MMS 2008

Membership Management System 2008      

Last update: September 2007
V1.67

Contents:

1. What is MMS 2008

2. Installation

3. The Evaluation version

4. The Main Menu

5. Adding/Editing/Deleting Users

6. Reports

7. Mail Merge

8. Printing Labels

9. Task List

10. Options

11. MMS 2008 MultiUser Edition

12. Languages

13. Bar Codes

14. Bar Code Scanning

15. Membership Cards

16. Creating a Custom Membership Card

17. Blank Membership Entry Forms

18. Importing Member Data from another Source

Free updates: For ever, guaranteed.!

1. What is MMS 2008

MMS 2008 is the premier Membership Management System which will let you keep a members database of all your users/customers.  The features of MMS 2008 include:

• Add/Edit/Delete/Print members details

• Automatic Membership number generation based on several rules including: number only;  Type+number; number+type; Number/year & more

• Create Custom Membership Cards.

• Customise the rates for each membership type

• Import pictures of members from file or from a web/USB camera

• Search on any field, or search on multiple fields

• Easily renew members for 6months/1year/2year at the click of a button or manually enter dates

• A To DO/Task List lets you keep track of import info regarding your members

• Password protect access to the database to stop unauthorised modifications

• View & Print various reports, including: All Members; Membership Type breakdown; Expired Memberships & more.

• A Powerful Mail Merge facility so you can create documents & merge in the members details to allow you to print out letters to each member.  Import any field into the report.  You do not need any 3rd party Word Processing software, all the require functions are built into the software.

• E-Mail the Mail Merged documents instead of printing them out!  No need for an email client (e.g. MS Outlook)

• Print  Labels for your Mail Merged documents.  Supports various Avery formats & you can add new custom formats.  Automatically check for new paper formats & download them automatically.

• Built-in facility to backup & restore you database.

• Easy menu driven system

• FREE E-Mail Technical Support

• FREE Updates for life to any future version of MMS 2008 (see below)

MMS 2008 is available in a Standard, Professional & MultiUser Edition

2. Installation

Download the latest version of MMS 2008 from here & run the MMS2005.EXE file.

Read the EULA before continuing with installation.  To run MMS 2008 click on the shortcut on the desktop or click on START, PROGRAMS,  MMS2005.

3. The Evaluation Version

The evaluation version comes with a database of 15 members & is limited to a maximum of 20.  All other features are the same as the full version.  If after you have evaluated MMS 2008 & decide to purchase it then go to http://www.membership-software.com

4. The Main Menu

You also see the a header/title, ACME Bowling League in this example.  You can change this from within the Options Menu.  At the bottom of the Main Menu you see the file name & the number of Members in your database.  You'll also have noticed the symbol.  See the section on Barcode scanning for information on this.

TIP: Click on the ? symbol at the top of the Main Menu to show a help screen which explains each button/field you hover over.

5. Adding/Editing/Deleting Users

Selecting Add/Edit/Delete from the Main Menu will take you to the member input screen, shown below.

The Members Entry Screen (above) has three TAB screens in it.  Above is the Main Tab which is where the majority of the Day-to-Day information is found.  By clicking on the Financial & Other Info Tab you can see a lot more information on the Member.

• To be able to add a member you must supply the Firstname, Surname & MEM NUMBER.  All other fields are optional.

• DOB, Date Joined, Last date renewed & Next Renewal date are date fields & are in the format DD-MM-YY or MM-DD-YY depending on which country you are in (this is taken from the Control Panel Locale settings)

• Cost & Paid to date are in the local currency that your PC is set to.

• MEM Number is automatically generated depending on the Membership format you select e.g.

• You can right-click on the Title field to add additional salutations to it

Adding Members:-

• Click on ADD NEW - all the fields will be empty, except for the Member Ship number which is automatically generated & the cost for that membership, which is based on the Membership type which defaults to Single.  Date Joined & Last Renewal date will be set at today's date and Renewal date will be set to one year from today's date.  You can change any of these values if you wish.

• Click on UPDATE & the members details are saved to disk.

• If you import a picture, this can be done from any location (e.g. disk,CD, USB device)....the picture is copied to a folder within the installation directory, you no longer need the source picture.

