Posted on Feb 24, 2017Collection of dues and other money is a big part of what you do. Automating dues collection and the associated updating of member and finance records truly is the biggest bang for your buck.
Review your processes
As part of your start of year planning don’t forget to review your processes. Any process that requires a significant amount of manual effort should be looked at.
It isn't just the money
Online dues payments eliminates the need to handle money – cash and cheques. This saves a lot of effort but if you aren’t taking advantage of automatic record updates as well, then you are only getting half of the benefits.
How does it work?
When your membership, donors, event registrations, sales records are available to the internet, as part of a Cloud service, then you can take advantage of online payment services such as Instant Payment Notifications offerred by PayPal. When a person makes an online payment the notification message can trigger Cloud based software to create or update records. Information filled out on an online form prior to making the payment can be included in the notification – this is especially useful for creating new membership records.
Sounds complicated
It doesn’t have to be. Solutions to move your records to the Cloud and update them via online payments already exists and are working for other groups. All you have to do is sign up, the rest is taken care of for you.
Is it secure?
Yes PayPal handles all the credit card security. Large hosting companies specialize at protecting your online data with the latest technology against viruses and hacking, as well as providing backups.
Is it worth it?
Just figure out how much time people in your organization spend creating and updating records.
Happier volunteers
In addition to the time savings will it make your volunteers happier? Of course it will, and happier volunteers are easier to retain and will help recruit more volunteers.
Is it secure now?
Is your data protected now from the latest threats? Are you sure? Are you an expert? What about loss from a fire or theft via a robbery?
Are You Ready?
It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change. –Charles Darwin