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Memberships & renewals

How membership types, a household's membership, renewals and the volunteer rate fit together.

Membership types are templates

A membership type defines the deal: how long it lasts (duration), max concurrent loans, the loan period and max renewals, the membership fee, an optional one-off joining fee, and optionally volunteer sessions required. You can offer several (e.g. Standard, Concession, Volunteer rate, Short-term). Editing a type creates a new version, so existing members keep the terms they signed up under until they renew.

A household's membership

When a household joins on a type, their membership starts that day and expires after the type's duration. They stay active right up to the expiry date, and renewing extends from the expiry (not the renewal day) — so nothing is lost by renewing early.

Fees

The membership fee is charged each period; the joining fee is a one-off the first time a household joins. Concession types offer a reduced rate. Recording and refunding these is covered in Fees & payments.

The volunteer rate

A type can require volunteer sessions — a discounted rate in exchange for helping out N times. That's an obligation tracked against the membership; it's separate from whether the person can volunteer, which is set by their role. See Roles, members & volunteers.