Text Messaging

Sun, 20 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

The broadcast text message module allows an association to send out text messages to a group of members.

A minimum monthly charge of $19.95 applies. (if you use less than 500 individual texts in a given month, you would still have to pay $19.95 in that month). This is a premium service. Additional texts above the 500 allowed per month cost $.02 cents per member-message (if you were to send an additional 100 text messages to members, the cost would be $0.50 extra). (Pricing current as of August 2015).

To turn on this feature, please contact tech support - we will turn on the module for you.

It will be necessary to turn on a special mobile-phone field within the member database, such that you would load your members mobile #'s into that field. This is the field that is used to determine the phone numbers to use when sending out broadcasts.

When the module is enabled, to send a message, click on 'send new message'. You'll be prompted to enter a subject and message (note: the subject is not sent, this is just used as a way to track which message was which).

In the next screen, you'll be prompted to select recipients. Only member records with something entered in the mobile phone field will be available to you. Once you've made your selection, verified your message, you then can send it.

After the message, there is a 'status page' available for that message. It will show the progress of the message (which ones have been sent, or which ones had difficulty). Also, If the recipients choose to reply to your text, their replies will show up on the status page.

Chamber Nation Administrator Getting Started Guide

Sun, 20 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Here you will find the PDF to our NEW Administrator Getting Started Guide (v. 3.0) that is a part of our Educational Services Manual. If you are a Chamber signed up for the Premium Membership Plan, please make sure to email Richard Scully (Richard@chambernation.com) to get your complete Educational Services Manual.

Click HERE to Download our New Chamber Nation Administrator Getting Started Guide (version 3.0)

Merchant Account Setup Information

Sun, 20 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Adding Referred By Option (Video)

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Leads Trading Game with Points (Video)

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

How to Create and Send a Newsletter Video

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Syndicated Calendar System (Video)

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Calendar of Events Training Videos

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

This section provides the training videos for using the Calendar of Events Module

How to Create a New Newsletter Template Video

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Member Categories Video

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Multipost to Social Networks (Video)

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Creating a Form Letter (video)

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Calendar Invitations Video

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Viewing Invitations and Tracking Attendance Video

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Understanding the Calendar of Events Admin Video

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Creating an Overnight Event (video)

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Adding a New Calendar Event Video

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Accessing the Newsletter Manager Video

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Understanding the First Screen of the Newsletter Manager Vid

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Overview of Newsletter Template Selections Video

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Newsletter Manager Videos

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

This section provides video training on using the Newsletter Editor.

How to Log In

Wed, 16 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Creating Message Boards

Mon, 14 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

To set up a message boards, click on Message Boards under the "Administrative Functions" -> "Member's Area Functions" subheading on the main menu.

To add a board, click on "Add New Message Board". On the next page, enter a name and description. Each board you create would typically correspond to a category of discussion - a committee, an interest group, or other area that members might want to initiate discussion.

After creating a board, you might want to set up a few topics and alert your members to the existence of the message boards, in order to get the conversation started.

Board Name

The Board Name is used to identify the Board in the Board List.

Description

The Description is a brief explanation of the purpose of the Board. This will appear on the Board List and will help members understand the purpose of the board and help keep topics/discussions related to that Board.

Board Category

Board Categories are used to group Boards for an extra layer of hierarchy. This is not a required field and is only necessary for organizations that have a large number of Boards. To add a Board Category, simply enter the name of the category in the "Board Category" field in the Board settings. Please note that spelling and capitalization are important.

Limiting to Projects/Committees/Board Members

Often times, it will be useful to create a message board for the use of your board of directors or for a particular committee. When adding a message board, you'll notice a drop-down that will let you make the board limited to members of the selected project/committee. There is also a checkbox to limit the board to members of the board-of-directors (members with the board@checkbox checked in the member database).

Require Moderator Approval

If a board is moderated, all topics and posts to the board are first approved by a moderator before they are displayed or emailed out.

Limit Response Emails to Topic Creator

When a Reply is made to a Topic, the system sends an email to the members who are "Opted-In" to that particular Board. In some cases it may be preferable to have reply messages go only to the person who created the topic. In such cases, this can be achieved by checking the "Limit response emails to topic creator" checkbox in the Board settings. Please note that when this option is checked, only the topics will be displayed on the MMS and replies will only be received by the member who created the topic.

Email-List Handle

It is possible to allow members to create and reply-to topics by email. This behavior is similar to a "LISTSERV™", but also integrates with the message boards. To enable this feature simply enter a "email-list handle" on the message board settings page. The "handle" must be alpha-numeric (consisting of letters a-z and numbers 0-9 only). Please note that handles are lower-case only. Handles will be used as part of an email address for sending and receiving emails related to the Board. For example if the handle is "abc123" then the email for the email-list would be "abc123@viethconsulting.com". For more information about the "Email-List" features of the message board, please see the corresponding help-section.

