Member count fluctuations

It can be hard to reconcile Current Member counts against Cancellations or New Memberships as generally these are not actioned instantly. There are often differences between joining dates, starting dates, cancellation dates and termination dates. The delay between system changes and when they take effect influences reported figures for Cancelled, New and Current Members.

New Members

A new member is someone who has been entered in to your GymMaster database recently. Members can be considered new, even when their membership has not yet started.

Current Members

A member is considered current if they have a membership that has already started, but not yet ended. It is important to note that Current Members is a snapshot of all member statuses at the time the report is run, and it is best to run this report for a single date, rather than over a date range.

If a member cancels with an end date in the future, they can be considered both current and cancelled. 

Cancellations

There are two important dates that relate to cancellations:

1. Cancellation date: This is the day the cancellation was processed, reports that provide data on cancellations will usually use this date.
2. Termination date: This is the day that the member's membership ends, the last day they can use the facility.

These dates are rarely the same, meaning members can show as a cancellation while not dropping from your current member count. Come the termination date your member count drops, seemingly unexpectedly as there were no recent cancellations.

A membership that is erased will affect your Current Member count without impacting your cancellations.
Note: Only memberships that have had no payments can be erased.

Settings

 Configuration changes can dramatically impact your member counts. There are a few different settings which define which members/memberships should be considered towards your Current Member count. If you notice any sudden and dramatic changes in member counts have a look at the following configuration options to see if any have been adjusted recently.

• Casual Membership: Membership types can be configured to be casual, meaning a member with only this membership will not be counted. 
  Settings > Membership Types > [edit] > Casual Membership
  
  This Casual Membership option may need to be enabled for it to be visible under Membership Types.
  Settings > Advanced Configuration > Membership Type > Show Casual Membership option on Membership Type
   
• Free Memberships: You can choose to have any free memberships considered casual.
  Settings > Advanced Configuration > Member Reports > $0.00 Memberships are Casual Memberships
   
• Concession Memberships: Define how concession pack memberships are counted. See the setting's help text for specifics.
  Settings > Advanced Configuration > Member Reports > Concession Packs in Reports

Need more help?

You can contact the GymMaster Support team if this article didn't answer your question, you had trouble following any of the instructions, or require further assistance.