As an association, it’s vital to find a software solution that works for your organization. Discovering the right association management software (AMS) that supports your association and is also up and running within your timetable might seem impossible. But it doesn’t need to be!
Read our blog to discover helpful strategies to choose the right association software to support your entire organization, get online fast, and all for a low price point.
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5 common association software pain points
Are you experiencing any pain points with your current AMS? If your association software isn’t supporting your organization, you’re likely struggling to meet your member’s needs and reach your strategic goals.
Have you experienced these common pain points with your current AMS?
1. Outdated software
When was the last time you updated your AMS? To support your members and staff, you’ll want a modern, reliable AMS with a trustworthy technology partnership.
2. Unreliable or slow technology
How much space does your current AMS offer? With more storage, you’ll have more power to increase efficiency and speed up processes.
3. Software isn’t cloud-based or mobile-friendly
Where can you access your AMS? To ensure your software is truly accessible, you’ll want an AMS that is available anywhere and everywhere, meaning, the technology is cloud-based and mobile-friendly.
4. Can’t generate reports or track data
Your software is only as good as your data. Without crucial reporting and analytics, you can’t leverage your data to make proactive decisions. You need the right AMS to help your organization become data driven.
5. Software doesn’t integrate with other business applications
How scalable is your current software? If your AMS doesn’t integrate with the rest of your software ecosystem, then it won’t grow with your organization. You need technology with advanced integration capabilities.
If you are experiencing any of these challenges with your current technology, it might be time to consider adopting a new AMS for your association.
Top five factors to look for in association organization software
As you discern if it’s time to select new software for your association, you will quickly discover not all AMS platforms are created equally. When you research AMS software vendors, look for the following factors to determine if the technology will be a good fit for your organization:
1. Advanced functionality
As an association, it’s vital to use an AMS made for your organization. Look for technology that offers all the functionality you need to run your organization, including fundraising, committee management, event registration, volunteer organization, and more.
TIP: NetForum makes it easy for association to get up and running with advanced AMS features in just 16 weeks. With NetForum’s Optimized Adoption your organization can get out-of-the box features and functionality to drive revenue, save staff time, and enhance the member experience.
2. Transparent fee structure
Total cost of ownership matters to your organization. Not only do you need an affordable AMS, but you need a transparent fee structure. Look for a technology vendor that can support your bottom line with a fixed-cost structure and doesn’t charge for quarterly product updates.
TIP: At NetForum, we understand that associations need to be extra careful with their budgets and control future costs the best they can. With NetForum you’ll know exactly what you’re getting and at what price. You’ll never experience hidden costs or charges.
3. Workshops and training
You deserve the best to support your members and your mission, no matter the size of your IT staff and your organization. As you look for a new AMS, search for a vendor that offers training in the form of workshops and templates to empower your staff to own your new technology. Having adequate training will ensure your AMS implementation is a success.
TIP: NetForum works with you in providing onboarding workshops and customized training, ultimately ensuring you get the most out of your AMS investment and are prepared to leverage your software upon implementation. NetForum has more than 20 years experience and trusted plan to partnering with organizations.
4. Scalable software
You need an AMS that can grow with your association. As you research software, look for an AMS that is scalable, one that offers flexibility where you can add new features as you need them. Additionally, look for an AMS that offers integration capabilities so you can enhance your software ecosystem.
TIP: With the NetForum Optimized Adoption, your association can start with core NetForum features including membership and CRM, events, committees, accounting, data, and more, growing to enterprise-level functionality as you need it.
5. Quick implementation timeline
When it comes to picking and adopting a new AMS, time is of the essence. You might be stuck with a short deadline until your next renewal. However, the timeline for any software vendors can be frustratingly long.
But, there’s good news! If you find the right AMS vendor, the timeline to a new AMS can be short—just 16 weeks.
TIP: In just four months, your organization can go live with NetForum AMS, setting your association up for success to maximize revenue, save staff time, and enhance the member experience. Hosted on Microsoft Azure, NetForum offers unique security advantages to protect your data and support your organization. Additionally, as part of the Community Brands suite of connected solutions, you can expand your software ecosystem with our integrated technology offerings including learning management software, job board software, and event management software.
An association + NetForum success story
The Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) found itself needing robust association management software and needing it fast. The association of 2300 members and 28 committees had a tight timeline, but still had high expectations for its technology. Thankfully CAEP found NetForum.
To best support emergency physicians and advance emergency medicine guidelines, CAEP choose NetForum. “As soon as we kicked off the implementation the team was amazing. Our Project Manager kept us on track with weekly check-ins. Everyone was amazing and really responsive. We did the implementation through holding our annual conference with 1000 delegates. The team did an excellent job at working around those blackout dates. It was not stressful at all, and we finished with time to spare,” said Christina Bova, CAEP Director of Member Engagement and Advocacy.
With no IT staff, CAEP needed an AMS that was user-friendly, intuitive for staff and members, and efficient to implement. CAEP chose NetForum optimized implementation, resulting in fixed costs, stable infrastructure, and robust features. CAEP found great success in choosing NetForum’s optimized implementation. The transition went smoothly, and the AMS launch finished with time to spare.
With NetForum, CAEP staff now have an easy-to-use system, key functionality that was missing in their previous system, and responsive tech support. “CAEP is a mid-sized organization without IT staff. With our previous system, it took a lot of effort and revenue to install necessary updates and patches. Now that we use NetForum, we don’t have to worry about updates and we don’t receive surprise invoices anymore,” said Bova.
Using NetForum, CAEP has accomplished the following:
- Saved 1 hour of daily staff time due to streamlined processes and increased efficiencies
- A rise in donations less than 60 days post implementation
- No time wasted on manual updates of prorated memberships
- Learn more about the best association software for your organization
Are you ready to find the best software solution for your association?
Look no further than NetForum and our optimized implementation. Watch our on-demand demo to learn why NetForum optimized adoption is the best fit for association organizations.
