Database & Website Major Upgrade

We have made a major upgrade to both the national website and a combined national membership database. This new, beaut system will mean changes for you. 
The points below cover some of the key aspects of the new system, but it is by no means a complete list.

Some things you will see are: 

Automated renewal advice when your membership falls due. 

The emails will provide a link to your online account, or you will be able to login to your profile, using this icon which can be found on the home page of the new site, see above.

 

The new system will generate an invoice and you can pay this online with a credit card or opt to do an Electronic Funds Transfer. To do an EFT you must go into your bank account and send the money to our bank account using these details:
Commonwealth Bank of Australia 
Account Name: Aiki Kai (Australia) National Aikido Australia Inc
BSB-063 233 / Account No. 1009 0036.

If your membership payment is well overdue the system will warn you that your membership is about to lapse. (For legal & insurance reasons you must be financial to step on the mat.)

If it is appropriate, at renewal time you can elect to change to another membership level. Some levels may require the national registrar to activate them.

Membership cards will no longer be mailed, the system has its own which you can put in your phone or print, see on right. 

State administrators and instructors will have instant access to verify if a student is financial in their state.

 

Some things to be aware of:

Sadly, we lose our current membership numbers, some of us have had these for over 50 years! The new system automatically applies a new user ID which reduces the workload for the national registrar to keep tabs on eight sets of running numbers and apply them to every new student. 

The entire membership database has been moved from its current location and uploaded to a new one. To comply with the format of the new database we had to move the data around, so despite taking huge effort some records may have errors, don't be alarmed, let us know via mail@aikido.org.au and we will fix it.

We have moved from a fixed date renewal, 1 July each year, to an anniversary date based when people start, but that will for people who start after the changeover. For most of you, your renewal date remains 1 July.

There will no longer be any pro-rata payments required.

Introductory Memberships (previously called Interim Memberships) have moved to a 3 month period, as this is the shortest time frame the new system can manage. Introductory memberships can be upgraded to annual memberships anytime during that 3 month period. These people will be found on the active list for each state until their membership lapses. They can also produce their system membership card which displays their renewal date.

Family memberships: The new system is unable to manage family memberships the way we used to. From the changeover a Family Membership will be a set figure, if the collective membership fees for a family goes over that amount they should join as a family group. If the collective fees total less than that amount they should join as individuals. With family groups, each member has their own personal record but they are linked by the family member who joined them and is the designated 'family administrator'. The family administrator can add or delete members from that group. If you are in any doubt about what to do contact registrar@aikido.org.au.

Some of you who were in a family membership may find you are now individuals, as this was the cheaper membership option for you on the changeover.

The records at changeover will have your current grade but show no grading history, we will add that in the weeks to come.

 

What happens at the changeover?

This new website is almost a clone of the old one but it is now totally integrated with the membership database. 

You will receive via email a notice to login to the new system, if you are asked for a password but don't have one click forgot password and a new one will be issued to you via email.

The system relies on a unique email address for every individual or family administrator. (Members within a Family Group do not require individual email addresses as the family administrator will receive all the emails for the Group.)

Gmail provides free email addresses which we can alter in our system, without affecting it, so the one address can be used for a multiple of family members. All these modified email addresses will still go to the original address.

You may receive a reminder that your membership is due for renewal and you can follow those links to pay your renewal online. Reminders go out 30 days, 14 days and on the renew date. 

If you pay by card online the system immediately changes your status to paid. Please keep in mind the time delay if you choose EFT, the system waits until the funds come into our bank account and the national registrar can then manually confirm that payment.

Our online SHOP will close temporarily. We have made our prime focus on moving the membership records and having an operational website at the changeover point. We will continue working on the SHOP and that should reopen about two weeks after the changeover. 

 

For Instructors: Not all AKA students have a working email address, please help disseminate this information by telling the students in your class about these changes. There are bound to be lots of questions, with your support we will be able to answer them all in due course. 

If you have any general questions send them here, mail@aikido.org.au              

For membership record issues send them here, registrar@aikido.org.au

Sample of new system based Membership Card