Membership Options

Membership options are often the different payment plans for specific programs. Our system offers four main payment structures for membership options. These are important in maintaining recurring revenue from members.

Table of contents

 

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Permissions and accessibility

Staff access:

• Admin
  • Full access
• Manager
  • Access to view setup
  • No access to edit or delete
• Staff
  • No access

MyStudio plan restrictions:

• None

 

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How to create a program

1. Go to services and products > programs.
2. Click “add new program.”
3. Choose to create a custom program from scratch or use one of our templates.
4. Follow the setup steps.
5. Be sure to save and publish at the bottom of the details page.

 

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How to create a membership option

1. Go to services and products > programs.
2. Create or edit a program.
3. On the left sub menu, click “live membership options.”
4. Click “add membership options.”
5. Follow the setup steps.
6. Be sure to save and publish the option at the bottom of the details section.

 

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Difference between a program and a membership option

The difference between a program and a membership option is as follows:

 

Program:

A program is the main category of what you offer. This could be things like “Little Tigers”

or “Tae Kwon Do” etc.

 

Membership option:

A membership option is generally the different payment plans you offer for a program

type. For example, this could be a monthly ongoing membership, a 12-month pay-in-full

option, etc.

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The difference between membership option structures

In step 3 of setting up a membership option, “payment,” you’ll be asked to select the structure of the membership option. Our system has four structures:

 

Open enrollment: 

This is an ongoing membership option. It does not have an end date and will continue to

bill according to your recurring frequency selection until you manually cancel a student’s

registration. This is the best option if you want a registration to continue indefinitely.

 

Custom:

This membership option will bill according to your recurring frequency selection until it

reaches its expiration date you’ve set. This is the best option if you want a student’s

registration to end after a specified amount of time. It does not have a renewal option.

 

Specific start and end date:

This membership option starts and ends on specific dates you set, and has an option to

not charge some dates during the timeframe. This option is best for things like summer

programs or other limited time programs.

 

Class package:

This membership option allows you to create an option with a specific amount of class

attendances. In other words, customers will pay for the amount of classes they can go

to.

 

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Adding taxes and fees

You can choose whether taxes and fees are globally set for all programs or for each membership option.

1. Go to services and products > programs.
2. Go to settings in the submenu on the left.
3. Click the tax and processing fees tab.
4. Select whether this information is applied globally for all programs or not.
5. If you select it to be global, enter the tax and processing fee option.
6. If you select it to not be global, edit a program.
7. Go to membership options and click edit.
8. Enter the tax and processing fee option in step four of membership option creation.

 

Here’s a picture of what that setting looks like:

 

 

 

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How to make a program or option private

To make a program or membership option private, check the box at the top right of the listing. If a program or option is private, it will not appear as an option in public registration settings. However, they will be visible in the staff point of sale and in the specific URL for that program or option.

 

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How to set up an ongoing membership

An ongoing membership is our open enrollment payment structure. This membership will continue indefinitely until the member is manually canceled. To set it up:

1. Go to services and products > programs.
2. Create a program.
3. Select to create a membership option.
4. In step 3 “payment,” choose “open enrollment” as the structure.

 

The open enrollment structure has a few main settings to consider beyond the sign up and membership fee.

• Recurring frequency: this is how often a student will pay. This cannot be edited within an existing registration.
• Prorate: choose to prorate the membership. When a customer registers, they will pay a prorated amount for the current month, then make payments on the first of every month.
• Delay payment: this will delay the recurring payments. The customer will pay the sign up fee, then will start paying the recurring payment after the delay.

 

Here’s a picture of what this looks like:

 

 

Example of an open enrollment structure

Setup: There is a sign up fee of $100, a monthly billing of $100, the first payment is paid on the membership start date and is not prorated.

 

A customer registers for this membership option on May 30th with a membership start date of June 10th.

 

The customer will pay $100 on May 30th for the registration fee. Their first payment of $100 will be charged on June 10th. They will then be charged every 10th of the month afterwards until the membership is canceled.

 

Here is a picture of what the setup and registration would look like:

 

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How to set up a membership that ends

There are three membership structures that can have end dates: custom, specific start and end date, and class package. Most of the time, a membership with an expiration date is a custom structure. This structure requires an expiration time frame such as 6 months. To create a custom membership:

1. Go to services and products > programs.
2. Create a program.
3. Select to create a membership option.
4. In step 3 “payment,” choose “custom” as the structure.

 

The custom structure has a few main settings to consider beyond the sign up and membership fee.

• Number of payments: enter the amount of payments you want the customer to be responsible for.
• Membership expiration date: how long the membership lasts after the start date.

 

 

Here is a picture of what this looks like:

 

Example of a custom structure

Setup: There is a sign up fee for $100 and a membership fee of $100 per month. This option has a deal where the first month is free so the membership is set to delay by one month and then have 11 total payments. The membership expires after 12 months.

 

A customer registers for this membership option on June 3, 2024 with a start date of today.

 

The customer will pay $100 at registration for the sign up fee. They will not pay for June’s membership fee even though setup says to charge the first payment at registration. They will then be charged on the 3rd of each month, starting July 3rd, with a last payment date of May 3, 2025. The customer will then be able to continue taking classes until the membership expires on June 3, 2025.

 

Here is a picture of what the setup and registration look like:

 

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How to auto-renew a custom membership

Since custom structures cannot be auto-renewed, we recommend using the open enrollment structure and setting the payment frequency according to how long you would have set the custom membership. For example, if you want a membership that lasts 6 months, set the payment frequency in the open enrollment structure to be a custom frequency of 6 months.

 

This also applies to wanting to prorate a custom membership.

