Membership bundles

A membership bundle is a collection of members who are linked together and managed by one of their members – the bundle administrator.

Bundle members share the same renewal date, status, and membership level. The entire bundle is charged a single membership fee, which is paid by the bundle administrator. Bundles can be used to offer a discounted group membership to companies, teams, or families.

Membership bundles are separate and distinct from member groups.

You can set up as many different bundle membership levels as you want. Within each bundle level, visitors to your site can create separate bundles. Simply by applying to that level, a visitor creates a new bundle and becomes the administrator for that bundle. As the bundle administrator, that person is responsible for adding new members to the bundle. The next person who applies to the bundle membership level creates another bundle and can add new members to their bundle.

In the above example, there are two bundle membership levels (Company and Team) with two bundles in each (two different companies and two different teams).

Individual membership bundles are not given names but are represented by the names of their bundle administrators.

For each bundle membership level, you can set a limit on the number of members that can be added. The membership fee for the bundle level will be applied to each bundle that is created, and will be invoiced to the bundle administrator. Only the bundle administrator can pay or renew on behalf of the entire bundle.

Creating a bundle membership level

To allow visitors to your site to create membership bundles, you must first create one or more bundle membership levels.

To create a bundle membership level, follow these steps:

1. Hover over the Members menu and click the Levels option.
2. From the membership level list, click Add level.
   
3. Enter the name of the bundle membership level (e.g. Families) in the Name field.
4. Beside Type, click Bundle.
5. If you want to limit each bundle to a certain number of members, enter the number in the Limit to x Members field. Otherwise, click the Unlimited option. Note that account administrators (not bundle administrators) can continue to add members to a bundle – manually or through import – after the limit is reached.
6. Enter a membership fee and choose whether to apply your tax settings to the fee. This amount will be charged for each bundle created using this membership level.
7. Enter a description for the bundle level. The description will appear below the membership level details on the membership application form.
8. Click the Renewal policy tab and decide on your membership renewal policy. For more information, see Bundle renewal policy (below).
9. Click the New applications tab and decide how you want to handle new applications. For more information, see Bundle application settings (below).
10. Click Save to finish creating the membership level.

Bundle renewal policy

From the Renewal policy page, you decide on the membership renewal policy for the bundle level.

You can automate the membership renewal process with timed reminders and actions. Renewal reminders and actions take place before the bundle is renewed. Renewal notifications are sent once the bundle is renewed.

You can also provide for a membership renewal invoice to be automatically generated and emailed to members a specific number of days before their renewal date. To fully automate the renewal process, you can set up recurring payments.

All bundle members share the same renewal date. While bundle members can also receive renewal reminders and renewal notifications, only the bundle administrator can actually renew on behalf of the entire bundle.

Bundle application settings

From the New applications page, you decide how you want handle new applications.

You can provide for various emails to be sent and actions to take place when someone creates or joins a membership bundle.

In some cases, you may want to review the application first to see if it meets certain minimum requirements. If you want applications to be automatically approved and activated, disable the Membership applications must be approved by administrator option. You also have the option to automatically approve and activate the membership before payment is received in full.

Creating membership bundles

There are three ways in which a new membership bundle can be created:

• through membership application
• by a site administrator
• via import

Creating a bundle through membership application

When a visitor to your site applies to a bundle membership level, a new membership bundle is automatically created with the applicant automatically designated as the bundle administrator.

Additional bundle members are added by the bundle administrator – they do not apply for membership through the membership application form.

When the bundle application is submitted, a number of automatic actions take place:

• Application invoice is generated (and emailed depending on your Invoice and receipt settings).
• Application initiation email is automatically sent (if enabled).
• Status of the bundle administrator is set to Pending New. As a result, the bundle administrator cannot yet add members to the bundle (See also How membership status affects available functionality).
• Password email is sent right away to bundle administrator who can reset the password at anytime using the Forgot password link.

After the invoice is paid and the application is approved, the following actions take place:

• Status of the bundle administrator is set to Active. The bundle administrator can now add members to the bundle.
• Bundle administrator activation email is automatically sent if enabled. You can use this email to welcome the bundle administrator and instruct them how to add members.

Creating a bundle by a site administrator

A site administrator can create a new bundle by assigning a bundle membership level to a contact. You can switch an existing member from a non-bundle membership level to a bundle level.

After saving your changes, a new bundle is created and the contact automatically becomes the bundle administrator.

The details of the membership bundle will now appear in the bundle administrator's membership details.

In the member list summary, the number of individual membership bundles is indicated by a gray number in brackets beside the bundle membership level name.

