10 Questions Modern Associations Need to Ask Before Choosing an AMS

10 Questions Modern Associations Need to Ask Before Choosing an AMS For most associations, choosing an Association Management Software (AMS) is a task that's not taken lightly. You'll need a solution that can meet your needs both now and in the future. Because if you do your job right, your organization's needs will grow as will your influence and contribution to your community. Here are 10 Questions modern associations need to ask before choosing an AMS: 1. Why Do I Need an AMS? Imagine having all the technical functionality to manage your membership engagement at your fingertips. An AMS allows you to automate your backend processes, including maintaining your membership database and communicating across the association, in one web-based system instead of using spreadsheets. 2. How Do I Choose? The goal of an AMS is to give you freedom from the mundane tasks. You'll want to look at the different modules in the AMS. Membership engagement, collecting dues, renewals, conferences, event registration, continuing education, can all be managed within an AMS, the best fits depends on the size of your association. 3. How Do I Implement? Success Typically implementation is done in a series of phases, with the number of phases depending on the amount of modules your organization implements. Some associations choose to implement over phases, and others decide to go-live with a core set of functionality, launching after phase one and waiting to implement other modules as their organization is ready. Refinement Beta pha ion Implementation 4. How Long Does It Take? On average, it takes three to six months depending on the features you need customized in your specific modules. The most efficient way to implement your new software is to ensure your executive team agrees on the requirements and scope of the project before implementation starts. Most AMS providers adhere to the modern model of software delivery. AST ANDAY TUESDAY 201 5. How Can I Customize? You want to be innovative and serve your members, so your AMS should be flexible to meet your needs. If you have thousands of members renewing annually, you'll need a system that can incorporate auto-renewals. Stop wrestling with the python of inflexible products and get ready for membership management software that was built for you. 6. What Can I Upload & Download? If you don't already have an AMS, your provider should be able to upload all the data from your existing spreadsheets. If you have an old AMS, your new professional services team should be able to do the data migration, import it from all kinds of different systems, then QA the data to ensure it's correct. You should be able to bulk import any record into the system and also export any amount of data out of the system. CD4CD4 CD4CD4E 89018E78FO" 4 12B AR 48248 EF67E56 6 12AA129 TE67E A23) 291 TEF6 FEE B 5C34 7. Who Sees What? Since your AMS runs in the cloud, providing a service to multiple levels of your association on one platform, you can set permissions for what your members, staff, or officers can access. For example, what your members see on your website to register for an event should seamlessly integrate with your internal back-end system used to set up the event registration. 34B2 78 CD4C TAL29A2 SDESCD45DR 29A1A 48348 FOTE07 24 D45C34C 07807825CE 4BC34B3B2B E78F0 8. Will It Grow With Me? You'll want to find an AMS provider whose software can scale as your association grows. Quit jerry-rigging together what you've got like a second rate McGuyver and use software that was made with you in mind. Find a modern solution that gives you the flexibility you need to serve your membership this year and in the years to come. 9. Who Will Hold My Hand? Modern technology companies call their client services team "Customer Success" for a good reason. From implementation to ongoing support, the AMS you implement has to be successful. Your members will acknowledge how slick your new software is, plus your staff will be able to operate more efficiently. 10. What's My Ongoing Relationship? After you're up and running on your AMS, you shouldn't be left alone. Your Customer Success Manager will check in with you regularly, providing technology support and additional training. When it comes time to renew your AMS subscription, you'll have a chance to upgrade your technology to fit the new requirements of your association. Do you have an AMS which answers all of these questions? We do. MemberSuite's AMS comes equipped with dozens of modules, a fully-customizable platform, and a dedicated professional services team who can provide your association with techonology for the future. MemberSuite is changing the way modern associations do business. Click here to request a demo of our technology today. MemberSuite Software for the Modern Association" 02014 Membersuite