 

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How to create a membership that only occurs during a date range

A membership within a date range is the specific start and end date structure. This structure requires a specific end date rather than a time frame like in custom structures. To create a specific start and end date membership:

1. Go to services and products > programs.
2. Create a program.
3. Select to create a membership option.
4. In step 3 “payment,” choose “custom” as the structure.

 

Specific start and end dates have some extra settings to consider:

• Charge based on number of days serviced: this setting appears if the membership fee is paid monthly and is determined by the days of the week selected available within a given month.
• Days to exclude from billing: enter dates within the date range that aren’t included in the billing. This includes days like holidays or other days your studio is closed.

 

Here is a picture of what this looks like:

 

Example of a specific start and end date structure

Setup: The membership option date range is July 1, 2024 - September 14, 2024. The days of the week available are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. There is a $50 sign up fee. The membership fee is $100/month paid in full at registration, and July 4 - 6 is excluded from billing. 

 

A customer registers for this option on June 3rd and sets the membership start date as soon as the option begins, July 1st. 

 

The customer will pay the $50 sign up fee and a prorated amount for July, since Friday, July 5th is excluded from billing. At registration, they will also pay the full month of August and a prorated amount for September based on the 6 Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between September 1 - September 14th. This means the customer will pay a total of $245.76 at registration on June 3rd. The membership will end on September 14th.

 

Here is a picture of what the setup and registration would look like:

 

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How to create a class package

A membership that focuses solely on class attendance is our class package payment structure. This membership will continue until the student uses up their class allowances or the expiration date passes. To set it up:

1. Go to services and products > programs.
2. Create a program.
3. Select to create a membership option.
4. In step 3 “payment,” choose “open enrollment” as the structure.

 

The class package structure has a few settings to consider beyond the sign up and membership fee.

• Number of classes: this is the total amount of classes a student can go to during their program. This isn’t specified by amount per week or month.
• Number of payments: enter the amount of payments you want the customer to be responsible for.
• Delay payment: this will delay the recurring payments. The customer will pay the sign up fee, then will start paying the recurring payment after the delay.
• Membership expiration date: how long the membership lasts after the start date.

 

Here is a picture of what this looks like:

Example of class package structure

Setup: There is a sign up fee of $100. The membership fee is $50/month for 6 months, and the first payment is charged on membership start date. The membership allows 25 classes. There is no expiration date.

 

A customer registers for this option on June 3rd with a membership start date of June 7th.

 

The customer will pay $100 for the sign up fee on June 3rd. On June 7th, they will be charged the first payment of $50, and they will be charged $50 on the first of every succeeding month, with a last payment on November 7th. 

 

Here is a picture of what the setup and registration would look like:

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How to connect classes to memberships

Similar to trials, you can connect a class calendar to a membership option so that customers will register for their first class at the same time as their membership. To do this:

1. Go to services and products > programs.
2. Create a program.
3. Create a membership option.
4. In step 2, “select classes,” choose “custom classes.”
5. Check the box next to the classes you would like to connect to the membership option. Class registration limits will apply.

 

When a customer begins registration for these memberships, they will select their first class in place of choosing a membership start date. Here are some pictures of what this looks like:

 

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How to create a membership with a free first month

To allow members to get a free month for a membership, we recommend utilizing the delay payment setting. To do so:

1. Go to services and products > programs.
2. Create a program.
3. Create a membership option.
4. In step 3, “payment,” choose an open enrollment, custom, or class package structure according to your needs.
5. Turn the “delay payment schedule” to “yes” (green).
6. Enter the amount of days, weeks, or months you want to delay the recurring payments.

 

 

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How to add discount codes

Add any discount codes that customers can use at registration in step 5 of a membership option setup. This can be a dollar amount or a percentage and can be discounted from the membership fee or the registration fee. 

 

 

Here’s a picture of what this setting looks like:

 

 

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How to add levels / ranks

If you would like to add level / ranks, you will need to do the following step for each program you create:

1. Go to services and products > programs.
2. Create a program.
3. In step 2 of the program creation, “levels / ranks,” select “yes” for the setting “does this program use levels / ranks?”
4. Select whether to use attendance requirements for the ranks.
5. On the left submenu, click levels / ranks.
6. Click “add level/rank.”
7. Enter the level name and add any attendance or skill requirements if needed.

 

Here are pictures of what to look for:

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Pro-rating memberships

Prorating involves allowing customers to pay for a partial payment at the beginning of their program. The open enrollment and specific start and end date structures are the only ones that allow prorating at this time.

1. Go to services and products > programs.
2. Create a program.
3. Create a membership option.
4. In step 3, “payment,” choose an open enrollment or specific start and end date structure according to your needs.

 

Open enrollment:

  5.  Turn the “pro-rate first payment period” to “yes”

 

 

Specific start and end date structure:

   5.  Select “per month” for the membership fee. This will open a secondary setting under

        the billing option section. If this is set to “charge based on number of days serviced,”

        the registration will be prorated.

 

Here are pictures of what these two settings look like:

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Excluding holidays from billing

The “program in days to exclude from billing” setting is only available in the specific start and end date structure.

1. Go to services and products > programs.
2. Create a program.
3. Create a membership option.
4. In step 3, “payment,” choose the specific start and end date structure.
5. Enter the start and end date for the membership option. Save the option.
6. Select “yes” for the “program in days to exclude from billing” setting.
7. Click “add days to exclude from billing.”
8. Enter the dates. Make sure to click the save icon next to the dates when you’re done.

 

Here is a picture of what this setting looks like:

 

 

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How to create a family plan

There are a couple options on how to create a family plan. Check out our article for more details: Programs - Family Plan