Membership Application Form - User Guide

    Overview

    The Membership Application Form feature allows equestrian clubs and organisations to accept membership applications directly from their club site. A dedicated block on your club site renders a call-to-action card that links visitors to a public membership application form. The form supports optional custom questions, membership type/tier selection with pricing, optional online payment, and conditions-of-entry waivers.

    Applications are submitted without requiring a login and trigger both an in-app notification and an email to organisation admins. Admins then review, approve, or reject applications from the Organiser Dashboard. On approval, a full member record is created — including an auto-generated membership number if the organisation has that setting enabled.

    Key capabilities:

    • Public application form accessible to anyone with your club site link
    • Custom form questions from your organisation's entry form template
    • Membership type selection with configurable pricing tiers
    • Online payment for membership fees
    • Conditions of Entry / Waiver acceptance
    • Bot protection built in
    • In-app and email notifications to organisation admins
    • Admin review workflow: approve or reject with notes

    Who Should Use This Feature

    Perfect For

    • Pony Club administrators wanting to accept online membership applications
    • Riding club managers offering different membership tiers (Junior, Adult, etc.)
    • Horse association organisers collecting applications with custom questions
    • Any equestrian club seeking to streamline their membership signup process

    Prerequisites

    • You must be an admin of your organisation in Horsify
    • Your organisation must have a club site set up
    • Optional: Configure membership fee types for paid memberships
    • Optional: Connect a Stripe account for online payment processing
    • Optional: Create a "Membership Application" entry form template for custom questions

    Key Features

    📝 Club Site Block — Membership Application Form

    Add a "Membership Application Form" block to any page on your club site. The block renders as a styled call-to-action card with:

    • Heading — customisable (default: "Apply for Membership")
    • Description — supporting text (default: "Submit a membership application and our team will review it soon.")
    • Button — call-to-action (default: "Apply Now")
    • Success Message — shown after submission (default: "Thank you! We will review your application and be in touch soon.")
    • Conditions of Entry / Waiver — optional terms text that applicants must agree to before submitting

    💰 Membership Type Selection

    Applicants can select from your organisation's active membership fee types. Each tier displays:

    • Member type (e.g., "Junior Member", "Adult Member", "Affiliate Member")
    • Annual fee amount (in AUD)
    • Optional description of what the membership includes

    Membership types are configured by the organisation admin.

    📋 Custom Form Questions

    Organisations can create an entry form template named "Membership Application" with custom fields. When configured, the public application form will render these custom questions (text, dropdowns, checkboxes, etc.) alongside the standard name/email fields.

    Form responses are stored with the application for admin review.

    💳 Online Payment for Membership Fees

    When a membership fee is selected and Stripe is connected:

    1. After submission, the applicant initiates payment
    2. An embedded online checkout is presented
    3. Processing fees are added if the organisation has the pass-through fees setting enabled
    4. On successful payment, the applicant is redirected to a success page

    🔔 Notifications to Organisers

    When an application is submitted, two notifications are sent:

    1. In-app notification — to all organisation admins
    2. Email notification — to the organisation

    ✅ Admin Review Workflow

    Organisation admins review applications at the Members section of the Organiser Dashboard:

    • List applications — filter by status (Pending, Approved, Rejected)
    • Approve — creates an active member record with optional admin notes
      • If the applicant already paid, their provisional record is promoted to Active status
      • If auto-generate is enabled, a membership number is assigned (e.g., "HORS12001")
    • Reject — marks the application as rejected with optional admin notes

    🤖 Bot Protection

    The application form includes built-in bot protection. Automated submissions are silently discarded without saving.

    How to Set Up Membership Applications

    Step 1: Configure Membership Fee Types (Optional)

    1. Go to Organiser Dashboard → Members → Membership Fees
    2. Add membership types such as:
      • Junior Member — $50.00
      • Adult Member — $120.00
      • Family Member — $200.00
    3. Add descriptions for each tier
    4. Ensure they are marked as Active

    Step 2: Create a Custom Form Template (Optional)

    1. Go to Organiser Dashboard → Forms → Entry Form Templates
    2. Create a new template named exactly "Membership Application"
    3. Add custom fields such as:
      • Emergency Contact Name (text, required)
      • Emergency Contact Phone (text, required)
      • Medical Conditions (text, optional)
      • Riding Experience Level (dropdown)
    4. Save the template

    Step 3: Add the Block to Your Club Site

    1. Go to Organiser Dashboard → Club Site → Pages
    2. Edit the page where you want the application form
    3. Add a new block → select Membership Application Form
    4. Configure:
      • Heading: e.g., "Join Our Pony Club"
      • Description: e.g., "Apply for membership and start riding with us today"
      • Button Text: e.g., "Apply Now"
      • Success Message: e.g., "Thanks for applying! We'll be in touch soon."
      • Conditions of Entry: (optional) Add waiver text
    5. Save and publish the page

    Step 4: Connect Stripe (Optional — for Paid Memberships)

    1. Go to Organiser Dashboard → Settings → Stripe
    2. Connect your Stripe account (Standard or Connect)
    3. Membership payments will use embedded online checkout

    Step 5: Review Applications

    1. Navigate to Organiser Dashboard → Members
    2. Switch to the Applications tab
    3. Review pending applications
    4. Click Approve or Reject with optional notes
    5. Approved applicants are automatically added as members

    Application Statuses

    Status Description
    Pending Newly submitted, awaiting admin review
    Approved Admin approved — member record created
    Rejected Admin rejected with optional notes

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