This page explains how we record new users and renewals on our CiviCRM membership system, and also make sure people are correctly registered in our MailPoet mailing system,
This information is aimed at committee members who manage the membership process or take payments. It's not useful to anyone else.
We'll keep this page up to date as we better understand the system or find shortcuts. So don't print this page off, as it might be out of date.
In this section:
- Members who've paid online
- Members who've signed up online and promised to pay by bank transfer
- Members who've paid in person
We also can now take registrations from couples that share an email address. This isn't ideal as it makes emails and event management more complicated. It's always preferable for each person to have their own membership.
And some other guidance:
Members who've paid online
In these cases:
- Member automatically registers online and CiviCRM record created
- Payment processed automatically, and membership automatically activated
- Receipt emailed (and bcc’d to members@u3aoliva.org) – which is our prompt to update MailPoet
| When new email received in members@u3aoliva.org inbox - make a note of the Contact ID (aka membership number) | |
| Open MailPoet > Subscribers and search by surname | |
| If exists (previous or past member) ▼ | If brand new (never been a member) ▼ |
| Check the record, and add in the Membership ID (Contact number you noted earlier from the email) If this is for a joint membership (marked as 20€ payment and with two names in the first name box - eg 'Fred & Ginger' then add '/Joint' to the end of the number - for example 123 / Joint | Click ‘Add New’ button, then enter name, and copy / paste the email address / Contact ID (Membership ID) from the email confirmation If this is for a joint membership (marked as 20€ payment and with two names in the first name box - eg 'Fred & Ginger' then add '/Joint' to the end of the number - for example 123 / Joint |
| Add to ‘Paid 24-25 (CiviCRM)’ list Make sure the 'member' box is ticked, and that 'Subscribed' is set to Yes | Add to ‘Paid 24-25 (CiviCRM)’ list |
| MailPoet sends membership confirmation | MailPoet sends membership confirmation |
Members who've signed up online and promised to pay by bank transfer
In these cases:
- Member automatically registers online and CiviCRM record created
- Record is shown as Pending
- Email sent with reminder of bank details
- We need to check the bank account regularly
| When new payment received in bank account |
| CiviCRM > Contributions > Dashboard |
| Find user in the list on screen - this page shows recent payments (so any requests to pay by bank transfer should be shown here as Pending) Check whether they have joined as a couple who share an email address - the payment will be 20€ Click ‘More > Record Payment’ |
| Set payment method to ‘Bank Transfer’ and click ‘Record Payment’ button You don't need to fill in any other boxes - it's automatic. |
| CiviCRM updates the membership record automatically – it won’t send a receipt. |
| Access the contact record again and make a note of the Contact ID (NOT their User ID) - you'll need it later for MailPoet If they joined as a couple who share an email address (you checked that above), then you may need to tidy up the way they've entered their names here. Make your changes, then click Save. |
| Now add to MailPoet | |
| Choose MailPoet > Subscribers and then search by surname | |
| If exists (previous or past member) ▼ | If brand new (never been a member) ▼ |
| Check the record, and add in the Membership ID (Contact number you noted earlier from the email) If this is for a joint membership (marked as 20€ payment and with two names in the first name box - eg 'Fred & Ginger' then add '/Joint' to the end of the number - for example 123 / Joint | Click ‘Add New’ button, then enter name and email address, and the Contact ID you noted earlier If this is for a joint membership (marked as 20€ payment and with two names in the first name box - eg 'Fred & Ginger' then add '/Joint' to the end of the number - for example 123 / Joint |
| Add to ‘Paid 24-25 (CiviCRM)’ list Make sure the 'member' box is ticked, and that 'Subscribed' is set to Yes | Add to ‘Paid 24-25 (CiviCRM)’ list |
| MailPoet sends membership confirmation | MailPoet sends membership confirmation |
Members who've paid in person
In these cases:
- Member doesn’t register online, just turns up to pay in person (either cash or via contactless)
If a couple want to pay by cash, then always try to create their individual records - that's important for emails and events. But if they share an email address, then you can take a 20€ payment and record them as a single individual (like 'Fred & Ginger Smith')
| When member pays in cash or by contactless | |
| CiviCRM > 🔎 Search in the top left corner > search by surname | |
| If exists (previous or past u3a member) ▼ | If brand new (probably never been a member) ▼ |