Deleting/Archiving Members:-

• Simply find the user you want to remove by using the scroll bars then click on ARCHIVE.  The user is removed from view.  The Members info is not permanently removed from the database but you will not be able to view/find that user from any screen, instead the user is kept & you can generate a Report on Members that have been archived.  This was requested by many people to help them keep track of 'deleted' members.

Editing Members:-

• Find the member you wish to edit, using the scroll bars, and then click on EDIT.  You can change ANY field.  When finished click on UPDATE.

• Membership numbers must be unique, if you change the membership number then a check will be done to make sure it is not already in use.

Finding Members:-

• You can use the scroll bars to Find members, or

• You can click on the FIND button.  All fields will be blanked  Fill in any fields that you wish to search on & click on FIND NOW.  For example, if you want to search for all members that live in England & who's membership costs £29 then you would set the Country Field to England & enter 29 in the Cost field then click on FIND. You will then be shown only the members who meet those two criteria.

Renaming Fields:-

• You may have a need to rename postcode to Zip or Forename to Firstname ....  To rename any of the Label fields simply right-click on it & then enter the new label name.  You can also hide a field from here too.  If you hide the Field Label it will also hide the Member field also.  If you need to unhide a field go to Tools/Options to show hidden fields.

Other Fields

• JUMP TO: At the bottom right of the screen you can enter the value of a known membership number & you will jump directly to that members info.  Simple enter S001 to go straight to that member (no need to press ENTER).  You can also jump to a specific record number, eg, record 51 out of the 100 members by entering 51 in the JUMP TO box & pressing ENTER.

The Financial TAB

When you click on the Financial TAB you will see the screen below:

• To update information you need to be in Edit mode.

• You can add values to add fields required

• Financial Information is not available in the Standard Edition

The Other Info TAB

When you click on the Other Info Tab you will see:

• Here you see 20 Custom Fields that you can use for storing extra information on your Members

• Right-click on one of the Custom Label names to rename it to something that suits you

• Right-Click on Custom List 1 & Custom List 2 and you can rename it & also add a list of items which you can then select from in this screen.  For example, add car engine sizes 1000,1100,1200 etc .  Then when you edit a Member you can click on the Pull-Down List & select the value you want.

Renewing Memberships

When you Create or Edit a Member you have the option to Renew a Member.  Renewing a Member simply changes the Last Renewal date & Next Renewal date to reflect the new values.  When you click Edit or Create from the Member Entry Screen you will see:

• Simply click 6 month, 1 year or 2 year

• The Last Renewal date is set to today's date

• The Next Renewal date is set to the Last Renewal date + the period you selected.

• When you create a new Member a default of a 1 year membership is used.  You can change this default from within the Tools/Options Screen.

• When you change either Date Joined/Last Renewal Date or Next Renewal Date, this information is logged in that Members Renewal History.  When you update the members info you will see a box saying: ..  If you click on this you will see a report of this members renewal history, which is in fact any time those 3 fields were changed.

• If you utilise password to gain access to MMS 2008 then it will also log who made the change.

6. Reports

When you click on Reports from the Main Menu you will see:-

The Reports screen is split into 3 windows:

• Reports: This is the list of Reports that you can view

• Report Information: A description of that Report

• Filters: Most reports can be filtered so that instead of viewing information on every member you can filter it to member between certain dates or with particular membership types.

• All Members Report - A report on all members in the database
• Member Type Report  - A breakdown of each membership type & the costs associated with each type
• Expired Memberships - Shows all members who's memberships have expired.
• All Users - A list of all Members info shown on the Members Entry Field

• Expired Memberships - A List of all Memberships that expired between Date 1 & Date2.  You can use this report to shown memberships that have expired & also those that will expire within a certain date.

• All Tasks - A List of all Tasks you currently have

• Sales Report - List of all New members or Sales for any given Month.

• BarCode Entry Report - List Members scanned with the barcode.

• There are many more reports, click on each report for a detailed description
   

• Click on to print the report
• Click on to export the report contents to Excel, CSV, PDF, Html or Text.  You can then use that data to mail merge with other applications if you wish.

Note: There are quite a few reports & more are added all the time. 

PLEASE NOTE: Requests for new reports or changes to reports are always considered but we cannot guarantee all requested will be added.

