Membership fees are the financial backbone of many clubs and associations — but administration often becomes messy: manual checking of bank statements, unclear rules, and spreadsheets that drift out of date.
1) Define clear rules
Start with a simple set of rules that everyone can understand:
- What is the fee amount (and does it differ for students/seniors/teams)?
- When is it due (calendar year, membership anniversary, school year)?
- What happens if someone joins mid-year?
- Who approves exceptions and how is it documented?
2) Make payments easy to match
If possible, assign each member a unique identifier (variable symbol/reference) and communicate it clearly. In real life, people forget — so matching should also consider payer name, message, and other hints.
3) Automate reminders (politely)
Most non-payments are not malicious — people just forget. Set up reminders:
- first reminder shortly after due date
- second reminder with clear instructions
- final reminder with a contact person (human help matters)
Sending reminders from a system prevents awkward manual follow-ups and keeps communication consistent.
4) Prepare board meeting reporting
At the member meeting or board meeting you typically need:
- list of paid / unpaid members
- total collected fees
- exceptions (waivers, partial payments)
- export for accounting
If this report takes hours to prepare, the process is broken.
5) What a system changes
With Synaria, membership fees are connected to member records. Payments can be matched automatically, reminders can be scheduled, and the board can see a real-time overview without asking one person to “check the spreadsheet”.