Inviting Members
Send an email invite so someone can claim existing profiles, or create their own when public sign-ups are disabled.
Overview
An invite is an email that lets someone create an account and sign in. It does not have to include a member profile.
Attach profiles if they should claim records you already created. Leave them off if they should create their own, which is how people join when public sign-ups are disabled.
They receive the email, create an account, and accept. They can then sign in to update their profile, manage payments and subscriptions, and book events.
Invites expire, and a pending invite can be revoked. Statuses are pending, accepted, revoked, expired, and declined.
If they already have a profile
Create the record
Add the member first, with an email address. See Adding Members. Use draft if the profile should wait until they are invited. Members with no email cannot be invited.
Send the invite
Send it from that member, or in bulk for a selection. Records that share an email are grouped into one invite.
Until they accept, staff can still edit the profile, create subscriptions, and issue invoices.
They accept
Accepting links their account to those records. The email is confirmed and cannot be changed while the account stays linked. To change it, unlink the account, update the address, and invite them again.
Confirm the linked profile: name, email, and the fields they should maintain. Member-editable fields appear for them. Staff-only fields stay on the admin profile. See Customising Member Profile Fields.
If they do not have a profile yet
Send an email only
Leave member profiles off the invite. You only need an email address. The invite does not create a member record.
They accept and create a profile
Accepting creates their account. They then complete the joining form. Until they do, they have no member record.
Approval required still applies. The invite lets them open the form. It does not approve them. The profile stays pending until staff accept it. See Applications.
Invite members in bulk
In the member list, select the profiles, then choose Send invites from the Actions menu. Each selected member receives an invite email.
Use this after an import when the file did not include a full profile. Members complete the rest themselves.
For API users, run a send invite action with those member IDs.
Role
The role on an invite is member by default. That provides access to the member website and app for the person themselves, not staff access to the admin dashboard. Send an admin invite only if that person should manage the organization. After they create their account and accept the invite, they will be able to access the admin dashboard.