Many membership-focused associations rely on Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets to keep their data organized, but as technology progresses and membership demands become more complex, they are realizing that they need stronger solutions. Is this you? Keep reading because this Excel or Sheets alternative will change everything. Associations need systems to arrange and track payments, dues, invoices, events, donations, and membership statuses automatically. Eligeo’s eAMS, built right within monday.com is the Excel or Sheets substitute that professional and trade associations across North America have been searching for. This all-in-one association management software (AMS) offers a long-awaited answer to these demands.
If you fall under any of the following types of organizations, Association Management Software can help you automate most of your membership management tasks, so you can focus on the more important work, like running events, outreach, marketing, and membership engagement.
- Trade Association
- Professional Association
- Business Networking Group
- Chamber of Commerce
- Board of Trade
- Business Improvement Associations
- Homeowner Association
- Professional Service Organization
Not sure how AMS solutions are the ultimate Excel or Sheets alternative? Read our list of benefits below.
Association Management Software Can Automate Membership Registrations, Cancellations, Lapsed Memberships, and Customer Data
When members sign up, cancel or let their memberships lapse, do you spend a tremendous amount of time manually tracking and updating this data in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets? Is your staff visually checking and recording all customer data and separating lists on a regular basis? When there is staff turnover or delays in reporting, it’s easy for this customer data to be forgotten, lost, mixed with an older version, or worse of all go unreported—causing problems down the line for budgets, analytics, forecasting, and more.
A good Association Management Software automatically takes any data from forms, like registration forms on your website, and inputs all the information into one place. This allows managers to quickly see names and numbers updated in real-time, so membership analytics are accurate, up-to-date, and usable at all hours of the day. With Excel or Sheets, this information would have to be updated manually and verified which is very inefficient. Similarly, canceled or lapsed memberships can be automatically removed or archived, giving staff clear insight into the health of the association by the minute. With Excel or Sheets, this task would involve checking lapsed or cancellation dates manually and then deleting or archiving names on a daily or regular basis.
The Right Excel or Sheets Alternative Will Even Track and Manage Dues and Invoices Automatically
Finances are always a complex process with memberships. No one wants to manually scroll through a list of dates to find out when membership dues are upcoming. It is much easier to have these dues automatically trigger an email reminder that gets automatically sent a few weeks prior to the due date—a task that AMS takes care of. Moreover, your staff no longer needs to manually type up customer data and costs in Microsoft Word or Google Docs to prepare invoices. It can all be automated with an AMS invoicing system customized to the membership costs and tiers that your association determines. Without automation, these tasks require hours, if not days, of work—wasting both money and time that could be better spent on higher-impact tasks.
Association Management Software Can Automate Donations Data and Financial Tracking
Donations don’t need to be a complex process if managed by Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets substitute, i.e. an Association Management Software. You need to manually input the amounts, calculate the totals and keep the numbers up-to-date, day-by-day for accuracy. When you manage hundreds of donations in a short time span, this process can become overwhelming and time-consuming, leaving room for mistakes and errors that can be easily overlooked. If you have the right Association Management Software, donations numbers and data are automatically synced to a live report that you can access at any time. Meaning that you can find the donator by name, their donation amount in an instant. Moreover, you can find donation totals for specific timeframes with a few clicks. With Excel or Sheets alternative, you no longer need to manually input names, amounts, and totals—an incredible amount of time-consuming work.
Simplify Events Management with Excel or Sheets substitute, Association Management Software
Events are critical to many associations. They bring in members, foster loyalty, and can generate revenue that is critical for operations. Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets can only document the names and financial totals from events, but it cannot manage event payments, pages, reminders, invoices, and newsletters—all functions that AMS solutions can—automatically. For example, Eligeo’s Association Management Software can take event registration information and automatically put it into registrant reports for tracking. Financial data, totals, and membership can all be synced into the system, so your staff doesn’t have to track or find event data or orders manually. The software automatically reminds registrants with emails or notifications as well, seamlessly improving the communication experience between your association and the members, without staff having to do all the work.
These are only a few of the ways AMS solutions bring more to the table for membership management. If you’re tired of Excel or Sheets tracking and inputting, learn more about Association Management Software and solutions here.