When a profile is assigned to a new Membership Level, the settings previously configured will be used to update the profile.
Below are some Frequently Asked Questions regarding this process and how each setting can affect member profiles.
Q: I don't have a Tiered Dues structure. Can I still use Membership Level Management?
Yes. At its most basic, Membership Level Management is simply a way to automate the basic profile data added to all members. If only one type of member is required, create a single level called "Member" and configure that level for the basic membership being offered. There is no minimum or maximum to the number of Membership Levels that can be created.
Q: If I use Membership Level Management, do all members have to have a level?
No. Any member can be assigned to a level, or the Membership Level field can be left blank. However, when assigning Billing Records with unique Revenue Items at any level, it is recommended to set up levels that could apply to all members.
Q: Can I use the Auto-Assign Formula just to assign levels initially, then deactivate it?
This is possible, but it is recommended instead to use the Profile Selector to mass-assign levels to avoid accidental placements in the wrong level or missing data.
Q: Which profile fields are overwritten when I assign a Membership Level?
This depends on the custom configuration settings. Overwriting is a specific option to choose during Membership Level configuration for Profile Status, Listing Type and Position, Billing Codes, and Affiliation Codes.
Q: What if I assign a Membership Level with a Billing Record to a profile that already has a billing record?
When updating a profile with new Level information, the system verifies if that profile already has a billing record. If so, it will check the Revenue Item.
- If the Revenue Item on the existing billing is NOT used on any Membership Level, the billing will be ignored and remain active. A completely new, additional billing record will be created based on the new Membership Level settings.
- If the Revenue Item on the existing billing IS used on any other Membership Level, that billing will be deactivated. A new billing record will be created using the new Membership Level settings, which will tell the system any fields to copy from the deactivated billing:
- Revenue Item: the new billing will always use the Revenue Item from the Membership Level settings, regardless of previous billings
- Amount: if the amount on the Membership Level is $0.00, the amount from the deactivated billing will be copied.
- Anchor Month: if the Membership Level is set to "Use Current Month," the Anchor Month from the deactivated billing will be copied.
- Anchor Day: if the Membership Level is set to "User Current Day," the Anchor Day from the deactivated billing will be copied.
- Billing Cycle: if the Membership Level is set to "Use Current Billing Cycle," the Cycle from the deactivated billing will be copied.
- All other fields from the deactivated billing will be copied.
- To avoid duplicate dues billing records, set up levels to cover all of your different dues revenue items. You can run an exception report to see any members that have dues billings that do not match their Membership Level.
Q: Some of my members have non-dues billing records that I do not want to be affected by changing Membership Levels. How can I make sure these billings do not get deactivated?
As long as the Revenue Item(s) on the non-dues (e.g. advertising/sponsorships/Young Professionals/committees etc.) billing records are not used in any Membership Level Management settings, those billing records will not be deactivated or changed. These Members' Level and the dues billing will update, while the non-dues billing remains the same.
Q: I have a Membership Level with two different dues billing records. How will the system know which billing record to copy when I assign this level?
The system will use whichever billing record has a Revenue Item used in a Membership Level. If there are two billings that both use Revenue Items that are tied to Membership Levels, it will simply use the first one it finds (though both will be deactivated). Keep in mind that this would only cause an issue if the two billing items have different anchor months or cycles. In that case (multiple Membership Level billings with different Anchor months or cycles on the same profile), it is recommended to review the newly created billing records to make sure all fields auto-updated correctly. The deactivated billing records can still be found on a profile by selecting "Show Inactive Billings" on the Billing tab.
Q: What happens when I assign a Membership Level with a billing record to a member with an Automatic Recurring Billing record?
Automatic Recurring Billing records will NOT be deactivated through Membership Level assignment, even if the Revenue Item is used on another Membership Level. Because deactivating an ARB would cancel the subscription through Authorize.net, the automated update process is not allowed to deactivate them. Instead, a message will appear saying the system did NOT deactivate the Billing record, and to handle that member's billing manually.
Q: Can I use Automatic Revenue Calculations to set the billing amount on a Membership Level?
Yes, if any Automatic Revenue Calculations (ARCs) are created in the system under Revenue > Automatic Revenue Calculations, they will appear when setting up the Billing section for each level. Instead of entering an amount, select the ARC from the dropdown, and the system will use the ARC to calculate the amount when updating member billings in that Level. This process will work exactly the same way as updating billing records through the Auto-Increase tool using the ARC.
Q: Can I see a history of when a user changed a profile's Membership Level?
Yes, any changes to a Member's Level is tracked in the Audit Trail Report along with other profile changes. As long as the Audit Trail is enabled, the previous value and new value for any change made will be accessible, with the date of the change and the user who made the change. To run an Audit Trail report, go to Reports > Admin Reports > Audit Trail History or Audit Trail for Specified Profile ID.