4.3 Add New Member

Checking for Former Members
Before adding a new member, check that they are not already in the system – go to the Members List and tick all the boxes in the Status row to display all current and past members in surname order.

Also check if there are any other u3a members living at the same address as the new member. This can be done by clicking on the blue Address heading at the top of the Members List. This will sort the table in address order (House/Flat No. & Street) and will make it easy to check whether the new member’s address is already on the system.

Note: In theory these steps shouldn’t be necessary, but experience has shown that applicants don’t always fill in Membership Application forms in the expected way!

Members with Shared Addresses
When 2 new members that live at the same address join at the same time, the 2 new Member Records can be created together and they share a single Address Record in the database.

Beacon refers to members that share an address as Partners. This is irrespective of whether the members are in a Joint Membership Class or whether the Membership Class meets the HMRC requirements of Family membership.

If a new member is joining as a Joint member with an existing member who is currently in an Individual class, you should update the class of the existing member before adding the new member (this will save time later).

Refer to 4.3.2 Shared Addresses & Joint Members for further information about how Beacon treats members living at the same address.

a) Adding a New Member
Click Add new member on the Home Page or from the top of the Membership List page.  

The 'Add New Member' page for a member that doesn't share an address with another member consists of 4 sections:

i) Type of Membership

ii) Member’s Details

iii) Address

iv) Payment

When a new member shares an address with another member, there is an additional section for Partner’s Details as described in section b) below.

All fields with a caption in bold text are mandatory. If any of these are not filled in you will be prompted to do so when you attempt to save the Member Record:

Refer to 4.2 Member Record for additional details about the information and format required.

i) Type of Membership
Select the type of membership.

ii) Member’s Details
Enter the member's name and contact details and any notes (if required). Also tick any of the boxes that are applicable. There is also the option to upload a photo of the member; follow the guidance in 4.2.

If the type of membership is an Associate class, there is an additional field for adding the member's home u3a.

• Note: Email addresses entered in upper case or part upper case are converted to lower case before they are saved. 
• The Initials field is not displayed at this stage and will be completed automatically from the member’s Forename(s). Additional initials and a suffix can be added by editing the Member Record after it has been saved.

iii) Address
Enter the Address details in a consistent manner. Use Upper and Lower case letters the same as if you were addressing an envelope.  Always entering the District or Village in the first of the ‘Additional lines’ boxes [A] will enable ‘sorting’ on District/Village in Excel downloads of the Membership List. Please be aware that downloads for TAM mailing and Gift Aid reports to HMRC are dependent on the required consistent format.

Please refer to 4.3.1 Addresses & Phone Numbers for further help on address and phone number formats.

iv) Payment

• Enter the amount paid in Amount received.
• Select the Payment method, e.g. cash, cheque, BACS. etc.
• Select the Account to be credited. This is likely to be the Current account or the Membership account if you have one set up (see 7.10 Financial Approaches for guidance on how to manage your membership payments)
• Optionally, enter a Payment Ref (e.g. cheque number).

If the Amount received is greater than the Amount to pay, the extra money will be accepted as a donation. If too little money is entered, you will be warned but can choose to disregard the warning if you have particular reason for doing so.

After carefully checking that all the entered information is correct, press Add Member to create a new Member Record and an associated Financial Transaction. If any mandatory fields are not filled in, or information such as Post Code is in an incorrect format you will be prompted to correct before the form can be saved.

b) Adding a New Member with a Shared Address
If a Joint membership class is selected or if Share address with new partner is selected, a new section for Partner's Details opens.

i) Address shared with another new member
When another member with a shared address is joining at the same time, select new partner [B] at the bottom of the Member's Details section and enter the Partner’s Details.

ii) Address shared with an existing member
When the new member shares an address with an existing member, do not fill in the Partner's Details section manually because this would create a duplicate Member Record for the partner. Select the partner’s name from the drop-down list at the bottom of the Member's Details section. The partner's details, including the shared address will be populated automatically.


If there are 2 or more potential sharing members with the same name, make sure to select the correct one. You may click the adjacent button with 3 dots [C] to open the other member’s record for further clarification (doing this with the Ctrl key held down will open the record in a separate tab).

If the partner’s membership is due for renewal, there will be a prompt that you may renew the partner at the same time, which you can do by ticking the adjacent box [D].
You may also be prompted to check that the partner’s membership class is correct. This can be changed to the appropriate membership type and renewal fee by selecting from the drop-down list [E].

Video
The video below covers the steps to add a new member as a Partner of an existing member, either during the membership year or at renewal time:

 Revision History

v2	2020-08-10	Graham Tigg	Mention that the Membership a/c could be the default account for some u3a's.
v3	2021-04-25	Lyn Bossons	Inserted link to 4.3.2 Shared Addresses & Joint Members
v4	2021-12-20	Graeme Bunting	Additional guidance on members with shared addresses and an associated video added. Other minor changes to text.
v5	2023-04-27	Graeme Bunting	Option to upload a member photo added.
v6	2023-08-24	Graeme Bunting	Reference to 7.10 Financial Approaches added to the Payment section
v7	2023-09-05	Graeme Bunting	Note about email addresses in upper case added
v8	2024-05-30	John Alexander	Update for removal of Male / Female, etc.
v9	2024-06-10	John Alexander	Amend working for Associate u3a
v10	2024-07-02	Graeme Bunting	Added prompt when mandatory field not filled in