What is an Association Management Software

Managing an association, whether a trade organization, a nonprofit, or a professional society, comes with its own set of obstacles. Financial monitoring, event planning, member management, and administrative responsibilities can quickly become overwhelming, especially as your company grows. In this case, association management software (AMS) can help you revolutionize your firm.

AMS improves member engagement, administrative operations, and organizational growth by automating daily tasks and optimizing data management. Let’s talk about the major components and benefits of AMS for your firm.

What is an Association Management Software (AMS)?

Association management software is a platform that is broad in scope to help associations operate their core functions effectively. Its features include

Website builder: It helps create and maintain a professional website

Member database: It organizes the member data so that it becomes easy to access

Member engagement tools: They are helpful in automation processes of emails, newsletters, and event reminders

Event organization: Easily manage event registrations, payments and follow-ups for events Financial tools: They help make payments, donation, and billing hassle-free

Reporting and analytics: Get access to all actionable insights with regards to member activity, payments, new trends, etc.

Why Does your Association Require AMS?

Although smaller associations might successfully manage their operations using spreadsheets (and basic tools), growth necessitates scalability and efficiency. There are several key reasons why AMS is essential:

Time-Saving Automation: AMS automates repetitive tasks, such as membership renewals, payment processing and event registrations. It assists your team in focusing on main business goals. If there are no such systems in place, workload may become overwhelming and performance could deteriorate over time.

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Member Engagement: AMS ensures that communication is targeted at members and via an integrated portal keeps them up-to-date and actively engaged.

Error Elimination: Because AMS eliminates many errors that often accompany manual operations such as entry of data, financial reporting and many administrative duties.

Scalability: As your association grows, AMS will evolve with you, meaning your systems stay both efficient and effective.

Better Insights: Better reporting tools, which give better visibility into the membership trends and event participation patterns, and a better understanding of revenue streams helps in data-driven decision-making better,

Core Features of AMS

Membership Management

A strong AMS could simplify the handling of member data by keeping everything-from demographics to contact information, from engagement history and even more, in an easy-to-access database. You would no longer have to scroll through mountains of unorganized information.

AMS simplifies the complexity of membership management; it tracks different membership levels and their benefits. In addition, it provides automatic renewals and reminders, which is pretty useful. Through their self-service portals, members can update their own information. This not only enhances their experience, but it also helps ensure that everything remains current and accurate. It’s all about making membership management efficient.

Event Management

Events are integral to any organization’s success. An Association Management System chosen thus, should be the one that you consider a trusted partner. It should help you manage your events smoothly and effectively. It should also support all your steps from planning and registrations to payment processing as well as attendee tracking.

You can easily design and send targeted event promotions and reminders, while the automated emails ensure that all attendees stay well informed. With built-in analytics and reporting, you can easily track the success and participation of all your events. This means that every event will run frictionlessly.

Website Development

An AMS makes it considerably easier to build and maintain a website for your organization. But, how so? Because an AMS not only helps create professional websites with drag and drop tools without requiring any coding, but it also integrates with your website to offer features like single sign on, member directories and event registration facilities.

An AMS also makes content personalization possible. This increases member engagement through online communities, surveys, and email marketing. Furthermore, it includes features like website analytics, tracks the behaviors of members, and reduces administrative burden This all is done while making the website management easier and improving the overall experience of your members.

Financial Management

An Association Management Software-AMS makes managing and tracking your revenue streams, like membership dues, event registrations and donations effortless. It automates financial reporting and reconciliation that produces clear and detailed reports, keeping your finances in check. Talk about a catch!

Simplify processes like invoicing and payments with automation through an AMS, while fusing with popular accounting software like PayPal and Stripe. This will further simplify your financial management. It’s all about streamlining your financial operations and ensuring that everything runs efficiently.

Communication Tools

Wise men say effective communication is key to building strong relationships with your members, stakeholders and community. That’s why, your partner AMS (Association Management System) facilitates you to stay connected with members using email marketing features for newsletters and announcements.

With AMS, you can easily integrate and schedule social media posts. You can also create online community forums and discussion boards. It also enables you to segment your audience for targeted communication, and seamlessly integrates with tools such as MailChimp to give you that added flexibility.

Reporting and Analytics

Data driven decision making is integral for every organization. With an AMS you can generate reports on membership, events and finances, according to your desired format. Track membership trends, retention rates, key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics with ease.

Besides this, it enables you to analyze the data to make informed strategic decisions and drive growth, therefore allowing your organization to grow more effectively.

Integration and Customization

No two associations are alike, and your Association Management Software-AMS should reflect your unique needs. Thus, an AMS enables you to merge with existing systems such as CRM software and payment gateways. It also lets you customize fields, forms, and work methods so that they match the exact needs of your organization.

Tailor your AMS to work the way you do!

How Can You Choose the Right AMS for Your Association?

Being a professional in an organization, you are well aware of the challenges of managing a membership platform, events and finances. To counter these challenges, your AMS will work as a helping hand. It will simplify your operations and improve efficiency in your workplace.