Creating a bundle via import

To create a new membership bundle through import, set the Membership level field of the contact you want to be the bundle administrator to the appropriate bundle level. For more information, see Importing bundles.

Adding members to a bundle

Bundle members cannot add themselves to a bundle. There are three ways in which members can be added to a bundle:

• by the bundle administrator
• by a site administrator
• via import

Once added, the bundle member is automatically activated and sent the password and activation emails. The bundle member activation email can be customized separately with different information than the bundle administrator activation email. Bundle members can then log into the site to access restricted pages and update their own profiles.

Adding members by the bundle administrator

After the invoice for the bundle membership fee is paid and the application is approved (if required), the bundle administrator can view and manage bundle members from within the bundle administrator's profile.

Bundle administrators can add to their bundle any non-member contact whose email address is not already in your Wild Apricot database.

To add a new member to the bundle, the bundle administrator clicks the Add member button.

The Add member button will only appear if there is a publicly accessible application form, listing that bundle member level.

The bundle administrator completes the membership application form on behalf of the members then clicks Save. The new bundle member's record now appears. To return to their own profile, the bundle administrator clicks the Return to bundle list and your own profile link.

You can customize the page used to add members to bundles by modifying the Add member to bundlesystem page.

Adding members by a site administrator

A site administrator can add new members to any membership bundle. 

Site administrators can only add existing contacts to a bundle, while bundle administrators can only add new contacts – those not already in your Wild Apricot contact database – to a bundle.

To add someone to a bundle who is already assigned to a non-bundle membership level, the site administrator displays the contact record of the member to be added then goes to the Membership tab and clicks the Add to bundle button.

The site administrator then chooses the name of the bundle administrator of the bundle to which the member is being added.

Bundle administrators are listed in alphabetical order by last name.

To add someone to a bundle who is a non-member contact or belongs to another bundle, go to the bundle administrator's contact record and click the Add member button then choose the contact to be added.

Adding members via import

To add a member to a membership bundle through import, set the Member Bundle ID or email field for the member to be imported to the email or user ID of the bundle administrator for the appropriate bundle. For more information, see Importing bundles.

Editing bundle member information

The bundle administrator can modify a bundle member's profile from within the bundle administrator's profile. To modify a bundle member's profile, click the bundle member's name within the Bundle summary section of the bundle administrator's profile, then click the Edit profile button within the bundle member's profile.

Bundles members can also update their own common and membership field values from within their member profiles.

Suspending bundle members

You can suspend all the members in a bundle by suspending the bundle administrator. For instructions on suspending the bundle administrator, see Suspending a membership.

Archiving bundle members

You can archive all the members in a bundle by archiving the bundle administrator. For instructions on archiving the bundle administrator, see Deleting and archiving member and contact records.

Removing a bundle member

To remove a member from a bundle, assign the bundle member to a different non-bundle membership level. A bundle administrator cannot delete a bundle member but can archive a bundle member, so that the member is no longer part of the bundle, but still remains part of the site's contact database (though as an inactive contact).

Deleting a bundle

To delete an entire bundle, reassign all members to different membership levels, with the bundle administrator being reassigned last.

Searching for bundle administrators

To search for administrators of membership bundles, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Contacts module.
2. Click the Advanced search tab.
3. Click the Add criteria link.
4. From the pop-up window that appears, select Role from the Membership related section then click the OK button.
   The Role criterion should now appear on the advanced search screen.
5. To the right of the Is dropdown, click the Bundle administrator option.
6. Click the Search button. A list of bundle administrators should now appear.

Changing bundle administrators

To change the bundle administrator, display the membership details for the member you want to be the new bundle administrator, then click Make administrator.

The former bundle administrator now becomes a regular bundle member.

The Make administrator button is grayed out if the current bundle administrator has recurring payments set up. To change bundle administrators in this case, stop the recurring payments for the current administrator, then switch administrators. Now, renew the bundle membership by clicking the Renew button on the Membership tab for the new bundle administrator, then click Generate invoice.

Changing bundle levels

A site administrator can switch a bundle administrator to a different bundle level, or to an individual level if the bundle has no bundle members. To do, the administrator goes to the Membership tab within the contact record for the bundle admin and selects a different level from the Membership level dropdown.

A bundle administrator can switch their entire bundle to a different bundle level by clicking the Change option beside their membership level within their member profile.

A bundle administrator can switch to an individual level only if their bundle has no members.

Bundle members cannot switch to a different membership level as long as they are still members of a bundle. To switch a bundle member to a different level, first remove them from the bundle.