| Open record, and check their details If this is for a joint membership where they share a single email address, then you'll need to enter both names in the name box - like 'Fred & Ginger' | Click contacts > New Individual |
| Note down their Contact ID number - you'll need this later (NOT their User ID - that's from WordPress) | Just type in Email address (NOTHING ELSE), and then click Save. New contact will be created and open up |
| Add the basic details only (name, postcode, phone etc) If this is for a joint membership (marked as 20€ payment), then you'll need to enter both names in the name box - like 'Fred & Ginger' Note down their Contact ID number - you'll need this later (NOT their User ID - that's from WordPress) | |
| Change to Membership tab, and click ‘Add Membership’ | |
| Change Membership type to ‘Annual Member’ If they have joined as a couple who share an email address, then choose 'Annual Member (shared email)' instead. | |
| In Membership Payment section, change ‘Payment Method’ to - Cash, and then record the initials of the person taking the payment into the Transaction Id. - Zettle, (you can also enter the last 4 digits of the card (just for later queries or if we ever need to refund)) You don't need to fill in any other boxes - it's automatic. | |
| Click Save | |
| CiviCRM updates the membership record automatically – it won’t send a receipt | |
| Now add to MailPoet | |
| Open MailPoet > Subscribers, and search by surname | |
| If exists (previous or past member) ▼ | If brand new (never been a member) ▼ |
| Check the record, and add in the Contact ID you noted earlier If this is for a joint membership (marked as 20€ payment and with two names in the first name box - eg 'Fred & Ginger' then add '/Joint' to the end of the number - for example 123 / Joint | Click ‘Add New’ button, then enter name and email address, and the Contact ID you noted earlier If this is for a joint membership (marked as 20€ payment and with two names in the first name box - eg 'Fred & Ginger' then add '/Joint' to the end of the number - for example 123 / Joint |
| Add to ‘Paid 24-25 (CiviCRM)’ list Make sure the 'member' box is ticked, and that 'Subscribed' is set to Yes | Add to ‘Paid 24-24 (CiviCRM)’ list Tick the 'member' box, and set 'Subscribed' to Yes |
| MailPoet sends membership confirmation. | MailPoet sends membership confirmation |
Other actions
Sending a reminder Membership Confirmation email
If a user reports they haven't received their membership confirmation, then you can ask MailPoet to resend it. But first make sure they've checked their spam folder.
| Firstly, check that CiviCRM has the correct email |
| CiviCRM > 🔎 Search > Find Contacts > search by surname |
| Correct if necessary |
| Now check the MailPoet record | |
| MailPoet > Subscribers > search by surname then open the subscriber record. | |
| If email correct ▼ | If email incorrect ▼ |
| If the subscriber has a WordPress account (they have been a member in the past), they you'll see a message "This subscriber is a registered WordPress user. Edit their profile to change their email." If so, click the link and update the email address in the main WordPress account. Once you save the WordPress account, it'll update the MailPoet for you. If they weren't previously a member, you can just edit the address here, then Save. | |
| Now re-send the membership confirmation | |
| From their subscriber record, assign a tag of "resend_confirmation'. Just start typing and it will autocomplete | |
| MailPoet will then re-send the email confirmation, and then remove the tag. It may take a few minutes to process. | |
If the follow up email also isn't received, and the email address saved is definitely correct, then it might be that the member's email system is being overly sensitive and is blocking delivery. Let the webmaster know,
Duplicate CiviCRM records
If you find that you have duplicate CiviCRM contacts - for example if there's an existing CiviCRM contact (imported automatically from WordPress) and a brand new CiviCRM contact created when the user filled in the online registration form. CiviCRM tries to avoid duplicates, but if the contact users a different email address, then it won't know to combine them.
| Keep the newly created account in CiviCRM (as it'll have the membership and payment attached) Check carefully, then delete the old account (it shouldn't have any membership payments) |
| You may need to update the MailPoet record as above - it probably has the original email address. |
| If the subscriber has a WordPress account (they have been a member in the past), they you'll see a message "This subscriber is a registered WordPress user. Edit their profile to change their email." If so, click the link and update the email address in the main WordPress account. Once you save the WordPress account, it'll update the MailPoet for you. |
| If they weren't previously a member, you can just edit the address here, then Save. |