Kiln Fire allows studios to sign up users as members. This creates a subscription where the user is charged monthly for time in the studio and other membership perks. Kiln Fire allows the studio to automatically collect money from members without having to manually invoice each individual and wait for payment. The system continues to retry failed payments three different times notifying the member and the studio each time.
There are three ways users can become a member in the Kiln Fire app. You can become a member using User Sign Up Links, Add User (invite for Membership), and a Kiln Fire user can click on the membership tab and sign themselves up for a membership.
Creating Your Studio’s Memberships
The first step is to set up your memberships. Click on the Studio tab and select Membership Plans. There are four settings at the top of the screen that are decisions the studio needs to make.
Membership Options
- The first setting is Membership page hidden without active membership. When this setting is on it means that if a Kiln Fire user is not a member, they will not be able to see a Membership tab on their Kiln Fire screen. If this setting is off, it means that all Kiln Fire users will see a Membership tab where they can click and sign up for a membership on their own.
- The next setting is Memberships closed, require invite. When this setting is on it means that Kiln Fire users who are not members will not see the membership tab on their screen. To become a member, the Kiln Fire admin will need to invite users to become members. When this setting is off and the Membership page hidden without active memberships is off, all Kiln Fire users will see a Membership tab where they can click and sign up for a membership on their own.
- The third setting is Members can switch plans. When this setting is on it means that active members can click on the membership tab and switch between your studio’s different membership options. When this setting is off, only a Kiln Fire admin is able to switch a member’s membership level for them.
- The last setting is Members can cancel their own plan. When this setting is on it means that active members can click on the membership tab and cancel their membership. When this setting is off, members would need to contact a Kiln Fire admin and the admin would manually cancel the membership.
Once you have clicked Save Membership Options, you are ready to create your membership plans. Some studios may only have one membership option but other studios may have multiple levels of membership. Click on Create New Plan Level.
Create Your Membership Plans
Each membership plan needs a name and description. Some of the choices like plan billing interval, billing cycle day, and plan price cannot be edited after a plan is created. If you need to change these choices, you will need to create a new plan level.
For the Billing Cycle Day, this is the day members will be charged for the membership plan. You can choose the date the person signs up for a membership or you can choose the same day of the month for all of your membership plans (for this option plans will be prorated according to when users sign up for a membership).
You can also choose for a plan to be hidden. When this setting is on, it means users will not see this plan in their membership tab.
You can also choose user perks to accompany a membership or different membership levels. To create user perks, visit the how to set up user perks article.
The last decision is if you want to give a tag to all users on this membership. Tags help organize users and can also automatically assign user perks.
When you have all the settings as you want, click on Save Membership Plan. This plan is now listed under Membership Plans. If you no longer want to offer one of your membership plans, you can click on it and turn on the Plan is hidden setting or you can click archive at the bottom of the membership plan.
To see membership plans you have archived, click on Show Archived. You can then click on the membership plan and select Unarchive at the bottom of the plan to make the membership plan active again.
You also have the ability to rearrange the order of your membership plans, by clicking and dragging the up/down arrow on the right side of the membership plan box.
App Messages
In the Studio tab, click on App Messages. You can customize messages users see related to memberships. These messages are all optional but available if you want them. The messages you can customize are:
- Membership Plans Message
- Membership Waitlist Email
- Membership Schedule Plan Message
- Membership Cancel Plan Message
- Membership Ended Message
Sign Up Users as Members
Now that you have created your membership plans, there are three ways users can become a member in the Kiln Fire app. You can become a member using User Sign Up Links, Add User (invite for Membership), and a Kiln Fire user can click on the membership tab and sign themselves up for a membership.
- User Sign Up Links: The first way a user can become a member is if the Kiln Fire Admin sends them a User Sign Up Link. This is the best option for people who are not yet a Kiln Fire user or people who have contacted you from a listserv or website contact form. In the Kiln Fire app click on the User tab. Then click on All Users. At the top right of the screen, click on the User Sign Up Links button. Scroll down to see New Member Plan Start. You can copy this link and text or email anyone interested in becoming a member at your studio.
There are two ways you can customize this link. The first is to send a link only for a specific membership plan. If you only want to offer a person a specific plan, click on Customize Link. You can select the membership plan you want, and then copy the link and text or email it to the person.
You can also customize when you want the membership to start. Click on the box below Start Membership on Date and select the date you want the membership to start. If the membership is starting in the future, the first month’s payment will be collected now and transferred to a user’s account funds. When it comes time for the membership to begin, the first month will be charged out of the account funds and each month after will be charged to the credit card on the date you have chosen. Then copy the link and text or email it to the person.
- Add User (invite for Membership): You can also invite a person to become a member through Add User (invite for Membership). Click on the Users tab and then click on All Users. At the top of the screen click on the Add User button. Input the person’s name and email address. You can then turn on the setting labeled Invite for Membership. You can click on Create User and Send Invite and an email will be sent inviting the person to become a member of your studio. If you only want to send this person a specific plan, you can select the plan you want to email them or you can also select the date you want the membership to begin on.
- User Sign Up: The last way for a person to become a studio member is for a Kiln Fire user to click on the membership tab in Kiln Fire and sign themselves up for a membership. This can only happen if in the Studio tab, you click on Membership Plans, and the Membership page hidden without active membership setting is OFF. Then all Kiln Fire users will have a Membership tab on their screen. They can click on the Membership tab, click on the plan they want, and click Start Membership Now. They will then be directed to a screen to input their Payment Details.
Membership Waitlist
You may come to a point where your studio is at your membership capacity. If this is the case, you will want to close your memberships. In the Studio tab, click on Membership Plans, turn the Memberships closed, require invite option to ON. But while your memberships are closed, you might want to create a membership waitlist so that when memberships become available, you know who to offer them to.
Creating the Waitlist Options
In the Studio tab click on Waitlist. Here you will find options for information you want to collect from your waitlist link. The waitlist link will automatically collect name, email and phone number. Choose the options you want for your studio. You can also Add Custom Waitlist Field and ask a question specific to your studio. When you are ready, click on Save Waitlist Options.
Inviting People to the Waitlist
In the Users tab, click on Waitlist. At the top of the screen, click on Public Waitlist Link. Copy the link and send it to individuals interested in memberships at your studio while your memberships are closed.