A "Dues Paying Member" is the Organization or Person listed in an association's bylaws as eligible for membership and that pays dues.
For Trade Associations, this will typically be a Company. For Professional Societies, this is generally an Individual. For Hybrid Associations, this may be either a Company or an Individual, depending on the member type assigned.
Setting a Record as a Dues Paying Member
A Dues Paying Member can be identified by the presence of an assigned Designated Member Type on the Member record's detail tab.
Once a Designated Member Type has been assigned to a member record, the record will require a "Member Since" date and a "Membership Expires" date. Without those dates, the record will be considered a Prospect.
Renewals
Dues-paying members are the only member records for which a renewal can be processed and dues invoices can be generated.
Note: This includes when the dues are "free", for example a Life Membership with no real dues or invoice, but an expected continuation of membership every year.
Data Import
AE Tip™: When importing data, make sure that only dues-paying members have member since and member expiration dates.
Non-Dues Paying Member
Non-Dues Paying Members are companies or individuals that do not have a designated member type and therefore pay no dues. Additionally, Non-Dues Paying Members have no need for a Member Since date or Membership Expires date.
Inheriting Member Benefits
Non-Dues Paying Members can inherit Member Benefits. The way these benefits flow is set up during the onboarding process and the setup can be adjusted for each member type. Rather than have a Designated Member Type, they would have an Effective Member Type.