Membership : Settings

Navigating to Settings

• Go to Contacts > Membership Management > Settings. The Settings page is divided into three main sections: Member Notifications, Member Portal, and Manage Failed Payments.

Member Notifications

These toggles control which automated emails are sent to members. Enable or disable each toggle based on your organization's communication preferences:

• Send Email when card payments fail — Notifies the member when a payment attempt on their card is unsuccessful.
• Send Email about upcoming payments — Sends a reminder before a scheduled renewal charge. See Reminder timing below to control how far in advance this is sent.
• Send Email about expiring cards — Alerts the member when their card on file is approaching its expiration date.
• Send Email when subscription is canceled — Confirms to the member that their subscription has been canceled.
• Send Email about pending subscription cancellation — Notifies the member that a cancellation has been requested but has not yet taken effect (e.g., they canceled mid-cycle and access continues until the end of the period).

A View sample option is available next to each toggle so you can preview the email content before enabling it.

New Notification Controls (June 2026)

Several new controls were added in June 2026 to give admins more precision over when and how renewal reminders are sent.

• Notify team on member notifications — When enabled, an internal team member (configurable) receives a copy of member notification emails. This keeps your team aware of payment issues or cancellations without requiring them to check the dashboard continuously.
• Reminder timing — Set how many days before a renewal the upcoming payment reminder email is sent. The default is 3 days. For annual billing plans, consider setting this to 30 days so members have enough notice to update their card or cancel before being charged.
• Filter by billing frequency — Choose which billing frequencies receive upcoming payment reminder emails. For example, you might want to send reminders only to annual subscribers but not monthly subscribers, to reduce email fatigue for members who are charged more frequently.
• Notify household adults on renewal reminders — When enabled, adult household members linked to a subscription receive the same renewal reminder as the primary subscriber. This is useful when adult household members share financial responsibility for the membership.

Member Portal

This section controls what members and donors can do when they access the Supporter Portal.

• Allow profile updates by Members toggle — When enabled, members can edit their own contact fields (such as address, phone, or email) directly from the Supporter Portal without contacting staff.
• Allow profile updates by Donors toggle — When enabled, supporters who have made a donation but may not hold a membership can also edit their own contact fields from the portal.

For detailed portal configuration — including which fields are visible or editable, portal page order, Member Directory settings, and Custom Pages — see Supporter Portal Settings.

Manage Failed Payments

This section determines what happens automatically if all scheduled retry attempts for a payment fail. Choose one of the following options:

• Mark as Failed — The subscription status changes to Failed, but the subscription record remains in the system. An admin can follow up with the member, apply a manual payment, or reinstate the subscription once the payment issue is resolved. Use this option if your team prefers to handle failed payments manually and give members time to correct their billing information.
• Cancel Subscription — The subscription is automatically cancelled after all retry attempts are exhausted. Use this option if you want access to end without requiring manual admin intervention.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I control which fields members can edit in the portal?

Field-level controls (which specific fields are visible or editable) are managed in Supporter Portal Settings, not in Membership Settings. Navigate to Settings > Supporter Portal, or see Supporter Portal Settings for full documentation.

Can I view a sample of the notification emails?

Yes — a View sample option is available next to each notification toggle. Click it to preview the email content before enabling the notification.

What happens if I set failed payments to "Mark as Failed" — will the member's access end?

When a subscription is marked as Failed, the member's status reflects the payment issue, but the subscription record is preserved in the system. An admin can then manually apply a payment or reinstate the subscription once the billing issue is resolved. If you want access to end automatically without admin intervention, use Cancel Subscription instead.

Does the renewal reminder timing affect all plans or just specific ones?

The timing setting applies globally to all plans in your Membership Center. If you need different behavior for different plan types (e.g., monthly vs. annual), use the billing frequency filter to control which billing frequencies receive the reminder at all — this allows you to send timely reminders to annual subscribers while opting out monthly subscribers entirely.

Need Additional Help?

We're here to assist you in any way we can. Don't hesitate to reach out to support@betterunite.com

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