Having the right association management software (AMS) in place is vital to support your association’s work.
Here’s how to know when it’s time for a new AMS for your organization – and making the move might be faster and less expensive than you think!
As a professional at a mid-to-large size association, you know it’s important to have the right software to support your organization’s work. For many associations, that means having association management software (AMS) in place.
When you think it might be time to replace your AMS system, it’s important to consider:
- Why your association needs an AMS system
- What to look for in an AMS system
- What are some of the signs that it’s time for a new AMS system
- How to implement an AMS system as efficiently and inexpensively as possible
- Let’s take a closer look at these topics.
Why does your association need an AMS system in the first place?
Association management software provides your association with the functionality you need to run your organization. It helps you manage your association’s data, communications, processes, and tasks.
Not all association management software is the same. So, it’s important to find an AMS system built for mid-to-larger associations like yours that need software to help them grow and stay relevant with members.
Having the right AMS system can help your association to recruit and engage members, generate non-dues revenue, and work more efficiently. For example, it can help your association to:
- Collect and manage association data, such as member data
- Conduct departmental tasks – such as managing memberships, sending member communications, managing events, and handling accounting processes – more efficiently
- Automate manual processes to save staff time and deliver a better member experience
- Track and analyze key performance data to find new opportunities for membership and revenue growth and uncover potential issues before they have a negative impact on the organization
What should your association look for in an AMS system?
Look for an AMS system that’s built to help your association grow and evolve. For example, NetForum is a configurable AMS for mid-to-large size associations. It includes a complete set of association management features that you need to delight your members, maximize revenue, and save staff time.
Here are some specific things that make NetForum AMS ideal for mid-to-large sized associations:
- Extensive functionality – NetForum includes extensive functionality to help you manage everything from memberships and marketing to fundraising and accounting. For example, you can use NetForum to:
- Drive member engagement through member management and customer relationship management functionality.
- Manage complex events and even take them to the next level for member engagement.
- Generate non-dues revenue through fundraising and sales through a modern and secure online store.
- Manage committees and chapters efficiently and effectively.
- Easy process automation – NetForum allows you to streamline day-to-day operations by automating common tasks across your organization using a graphical workflow builder.
- Secure, reliable cloud platform – With NetForum, you get the benefits of the cloud, including automatic updates, no servers to maintain, and the security and reliability of the Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform.
- Powerful reporting – Using NetForum, you can see a quick view of key metrics through configurable dashboards, gain visibility into the health of your organization through 300 easy-to-run-and-modify standard reports, and uncover opportunities for growth through data analytics functionality.
Signs it’s time for a new AMS system for your association.
At some point, your association will simply have outgrown your AMS. The software will no longer support the things your organization needs to do to grow and evolve.
Here are some signs that it might be time to move to a more modern AMS system that can handle the needs of associations at your stage of growth:
- Your organization is falling behind on dues processing. The right AMS system can get you moving through membership processes more efficiently so your staff can spend more time delivering a great member experience.
- Your association is not producing enough non-dues revenue to make it through challenging economic conditions. A modern AMS system can help you use revenue-generating activities, such as fundraising and online store sales, to drive more revenue.
- Your current AMS system doesn’t support your association’s strategies and activities. The right AMS system will give you a wide range of functionality as well as the ability to configure the system to meet your specific needs now and as your organization grows.
Implement your ideal AMS system as fast and inexpensively as possible.
The right way to implement an AMS system for your association depends on multiple aspects.
A customized implementation might be worth the time and dollars spent to ensure your AMS system meets your organization’s specific needs. However, if your needs are less complex, NetForum AMS offers a streamlined implementation option that uses pre-configured modules for a faster, budget-friendly alternative to a customized implementation that can have you up and running with NetForum AMS in a flash.
Get started with the right AMS for your association.
Moving forward with the right AMS for your association might be faster and cost less than you think. Take this quiz to find out if it’s time for a new AMS for your association and if your organization is a fit for a streamlined path to a new AMS.
