# Group, Junior and Linked Memberships in Gladstone Go

HTML version: [Group, Junior and Linked Memberships in Gladstone Go](https://support.gladstonesoftware.cloud/gooperator/group-junior-and-linked-memberships-in-gladstone-go)

## Problem
You need to let one membership cover several people, let a parent or guardian buy and pay for a junior's membership, or link members so one can book for the others in Gladstone Go.

## Resolution

1. **Choose the model**
   - The terms are easily confused, even by experienced staff. The model you pick changes both the configuration and who is billed.

   | Model | Use it when | Billing and behaviour |
   |---|---|---|
   | **Linked members** | Each person has their **own** membership and entitlement, but one person (the **primary**) should book for the others | Each pays for their own. Linking alone does not share a membership or create a discount. The primary books for linked members (one way only) |
   | **Group (shared) membership** | One membership covers several people, for example a couple or family | Built on linking. One person buys a higher-priced shared subscription and adds the others. The saving is in the price of the shared subscription |
   | **Primary payee / junior** | One person pays for another person's separate membership, for example a parent for a child | The payer is billed; each person keeps their own subscription and booking rights. The payer cannot book the other person's activities through that subscription. The guardian does not need their own membership |

   - A junior membership is a good fit for **primary payee** (the child has their own membership and record; the parent or guardian pays) rather than linking or sharing.

2. **Configure the Operator settings**
   - Go to `Operator > Configuration > Modules > Configure`, search for each setting, select **Manage**, and set the value in **All Sites**:

   | Setting | Value | What it does |
   |---|---|---|
   | **Enable Linked Memberships** | 1 | Adds a **Linked** tab to My Account and lets group memberships be bought in Go Join |
   | **Enable Book for Others** | 1 | Lets the primary member or guardian book for, and see the bookings of, the people linked to them (one way only). See [Enabling 'Book for Others' Feature](../goconsumer/enabling-book-for-others-feature.md) |
   | **Maximum linked members** | Default 4 | The size of your group membership |

### Setting up a group membership

3. **Set up the subscription in Plus2**
   - Go to `Configuration > Financial > Subscriptions > Subscription Types`. Set up the membership as usual, then tick **Apply To Links** (Creation/Renewal tab) and **Purchase via Web** (Web tab). Linking alone does not share the membership.
   - Configure a true joint membership as one higher-priced subscription (for example, roughly twice the individual price for a couple) bought by one person, who then invites the others to share it.
   - Click **Save**.

4. **Turn on linked memberships in Operator**
   - Set **Enable Linked Memberships** to 1.

5. **Set up the invite email**
   - Review the **Linked Member Invitation** email template and create the business rule that sends it. See [How to Configure Linked Member Invitation Emails in Go Operator](how-to-configure-linked-member-invitation-emails-in-go-operator.md).

6. **Tag the membership**
   - Go to `Configuration > Member Management > Memberships > Membership Types` and open the membership.
   - Set the **Membership Types** tag to **Group Memberships** (required). Tags are needed for the membership to appear in Go Join; see [Setting Up Go Join Tag Groups and Mapping Memberships](gladstone-go-join-tag-groups-buttons-and-membership-mapping.md).
   - We recommend adding a Member Types tag such as *Group*, *Family*, *Joint* or *Couple* so people find it easily.

7. **Set the group size and booking for others (if applicable)**
   - Change **Maximum linked members** to the group size you want to offer, for example 2 for a couple or 4–5 for a family. A family larger than the limit breaks the rule, so set the limit from the product definition.
   - Turn on **Enable Book for Others**.

8. **Check the result**
   - Buy the shared product on Go Join as the lead customer, then send a link request for each additional person from their Go account.
   - Check the shared entitlement appears for each linked person, and that no more people can be added than the maximum.

### Junior memberships and primary payee

9. **Set the junior age settings**
   - Set the minimum age for a customer to have their own account (for example, 14) and the age from which no guardian is needed. If the own-account age is 0, primary payee will not trigger. See [Go Account Age, Guardian and Shared-Email Settings](go-account-age-guardian-and-shared-email-settings.md).

10. **Understand the junior journey**
    - When a junior below the own-account age joins (for example, on a Junior DD membership), Go says they can have the membership but a parent or guardian must join with them.
    - The junior chooses the location, then the tags and membership, enters the **junior's** details, then the **guardian's** details, and pays. Both accounts are created. The guardian decides whether the junior gets their own login.
    - The parent or guardian is created as the **primary payee** (a non-member, pay-as-you-go account that pays the Direct Debit), and the membership sits on the **child's** record, not the parent's.
    - Sites that currently put junior sales on the child's own account, with the parent logging in as the child, should move to primary payee; the own-account age can then be raised.

