Managing Memberships and Payments

As your club grows, tracking who has paid their dues and which membership tier they are on becomes essential. ServeLeague's membership management lets you define membership types, set pricing, collect payments through Stripe, and track renewals, all from your admin dashboard.

This tutorial walks you through setting everything up, from creating your first membership type to tracking payments and renewals.

[!NOTE] Membership management requires the Club plan or higher. If you do not see the Members section in your sidebar, check that the feature is enabled for your club in Settings.

Step 1: Open Membership Types

From your club admin dashboard, click "Membership Types" in the sidebar (under People). This is where you create and manage the different membership categories your club offers.

If this is your first time here, the page will be empty. You are about to change that.

Step 2: Create a Membership Type

Click "Create Membership Type". A wizard appears with three tabs: Basics, Pricing, and Settings.

Basics Tab

Fill in the core details:

• Name: the name members see when joining, e.g. "Full Member", "Junior Member", or "Guest Pass"
• Description (optional): what this membership includes, e.g. "Full access to all leagues and facilities"

Pricing Tab

Set the financial details:

• Currency: the currency for this membership type
• Price: the amount charged per billing period
• Billing Interval: how often members are billed. Options include monthly, quarterly, annually, or one-time.
• Joining Fee (optional): a one-time fee charged when a member first signs up

Settings Tab

Configure behavior and restrictions:

• Is Player Type: whether members of this type appear in league player lists. Turn this off for social-only memberships where the person does not compete.
• Requires Approval: whether a club admin must approve new sign-ups before the membership is activated
• Family Membership: whether this is a family membership type that covers multiple people
• Maximum Members: an optional capacity limit. Once reached, no more members can join this type.

You can also add Custom Registration Fields for collecting additional information during sign-up. Click "Add Field" to create a new field with:

• Field Name: what the field is called (e.g., "Emergency Contact", "T-Shirt Size")
• Type: the kind of input (text, number, phone, etc.)
• Required: whether the member must fill this in

Click "Save" when you are done. The membership type card now appears on your Membership Types page.

[!TIP] Start simple. A "Full Member" and a "Guest Pass" cover most clubs initially. You can always add more types later as your needs evolve.

Common Membership Types

Here are some examples of types that work well for most clubs:

Step 3: Configure Membership Privileges

Each membership type can grant specific privileges that are enforced across ServeLeague. These include:

• Advance booking days: how many days ahead this member can book facilities. Premium members might get 14 days while guests get 3.
• Booking fee discount (%): a percentage discount on facility booking fees
• Event priority: whether members of this type get priority access to club events

These privileges connect to Facility Booking and Club Events, creating a cohesive membership experience.

[!NOTE] The Is Player Type flag is important. If it is turned off, members of this type will not appear in league player pickers. Use this for social or supporter memberships where the person does not play competitively.

Step 4: Connect Stripe for Payments

ServeLeague integrates with Stripe to handle payment collection, invoicing, and receipts automatically. To connect your Stripe account:

1. Go to Settings in your club admin sidebar
2. Click the "Integrations" tab
3. Find the Stripe section and click "Connect Stripe Account"
4. Follow the Stripe onboarding flow. You will set up your bank account and business details directly with Stripe.
5. Once connected, ServeLeague can collect membership fees automatically

[!WARNING] Stripe requires identity verification before you can receive payouts. Complete this step promptly to avoid delays when members start paying.

[!NOTE] Without Stripe connected, you can still track memberships manually. Mark payments as received when members pay you directly (cash, bank transfer, etc.).

Step 5: Assign Memberships to Members

With your membership types created, assign them to your club members.

1. Go to "Members" in the admin sidebar.
2. Use the search box and status filter (All statuses, Active, Lapsed, Expired, Pending, Cancelled) to find the member you want. You can also filter by membership type.
3. Select a member from the list.
4. Click "Assign Membership".
5. Choose the membership type and start date.

If Stripe is connected and the membership type has a price, the member receives a payment link via email. Once they pay, their membership status updates automatically to Active.

For manual payments, click "Record Payment" and enter the amount and payment method. The payments tab for each member shows a table with columns: Date, Description, Type, Status, and Amount.

[!TIP] You can bulk-assign memberships from the member list. Select multiple members, click "Bulk Actions", then "Assign Membership", and apply the same type to everyone at once. For more ways to organize members, see Member Tags and Segmentation.

Step 6: Track Payments and Renewals

The Members page shows your membership dashboard with:

• Active members per tier: how many members are in each membership type
• Payment history: a log of all payments received
• Upcoming renewals: memberships that will renew soon
• Overdue payments: memberships where payment is past due

You can filter by date range, membership type, and payment status to find exactly what you need.

ServeLeague sends automated renewal reminders before memberships expire. Stripe-connected memberships can be set to auto-renew, reducing your admin workload.

[!TIP] You can set up custom renewal workflows using Automations and Triggers. For example, send a personalized email 7 days before renewal, a reminder on the day, and a follow-up if payment is overdue.

Step 7: Member Self-Service

Members can manage their own membership from the club page. After logging in, they can:

• View their current membership status and type
• See their payment history
• Check upcoming renewal dates: the portal shows Expires, Renews, or Expired labels alongside the date
• See whether Auto renewal is enabled
• Click Renew membership to manually renew when their membership is approaching expiry
• Update their payment method (if Stripe is connected)

This reduces admin work because members can handle routine tasks on their own.

