Technology has transformed how organizations manage their members. Keeping a physical filing cabinet hasn’t been practical for some time now, especially for organizations managing thousands of members. This is where membership software comes in.
However, organizations will often fall into the trap of only investing in one-off tools to handle their regular tasks. This may be a great temporary solution but becomes costly and unsustainable in the long run for a growing membership base.
The right membership management software empowers your organization to reach out to constituents in meaningful ways, provide engaging opportunities, and handle dues payments all in one comprehensive solution.
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Choosing the right software requires knowledge of what membership software is, what features your organization needs, and remaining mindful of your budget.
We at Regpack have put together this guide to help organizations like yours find a membership software provider that will continue to meet your needs for years to come. We’ll go over:
Our comprehensive overview will give your organization a solid idea of what membership management software is and what features to keep an eye out for. As you read over our favorite solutions, keep in mind your own membership needs. Membership software can be an investment, so you’ll want to make sure you’re choosing software that both your team and your members will use. Let’s begin.
What Is Membership Management Software?
Membership management software is a dedicated solution that allows membership-based organizations, such as clubs, associations, and nonprofits, to collect, manage, and store their members’ information.
This software also often comes with additional features such as automated communications, fee collection, and reporting capabilities. Different membership software solutions will specialize in different features, so identify what your organization’s needs are before making a purchase.
Typical Features of Membership Software
Each membership software provider will have unique features or capabilities. However, there are a few commonalities across providers. These essential membership software features include:
- Online membership registration and easy renewals. Prospective members should be able to sign-up for your services online. With membership management software you can create custom online forms as well as provide renewal reminders to members before their membership comes to an end.
- Member profiles and database. Use your membership software to collect and store your members’ data in individualized profiles. With this, your organization can personalize communications for each member and identify trends across your entire membership base.
- Payment processing capabilities. Integrated payment processing streamlines your membership fee collection by allowing you to manage and issue payments directly. Payment integration also reconciles your financial data with membership data, giving you the ability to easily send payment invoices when needed.
- Member directory. Easily find and manage your members with auto-updated membership profiles. This way, you know that contact information in your directory is accurate and current, enabling your organization to reach out to any member with confidence.
- Event management capabilities. In addition to managing your members, your software should also allow you to host engaging and exciting events. Membership software often comes with event management capabilities such as tracking registrations, communicating event information, and creating event-specific landing pages.
- Member communication. With communication capabilities, your membership software allows you to reach out to members with ease. From recurring emails like dues reminders to one-time messages to a specific group, your solution should handle all of your communication needs. Plus, using the data from your membership directory, you can send auto-personalized emails at a touch of a button.
- Reporting capabilities. Sort, filter, and analyze your members’ data from your membership software’s custom and pre-built reporting features.
These essential features help your organization standardize basic administrative and communication processes, allowing your team to devote more time to creating a better service for your members. Different membership management software will place greater emphasis on some of these features, so take a moment to reflect on what your organization needs most from its membership software.
What Are The Benefits Of Membership Software?
It takes time to research software solutions and train your team to make the best use of them, but once implemented, membership software can save your organization time by automating routine tasks for both your staff and your members.
Among other benefits, membership software should:
- Automate workflows and reduce data errors. Relying on Google spreadsheets or other unstructured systems for tracking member data can lead to unhelpful, unclean data. With membership software, you have structured entry fields to ensure that both your customers and your team can collect appropriate, usable data.
- Improve the member experience. Membership software allows your organization to create a more personalized experience for each member through customized messaging. For example, Your membership software can use data from past events your members attended to send them emails about similar upcoming events that match their interests.
- Simplify administrative tasks. Repetitive data entry likely accounts for more of your staff’s work time than they would like. Membership management software automates the data entry and collection processes, while also generating payment records and other receipts to assist your staff, letting them devote their time to other projects.
- Automate due renewals. Organizations often lose members, not due to lack of interest, but members forgetting to renew their monthly subscription. Automatically renewing memberships will help improve your membership retention and allow members to enjoy uninterrupted service.
The benefits and features of your membership software will be determined by your specific provider. Cheaper software solutions may have more limited capabilities but can still meet the general needs of your organization, while larger organizations may need to invest in a more comprehensive membership software to reap the same benefits.
In the end, it’s recommended to invest in a comprehensive and flexible solution from the start. All in one membership management software is much more equipped to support your organization as it continues to expand. While cheaper solutions may work now, your organization will quickly outgrow them.
6 Top Membership Management Solutions for You
Of the hundreds of membership management software solutions available, we’ve narrowed it down to six of our favorites based on their features, price, and availability:
To help your organization decide which software best fits your needs, we’ll provide an overview of each software’s most prominent features and applications.
Best Membership Software: Regpack
Overview of this software
Regpack’s membership software is used by over 7,000 organizations and is especially beloved by nonprofits for its automation and integration features. This membership software is an all-in-one service, including form building capabilities, recurring billing functionality, and event registration tools, in addition to the more common membership software features.
As a membership management and renewal service in one system, Regpack improves cash flow while decreasing cancellations. Both nonprofits and for-profit organizations can integrate Regpack into their websites and receive support and training from Regpack’s qualified staff.
Why this Membership Management Solution Stands Out
Regpack is a comprehensive membership management solution that provides organizations everything they need without having to integrate an endless series of add-ons.
