A Midwest regional trade association that engaged independent software consultant, Tim Heeter to help select a new AMS, was facing challenges familiar to many small to mid-sized associations: too many disconnected tools, too much manual work, and not enough capacity to manage it all. Records were spread across paper files and spreadsheets, data integrity was difficult to maintain, and even routine tasks depended on remembering to update information in multiple places.
The lack of integration meant key activities like events, communications and renewals were time-consuming and difficult to manage. Leadership time was being absorbed by administration rather than strategic work.
As Tim explained: “they were just overwhelmed in their day-to-day work. They didn’t have the capacity to even identify what they needed, let alone evaluate all the AMS options available in the market.”
The team needed a system that would simplify operations rather than add complexity. So, Tim helped define the requirements, shortlist systems, and supported the decision-making process.
“We looked at about 60 different AMS systems,” he said, “before narrowing the field to a shortlist that could genuinely meet the association’s needs.”
After reviewing the shortlisted systems, the association selected Membes AMS based on its balance of capability, usability and support.
“Some of the other enterprise systems felt too big… there was too much detail. Something about Membes, and the conversations throughout the process, simplified that and made it approachable.”
Even the visual nature of the system looked up to date, yet familiar, said Tim.
Just as important was the implementation approach.
“I needed a clear onboarding structure and a team ready to receive my client… I certainly believe we found that with Membes.
Your team, to your credit, really leaned into any questions we had. And that was much appreciated. That responsiveness helped resolve friction points and gave the association confidence to move forward.
Overall, a great team, and a great implementation.”
The benefits were evident early, particularly in how the association delivered its major annual conference.
Instead of registrations, attendees, payments and records sitting in separate places, everything could be managed in one system. “That alone was such a huge shift compared to updating five different spreadsheets,” Tim said.
And since then, the benefits have expanded across the entire operation:
Data Cohesion: The association discovered a much larger list of leads than they realized once their data was unified in one place.
Consistent Communication: They are now communicating with members more consistently and with much more ease.
Operational Efficiency: Complex, distinct membership renewal processes are now queued up to be handled by the system automatically.
The most significant shift is at the leadership level.
“It’s going to allow the CEO to go back to being a director of the association—doing the promotional work he was hired to do—rather than half of his job being administrative,” says Tim. “It returns the joy to the work. It’s no longer just a slog.”
While the organisation is still early in its journey, the foundation is in place for continued growth.
As Tim notes, “they’re using a small part of what the system can do, but that alone has transformed the way they work. From here, they’ll just keep building.”