Introduction

Overview

A benefit defines something a member is entitled to: facility access, event bookings, membership card access, class credits, guest passes, voting rights, a discount code, or a loyalty points balance.

The benefits engine is what makes Members a highly customizable membership management platform. It makes membership subscriptions more than a payment record by answering three questions consistently for staff and for your own systems:

1. What is this person entitled to?
2. How much do they have left (if the benefit is metered)?
3. Why do they have it (which product subscription or manual grant)?

There is no limit on how many benefits you can define. Create them in the admin dashboard under Products → Benefits, or use the Benefits, Benefit Grants, Benefit Schedules, and Benefit Usage APIs.

Why the benefits engine is powerful

Most membership tools stop at tracking whether a member has paid.

Members goes further: entitlements can be attached to products or renewed on their own rules, benefit balances deplete and can be credited, stacked subscriptions combine cleanly, and every check-in or redemption can be recorded as a usage event.

That means you can model programs that usually need custom code or spreadsheets:

• A monthly membership that also issues a guest passes which roll over
• A 10, 20, or 30-visit pack that depletes as members book sessions, bought on top of a recurring plan with a base amount of sessions each month
• Multiple benefit schedules on the same product, like a monthly subscription that grants a free drink every day, and a free class every week
• A loyalty points balance that goes down on redemption and up when you credit points
• Family or corporate plans where some allowances are pooled across members and others are per person
• Event bookings gated by entitlement, including early access or discounted tickets for priority memberships
• Membership card access controlled by a benefit, so only entitled members can view or use their card

The building blocks

Benefit types

Every benefit is one of three types. The type is fixed when you create the benefit.

Benefits can be hidden from members, so that they don't see them on their profile page. This is useful for internal-only benefits, like operational room or venue access.

Example benefits

How benefits reach members

Benefits usually flow through products and subscriptions:

1. Define benefits in the catalog.
2. Attach them to a product with schedule rules (how often each benefit renews, how long each grant lasts, and how much is granted).
3. When someone subscribes, Members automatically creates benefit schedules, which will grant the benefits to the covered members on schedule.
4. Actions, like booking an event, or staff and integrations recording usage, will deplete benefits.
5. Member entitlements are kept up to date and can be linked to granting access, booking, or redemption.

Benefits combine across a member's subscriptions. Foe example, a membership which grants 10 credits per week, plus a 5-credit pack will resolve to 15 credits.

You can also create schedules and grants directly for a member without a subscription, for comps, migrations, or staff adjustments. This is useful for one-off entitlements or adjustmnets, and for managing loyalty programs which are points based and not tied to a subscription.

Ways to work with benefits

Next steps

• Create benefits before you attach them to products, so the catalog matches what you sell.
• Create products and include the benefits on each offer.
• Record usage and check entitlements once members are subscribed, so balances and access stay accurate.