INTRODUCTION
Feature Summary: Setting up a membership in CourtReserve involves more decisions than it might seem at first. Before jumping into configuration, it helps to think through the key details upfront — what the membership is called, how it's priced, when it's available, who it's for, and when it expires. Use this guide as your planning checklist so your setup goes smoothly the first time.
These core elements form the foundation of your membership. Once they’re in place, you can layer in additional benefits and restrictions like court pricing, booking windows, and other advanced features.
Use Cases:
Planning a new Individual or Family membership type before building it in CourtReserve
Setting up a seasonal membership with specific purchase and activation windows
Configuring a free trial or promotional membership with an automatic expiration
Deciding on billing frequency — monthly, annual, one-time, or custom
Restricting a membership to specific age groups or family roles
Determining how to handle late payments, grace periods, and cancellations
Planning Checklist
Work through each section below before opening CourtReserve. The more you have figured out ahead of time, the faster and cleaner your setup will be.
Section 1 — Basic Information
Question | Notes & Guidance |
What is the membership called? | This is the name members see on the portal when selecting or viewing their membership. |
Do you need a short code? | An optional tag displayed next to member names on the scheduler so staff can quickly identify membership types at a glance. |
Is this an Individual or Family membership? | If Family, decide the maximum number of members allowed per plan. Example: limit of 4 per family. |
What is the full description? | Appears on the Membership Details page. Include what's offered and who it's for. |
What is the short description? | Appears on the membership card when members are browsing plans. Keep it to one or two sentences. |
Should this be the default membership for new members? | If enabled, this membership is automatically assigned when a new member creates an account, unless another option is chosen. |
Example from Member Portal:
Example short code on admin scheduler:
Learn more here.
Section 2 — Purchase Window (optional)
Use these dates if the membership should only be available for purchase during a specific window. Leave blank if members can purchase at any time.
Question | Notes & Guidance |
When can members start purchasing? | The membership becomes available at 12:00 a.m. on this date. Example: April 1, 2026. |
When should purchasing close? | After this date the membership is no longer available to buy. Example: April 30, 2026. |
Example: A Summer Pickleball Membership goes on sale April 1 and closes April 30. Set Purchase Start Date to 04/01/2026 and Purchase End Date to 04/30/2026.
Example from Member Portal:
Based on the purchase dates, this membership became live on the member portal on April 1, 2026.
Learn more here.
Section 3 — Membership Dates (optional for most paid memberships)
These dates control when the membership is active and usable — separate from when it can be purchased. In most cases, membership start date is left blank so the membership activates immediately upon purchase.
Question | Notes & Guidance |
Should the membership activate on a specific future date? | Members who purchase early won't be able to use the membership until this date. Example: June 1, 2026. |
Should the membership have a hard end date? | The membership automatically ends on this date regardless of when it was purchased. Example: August 31, 2026. |
Is this a free membership? | Free memberships activate immediately when assigned. You can optionally set an expiration date. Example: a September Free Trial expiring September 30, 2026. |
Important: If a Membership Start Date is set and that date has already passed, new purchasers will receive a membership that begins retroactively. Set a reminder to remove the start date once it has passed so membership activation occurs on the purchase date. Learn more here.
Example from Member Portal:
Based on the membership start and end dates, this membership is active from June 1, 2026 - August 31, 2026.
Learn more here.
Purchase Dates vs. Membership Dates — What's the Difference?
These two date fields are easy to mix up. Here's a simple way to think about them:
Purchase Dates: When the membership can be bought — your sales window.
Membership Dates: When the membership is active and usable — your usage window.
Section 4 — Eligibility & Age Restrictions (optional)
Use these settings to limit who can purchase or be assigned this membership. Leave blank if the membership is open to everyone.
Question | Notes & Guidance |
Is this membership restricted to a specific age group? | Set a minimum and/or maximum age. Example: Junior Membership for ages 6–17, or Senior Membership for members 60 and older. |
Is this age restriction to a specific family role? | For Family memberships, you can apply age restrictions by role—for example, requiring only members with a Child role to meet the age requirement. |
Should ineligible members see this membership? | Decide whether members who don't qualify should see but not purchase this plan, or whether it should be hidden from them entirely. |
Example: A Senior Pickleball Membership is available only to members age 60 and older. Setting a minimum age of 60 ensures younger members cannot select or purchase this plan on the portal.
Learn more here.
Section 5 — Pricing & Billing
Question | Notes & Guidance |
Is this membership free or paid? | If free, no billing setup is needed. If paid, continue with the questions below. |
How often are members billed? | Choose from Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly, Custom, or One-Time. You can offer multiple options so members choose what works for them. |
What is the price for each billing frequency? | Example: $50/month or $500/year. If offering both, consider a discount for annual payment — such as "pay for 11 months, get 1 month free." |
Is there a one-time initiation fee? | A separate charge applied only when a member first purchases the membership. |
Should prorating be enabled? | Prorating aligns all members to the same billing cycle. If a member joins mid-month, their first payment covers only the remaining days until the next billing date. |
Is there a tax rate or revenue category? | Used for accounting and reporting purposes. |
Example from Member Portal:
Learn more here.
Section 6 — Expiration, Late Payments & Cancellations
These settings determine what happens when a member doesn't pay on time or their membership ends. Think these through carefully — they directly affect member access.
Question | Notes & Guidance |
How many grace days before a membership expires for non-payment? | During this window the member's account stays active even without payment. Set to 0 if memberships should expire immediately after the due date. |
How many days before the membership auto-cancels? | Cancellation stops future fees and removes access entirely. This is calculated from the original due date — not from when the membership expired. |
Should cancelled members move to a different membership automatically? | Example: reassign to a Free Membership so cancelled members can still log in to view schedules or renew their plan. |
Tip: To allow time between expiration and cancellation, set the auto-cancel value higher than the grace period. Example: 15 days to expire, 30 days to auto-cancel.
Learn more here.