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Setting up Membership Plans (Plain Language)

Membership Plans explain what members get—like resources, services, and extras—and how much they’ll pay each month.

Amany avatar
Written by Amany
Updated over a week ago

There are different ways for people to interact with your space through Cobot. One of the way to interact with Cobot is as a member. To add members to your space and let them access the member portal and make bookings, you need to set up at least one membership plan.

Membership plans let you sell services to your members on a recurring basis. You can make these plans as simple or detailed as you want.

When members sign up, they’ll see a list of available plans on your Cobot homepage. They can choose the one that fits their needs. To add your first plan, go to Products » Membership Plans » Add Plan in your admin portal.

This is an image of the Membership Plans section in the admin dashboard of the coworking management system. On the left-hand sidebar, under the Products category, the Membership Plans option is highlighted. The main section displays two existing plans. The first is the Premium Membership plan, shown with a thumbnail image and priced at 210 USD per month. The second is the Basic Membership plan, also with an image, priced at 157.50 USD per month. Each plan card includes options to copy the plan link, delete, edit, or view details. At the top right corner of the page, there is a blue button labeled “Add Plan,” which allows administrators to create new membership options. At the top of the page, there is also a link labeled “Homepage” that provides access to the public-facing site where members can view available plans. This screen provides a clear overview of active membership plans along with tools to manage or expand them.

Basic Settings

The first page you see is the 'Basic Settings' section. Under each field, you’ll find a description explaining what it’s for, making it easy to fill out. Below are a few extra tips for some sections.

Name

Choose simple, easy-to-understand names for your plans, like 'Full-Time Membership' or 'Flexible Student Membership.' These names will be public, so keep them clear and easy to read.

This is an image of the Basic Settings section for editing a membership plan. The plan being edited is called Premium Membership. In the description field, it says: "Choose your own dedicated desk and work from here whenever you want. Doors are open 24/7 for you." This section defines the plan’s name and description, which are visible to members during sign-up. At the top, there are navigation tabs for other configuration options like Time Passes, Extras, Bookings, Messages, and Signup Charge, allowing administrators to adjust all aspects of the membership plan.

Price / Billing Cycle

Set how often your members will be billed (e.g. monthly). For example, if a member signs up on March 18th and the billing cycle is monthly, they’ll pay until April 17th, and then get billed again each month.

ChatGPT said: This is an image of the Pricing section for a membership plan. It shows that the Price is set to 200.0 USD per 1 month. The note below clarifies that this is the net value, meaning taxes may still be applied depending on the setup.

Visibility

If you check the 'hidden plan' box, the plan won’t be visible to the public on your homepage or search engines. But all plans still get a unique URL that you can share privately with people.

New Members Need Approval

You can choose whether new members need to be approved before using their membership. If checked, members can log in but can’t access features like the booking calendar until you approve them. Only then will they be charged, and all features will be unlocked.

Terms & Conditions

All members must agree to Cobot’s Terms & Conditions. You can also add your own terms to each plan, or in the general Terms & Conditions section under Setup » Basic » Terms & Conditions.

Cancellation & Commitment

Set how much notice members need to cancel their membership. For example, if you set a 30-day cancellation period, a member who cancels on March 15th will stay active until April 15th, paying for the extra days.

The Minimum Commitment field ensures members can’t cancel for a certain period. You can override this manually in their profile. If you want the commitment to reset after the first period ends, check the 'Recurring Minimum Commitment' box.

Time Passes

Time Passes let you create plans with limited access. These are great for members who only want to pay for the time they use. You can also create Drop-In Passes , which don’t require members to register.

Extras

Extras are additional services or items, like mail service or 24/7 access, that members can book. These help you offer premium features and generate more income. Extras will appear on the signup form as a checkbox, and they’ll be listed separately on invoices.

This is an image of the Extras tab in the membership plan editor. It shows a Monthly Extra named Locker, which members can add to their plan. The extra is priced at 50 USD per month. The note below clarifies that this is the net value, and members will be billed on a recurring monthly basis.

Bookings

The Bookings section lets you manage how members interact with your booking calendar. You can:

  • Restrict Access to Resources: Limit which resources (like meeting rooms) members can book.

  • Give Free Usage of Resources: Offer free usage of resources (like 5 hours of free meeting room time).

  • Apply Custom Rates to Resources: Set custom prices for specific members or plans.

This is an image of the Booking Credits section in the membership plan editor. It shows that the plan includes 10 hours per month of free booking credit. Currently, these credits are applied only to the Meeting Room, as indicated by the checkmark. Other resources like Event Space, One-on-One Room, Open Coworking Tables, Podcasting Equipment, Private Cabin, Roof Terrace Lounge, and Tent Meeting Rooms are not included.

Messages

You can add three types of messages to plans:

  • Permanent Welcome Message: Displayed in the member’s portal every time they log in.

  • Welcome Message for Unconfirmed Members: Shown to members who haven’t been approved yet.

  • Signup Message: Appears on the signup form to explain the next steps.

This image shows the Messages section of a workspace management system. At the top of the screen, the Messages tab is highlighted to show that it is the active section. In the middle of the page, there is a box labeled Welcome Message. Inside the box is the text that members will see on their dashboard. The message starts with the words “Hello and welcome to Your Space!” which are written in bold. Below that, it says “You can find us on the first floor. Coffee & Tea on us 24/7.” The last line says “Happy Coworking! :)” with the word “Coworking” written in italic style. This text is shown as the example welcome message for members when they log in.

Signup Charge

This is where you can add a one-time fee (like a signup charge or deposit) that’s applied to the first invoice. You can also add a discount for new members.

Editing Plans and Bulk Changes

You can edit plan settings anytime in Products » Membership Plans. Changes will only affect new members unless you do a bulk plan change to apply the updates to existing members. You can do this by going to the membership list and by clicking "bullk-change plans".

Next Step: Add Members

Once your plans are set up, you can start adding members!

Related Articles
Homepage & Plan Specific Signup Forms
Setting up Membership Plans
Monthly Extras
Embedding Membership Plans on Your Website
Registering and Getting Started (Plain Language)
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