Getting Started with Dues: Part I - Lodge Member Types

Setting up dues in MORI is a simple process. In this series of posts I will cover:

• How to setup lodge member types,
• What each lodge member types pays in annual dues,
• Assigning a member type to every member of the lodge,
• Importing any arrears or dues balances for your lodge members,
• Creating new dues entries for the upcoming year,
• Configuring your dues notice, and
• Generating and printing dues notices.

Creating Lodge Member Types

On the MORI menu go to: Lodge -> Member Types

This screen is divided into two sections: Member Types, which lists any existing member types that have been created for your lodge; and an Add Member Type form for creating new member types.

We will be using the "Add Member Type" form at the bottom of the page to create our lodge member types and enter the amount they will be billed for dues in the coming year.

The "Add Member Type" form has two fields "New Member Type," which is the name for the member types, such as "Regular," "Life," or "Hardship." The second field "Total Annual Dues" is where you enter the total amount the member type pays in annual dues. This is an important thing to understand, MORI only tracks one amount due for each member type, so you need to enter the complete amount you bill each member type on an annual basis. (ie. Include the Grand Lodge per-capita, lodge dues, meal fees, pet baby sitting fees, etc. OK, pet sitting is a joke.)

So, let's create a member type. We're going to create a "Regular" member who pays $100.00 per years in total annual dues. Enter "Regular" in the "New Member Type" field, and enter "100" in the "Total Annual Dues" field, and then click the "add" button. The screen will reload and you will see the "Regular" member type listed in the "Member Types" section at the top of the page.

You can create as many member types as you like. If your lodge charges a different amount for regular members just change the amount.

Now, create all of the member types for your lodge, common ones are "Regular," "Life," "Hardship," and "Honararium" for people like the secretary, if he doesn't pay dues. (NB: You do not need to create a member type for Honorary members. MORI already handles them transparently.)

In the next installment we will learn how to assign a member types to every member of the lodge.

Getting Started with Dues: Part II - Assigning Member Types

In our last installment we learned how to create member types for our lodge. In this installment we're going to learn a simple way to assign a member type to every member of our lodge. Fortunately MORI has a feature that allows this to all be done on one screen. You dont' need to look up every member of your lodge individually.

It is necessary that you have created your member types from our first installment before doing this step.

The Initialize Dues Page

On the MORI Menu go to: Financial -> Initialize Dues.

You can see that the form is divided into two parts, one for active members and a second for inactive members. We're only going ot be dealing with active members in this setup.

The form has four columns:

• The members GL# and name, which you can click to view the members complete record,
• A select list to set the member's lodge member type,
• An input field to enter the amount in arrears the member owes,
• An input field to enter the amount in current years dues the member owes.

We are only going to be dealing with the second column in this installment, so please don't enter anything into the arrears and dues columns until I have covered them. Doing so could really create a lot of unnecessary work if it is done wrong.

Setting the Member Types

Setting the member type or a member is very easy. In the "Member Type" column there is a select list for each member. Clicking this list will cause it to open up.

Click the member type you wish to assign to each member on the list next to their name. Once you have set the member type for all of your active members click the "update" button, and all of your information will be saved.

Once you have set a members type via the "Initialize Dues" screen you can not change it again on the "Initialize Dues" page. If you enter a member's type incorrectly and need to change it go to: Membership -> Find Member, look the member up, click the edit button next to their name, then set the member type on the "Member Data" tab, and click "save."

In our next installment we will learn about arrears and dues.

Getting Started with Dues: Part III - Figuring Out Arrears and Dues

In my last two installments (I, II) we have covered creating member types, and assigning those to all of the members of your lodge. In this installment we will cover what arrears and dues mean in MORI, and particularly when you are doing your initial setup of dues.

We will be using the "Initialize Dues" page again.

Using it we will set the current amount of arrears, and current dues that each member of the lodge owes. It is very important to understand that you only need to go through this process once, when you initially setup the dues for your lodge. If you have already gone through this process and just wish to do dues notices for your next year I will be covering that in a future post.

So, let's define arrears and dues in the context of the "Initialize Dues" page. It is important that you understand this.

Let us assume that the current year is 2006, and that you are getting ready to do your 2007 dues in MORI. For the purpose of the "Initialize Dues" page any amount due for 2005 or prior would be arrears. Any amount due for the 2006 would be dues. Therefore if dues for your lodge were $100.00 per year, and a brother owed 2005 and 2006, he would owe $100.00 in arrears and $100.00 in dues. When you fill in the "Initialize Dues" page you would:

• Enter 100 in the arrears column, and
• 100 in the dues column.

No dollar signs are needed, and if there are no cents you just enter the whole dollar amount.

Let's go through another example. Your lodge charges $100.00 per year. A brother owes 2006 dues. You would do the following:

• Leave the arrears column blank,
• Enter 100 in the dues column.

If a brother is right up to date with their dues payments and owes nothing to the lodge simply leave the arrears and dues fields blank.

When you have filled in the form hit the submit button. Again you only need to do this for you active members. Also, you can work on a few members at a time and hit the submit button. It will save the members you have made entries for, and you can come back to the page and continue your work later.

If you gotten this far and entered all of the dues that members owe you, you're ready to generate your amounts due for the next year. We will use MORI to do that. It only takes a few seconds, and then you'll be ready to create and print your dues notices.