Did anyone try this before going public?
Submitted Apr. 10, 2015
We were with Affiniscape, using both their 24/7 software and then M360. We are accustomed to the notion that an "off the shelf" system won't be perfect for us. When YourMembership bought Affiniscape we had to make a choice of whether to continue with YM or move to another system. We did our due diligence; looked at several other companies and asked the a LOT of questions pertaining to how the system would integrate with the way we handle due, meeting registration and payments, donations (from members and nonmembers), etc. We explained that we have specialty Divisions that our members pay for when they join or renew their membership and that those payments should be integrated. We explained how our financial management works and the needs we have. We explained that we have a complicated dues system with a number of member types. We explained our need for accurate and easily produced reports, and we explained that we have a continuing professional education component to what we do. And on and on. We got nothing but assurances that YM was the system for us. We scheduled our migration very carefully for the summer so that it would fall between our annual conference and our membership campaign in the Fall. And so it began. There were multiple delays in getting our website completed and in getting our data migrated. We were finally up and running on October 31, 2014. There have been multiple issues. Some things don't work as promised. Some omissions in the development of the product are astounding if it was intended for member-based associations. My staff spends far too much time trying to get resolutions from the support staff. The system is fragmented and not fully integrated. The invoicing system is cumbersome. And on and on. It is a huge disappointment, and although they continue to say they are working on "fixes" not a day goes by that I don't hear from my staff about how difficult it is to do their work using this system. I feel as if we are beta-testing it for them and providing valuable input for the always-promised new and better "product release." And I know I'm not the only one because I have talked to many people who are having the same experience and even the support staff frequently admits that "you are certainly not the only one who has mentioned this" or "yes, I can see how that would have been a better choice for the programming." Didn't anyone talk to a potential end-user in a member-based association before going public? Stuck for now, and not a happy CEO to think that I will have to start over!
