Adding a Member to a 3rd Party Billing Group

Subsidy & Third-Party Billing

This article details how Memberworks manages registrations and memberships that are partially or fully funded by external organizations. Whether it is a state agency, a corporate partner, or a grant-funded program, the system utilizes Third-Party Billing (Subsidy) logic to ensure that invoices are accurately split between the member and the supporting organization.

1. The Purpose of Subsidy Management

In many cases, a member is not the only party responsible for their fees. Memberworks allows staff to link individuals to Subsidy Groups, which serves several critical system functions:

• Automated Cost Sharing: The system identifies eligible members and automatically applies the correct financial credit during the registration flow.

• Payer Separation: It ensures that the YMCA can track and collect funds from external organizations independently of the member’s personal billing.

• Audit Readiness: By separating these payments, the system maintains a clear audit trail of exactly who paid for each portion of a service.

2. Managing Subsidy Groups

Subsidy groups are the primary tool for organizing members who receive external financial support.

• Assigning Members: Staff assign individuals to these groups based on their verified eligibility (e.g., a state-issued voucher for afterschool care).

• Dynamic Rate Logic: Each group is configured with specific rules. For example, a group might be set to pay a flat monthly rate (e.g., $50/month) or a percentage split of the program cost.

• System Detection: Once a member is assigned to a group, the system "listens" for this relationship during any checkout process. If the program they are joining is eligible for that subsidy, the credit is applied automatically.

3. The Checkout Experience: Visualizing the Split

When you process a registration for a member in a subsidy group, the Pricing Summary will change to reflect the third-party contribution.

• Member Responsibility: The "Due Today" amount for the member will be reduced by the amount the third party is covering.

• Invoice Confirmation: The system generates an invoice that confirms the subsidy group’s payment. For instance, if a camp costs $150 and the subsidy covers $50, the member's invoice will correctly show a $100 balance, while the remaining $50 is tracked as a receivable from the organization.

• Transparency: Staff should review this summary with the member to confirm they understand what they owe versus what is being billed to their sponsoring organization.

4. Ongoing Maintenance and Eligibility Changes

Subsidy eligibility is rarely permanent. Memberworks allows staff to manage these lifecycles to prevent billing errors.

• Removing Members: If a member’s sponsorship ends, removing them from the subsidy group will cause all future invoices to revert to the standard member rate.

• Managing Overpayments: In cases where a third party overpays (due to a change in attendance or a compliance error), admins can classify the excess as a 3rd Party Overpayment to be reconciled later.

• Corporate Portals: For large partners (like companies providing employee memberships), the system is designed to allow these organizations to view and manage their own assigned members through a dedicated Corporate Portal.

5. Staff Operational Checklist

• Verify the "Bill To": Before finalizing any registration involving a subsidy, double-check the "Bill To" person or organization on the invoice to ensure the split is applied correctly.

• Reporting: Use the Third-Party Billing tab in the Accounting Center to review all pending invoices for an organization. This ensures that the YMCA is regularly billing these partners for the members they support.

• Historical Audits: If a member asks why their monthly rate changed, check the All Activity timeline. It will show when they were added to or removed from a subsidy group, providing a clear explanation for the pricing shift