11. **Use primary payee for families (if applicable)**
    - One adult pays for other members' subscriptions, which works well for families with different membership types (junior, student, adult).
    - One Direct Debit per family reduces transaction charges, but if that Direct Debit fails, every member on it is affected. Test failed-payment handling carefully for this reason.

### Linking members

12. **Let customers add linked members online**
    - Recommended flow: the lead member joins alone, then sends link requests from their Go account (`My Account > Linked > Add Member > Send Link Request`). Adding everyone during joining is possible but confuses customers, who think they are buying several memberships. Do not force everyone through a full purchase when only one product is being bought.
    - How customers do this is covered in [How to Use Linked Membership Features in Gladstone Go](../kb/how-to-use-linked-membership-features-in-gladstone-go.md).

13. **Link two existing members (staff)**
    - **360**: `Contacts` > find the first member > **Links** tab > **Add** > search > **Select**.
    - **Plus2**: `Members` (or `Prospects`) > find the member > **Modify** > **Edit** > **Link/Unlink** > find the second member > **Save Member**.
    - The first person to have someone linked to them becomes the **primary**.
    - In 360, a linked member's membership can be sold with **Paid by** set to the primary, which is the desk equivalent of primary payee.

14. **Set what the primary can do**
    - Go to `GMC > Configuration Manager > Member Facing Global > Linked Member Bookings` and set **Make bookings for linked members**, **Make payment for linked members**, **Manage bookings for linked members** and **Maximum age for having restricted access to linked members account settings**.
    - Parental-consent ages for online services are in **Online Services Consent Settings** in the same element.

## Notes

- You need access to Go Operator and Plus2 with appropriate permissions, and Go Join must be in use (not Gladstone Connect).
- You can offer **one group size** across your whole account (for example, a 4-person family *or* a 2-person couple, not both). Within that size, any mix of price levels is fine (for example, 2 adults and 2 juniors). Other guidance suggests creating a separate subscription per group size (for example, couple and family); check with Gladstone which applies to your version before offering more than one size.
- Older guidance describes a junior as a member under your **age of consent** (typically 16); the configuration guidance says the guardian step is triggered by the **own-account age**. Check both settings in [Go Account Age, Guardian and Shared-Email Settings](go-account-age-guardian-and-shared-email-settings.md).
- A guardian can buy **one** junior membership online; further memberships are arranged in-centre. Junior memberships must be bought on their own, not in a multi-membership purchase.
- To share a membership, members must be **linked** and the subscription must have **Apply To Links** ticked. "Joint" memberships that are really two independent memberships discounted because the members live at the same address are not shared memberships; each still pays separately.
- Some guidance describes shared memberships as Direct Debit-only. Treat that as a site policy choice unless Gladstone confirms otherwise.
- A primary payee cannot book adult activities through the child's subscription, and vice versa.
- Links made on Go show on the contact's **Links** tab in 360. Linked members stay linked if a membership expires, so they can rejoin later.
- The primary or guardian pays online through GladstonePay; with **Book for Others**, each person appears as a separate booking in the one basket.
- Changes made in Plus2 can take up to about 20 minutes to show in Go.
- **Primary can't book for linked members**: check **Enable Book for Others**, whether the adult has opted out, and the GMC **Linked Member Bookings** settings.
- **Membership not shared with linked people**: check **Enable Linked Memberships**, the **Group Memberships** tag, and **Apply To Links** on the Plus2 subscription.
- Related: [How to Use Linked Membership Features in Gladstone Go](../kb/how-to-use-linked-membership-features-in-gladstone-go.md); [Linking Members and Setting a Primary Payee in Gladstone 360](../gladstone360/linking-members-and-setting-a-primary-payee-in-gladstone-360.md); [How to Manage Junior Memberships and Guardian Bookings](../plus2/how-to-manage-junior-memberships-and-guardian-bookings.md); [Gladstone Go – Joining Online, Pay-as-You-Go and Eligibility Checks](gladstone-go-joining-linked-members-shared-memberships-and-primary-payee.md); [Member Facing Global and Shared Global Settings in the GMC](../gladstone360/member-facing-global-and-shared-global-settings-in-the-gmc.md).