But, with a plethora of AMS options available, selecting the right one can be totally overwhelming. Remember then, your organization is unique. You are YOU! Thus, you need to focus on your needs and consider the following factors. This will guide you to make the best decision for your empire.

Define Your Organization’s Needs

As said above, when you are starting your search for an AMS, keep in mind the unique constraints your organization is facing. You need to consider not only the short term but long term factors as well. Along with this, you also need to make sure that you are imparting special focus on the available features of an AMS, that are parallel to your requirements. With both these scenarios in consideration, you may wish to answer questions like;

What are the major challenges and can this AMS alleviate them?
What features are important for you and can this AMS provide them?
Do you require any customizations?

Evaluate User-Friendliness

Choose an Association Management Software-AMS platform that’s easy to set up and operate, not just for your team, but for your customers as well. A solution with strong customer support and good training resources is appreciated. A platform that works hassle free for everyone! To do so, answer questions like;

Are the available features easy to use?
Is the interface user-friendly?
Does it support mobile access?
Are there any limitations to be considered?

Check Integration Capabilities

No AMS (Association Management System) is an island, it needs to blend in with your existing systems and work processes. So, take measures to ensure that your AMS under consideration supports the tools you desire to integrate it with, for example; QuickBooks, WordPress, or MailChimp. You may consider the following;

Does the AMS solution combine to work with your existing CRM, email marketing, or financial management systems?
Can the AMS solution be aligned to your client’s needs?
Does it align with your branding?
What are the kinds of support options available?
What are the response timings and resolution rates?

Assess Scalability

When selecting an Association Management System, carefully consider scalability, as it is a critical factor in this decision. Choose an AMS that can support the growth of your company without requiring frequent upgrades or replacements. Your chosen software should be robust and effective, along with the ability to handle increased traffic and user activity. You may consider the following;

Can the AMS handle lump sum amounts of data?
Can it manage and store that data?
Can it handle wide user capacity?
Will the system perform efficiently with multiple users?
Can it integrate with all the systems you wish to merge it with?
What is your chosen AMS’s plan on supporting scalability in the future?

By considering these questions, you will secure yourself to be able to grow worry free in the future, and that your AMS will grow with you. Thus, helping you save you time, effort, and resources in the long run.

Consider Pricing and ROI

One of the crucial steps is to compare the pricing and return on investment (ROI) for your potential AMS solution. Keep in mind, before you commit to an AMS you should look for platforms which are offering free trials or demos to test the functionality of your options. Consider the below;

What are the subscription costs, setup fees, and transaction charges?
Are there any special discounts or promotions available?
What ROI can you expect from each AMS solution?

Prioritize Security

The security and compliance of your AMS solution are critical to the protection of your organization’s data and reputation. For that, consider the questions mentioned below;

Can only the authorized personnel access the sensitive data?
Are there secure data encryption methods to protect sensitive data?
Is the AMS solution compliant with industry regulations and standards such as GDPR or HIPAA?
In the case of a disaster or outrage, are there any plans for disaster management that can guarantee continuity?

Popular AMS Platforms

Provided below is a list of top AMS options;

1. WildApricot

2. MC Trade and MC Professional

3. GrowthZone

4. iMIS

5. Raklet

SubscriptionFlow AMS: Your Partner in Association Management

Subscription flow is a powerful AMS (Association Management System) partner that is designed to support organizations with a user-friendly interface. It accompanies you with management tools for memberships, events, and communications. Along with this, its capability for customization leverages you to transform the platform according to your company’s needs.

Subscription Flow’s solutions are also scalable, which means it helps you grow your organization without having you to worry about outgrowing your software. That is some serious SUPPORT!

It is also compliant with industry standards including HIPAA and GDPR. Thus, a strong security system. Lastly, SubscriptionFlow’s ability to smoothly blend with third-party tools like PayPal, and Stripe helps you easily stay connected with your desired software.

Why Choose SubscriptionFlow?

But, why would you choose Subscription Flow? What’s so unique about it? Here’s what compels clients;

Subscription Flow’s AMS provides a consolidated management system, where you can access all essential tools in just one place. That’s one platform for you, where you fight to conquer all!

Moreover, through self-service portals, members can access updates, payments and registrations as well. This enhances their overall experience while leveraging the company’s reputation. Last but not the least, Subscription Flow’s AMS helps you to save time and money with the above mentioned services it provides an efficient and cost effective bet!

To Remember!

An AMS is an extraordinary transforming solution for organizations that are trying to increase their productivity levels, enhance member engagement and expand their operations. With the help of an AMS, they can focus on what really matters, while an AMS handles their recurring tasks. This helps companies to create vibrant communities by automating their administrative duties and providing a single and secure platform for data management.

So, are you prepared to take your organization to take your organization to the next level? Schedule a demo with SubscriptionFlow right now and find out how our AMS can help you transform your business processes. Do you value your company enough to explore this opportunity? Let’s find out!