Getting started

Learn the five records

MembershipPortal keeps identity, eligibility, money, and access separate so each decision has a durable explanation.

• A member record stores the organization-specific name, number, contact information, delivery preferences, and notes.
• A membership represents the ongoing relationship with the organization.
• A membership term is an exact paid or granted period of eligibility.
• A payment records money received, refunded, disputed, adjusted, or reversed.
• An entitlement is the resulting access to a publication, forum, resource center, directory, or other protected resource.

Prepare the organization

Set the shared operating context before importing members or accepting payments.

1. Confirm the organization name, public slug, timezone, currency, country, and support contact.
2. Choose the modules the team will use, such as memberships, payments, publications, imports, and integrations.
3. Create administrator roles with only the capabilities each person needs.
4. Create membership plans, including duration, price, grace period, renewal basis, delivery rules, and included resources.
5. Review the public organization page and member portal branding.

Follow the normal operating loop

Most day-to-day work follows the same sequence, regardless of whether a member pays online or staff records an offline transaction.

1. Create or locate the member record.
2. Record a payment or complimentary grant.
3. Review the resulting membership term and paid-through date.
4. Confirm the member's current access and delivery preferences.
5. Use exception reports for missing contact details, payment failures, expiring terms, and delivery problems.

Expect permission checks

Sensitive contact data, financial actions, exports, publication releases, and integration settings require specific administrator capabilities. Some changes also require a recent MFA verification.

• If a section is absent, the module may be disabled or your role may not include it.
• If a sensitive action is blocked, verify MFA and ask an organization owner to review your role.
• Administrator actions are recorded so the organization can reconstruct what changed and why.