7. Mail Merge

When you click on the Mail Merge from the main menu you get the following screen:-

1. You can set the Font, Font Size, Bold, Italics and Underscore for your text.  Simply highlight the text that you want to change & then set it via one of these options
2. Click View Merged to see what the Merge output will look like.  Click on it again to see the Mail Merge document.  Remember to save any changes if you make them.
3. This is the main Document input area.  Anything that you type in here will be shows in the Mail Merged document.
4. Text that starts with << & ends in >>  is a Mail Merge field.  click on (9) & you will be shown the fields that you can insert.  Then click on Insert.
5. These buttons let you create/open/save the Document
6. This shows the current record number & the total number of records(members).  If you print/email this document then this is how many print/emails.
7. The current filename of the Mail Merge document.
8. The current View:  this tells you if you are looking at the Mail Merge template or the Mail Merge Output.
9. Fields : This is a dropdown box which shows you all the fields that you can insert into the Mail Merge document.  You can enter any number of fields at any place in the document.
10. Selection Criteria: You can Filter your Mail Merge so that your Mail Merge only contains certain Members.  Click on Select Criteria will display:

Mail Merge Criteria:

• by default it is set to All Members

• You can tick any of the 4 boxes to include that as a match criteria

• For Date joined you can select whether it is equal to '=' or greater than and equal to '>='

• When you enter your criteria click update, this will tell you how many matches there were.  When you view your mail merged document you will see it only has those that match your criteria.

Click on Print to send the current Mail merged document to the printer. 

Click on E-mail to send the current Mail merged document to all users email addresses.  If a members email address is blank then the email is not sent.  When you click on E-Mail, you will see the following confirmation screen:-

• Enter Your email address in the box provided.  This is the address that the FROM box will show & if a user clicks reply it's the address they will send to.
• Enter the Subject in the text.  Keep this short but informative.
• Click on SEND to send your emails.
• You will see a status of the current message being sent.

To check whether your SMTP server is correct & to send a test email enter an email address to send to in Test address to:  & click on Sent Test.  Normally this will take approx 5-10 minutes.  If the test message doesn't get through then check that the SMTP server you are using is correct & is available.

Since MMS 2008 talks directly to your SMTP server to send the e-mails, the time it will take to send all the emails varies depending on the speed of your internet connection & the number of members you are sending to.  You can cancel the sending process at any time by clicking on cancel.

IMPORTANT:  Sending Email via MMS 2008 requires your ISP's SMTP address not to use Authentication, if it does require authentication then sending email will not work. It's best to try it out by clicking on test.

8. Printing Labels

From the Mail Merge screen you can select Print labels to print the address of the Members that you did the Mail Merge from.  To select you paper type find it in the list & highlight it then click on Set Default.  The simply click on PRINT.

If you want to check for an updated list of Labels then click on Check for Updates.  If a newer version is available it will download it to your PC.

If the label size you have isn't on the list then click on Add Size & you will see:-

Fill in all the fields.  Usually this information can be found in the documentation you get with the labels.  The graphic gives you an explanation of what each field is.  When complete click on SAVE & you will be taken back to the Label printing screen.  You will see the Label you just added at the end of the list.  Select that & click on Set Default.

You can then print your Mail Merge info using your new label types!

9. Task List

Click on Task List from the Main Menu & you will see:-

The Task List is useful to keep track of any information & duties that you have in your club or business.

To add a new Task:-

• Click on NEW
• Enter the information in the fields provided.  A Task ID must be entered, this is a number from 1 to 9999 & must be unique.
• Click on Update to save the info.

10. Options

The Options screen is where you would customise your settings/options for this current MMS 2008 database.  Options are separate for each MMS 2008 database. 

