A common question we hear is:
“If a member hasn’t paid their dues, why can’t we just take away their benefits?”
The short answer is that doing so would create accounting and data-integrity issues. Novi is intentionally designed to follow accrual accounting best practices, which affects how memberships, invoices, and benefits work together.
This article explains the reasoning behind that behavior and outlines the correct way to remove benefits when payment is not received.
Why Member Benefits Remain Active
Many associations intentionally allow members to:
Renew before paying
Continue accessing benefits during a grace period
Avoid disruptions caused by delayed payments
Because benefits are extended as part of the active membership term, Novi cannot remove benefits while leaving the dues invoice in place. Doing so would mean:
The member is being billed for a service they are no longer receiving
Revenue remains on the books for a term that has effectively been canceled
Accounting records no longer align with member access
To prevent these issues, Novi treats membership benefits and dues invoices as tightly connected.
The Correct Way to Remove Member Benefits
If an association decides that a member should no longer receive benefits due to non-payment, the membership term itself must be formally ended.
In Novi, this is done through Non-Renew & Credit, which:
Ends the membership term
Removes member benefits
Issues a credit to reverse the unpaid dues invoice
Keeps accounting and reporting accurate
This ensures the system reflects what actually occurred: the membership did not continue, and revenue should not be recognized.
For step-by-step instructions, see:
→ How to Manually Drop Members (Non-Renew & Credit)
Optional: Automating Drops for Non-Payment
Some associations prefer to handle non-payment manually, while others want a more automated approach. Novi supports both methods.
For those seeking a more turnkey approach, automatic non-renewals for unpaid dues using rules can be configured at the Member Type level. These rules allow associations to:
Define how many days after an invoice due date a member should be dropped
Automatically non-renew and credit unpaid memberships
Optionally notify members before and after the drop occurs
Whether drops are manual or automatic, the underlying principle remains the same:
Member benefits are only removed when the membership term is formally ended and the invoice is credited.
For step-by-step instructions, see:
Keywords: nonrenew, non-renew, lapse, member benefits, expired, non-payment, nonpayment, unpaid