New Membership Payments Scheme for 2016 - UPDATED

Hi to all the QLD members!

This has been reviewed by the committee and members at the AGM on Sunday, 21/8/16, who all endorsed the following decision:

Membership Fee

The fee has been raised to $50 per year, as the benefits and costs have increased.


Membership Benefits
 
This will be covered off by our new president, Ben, in greater detail. A brief summary of new benefits:

-Membership Card and Number
-Greater variety of events
-Social Events sponsored by the club
-Remuneration for run co-coordinators
-Stickers
-Subsidized/free merchandise (To be looked at in further detail)
 
Also discussed was what happens in the event of non-payment.

It was agreed upon that no late fee will be charged, but if you have not paid your membership fee then you will be barred from attending the runs due to liability and fee enforcement.
 
Running the club is not free for the run coordinators, as they have to scout the run beforehand.  The club has agreed to pay these members for their fuel, and it is only fair that everyone should be paying their equivalent membership fee
 
Excluded from this is returning or new/prospective members to the club who want to see what the club is like. These people will get 1 free club run before payment is requested.
 
If a current member has paid late and not yet received your card before a run, a committee member can log into internet banking and check your payments been received, or you can pay your annual fee on the day by the means outlined below.
 
Membership Payments

Membership payments will now only be accepted by EFT/Bank Transfer or by going to a BOQ branch and depositing the funds into the account. There will be a prevision for special circumstances if this is not possible for a member.
 
Membership payments will only be accepted during the month of July. Members have a 31 day period to deposit the funds and become a registered member of the club. For renewals, any payments made outside this date will delay membership from being renewed.  For example, if you pay 2 months late, the fee is still $50 and your membership will still be due in July. You also won’t receive your card/stickers/merchandise until it has been paid.
 
Club bank details will be provided to past and current members each year via email or PM.

For this year payment dates will be 22 August to 30 September.
 
New members to the club will pay a pro-rata amount, calculated by the treasurer or committee members
Thanks all for your understanding. Please comment or PM me with any questions or concerns about the new scheme
 
 

dennis the menace
Although I'm sure the committee believes they have good reason for doing this, in my opinion we are now moving away from the original philosophy in Incorporating the Queensland Chapter.
 
The intention was not to create a profit making entity, but to offer some sort of protection to those who wanted to organise cruises and other events, without losing their house if an incident occurred.
 
Now we are making membership requirements more formal, and instituting a penalty system for "late" payment of membership dues.  Why, was the original system not working?  A register, and a receipt book worked in the beginning.  Has this system become too difficult to manage?  I agree with giving members the "option" to do a bank transfer (this was always intended to happen), but I don't think removing the cash option is a wise move. 
 

 
In the current state, the majority of people have a smartphone and/or computer and a bank transfer is quite easy.
 
Yes, previously I have used a deposit book and kept track of each deposit but this is still difficult and there is not one date that I can just sit down and say "Ok, everyone has paid for this year and these are the members".
 
Instead, I have people asking me all year long if they have paid and when they have to pay next. Since the AGM moves every year, and not everyone attends, it becomes very hard to keep track of. 

I'm implementing this for granularity and clarity. This is no different to paying your yearly insurance premium or your RACQ club membership. 
 
Nor is this about making money. This is already the cheapest car club out there with the most benefits. The $10 Late fee is to entice members to pay on time.
 
And for clarification, if someone is against EFT/Transfers for what ever the reason may be, I can take the deposit. 
 
 

dennis the menace
 Where does that leave the people who turn up on the rare occasion that life allows them some free time?

 
We're not going to charge people who turn up once in a blue moon. We have to take discretion on some things. 

If people are coming to every event, and wanting to come to the tech day without paying their membership fee, then we may have a problem.
 

dennis the menace
And you haven't mentioned New members.  Is somebody who finds out about the Club in October expected to pay $10 extra?

 
Sorry, I did forget to mention regarding new members. They will pay on a Pro-Rata basis at the next membership payment date. For example if you join in January, you pay $11.50 (Rounded) plus your $20 at the next July payment date. 

Dennis,

This is 2016 and I want 90% of the payments to be electronic mainly for the following reasons:
 

1. Payments are listed on the bank statement per each. 
2. I can simply email the statements to auditors if required
3. Any committee member with an internet banking login can log-on and view the statement and have a full list of members.
4. There is no possibility of cash deposits or the deposit book being lost, mistreated or destroyed.
5. Most people have internet banking. This is a simple task to do.

dennis the menace
I'm not sure why a "floating" AGM date has an effect on membership subs.  It (membership) falls due on a specific date.

As a member can pay at any point in time during the year, their anniversary date will differ to other members. I want this to be a set date so we get it in one sum.
 

dennis the menace
As far as I know neither insurance nor RACQ membership charges a "penalty" for late payment.  There may be a discount for prompt or early payment. I presume you are using the "level of detail" definition for granularity.  How is this method increasing that detail, or making records clearer? 

That is correct, they do not. What instead happens is you lose cover in the event of an accident or break down. The $10 late fee is to encourage earlier payment. This method makes our records clearer because I can log onto internet banking every year in August and have a complete and up to date listing of all members who have paid. 

dennis the menace 
Yes, there may be a problem in this.  How is changing the method of payment going to affect this situation?  To me, if somebody is able to hand over their money on the day they are more likely to become a financial member.  And surely each event - be it cruise, tech day or whatever - is going to have at least one committee member present.  If the Treasurer is unable to attend, then the records are entrusted to whichever committee member will be there on the day.

