4/12/2024 What to do in January

 Ordinary members

The majority of BBS members pay the full subscription rate and are classed as Ordinary members. These members will have been set up in the new system with a subscription type called ‘One-time Ordinary’. You can see this if you log in to the website, select the Account option from the Members Dashboard, and then the Subscriptions tab. You should see something like this:

When the time comes to renew (sometime during January please!), you should log in and take the Change Plan option. This will pop up a window like this:

Please do not select the Junior or Student memberships (see below)! If you currently pay the full rate, then select the Ordinary membership option.

This will display a registration form which is pre-filled with the address details etc we have on file for you. You should check that these are all correct, and then enter your payment details at the bottom of the form. When you submit the form, payment will be taken.

Note that this will set up an annual recurring payment, with the next payment due 1 year from the date that you submit the form.

Junior members

Please first read the section above for Ordinary members. Current members who were registered as Junior members in the old system (under 21) will also have been set up with a subscription type of ‘One-time Ordinary’, This was partly to avoid over-complicating things, but also so that these members can upgrade to Ordinary members if they are now 21 or older.

If you are still under 21 on 1st January 2025, then please select the Junior membership option in the drop-down list shown above. Note that you will be asked to enter your year of birth. You should check the form details and make payment as described for Ordinary members above (though obviously the payment amount will be reduced).

Student members

Please first read the section above for Ordinary members. Current members who were registered as Student members in the old system (in full-time education) will also have been set up with a subscription type of ‘One-time Ordinary’, This was partly to avoid over-complicating things, but also so that these members can upgrade to Ordinary members if they have completed their studies.

If you are still in full-time education on 1st January 2025, then please select the Student membership option in the drop-down list shown above. Note that you will be asked to enter your institution name and the year you anticipate completing your studies. You should check the form details and make payment as described for Ordinary members above (though obviously the payment amount will be reduced).

Loyalty members (was Senior members)

Members who have belonged to the BBS for 40 years or more are eligible for what we are now calling Loyalty membership which is charged at a concessionary rate. These members have been set up in the new system with a temporary subscription called ‘One time Loyalty’. You can see this if you log in to the website, select the Account option from the Members Dashboard, and then the Subscriptions tab. You should see something like this:

Note that all members eligible for Loyalty membership have been set up in this way, regardless of how much they were previously paying (some members elect to continue paying full rate or don’t take up the option of a concessionary rate).

When the time comes to renew (sometime during January please!), you should log in and take the Change Plan option. This will pop up a window like this:

If you wish to continue paying the full rate, then please select Ordinary membership, otherwise select Loyalty membership.

This will display a registration form which is pre-filled with the address details etc we have on file for you. You should check that these are all correct, and then enter your payment details at the bottom of the form. When you submit the form, payment will be taken.

Note that this will set up an annual recurring payment, with the next payment due 1 year from the date that you submit the form.

Honorary members

Honorary members receive free membership for the rest of their lives, however many elect to continue paying a regular annual subscription. The new system has therefore been configured with this in mind.

If you wish to take advantage of the free membership, then you need do nothing further. I will ensure that you are set up with free lifetime membership.

If you would like to continue making regular payments, I will be sending out an email with details describing how to set this up towards the end of December / early January.

Family memberships

Some members who live in the same household have taken advantage of family memberships in the past. These will be supported by the new system although we won’t be offering this option to new members. I will be sending out an email to those affected towards the end of December / early January.

Gift memberships

Some members generously pay the subscriptions of other members, often those of international members who are unable to make payments to the UK. Again, this will be supported by the new system and I will be emailing all those concerned towards the end of December / early January.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUERIES ON THE ABOVE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME at membership@britishbryologicalsociety.org.uk.

Update 9/11/2024

THE FOLLOWING WAS SENT BY EMAIL TO ALL MEMBERS FIRST THING THIS MORNING. IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM THE BBS, PLEASE CHECK YOUR JUNK EMAIL AND ENSURE WE HAVE AN UP TO DATE EMAIL ADDRESS FOR YOU

As some sharp-eyed members have already noticed, the new membership management system is now in place – for existing members at least. The new registration form will be made available over the next couple of days for new members.

You should now be able to log in to the website using your email address, request a password reset and log in to the Member’s area. The first time you log in, I would ask that you go into your Account and check that the details there are all correct. You may need to update your address as the new system has more stringent rules on address format – for example the field County/State/Region is now mandatory.

You may also notice that you can now change your own email address and set a new password from this page.

The Account page also has 2 additional tabs: Subscriptions and Payments. All current members have been set up with a one-off subscription with an end date of 31^st January next year (see below). There should be a ‘Change Plan’ button displayed against the subscription, but PLEASE DO NOT UPGRADE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AT THIS STAGE. There will be a payment transaction listed on the Payments tab, but this is just a dummy record required by the system and may not reflect any actual payment made.

In the new system, subscriptions will renew on the 1-year anniversary of their start date, replacing the fixed January – December membership year we have used in the past. This is the reason for asking you not to upgrade your subscription at this point: if you do, then your subscription will be due for renewal next November and you will effectively have ‘lost’ 2 months of membership. I will be asking members to upgrade their membership some time during January next year (this is the reason for the 31^st January end date of the one-off subscription you currently have – to give people time to renew). Of course, if you prefer to do this now and get it out of the way, that is your choice, but please ensure you select the appropriate plan from the options given (and email me if you’re not sure)!

Further update 9/11/2024

For those members who wish to upgrade their subscription now using the ‘Change Plan’ button (but please note the explanation of anniversary dates above – your next renewal will be due a year from the time you upgrade)…

The one-off subscription mentioned above, which has been created for each current member, will be one of 3 types:

• One-time Ordinary – the default for members who pay full price, but also for Junior and Student members who pay half price
• One-Time Loyalty – for people who have been members of the BBS for 40 years or more, regardless of whether they were previously paying the full or concessionary rate (many eligible members continued to pay the full subscription rate)
• One-time Honorary – for Honorary members i.e. those who receive free membership for life

The options you will see for upgrading your subscription (preferably in January) will vary depending on which of these one-time subscriptions you’ve been set up with, as follows:

• One-time Ordinary – Junior, Student, Ordinary. You should select the option that suits your current circumstances i.e. if you are under 21, then select Junior; if you are in full time education, select Student; otherwise select Ordinary.
• One-time Loyalty – Ordinary, Loyalty. You are eligible for Loyalty membership (or will be in 2025), but can select Ordinary if you wish to keep paying the full subscription rate.
• One-time Honorary – Ordinary and Honorary. Some Honorary members elect to continue paying subscription fees and amounts currently vary. I will be emailing Honorary members individually to give more detailed options, so please contact me or wait for my email.

After you’ve selected the appropriate option, a form will be displayed where you can confirm your personal details and preferences, enter your debit / credit card details and submit the form. Payment will be taken using the Stripe gateway once the form is submitted. Viewing your Account details will now show the new subscription and the payment you made.

Original post 2/11/2024

Starting on Wednesday 6th November, our website developers Castlegate IT will be installing a new Membership Management system for us. This will involve migrating all existing user profiles from the website into the new system. Access to user profiles will be blocked whilst this is happening, and consequently there will be no access to the Member’s Area. We anticipate that this will take a few days, and hope that the system will be back up and running by the 11th / 12th November.

If you require urgent access to any restricted content during this period (for example: Referee details, Journal content, Field Bryology content), please contact the membership secretary, Claire Halpin at membership@britishbryologicalsociety.org.uk.

Please also note that we will be unable to edit any website content during this period too, so if you have any urgent announcements, please let me have them before the 6th!