📝 Overview
What Are Memberships?
Memberships are subscription-based products you can offer to customers. They can be recurring (auto-renew) or non-recurring (one-time). You customize each membership with pricing, perks (like free activity spots), restrictions, and policies. Memberships help you build customer loyalty and create predictable, recurring revenue.
This feature is included in the Grow and Scale pricing plans. It is not included in the Launch plan. If you'd like to upgrade your subscription plan or learn more about pricing tiers, visit Sawyer subscription plans and features.
If you went live prior to March 1, 2022, you continue to have access to your current features as a legacy provider.
Key Membership Concepts
Membership Types:
Adult Membership — For adult customers only (single person). When the "Adult Memberships" setting is enabled, this appears as "Individual (Client)."
Child Membership — For a specific child on a customer's account. When "Adult Memberships" is enabled, this appears as "Individual."
Family Membership — For all profiles on a customer's account (client + any children or additional adults).
Membership Terms
A membership term is the length of time the membership runs before it renews or expires (e.g., 1 month, 3 months, 1 year). You can set the term and choose whether it automatically renews after each cycle.
Perks
Perks are the benefits members receive. Common perks include a set number of free activity spots each month or quarter, discounts on classes, or priority registration. You control how many spots members get and how often they're distributed (weekly, monthly, or yearly).
💡 Tip: Adult Memberships Setting — If you want to offer memberships to adults using adult-friendly language, enable "Adult Memberships" in General Settings. This updates terminology across your portal and website (Adult → Individual, Child → Individual, Family → All Account Profiles).
🛠️ Setup: Create a Membership Plan
Click the arrow to view instructions to create a new membership plan.
Click the arrow to view instructions to create a new membership plan.
1️⃣ Navigate to Memberships
Go to Products and then select Memberships
Click + New Plan
You'll be guided through 6 configuration steps. Complete each one and click Save Membership at the bottom when finished.
2️⃣ Details
Add a photo — Upload an image to display on your membership widget
Name your membership plan — Give it a clear name (e.g., "Monthly Premium," "Family Pass")
Select locations — Choose which locations this membership is valid for
Select membership type — Choose who this membership applies to:
Adult — For a single adult customer (client)
Child — For a specific child on a customer's account
Family — For all profiles on the customer's account
3️⃣ Pricing
Set the membership term — Choose the length (1 month, 3 months, 1 year, or custom duration)
Auto-renew option — Toggle whether this membership automatically renews after each term ends
Set the price — Enter the cost per term. Leave blank if you don't want to charge a recurring price
Installment payments (optional) — If you want customers to pay monthly but have an annual term, check "Pay in Installment." For example: $120/year paid as $10/month
💡 Memberships start from the date the customer purchases them. Monthly auto-renewing memberships charge on the same day each month. For example, if someone buys on the 15th, they'll be charged on the 15th each month.
4️⃣ Perks (Optional)
Perks are the benefits members receive. You can skip this step if you only want to offer a discount or simple membership without additional benefits.
Click + Add Perk to create a benefit
Name the perk — Give it a clear name (e.g., "4 Free Classes Per Month")
Set activity spots — Decide how many free activity spots members get
Set distribution frequency — Choose how often spots are distributed (weekly, monthly, or yearly)
Set expiration date — Choose when unused spots expire (e.g., spots expire at the end of the month if unused)
Restrict to activities (optional) — Limit spots to specific activities (e.g., "Only for yoga classes")
💡 Perk spots can be used outside the month they're distributed in, as long as they haven't expired. If a participant is removed from a class they booked with perk spots, those spots become available to use again (unless already expired).
5️⃣ Membership Description
Enter a description that will display to customers on your widget. Describe the benefits and value of the membership. The system automatically shows:
Membership type (adult, child, or family)
Length of membership
Whether it auto-renews
You add any additional details you want to highlight.
6️⃣ Cancellation and Refund Policies
Enter your cancellation and refund policies for this membership plan. You can create unique policies for each plan or use the same policy across all memberships.
Include information like:
How customers cancel their membership
Whether refunds are available
Any notice period required
Non-refundable fees or terms
7️⃣ Registration Status
Choose whether this membership is open or closed for registration.
Open — The membership displays on your website and customers can purchase it
Closed — The membership is hidden from customers but you can still manually charge it using Quick Charge (see below)
Once all steps are complete, click Save Membership at the bottom of the page.
❌ Cancel or Close a Membership
You have two options: close an entire membership plan or cancel an individual customer's membership.
Close a Membership Plan:
Click the arrow to learn how to close a membership plan
Click the arrow to learn how to close a membership plan
Closing a plan prevents new customers from purchasing it, but does not cancel it for anyone who already has it. Closing a plan does not charge or refund existing members.
Go to Products then Memberships, and then choose Plans
Click into the plan you want to close
Scroll to the bottom and click Close Membership
Click Save Membership to confirm
Cancel an Individual's Membership:
Click the arrow to learn how to close an individual's membership
Click the arrow to learn how to close an individual's membership
Go to Products and then select Memberships
Find and click the customer's name in the members list
Click Cancel Membership
Choose one of these options:
Cancel at end of current cycle — The membership continues until the current term ends, then stops
Cancel Today — The membership ends immediately and prevents any future charges
Click Cancel Membership to confirm
⚠️ You can cancel an individual membership without closing the plan, and vice versa. Closing a plan doesn't cancel existing memberships.
🗲 Quick Charge a Membership
Use Quick Charge to manually charge a customer for a membership (useful for phone orders, in-person sales, or making changes to their account).