Organization Nickname

When emails are sent out by the message board system, they include the name of the organization as part of the Subject of the email. This is to help members easily identify the email. The system will use the name of the organization by default, however it may be desirable to use an alternate name or nickname for the sake of brevity or perhaps some other reason. To use this feature, simply enter the nickname in the "Organization Nickname" field in the Board settings. Please note that only alpha-numeric characters and spaces should be used -- that is upper and/or lower case A-Z, numbers 0-9, and spaces. Please do not use symbols.

The Editor

Wed, 28 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMT

The Website Content Manager Editor page has quite a few options. Not every option will be available to all of our organizations. Items in green signify options that require additional programming for your organization, and may not currently be in use on your site.

Name
Title of the page you are editing.

Hidden
Checking the box marked Hidden will hide the page or link you're working on from the navigation system. This is very useful for pages that are parts of other pages, OR are subordinate to other pages - If you want visitors to visit the Members 2 page only after visiting the Members 1 page, you can hide Members 2 from the navigation system and put a direct link on Members 1.

Parent
Selecting a parent page will place the page you're working on below the parent page in the navigation system. By default, our menus only have two tiers, but this can be changed if necessary. Before emailing service to change your number of menu tiers , please consider that the more tiers of menu options there are, the more confusion your visitors will experience.

Sidebars
One of our newest features not yet available for everyone is sidebars. If your site takes advantage of Dynamic Sidebars, you'll have the option to select which content page you'd like to use as a sidebar on this page.

Source - Clicking on the Source button in the editor will change your view from a friendly editor to the direct code view. If you have a code snippet from a third-party page, you would want to toggle the Source button before pasting the code.
Paste as Plain Text - Use the Paste as Plain Text to bring over copy written in another editor like Microsoft Word or Libre Office. The Paste as Plain Text option removes any formatting that word processors add to text, allowing it to be posted online
Spell Check - It's 2015, and we can all admit we use it. Turn on the traditional spell check that runs through your document, or SCAYT (Spell Check As You Type) for the red lines under misspelled words.
Link and Unlink - Outline a word, phrase, or even an image and click the Link button. This will bring up a link dialog box. Enter the URL in the appropriate field and press OK to add links to anywhere on the internet. The Unlink button on the right allows you to remove selected links.
Images - When adding images, it's always important to upload the image first. To do this, place your cursor where you would like the image to appear. Click the image button, and when the dialog window comes up, click on the Upload tab. Select the photo from your computer and press OK!
Youtube Video - Adding a video to your page has never been easier! Find the video you'd like to share on Youtube and copy the URL. Click the Youtube button in our editor to bring up the dialog. Paste the URL to the Youtube video in the box provided and press OK.
Font and Background Colors - To change the font color (left button) or text background color (right button), out line the text you'd like to affect and press the appropriate button. Select the color from the list, or choose your own and press OK.
Font Format, Face, and Size - The font Format button allows you to select normal text or a heading 1-6. The lower the heading number, the larger it will appear on the page. The selectable Font list is currently limited to web-safe fonts. The Size list allows you to modify the size of your text.

Election Emails

Wed, 28 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMT

There are two ways to email an election out to all or portions of your active membership. The first way is via the email link on the last page of the Election Creation Wizard. The second way is to navigate to the Elections module from the Administrative area and click on the Email function (envelope icon) next to the election you'd like to inform people about.

Sending Elections - Page One - The Message
If you're already familiar with our Broadcast Message System, you should have no problem here. By default, the system will fill in a lot of the information for you.

Sender - A friendly name like "Jane Smith" or "2015 Organization Election"
Sender (Reply) Email - The email address of the person designated to receive voter questions regarding this election
Subject - The subject of the email
Message - A content-rich area where images and links can be added in order to raise interest about the election. Note: This message will be going out via email. Keeping it simple is key.

Add Individuals - The first list shows every member you have. Hold CTRL when clicking to select multiples
Add Individuals Based on Criteria - The second list shows a member list limited by the criteria you selected when setting up the Election. Hold CTRL when clicking to select multiple members.
By Membership Plan/List - Membership plans that you've created will show up in this list. Select one and add the members currently part of that plan.
By Project/Committee - If you've created any Projects/Committees, you can add the members currently part of that Project/Committee with this dropdown.

Edit/New News Item

Wed, 28 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Nothing (Listing Only) - Selecting this option means that the information entered in the Short Description is all of the information. With this option selected, pressing Continue at the bottom will complete the news posting.
Specified URL - If you're posting an article that exists on another website, select this option to enter the URL to the article on the next page. Linking to other pages helps raise the SEO rankings of both sites, making this a stellar option.
Enter News Story - If this option is selected, a full content-rich editor will be waiting for you on the next page where you can add links, images, and format the text.
Choose file from file archive - If this option is selected, the next page will list all of the files currently in your file archive. If someone clicks the more info link from a news view, the visitor will have the option to download the file you've linked to.

