Sell memberships in Go Join ahead of the opening date for a new site, or defer the start date for specific membership(s).
Introduction
There are two options for membership pre-sales:
- Site Opening Date - configured for a specific site, this is a global setting which will determine the earliest start date of all memberships that are purchased on Go Join for that site.
- Membership Earliest Start Date - configured for a specific membership type, this will specify the earliest possible start date for that membership when purchase on Go Join. This is regardless of which site the membership is sold at.
If both a Site Opening Date and a Membership Earliest Start Date are configured, the Membership Earliest Start Date will take priority.
This allows you the flexibility to defer the start date of a particular membership after the opening date for your site, or to allow a membership to start earlier than your site being open (i.e. you sell a membership that does not require access to your sites facilities and want that membership to be available from an earlier date).
Site Opening Date
If you are in the process of launching a new site or re-opening an existing one following refurbishment, you can enable purchase of memberships in Go Join in advance of the official opening date. Payments will be processed at the time of purchase; however, memberships will become active only from the date your site officially opens.
To add an Opening Date for a specific Site:
- Login to Operator and go to Configuration > Centre Management > Site Management > Sites.
- Assign an Opening Date and ensure your site is Web visible
- Save your changes
Please note setting your Site as 'Web visible' will mean memberships and bookings can be made for your site via Go Join and Go Book.
Member Journey
When a prospective member visits your site-finder page, they will see a message that informs them when the site will be opening from.
After choosing the Centre, and a membership type, the prospective member will see a message informing them the earliest date the memberships can start from.
Once they continue to the payment breakdown, they will automatically see the relevant start date, and a message informing them of the earliest date the membership can start. If it's a Direct Debit or Recurring Card Payment membership, the subsequent payment dates will be based on the start date.
Whether the member can change their start date, to delay it past the site opening date, will depend on your configuration in Operator.
You can check/amend this in Configuration > Module > Configure > Max Start Date.
In this example, this is set to 7 days. This means the member is able to delay the start date for a further 7 days past the Site Opening Date.
Membership Earliest Start Date
You also have the option to set an earliest start date for specific memberships. This is particularly useful if you are launching a new membership type, allowing for early purchase while deferring the activation date of the membership.
To add an Earliest Start Date to a specific membership type:
- Login to Operator and go to Configuration > Member Management > Memberships > Membership Types.
- Select the relevant membership type and assign an Earliest Start Date to it.
- Save your changes.
Member Journey
When a prospective member goes to the membership selection page, and they select a membership that has an Earliest Start Date assigned, they will see a relevant message informing them of the earliest date the membership can start.
If they select another membership type, which has no Earliest Start Date assigned, no message will display.
Once they continue to the payment breakdown, they will automatically see the relevant start date, and a message informing them of the earliest date the membership can start. If it's a Direct Debit or Recurring Card Payment membership, the subsequent payment dates will be based on the start date.
Whether the member can change their start date, to delay it further than the Earliest Start Date, will depend on your configuration in Operator.
You can check/amend this in Configuration > Module > Configure > Max Start Date.
In this example, this is set to 7 days. This means the member is able to delay the start date for a further 7 days past the Membership Earliest Start Date.