Click to arrow to learn how to quick charge a membership
Click to arrow to learn how to quick charge a membership
Go to Contacts and search for the customer
Click Charge Client
Click Quick Charge
In the dropdown next to Select Item, choose Membership
Select which membership to charge for. If the membership applies to someone other than the client (like a child on their account), select that person
Add a credit card number if one isn't already on file (or it will default to the card on file)
Confirm the charge
💡 With Quick Charge, you can charge any amount at checkout. Future payments will default to the membership's set price.
📊 Members Report
View and download a complete list of your members with key information.
Click the arrow to learn how to download the members report
Click the arrow to learn how to download the members report
Go to Products > Memberships
Click the Members tab
Click the Download button (top right)
A spreadsheet will download containing:
Customer Email
Customer Name
Membership Plan Name
Membership Type (Adult, Child, or Family)
Membership User
Next Payment (amount and date)
Term Start Date
Term End Date
This report helps you track membership renewals, upcoming payments, and member status.
🎯 Members-Only Classes
You can restrict certain classes so only members with an active membership can register. Non-members will be prompted to purchase a membership before they can register.
Click the arrow for more information on how to set-up members-only programs
Click the arrow for more information on how to set-up members-only programs
Go to Schedules and then select Semesters
Add a new activity to a semester or edit an existing scheduled activity
On Step 1, scroll down to Advanced Options
Check the box for Members-only class
A dropdown will appear showing all your membership plans
Select which membership plans qualify for this class. (By default, all active memberships are selected)
Complete Steps 2-3 of activity setup
Click Save Activity
What customers see:
If they have a qualifying membership: They can register normally
If they don't have a membership: They see a prompt to purchase one before registering
💡 The membership dropdown is searchable, alphabetized, and supports multi-select — making it easy to manage which memberships qualify for each class, even with long membership lists.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions or additional details that may not be covered in the main instructions.
What's the difference between closing a membership plan and canceling a membership?
Click the arrow to view the answer
Click the arrow to view the answer
Closing a plan prevents new customers from purchasing it, but existing members keep their membership. Canceling a membership ends it for that specific customer. You can close a plan without canceling existing memberships, and cancel a membership without closing the plan.
Can I edit a membership plan after I create it?
Click the arrow to view the answer
Click the arrow to view the answer
Yes, but with limits. You can edit:
Membership name
Description
Cancellation and refund policies
You cannot edit:
Pricing (term, price, auto-renew)
Perks (spots, frequency, expiration)
If you need to change pricing or perks, create a new plan instead.
Can I use coupons with memberships?
Click the arrow to view the answer
Click the arrow to view the answer
Yes. You can create coupon codes that are restricted to specific membership plans. If someone without that membership tries to use the coupon, it won't work. Customers who purchase a membership with a coupon pay the discounted price, and future payments default to that discounted amount.
Do memberships automatically enroll customers in classes?
Click the arrow to view the answer
Click the arrow to view the answer
No. Memberships don't auto-enroll participants in scheduled activities. Instead, members receive activity spots as a perk. They (or you) can use those spots to register for eligible drop-in classes. This gives members flexibility to choose which classes they want to attend.
What happens if a member's perk spots expire?
Click the arrow to view the answer
Click the arrow to view the answer
Unused spots expire on the date you set during perk creation (e.g., end of month, end of quarter). Once expired, they cannot be used. However, if a member is removed from a class before it starts, their perk spots are returned and can be used again (unless already expired).
Can I build a sibling discount into a membership?
Click the arrow to view the answer
Click the arrow to view the answer
Memberships don't have a built-in sibling discount, but you can create a Family Membership and adjust the price and number of spots to account for multiple siblings. For example, you could create a "Family Membership" with more activity spots and price it lower than two individual memberships. You can name it "Sibling Membership" to guide customers, though it won't prevent single-child families from purchasing it.
What's the difference between pausing and canceling a membership?
Click the arrow to view the answer
Click the arrow to view the answer
Pausing temporarily stops a membership for a set period (you choose the resume date). During the pause:
The customer doesn't receive new perks
They keep access to unexpired perks
They can still register for members-only classes
Canceling permanently ends the membership and removes all benefits. To temporarily stop benefits while letting customers keep access to perks and members-only classes, use Pause. To completely remove all membership benefits, use Cancel.
Why would I set a membership to "Closed" instead of just canceling it?
Click the arrow to view the answer
Click the arrow to view the answer
Closing a plan hides it from your website while keeping it available for staff to manually charge via Quick Charge. Use this if you want to stop new enrollments but still offer the membership to specific customers (like a legacy plan or grandfathered pricing).
Can membership pricing change for existing members?
Click the arrow to view the answer
Click the arrow to view the answer
No. Once a customer purchases a membership, their pricing is locked in, even if you change the plan's price. Only customers who purchase after the price change will see the new price. (Exception: if a customer purchases with a coupon code that offers a discount, future payments default to that discounted price.)
What's "Adult Memberships" setting and when should I enable it?
Click the arrow to view the answer
Click the arrow to view the answer
The Adult Memberships setting changes membership terminology throughout your system:
Adult → Individual (Client)
Child → Individual
Family → All Account Profiles
Enable this if you primarily offer memberships to adults and want language that feels more neutral and less child-focused. The functionality stays the same; only the labels change.
Are there reports for membership revenue or renewal dates?
Click the arrow to view the answer
Click the arrow to view the answer
Yes, you can download the Members Report (see section above) to see all members, their membership plans, and next payment dates. This helps you track upcoming revenue. For more detailed financial reporting, check your Payment Plan Reports or custom reporting options.