Mapping QB Items to MMS G/L Accounts

Wed, 28 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Member Dues
Event Registrations

Member Dues
- New Member Dues
- Renewals
- Credits
Event Registrations
- You can create a separate item for each Event that you hold.
Online Store.

Go into the "Membership Billing" menu.
Under the "Data Export" subheading, click the "Edit General Ledger Accounts" link.
If you do not see the GL account you need in the list on this page, click the "Add New GL Account" link at the bottom of this page.
Select the QB Item that you want to send transactions to from the "QB Item" drop-down. Type in a name for that item in the "Description" field.
- We recommend typing in the name of the QB Item for the Description, so that it appears the same in both systems. You can give it a different description, however.
- The "Account Number" field is optional. If you do use it, you must enter a number.
Click the "Submit" button.

Near the top, you will see a link to "Select GL Accounts for Membership Invoices". Click this.
In the dropdown menu for "Gen Ledger Account - New Members Invoices:", select the G/L account that you set up for new members' dues. (This might be a general dues G/L account, depending on your accounting preferences.)
In the dropdown menu for "Gen Ledger Account - Renewal Invoices:", select the G/L account that you set up for renewal dues. (Again, this might be a general dues G/L account, depending on your accounting preferences.)
If you have set up a separate G/L Account for credits, select this on the dropdown for "Gen Ledger Account - Credits". (This is optional.)

From the Main Menu, under Event Management, click the "Event Registration" link.
Click the "change" link next to the event whose transactions you want to map to QuickBooks.
About one third of the way from the bottom of this page, you will see a dropdown for General Ledger Account. Select the G/L account that you created to send transactions for this event to.
Click the "Continue >>" button at the bottom of the page.

Daily Deal Administration

Wed, 28 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Members can submit coupons to the Daily Deals email system by checking the "Publish in Web/Email Offers" option in the coupon editor. The coupon is then submitted to the Daily Deals Broadcast Approval module of the MMS Administration page followed by an email being sent to the Daily Deals Administrator. By default, these emails are sent to the organization email but a Daily Deals Administrator can be set by going to the Daily Deals Broadcast Administration page and assign an administrator. A coupon will not be included in the Daily Deals email unless it is approved by and administrator.

The Daily Deal administrator can review the submitted coupon by clicking on magnifying glass

Once you have finished reviewing the coupon you can approve or disapprove a coupon on clicking on the plus or minus signs on the admin screen.

New daily deals are sent out to subscribers every day at 11:00 am Eastern. All active deals are sent every Monday at 11:15 am Eastern.

Creating Elections

Wed, 28 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMT

To start a new Election, navigate to the Elections module and click on Add New Election.

General Information (page one)
The general information is divided into two sections. The top section deals with information about the election. The bottom section deals with who is eligible to vote in the election.
Concerning the Election:

Election Name - A friendly name for the election such as "2017 Board President Election."
Description - A brief description of the election and what it hopes to accomplish.
Election Begin Date - The day the election starts.
Election End Date - No more votes will be accepted after 11:59PM on this day.
Election Auditors - Select one or more board members who will view the election results and have access to the election
Enable Election - Before this option is clicked, the election is in pending status and can not be voted on by members

Paid Members Only - Selecting this option will disallow anyone with an outstanding member dues balance from voting in the election. To restrict non-dues paying members, use the Restrict To option, below.
Restrict To - The Restrict To option lists all of the membership plans you've created. To allow all members to vote, do not select anything from this box, otherwise check the boxes next to member types who are eligible to vote.

Field Type - Which type of question are you creating
- Multiple Choice - The proper choice if you want to allow voters to select one or more options that you create. Add options on the next page.
- Yes/No - A question with only one of two outcomes
- Text Field - A small text box - great for gathering a name or number
- Multiline Text - A large text box - great for gathering opinions.
- 1-5 Rating - Allows the voter to select 1-5 - great for asking voters to quantify how they feel about something
- The Hare System of Proportional Representation
Question - Enter the question, and any additional values needed from the field type selected on the previous page.
Add More Questions or Continue - Continue adding questions until your election is complete. Once complete, press the continue at the bottom of the page
Preview - The preview page shows you the Election as a member would see it, allowing you to press back and make any corrections. Once satisfied, press Continue.
Final Page - The final page of the Election wizard asks if you'd like to email the election to your members. For more information on how to email an election, check out the help file for Election Emails .

Managing Mobile App Content

Wed, 28 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Pages
Features
Categories
Links
Spacers