There are 3 TABS when you enter the options screen:-

• Options
• Normal Fields
• Extra Fields

1. The OPTIONS Tab:-

Click to enlarge

You have the following options:

• To change the Labels settings
• Next free membership Number - When you create a new member it is assigned a unique membership number.  The next membership number used is the value of Next free membership Number.  You may want to start your memberships at 1000 instead of 1 (the default).
• Currency Symbol - This is the currency used in your database.  This is taken from the Windows Control Panel settings.
• Title on Main Screen - You can display a title above the Main Menu (the main screen).  Use this to help you describe/identify the database.
• Clear - Clear the Title on Main Screen
• Show Tips at Start-up - When you start MMS 2008 a window displaying tips & useful information is shown.   You can show/hide these tips with this option.
• Fixed rate for all members - This is the value assigned to all new members you create.  If you change this value it will not change existing members, only new members will be affected.  If you enable this option, variables rates (below) will be disabled.
• Check for Software Updates at Start - Help you keep up-to-date by checking if a newer version is available
• Repair Database - If you are having issues with your MMS 2008 you can run this to check & fix this.  It is not normally recommended to do this unless instructed by support.  Always make sure you have a backup before you run this.  Repair will also reorder your members numerically starting from 1.
• Change Membership Number format - You can select several formats for Membership number creations.  Changing this value will only affect new members created after the change,
• Variable Rates - You can set specific rates for each Membership Type.  Change made only affect new Members that are created. 

  You can also click on any one of the 6 membership types & rename them.  For example you may not want a Single membership so you may decide to rename it to One Person.  Renaming Membership types does not rename existing Members, this will only take affect on newly created members, or if you edit an existing member you can change that membership type for that record.

• SMTP Server - this is the server used to send email when you are doing a mail merge.  To find out which SMTP server you should use contact your ISP.  If you already use Microsoft Outlook on your PC then you can go into the Tools/Mail/Accounts menu & you will see the SMTP server you should use.  If you enter the incorrect SMTP server your emails will not be sent. Example SMTP servers:-

  • smtp.ntlworld.com
  • mail.btsmtp.com
  • smtp.aol.com

2. The NORMAL FIELDS Tab:-

    The Normal Fields Tab is where you will see all the field names from the Members Entry screen.  You can choose to hide or shown these fields.  If a field is ticked then it will be shown, if it's not ticked it will not be shown in the Members Entry Screen.

Click to enlarge

3. The EXTRA FIELDS Tab:-

    The Extra Fields Tab is where you can add up to 6 of your own fields to the Members Input Screen.  For example, You use MMS 2008 to keep a list of your Fitness Club Members.  You may wish to add a field called Fitness Level & another called Fitness Plan.

Click to enlarge

    If a field is blank then a new field will not be displayed in the Member Entry Screen.  If you Enter Fitness Level & Fitness Plan (see below) & Click Save.  When you go to the Member Entry Screen you will see two new fields/boxes at the bottom where you can record this information

Left - the Options Screen with the new Field descriptions added (click to enlarge)
Right - The Member entry screen with the two need fields shown at the bottom (click to enlarge)

• Reset V1.52+ Labels - In the Members Entry Screen you can an Other Info TAB which display an additional fields to use.  Clicking this button will reset the display names of these & make them all visible.  It will not affect any data that was entered into the members fields, it only resets the label names.

4. When you click on the Renewals Tab you will see:

Click to enlarge

• You can select the length of new Memberships in this screen.  Simply select 6months/1year or 2years.

• There is also a description of how the Membership Renewal Buttons work on the Members Entry Screen.

11. MMS 2008 MultiUser Edition

    MMS 2008 is available in a Single User version intended to be run from one PC & a MultiUser version where you can have between 1 & 20 PC's access the same MMS 2008 database.  They can all be adding/updating/editing information at the same time.

     MMS 2008 Multi-User Edition will be available in May 2008.

    Requirements to run MMS 2008 MultiUser Edition:-

1. A Server to Host MySQL

   MySQL is a fee tool that you need to install that allows you to share the database contained with MMS 2008 on multiple PC's.  The Server can also be used as a Workstation to access MMS 2008 data.

   It is recommended that you use a fast & reliable PC to host the MMS 2008 MySQL database.
    

2. A Workstation PC (1 or more)

   This is the PC/Workstation that will access the MMS 2008 information & typically is where the user adds new users,     updates user records etc etc.  You can have up to 20 Workstations/PC's access the data at any one time.

Once installed & configured, MMS 2008 MultiUser Edition functions exactly the same as the normal version, except that multiple users can be on, accessing the data at the same time.

   To install MySQL on to your PC please click here for full step-by-step instructions.