In addition to basic membership software features, Regpack allows your organization to:
- Streamline membership dues collection. Regpack’s payment processor integrates with your organization’s website, allowing members to enter their payment information without ever navigating away from your website. Regpack also automatically sends receipts, payment confirmations, and payment failure notifications to both members and your team to streamline and keep financial transactions transparent.
- Automate dues renewals. Regpack’s recurring billing allows your organization to create subscription plans for monthly, quarterly, annual, or custom payment cycles. In addition to collecting membership fees, organizations with subscription-based products and services can create multiple tiered service plans and automatically collect payments from all of them.
- Custom payment emails. Using member profiles, Regpack’s membership software customizes all outreach emails to provide constituents with immediate and personalized payment support.
- Membership enrollment. Create custom sign-up forms with Regpack’s form builder to design a unique, streamlined enrollment process for each of your membership tiers.
- Member communication. In addition to automated payment messages, your team can communicate with individuals or groups of members with automated recurring or one-time emails.
- Event registrations. Manage both in-person and virtual events with user-friendly interfaces, personalized registration processes, and attendance tracking.
- Real-time member data. Allow your team to make updates and monitor member data in real-time. Regpack also has customizable admin access, ensuring your entire team can use the same software at the same time without ever getting locked out.
- Unlimited member reports. Create and filter reports for any and all of your organization’s needs without worrying about space or data limitations.
- Online course registration. Regpack supports all types of subscription services and products and is especially useful for online course registration. Create customized payment and onboarding plans to fit your members’ budgets while providing classes, webinars, and other online course offerings.
Regpack is a flexible membership management software that has solutions for trips, camps, courses, virtual events, subscription services, and more. Learn if Regpack is right for your organization by getting in contact and requesting a demo.
Membership Software: Memberclicks
Memberclicks’ membership software is used by professional and trade associations, chambers of commerce, and colleges and universities to manage multiple types of membership. Focused on time-saving practices and ease of navigation, Memberclicks aims to create simplified interfaces for both members and staff members.
Why this Membership Management Solution Stands Out
- Email marketing. Memberclicks’ straightforward approach to email marketing offers scheduled delivery, email tracking, and email list target.
- Automatic payments. With online payment collection and automatic invoice generation, Memberclicks reduces the number of easy to lose paper documents your organization would otherwise have to keep track of.
- Continuing education tracking. Allow users to access educational content and record their progress towards earning additional education credits.
Membership Software: Memberleap
Memberleap’s comprehensive membership management software comes in five different tiers to allow organizations to choose the plan that makes sense for their needs and allows them to upgrade as they grow. In addition to membership management, Memberleap’s software solution offers web hosting, web content editing, and event management features.
Why this Membership Management Solution Stands Out
- Data management. Memberleap’s data management tools allow organizations to store data their way by creating and organizing products, customers, and other data fields into categories and additional subcategories.
- Unique website editing tools. Non-tech users can update text on their website without hassle with Memberleap’s content editing tools.
- Anonymous communication. Let members anonymously submit calls for proposals and nominations to encourage engagement while also protecting privacy.
Membership Software: Glofox
Glofox specializes in gyms and athletic clubs, creating membership software with improved scheduling and mobile features for online, in-person, and hybrid classes.
Why this Membership Management Solution Stands Out
- Comprehensive calendar and booking system. Get quick overviews and in-depth scheduling information to ensure both customers and trainers never miss a class.
- Content library. Grow your organization’s online community by hosting a content library of recorded classes that members can access at any time.
- Mobile app-friendly. Glofox works on the go to let active supporters check in on upcoming events and reminders from their phones.
Membership Software: Personify360
Personify360’s membership software helps large and medium-sized organizations manage members with a 360-degree perspective on member engagement. Focused on constituent engagement, Personify260 specializes in reporting and member analytics.
Why this Membership Management Solution Stands Out
- Flexibility. Containing a CRM system, payment processor, analytic tools, and volunteer management software, Personify360’s extensive functionalities should support organizations of every size as they grow.
- eBusiness capabilities. Design and monitor multiple online revenue streams.
- Reporting features. Personify360’s management software prioritizes data analysis, using data to create comprehensive reports tracking trends in work-flow and member behavior.
Membership Software: Glue Up
Glue Up is used by associations, chambers of commerce, and other businesses to grow their memberships with one software solution.
Why this Membership Management Solution Stands Out
- Engagement tools. Glue Up offers multiple mobile applications, allowing members to participate in one-on-one conversations with your staff while on the go.
- Webinars. Host webinars and presentations through your membership software while members participate through the live chat.
- Event management. Create branded event pages to run multiple events simultaneously with customizable registration and ticketing features.
Additional Resources
Your membership management software should work for your organization, not force your organization to adjust to it. To learn more about specific membership software features and explore your options, check out these resources:
- Online Registration Software Options: Our Best Reviews. Learn what features to look for in online registration software and check out some of our favorites!
- Course Registration Email Best Practices (& 3 Templates!). Course registration emails are a necessity for any online course offerings. Find templates to start creating personalized messages and implement best emailing practices.
- Small Business Payment Options: Accept Payments Online. Online payments need to be user-friendly and secure. Understand how your online payment processor works and which options will keep your members’ financial information safe.
