Resilient Associations: Reducing Costs and Building Sustainable Revenue Through Smarter Systems

The 2025 State of the Association Sector Report from New Zealand Society of Association Executives (NZSAE) revealed a stark reality: nearly half of New Zealand’s associations could operate for only 3–12 months on their current reserves. For boards and executives committed to long-term stability, this is a call to action.

NZSAE Executive Director Brett Jeffery, CAE, has outlined some key actions associations need to take to strengthen sector resilience.

Alongside these actions, the role of smarter systems and the right technology cannot be understated - on both sides of the balance sheet. Modern, integrated platforms reduce operating costs through automation and unlock new revenue streams through added capability to deliver more value to members.

A smarter investment from the outset

Upgrading or replacing legacy technology can feel costly but so is relying on systems that no longer work.

Understanding the differences between a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution and a custom-built system is critical when modernising your tech stack.

Choosing a SaaS platform like Membes Association Management System (AMS) reduces the financial burden from day one and into the future with:

• No large upfront development costs: You pay an affordable monthly fee for a system already built, refined, and continually updated specifically for associations.
• No ongoing upgrade costs: Feature improvements, security enhancements, and updates are included as part of your subscription.
• No expensive rebuild every 4–5 years: SaaS continues to evolve and improve, removing replacement cycles altogether.

Reduce your operating costs: Efficiency through automation

Manual processes and disconnected systems increase overheads, administrative effort, risk and errors:

• Repeating the same tasks manually across multiple tools
• Inaccurate data and duplicate records, no single source of truth
• Excel workarounds that expose member data and increase the risk of breaches.

Membes AMS eliminates these issues by unifying your core operations in one secure platform. Your member database, website, finance, events, communications, education, marketing, and reporting all run from a single source of truth.

The result?

Time saved, costs reduced, and more ways to grow.

With everything connected, time-consuming tasks are automated and changes flow instantly across the entire system:

• Members can join and renew online - often leading to higher renewal rates
• Members can update their own profile – improving accuracy, reducing admin and giving members added convenience and autonomy
• Event registrations, reminders, payments and communications are automated – enabling more events with less effort
• Comprehensive reporting takes minutes, not hours – improving insight and strategy
• Training enrolments, payments, course delivery, and completion tracking are automated - making it easier to monetise education and accreditation
• Data stays securely within one system or flows only via secure APIs
• AI-powered assistance improves speed, quality and consistency of responses to member enquiries, while lowering workload.