   For full details, including costs please click here

12. Languages

    MMS 2008 V1.36+ now supports English & Spanish.  To change simply click on the Languages Pull down box & select your language.  Please note that reports are in English regardless of which Language you select.

    French & German will be available in a future version.

13. Bar Codes

    You can print Membership Cards with Barcodes on them in the Professional version.  Barcodes when scanning will return an eight digit membership number. For best results you should print your membership cards on a Laser printer or a good quality Inkjet printer.

14. Bar Code Scanning

    Barcode scanning is only available in the Professional version of MMS 2008. 

    Requirements:   a USB Barcode a scanner that supports Code39.

    You can scan membership cards from the Main Screen.  If you expand the arrow/box below the Main Menu you will see the Barcode summary box  (below).  This will show you the name, membership number, Time of scanning, type of membership and when their membership is due for renewal.  This information is logged in your MMS 2008 database & you can run reports on the data that is scanned (see Barcode reports within the Reports screen).

15. Membership Cards

   Membership Card printing  is only available in the Professional version of MMS 2008. 

    You can create & print Membership Cards from within MMS 2008.  Once you have created your members click on the Print Membership Card button from the main menu.  You will see a screen like :-

(click to enlarge)

• Print Page - Print out this page of Membership cards

• Print All - Print out all Membership cards

• Card Size - Select the size of the Membership cards that are to be printed . The sizes are:-

  54 x 86mm, 51 x 89mm, 45 x 70mm and 60 x 80mm
   

• Custom Card - Use the custom membership card design.  To create a new design from the Main Screen click on Tools/Membership Card Designer.

• Select background - You can display a custom background on your membership cards.  Tick the box & browse to the picture.

• Use Logo - You can show a custom picture in the place of the Members picture on every membership card.  Tick the box & select the picture to use. 

• Show Barcodes - Tick the box to show the barcode on each membership card you print.

    We recommend that you print out a couple of test membership cards & make sure they fit your laminate sleeves/pouches before you do a large batch.  If you need other sizes added please let is know at support@lumisys.co.uk

    You can only print membership cards in the Full Version.  The Evaluation version lets you view them.

    16. Creating a Custom Membership Card

    From the Tools Menu click on Membership Card Designer. You will see

Picture Location - You can select which corner you want the picture/photograph to appear.  You can also choose not to show a picture.

Picture Shape -      Select the shape of the photo/picture.

Field Name -          Select the Members info fields that you can then add to this custom Membership Card. Shown as Grey on the Custom Membership Card.

Label Name -        Enter text to describe the Field name of just add a bit of text that you want on the Membership Card. Shown as Red on the Custom Membership Card.

You can have up to 7 labels & up to 7 Fields on the Membership Card.

Once you have finished your Custom Membership Design click on SAVE.  Then go into the Membership Cards from the Main Screen.  This will default to the normal membership card.  Click on CUSTOM on the top right to show the cards with your custom design.

If you would like to use a custom picture for all Membership Cards, e.g, a company logo, then click on Custom Picture in the Membership Cards screen & select the picture you want.

    17. Blank Membership Entry Forms

    From the Main Screen click on Tools & select Print Membership Entry form.  This prints two blank Membership Entry Forms to one A4/Letter size of paper.  You can then use these to enter the membership details on to & then add them to MMS 2008 at a later date.

    18. Importing Member Data from another Source

   You can import Membership info from a CSV file into MMS 2008.  Select Import CSV from the Tools Menu.

• Click on IMPORT & select the CSV file you want to import

• You will see a list of fields (Select field) & the first line of info from your CSV file ( Your data)

• Click on each pull-down list & match that field with a field from MMS 205.  For example, at the top of the second column below, Your data says ''Mem Type:" so you would click on the pull down box & select 'TYPE:' as this is the actuall MMS 2008 field name

• Remove Leading/Trailing Spaces - it's recommened to leave this ticked to avoid bringing in lots of needless spaces

• Don't Import first record - If the first line of your CSV file is just headers then keep this ticked

• View Info on Import - This shows you each record being imported but will slow the import process down.

• Click GO to start the Import.

Important: You must import at least a Firname, Surname, Date Joined and Membership Number.

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