 
The aim is not to combat non-payment. This is never really an issue for the club. 

If someone wants to pay on the day, we would encourage them to do a bank transfer when the payment date comes around.
 

dennis the menace 
Forgive me if I appear argumentative, that is not my intention.  

Yes, it has come across that way.
 
I understand that you have a historical vested interest in the club, but what we, as the committee, have proposed is not changing the foundations on which it was built or trying to make money for the club. 

In the shortest terms: We just want people to pay electronically, once a year.
 
 
 

Eric
Dennis,

This is 2016 and I want 90% of the payments to be electronic mainly for the following reasons:
 

1. Payments are listed on the bank statement per each. 
2. I can simply email the statements to auditors if required
3. Any committee member with an internet banking login can log-on and view the statement and have a full list of members.
4. There is no possibility of cash deposits or the deposit book being lost, mistreated or destroyed.
5. Most people have internet banking. This is a simple task to do.

dennis the menace
I'm not sure why a "floating" AGM date has an effect on membership subs.  It (membership) falls due on a specific date.

Eric
As a member can pay at any point in time during the year, their anniversary date will differ to other members. I want this to be a set date so we get it in one sum.

The anniversary date is a fixed date - or it was when the Club was first Incorporated.  This made Membership year simpler to manage, Membership renewals fell on a set date, and members renewing their sub paid one amount.  New members (as you said earlier) have their first year pro-rated.
 

dennis the menace . . . I presume you are using the "level of detail" definition for granularity.  How is this method increasing that detail, or making records clearer? 

 
 

Eric. . .  This method makes our records clearer because I can log onto internet banking every year in August and have a complete and up to date listing of all members who have paid.

In an ideal situation, yes.  What if the depositer forgets to add reference detail, or puts incorrect detail.  Or is it going to be as simple as using your unique club membership number? Does everybody know theirs?

dennis the menace 
Forgive me if I appear argumentative, that is not my intention.  

Eric
Yes, it has come across that way.
 
 . . . what we, as the committee, have proposed  . . .

My apologies, Eric.  I didn't read your post completely.  I formed the assumption that this was a set-in-stone directive, and not a proposal to be discussed and voted on at the next AGM.
 

dodgee
Well I for one hate late payment fees and quite simply never pay them. To propose a 50% late payment fee reminds me of some of the banks exorbatant charges.

Thanks Roger.

This is the sort of feedback we want to hear as it allows us to modify as necessary

Eric
 
 

1. Payments are listed on the bank statement per each. 
2. I can simply email the statements to auditors if required
3. Any committee member with an internet banking login can log-on and view the statement and have a full list of members.
4. There is no possibility of cash deposits or the deposit book being lost, mistreated or destroyed.
5. Most people have internet banking. This is a simple task to do.

 
 
     In the shortest terms: We just want people to pay electronically, once a year.
 
 
 

 
From an outsiders point of view I can see why you'd want it done electronically. So much easier for record keeping, those with access can see exactly who is current and when what was paid. And repeating more of the above - auditing requests are easy to comply with and things don't get lost as easily as they could. 
 
Trying to manage a club can't be easy alongside having a full-time job, having members randomly paying cash throughout the year and keeping paper records only add to the annoyance factor.
 
The carrot and stick approach can work - but no-one likes the stick. Try not to let this little thing turn into a major point of club friction, it'll be the Peoples Judean Front v. the People front of Judea otherwise... 
 

dont forget The Judean people front they has a say to LOL
 
 .
 
 
, it'll be the Peoples Judean Front v. the People front of Judea otherwise... 
 

dodgee

"Therefore, we will be introducing a new payments scheme from this year:"
I read it the same way Dennis the menace did, this is not a proposal it is a statement that this will be introduced.

Thats correct, it is being implemented, but after all above commentary I think it would beneficially to club members to discuss this at the AGM as well as on an open forum such as this

I'm not trying to annoy club members, I just want to make things easier to manage.

Dudeman
 
The carrot and stick approach can work - but no-one likes the stick. Try not to let this little thing turn into a major point of club friction, it'll be the Peoples Judean Front v. the People front of Judea otherwise... 
 

rikkir
I just wish there was a club in SA to be a part of. Having regular activities and the social benefits would be worth a small fee. I don't see a problem with electronic payments, I pay all my bills that way, but obviously some people are different. I'm sure Eric is trying to do the best he can for the club and all its members. Surely the members can try to make his job a bit easier?

Chris is right here about the carrot and the stick approach
I don't want to charge a fee because the club gets no benefit out of it, but we cant offer a discount for paying early either.
 
I don't want to cause friction with our members either because we cant operate without them. 


All of the above taken into consideration, how do members feel about the scheme if we exclude the fee?
 

dennis the menace
 
Rick, I agree with the concept of having electronic payment as an option - it was always intended to be so.  As to whether it will make the job easier, I'm not so sure.  I am very aware just how much time a voluntary position takes up, so any change to a process that makes the use of that time more efficient is a good thing.  The ground we're covering here, now, is the same ground covered back in the beginning.  The problems and pitfalls are still the same.

At AGM time sorting the financials out is taxing on my time. Currently I'm in my final semester of studying, and working in treasury operations in a bank. I'm lucky to be home at 8pm most nights. 

Yes, this 100% will make my life easier. I can export the statement into an excel file and run all my bank reconciliations straight off that