Administrators process membership requests from the Members to Approve tab of the form. Three actions are available on a membership request: approve it, edit it, or decline it. When the person becomes a member depends on the payment method chosen at the time of approval:
- Offline payment: the person becomes a member as soon as their membership request is approved, even if payment has not yet been recorded.
- Online payment: the person becomes a member upon receipt of the first payment, not at the time of approval.
This article covers the following topics:
- Where to find membership requests pending approval?
- How to approve a membership request?
- How to edit a membership request before approving it?
- How to decline a membership request?
- How does online payment work?
- How to record an offline payment?
- What is the accounting impact?
For questions about payment of the membership fee following the approval of a request, please refer to this article.
Where to find membership requests pending approval?
- Open the membership request form.
- Click the Members to Approve tab. By default, the list is filtered to show pending membership requests.
- Click Details, the eye icon, to view a membership request.
How to approve a membership request?
Clicking the Approve Request button displays 2 options.
Approve the request and send a payment link
The member receives an email with a summary of their membership request, the amount due, and a payment link. The membership request is confirmed once the first payment is received.
The Online Payment feature must be active to send a payment link.
Approve the request and manually record an offline payment
The membership request is approved upon click. The administrator then records the payment using an offline payment method.
How do I edit a membership request before approving it?
From the membership request details, the administrator can update the member's information and chosen membership bundle. A few examples of possible edits:
- Correct the membership bundle if the registrant made a mistake.
- Apply a discount.
- Set the membership price to $0 to offer a complimentary membership to an honorary member.
After editing, two actions are available:
- Save without approving: the membership request stays in the Members to approve list. Use this action when a document is not compliant or information is missing.
- Approve the request: the membership request is approved with the changes applied.
How do I decline a membership request?
From the membership request details, click the red Decline button at the bottom left. Declining has two effects:
- The membership request is rejected. The person is not saved as a contact in the nonprofit's database, and no spot is counted (if the number of spots is limited).
- An automated email is sent to the person. The administrator can include a comment to explain the decision. This comment is optional.
How does online payment work?
- The member receives the email containing the payment link.
- The member clicks the link and lands on the payment page.
- The member selects a payment method from those enabled in step 4 - Payment and confirmation of the form: payment card in full, or payment card in installments.
- The member can leave a tip to Springly, if the nonprofit has chosen the tip as a compensation method.
- Upon the first successful payment, the member is redirected to the confirmation page. They are identified and automatically added to the nonprofit's Community.
Until payment is completed, the membership request has the status Awaiting payment and remains in the "Members to approve" tab.
If the member starts the payment process without completing it, the transaction will have the status Payment Initiated. See the article "Payment Initiated": what does it mean? to resolve the situation.
Good to know: the payment card link always redirects to Springly's partner payment service. Another provider is not possible, as the automations that link the payment to member validation and the bookkeeping entry only work with this partner.
How do I record an offline payment?
After validating with an offline payment, the payment recording page opens. Two actions are available:
- Select the payment method used, then save it.
- Defer the recording by clicking Do it later, or by checking Deferred Payment then clicking Save. Use this option when the member has not yet handed over their check or cash.
The person becomes a member as soon as validation is complete, even if no payment has been recorded. Two methods let you track expected payments:
- The form's registrant list. The member will show the status No Payment.
- Accounts receivable and payable, under Accounting (requires accounting access).
To avoid any follow-up, we recommend waiting until you receive payment before validating the membership request.
The number of installments and offline payment methods are flexible.
What is the accounting impact?
- Bookkeeping entries are generated only after a member is validated. As long as a membership request is pending, no entries are generated.
- Exporting accounting information works the same way as for immediate memberships.
- A payment card transaction through Springly's payment provider is fully automated. Funds are deposited into the nonprofit's e-wallet.
- A discount entered at the time of validation automatically impacts the 709000 - Discount account. This account cannot be changed. To use a different account, enter an adjusting entry via the advanced bookkeeping entry screen.
- A membership validated at $0 has no accounting impact.
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