When it comes to your renewals, it's important to get Clubmate configured and ready in advance of when you want members to log in and purchase the new season's membership. 

You'll need to update your membership plans to match your fees, refresh your club rules, refine your email templates, update any ID card requirements and communicate with your members to ensure they know how to buy their membership.

Below are 6 key points that you will want to make sure you have covered in order to be ready for for renewal time. 

If you have any questions or would like us to walk you through how to update Clubmate, please do not hesitate to get in touch and we will be very happy to help you.

The most important update you need to make is to your memberships plans so if you only read one of these key points then please make it this one! 

To prepare your plans for next year, you need to make sure that you have both your New member plans and your Renewal membership plans configured correctly.

Remember, New Member plans will only be served up to new members and Renewal plans are the membership types that will be served up to your existing members when they log in to renew.

Typically, if the name of the plan stays the same and you do not need to sell next years memberships whilst still selling the current years memberships then it's best to update the details of your existing plans rather than create brand new ones.

If you do want to sell next years membership at the same time as selling the current years membership plans then you will need to create a brand new plan for the new year.  Additionally, if you want to change the name of the plan (eg, from Adult 2020 to Adult 2021) then we recommend creating a brand new plan rather than just updating the plan name. This will also offer clearer reporting on the membership plans during the renewal window.

*If you are updating existing membership plans, make sure you only do this once you have stopped selling memberships for the current year. 

You should update all of your membership plans to ensure that they meet the needs of your new membership year. This includes both online & offline memberships as well as any free plans that you offer.

We've highlighted the key details that you should update below:
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Review & update the membership plan Name, Summary & Description. 

Update the Fixed End Date (Contract Length).  Make sure you update your plans with next seasons expiration date!

Renewal Window - ensure your renewal window is configured correctly for this plan. For example, how many days in advance of this plan expiring do you want to start offering allowing members to start renewing. This is adjusted via the "Renewal" tab.

Payment Schedule - if you've changed your pricing, remember to update the payment value too. This is the value that will be prompted for payment so if you do not update this, members will continue paying last years fees.

When you are ready to start selling memberships online, remember to check the 'Can be bought online box'. As soon as this is checked, members will be able to purchase the membership so only do this when you are ready.

Once you've updated all of the plans, we recommend one final check to make sure that the plans have been set up as New or Renewal plans correctly, the associated fees are correct and that you've set the relevant plans to be available online.

For a more detailed overview on managing Membership plans check out this article. And if in doubt, please get in touch and we'll help you configure your plans.

If you are using our ID card service, you will need to update us with any changes you wish to make to your ID card personalisation templates. You'll also need to re-confirm which Membership types you want us to send cards for. Please click the button below to be taken to an online form to complete.

Please complete this form at least two weeks before you want to start selling Memberships. If we do not receive a new ID card template, we will continue sending out cards using the previous years template & rules.

If you've made any changes to your club rules or privacy policy, you should update these via Club Info.  Scroll down to Privacy Policy / Terms & Conditions and update the text accordingly. See this article for more detail on updating T&C's.

It's also a good opportunity to review your current Member confirmation email template to ensure that it is suitable for the new season. 

For example, if you have hyperlinks to documents (maps, handbooks etc) you may want to replace them with up to date documents. 

For help on customising the templates - check out this article:
​Customising Standard Email Templates

When you have completed all of the above, you are now ready to send a communication out to your members to let them know they can purchase their membership. 

For members who have an email address, you can do this via email from within Clubmate. For members without an email address, you will need to communicate with them outside of Clubmate - via your AGM, a printed Newsletter, Social Media, Website, Outlets etc.

To send a group email from Clubmate, go the Members Grid and then filter your members accordingly (you might want to select 'Active members' only when sending a Renewal communication). Once you have your desired recipient list, click on Selected Member Options and then check the Send email box. You can then add your Email Header and Content. 

Remember to include the dedicated Clubmate link for your club as this is what members will need to log-in. 

You can find this link by going to Club Info > Apps and copying the link in the tab in the top left 'Online Login & Registration'.

For more detailed guidance on sending a Group Email see this article: Sending a Group Message

Whether you have a Clubmate website or have your own, we recommend updating your site with your updated membership fees & dates plus any changes to club rules & policies as appropriate. If you have a Clubmate website and are unsure how to do this, please get in touch and we'll help you do it.

The Clubmate team are on hand to walk you through each of these steps so please do not feel you are alone, if you'd like us to help you, just get in touch at least two weeks before you want your renewals to go live and we will ensure you are ready in time. You can contact us via online chat, hello@clubmate.co.uk or 0333 987 4677.

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