Setting Up Stripe Connect

Stripe Connect is Stripe's platform for marketplace-style payments. When you connect your club's Stripe account through ServeLeague, membership fees and event payments flow directly to your bank account, ServeLeague never holds your funds.

Why You Need Stripe Connect

Without Stripe Connect, you can still track memberships manually (marking payments as received when members pay you in cash or by bank transfer). But connecting Stripe unlocks:

• Automatic payment collection: members pay online when they join or renew
• Recurring billing: monthly or annual memberships are charged automatically
• Payment receipts: Stripe sends professional receipts to members on your behalf
• Refund processing: issue refunds directly from ServeLeague without logging into Stripe separately

Starting the Onboarding Flow

1. Go to Settings → Integrations in your club admin sidebar.
2. Find the Stripe section and click "Connect Stripe Account".
3. You will be redirected to Stripe's onboarding wizard, which walks you through:
   • Creating or linking a Stripe account
   • Verifying your identity (government ID or business documentation)
   • Adding your bank account for payouts
   • Confirming your business details (or personal details for informal clubs)

The process typically takes 5–10 minutes. Stripe may require additional verification documents depending on your country and business type.

Checking Your Connect Status

Back on the Integrations page, your Stripe connection status is displayed as one of:

• Connected ✅: everything is set up and payments can be collected
• Pending ⏳: Stripe is reviewing your verification. Payments cannot be collected yet.
• Requires Action ⚠️: Stripe needs additional information. Click the link to return to their onboarding flow and provide what is missing.

[!TIP] Complete Stripe verification promptly. If your account stays in "Pending" or "Requires Action" for too long, members will not be able to pay online when they try to join.

Payment Workflows

Once Stripe is connected, ServeLeague handles the payment lifecycle for you. Here is how the key workflows operate.

Automatic vs Manual Payment

• Automatic (Stripe): when a member joins a paid membership type, they receive a Stripe Checkout link via email. Once they pay, their membership status updates to Active automatically. For recurring memberships, Stripe charges the member's saved payment method on each billing cycle.
• Manual: if you prefer to collect payments outside ServeLeague (cash at the door, bank transfer, etc.), click "Record Payment" on the member's profile to log the payment and activate their membership.

Viewing Payment Status

Each member's profile shows payment indicators alongside their membership:

• Paid: payment received and confirmed
• Pending: payment link sent but not yet completed
• Overdue: payment was due but has not been received
• Refunded: payment was returned to the member

Processing Refunds

To refund a payment:

1. Open the member's profile and go to the Payments tab.
2. Find the payment you want to refund.
3. Click "Refund" and confirm the amount (you can issue a full or partial refund).
4. Stripe processes the refund to the member's original payment method.

The refund appears in the payment history with a Refunded status and the refund amount.

[!WARNING] Refunds can take 5–10 business days to appear on the member's bank statement. Let them know it is processing if they ask.

Handling Failed Payments

Occasionally, a recurring payment will fail (expired card, insufficient funds). When this happens:

• ServeLeague marks the membership as Payment Failed
• The member receives an email from Stripe asking them to update their payment method
• Stripe automatically retries the charge according to its retry schedule (typically 3 attempts over 7 days)
• If all retries fail, the membership moves to Overdue status

You can see all failed payments on the Members page by filtering for Overdue status. From there, you can contact the member directly or manually extend their membership while they sort out payment.

Waitlist Management

When a membership type has a Maximum Members capacity limit set (see Step 2), ServeLeague automatically manages a waitlist for members who try to join after capacity is reached.

How Members Join the Waitlist

When a prospective member tries to join a full membership type, the "Join" button changes to "Join Waitlist". They fill in the same registration details as a normal sign-up, and their application is queued with a Waitlisted status.

Members on the waitlist can see their position (e.g., "Position 3 of 7") and receive updates when their position changes.

Promoting Members from the Waitlist

When a spot opens (a member cancels, expires, or is removed), the next person on the waitlist is promoted automatically:

1. Their status changes from Waitlisted to Pending (or Active if no approval is required)
2. They receive an email notification that a spot is available
3. If the membership type is paid, they receive a payment link to complete their sign-up
4. If they do not respond within the configured window, the spot is offered to the next person on the list

Admins can also manually promote waitlisted members from the Members page, useful if you want to prioritise a specific person or skip the queue for a returning member.

Automatic Notifications

ServeLeague keeps waitlisted members informed throughout the process:

• Joined waitlist: confirmation email with their queue position
• Position updated: notification when they move up in the queue
• Spot available: alert when it is their turn, with a link to complete registration
• Spot expired: if they did not act in time and the spot was offered to the next person

[!TIP] Waitlists provide valuable data about demand. If a membership type consistently has a long waitlist, consider increasing the capacity or creating an additional tier to accommodate more members.

Summary

You have set up membership management for your club. Here is what you accomplished:

• Created membership types with pricing, billing intervals, and custom fields
• Configured privileges like advance booking days and event priority
• Connected Stripe for automated payment collection
• Assigned memberships to members (individually and in bulk)
• Set up payment tracking and renewal management

Your club's membership administration is now centralized in ServeLeague, giving you a clear picture of who is active, who has paid, and what is coming up for renewal.

Next steps:

• Adding Members to Your Club: adding members before assigning memberships
• Setting Up Facility Booking: membership privileges control booking access
• Email Communications: send renewal reminders and membership announcements
• Automations and Triggers: automate membership workflows
• Referral Program: grow your membership with referral incentives