goMember: saving time and reducing bookkeeping errors for goMember volunteers

From sports and hobbies to culture and politics, associations of all kinds are a cornerstone of Danish society. Keeping one up and running, however, places a heavy burden on the volunteers who keep them afloat – from managing memberships and bookkeeping to planning events and assemblies.

With their time already scarce, these volunteers would rather be enjoying their own membership than getting bogged down in administrative tasks. That’s where goMember comes in.

Formerly known as MemberLink, goMember was founded in 2011, and is a robust platform helping 600+ associations manage their processes from start to finish.

To streamline payments and bookkeeping, goMember partnered with Nets in 2021.

When a new association signs up for goMember, they receive training to get quickly up and running in the platform.

Since associations vary so widely in their needs, goMember offers an incredibly flexible setup using customisable tags. This allows them to set up:

• Role permissions

• Flexible prices for different age groups or membership types

• Discounts for new members, families, and more

• Segmented email and SMS lists for different groups

Using these tags, association administrators can set up a long list of automations that not only accept payments through Nets Easy, but remind members when they haven’t paid – and can even pause or renew memberships accordingly.

“If we set up tags with member prices from the beginning, and we set up the charging and reminder automations, these can run automatically without the volunteers using any time on it. That’s the key thing in this for us,” explains Brian Jørgensen, CEO at goMember.

Behind the scenes, payments are transferred to and from an intermediary account and balanced in the system automatically. The volunteer then needs to simply approve it in goMember. Since they may not have accounting experience themselves, it’s crucial that the process is as straightforward as possible for them.

And in cases like Sønderborg Vikingeklub – an association of about 2,400 members – simple bookkeeping could mean the difference between finding a treasurer or outsourcing the task altogether.

“Without goMember, it would be almost impossible to find a treasurer because the task would be too time-consuming. Alternatively, we would have to outsource the task, which could cost exorbitant sums,” explains Thorbjørn Philippsen, chairman of Sønderborg Vikingeklub.

If a member misses a payment, association admins can see that clearly in their goMember overview. If an automation has been set up, those members are automatically notified – meaning no one has to chase down a payment.

Plus with the Nets Easy integration, members don’t have to make a manual bank transfer when they pay the association. This greatly reduces errors and saves time for that member, but also the volunteer in charge of bookkeeping.

Not only does goMember’s platform help volunteers manage the financial aspects of association life, it offers a content management system for their websites and a mobile app for member-to-member communication. They continue to develop their products and services based on real customer needs and input.

While there is no doubt that goMember is a major player in Denmark, they also have their eyes set on expanding further into Europe.

“Maybe together [with Nets] we go abroad and make a solution that we can offer to Norway, Sweden, and Germany,” explains Brian Jørgensen.