The problem with most membership systems
Most membership systems are built for the person administering the association, not for the person who belongs to it. The treasurer gets a register, a list to invoice from, and an export button. The member gets an email once a year.
Most boards recognise what follows: the system holds the truth about who is a member, but everything that actually happens in the association happens somewhere else. The notice goes in the Facebook group, the questions arrive in a WhatsApp thread and the sign-ups end up in a spreadsheet. The register becomes an archive rather than the hub — and because no member ever logs in, nobody notices that their phone number is five years old.
That is why we built Membly in two directions at once: as a membership system for the board, and as an app for the members. Same data, same association, one login.
What is a membership system, and what does it need to do?
Whichever system you choose, ask five things of it. A member register that tracks contact details, membership type and status. A way to take payment and see who has paid. Permissions, so not everyone sees everything. A way to reach members that does not assume they are on a particular social platform. And a way out — an export of your own data, whenever you want it.
The sixth requirement is harder to put on a feature list, but it decides whether the system gets used: the member has to have a reason to open it. In Membly that reason is the events, the sign-ups, the membership card and the feed. The register stays current as a side effect of the app actually being used.
What Membly does — and what it does not
The oldest membership systems on the market are built around invoicing: OCR reconciliation against bankgiro, direct-debit mandates, e-invoicing and a direct link into Fortnox or Visma. If that is what you need, choose one of them — and we would rather say so here than after you have moved in.
Membly takes a different route. The member gets a payment request in the app and pays by card or Klarna; the money goes straight to the association’s own account via Stripe. If someone pays another way — bank transfer, Swish to the treasurer, cash — you mark it as paid and the list still adds up. For the bookkeeping you export an SIE file that your accountant or accounting software reads.
So there is no direct-debit handling, no OCR reconciliation and no direct integration with Fortnox or Visma. Signing in is done with an emailed link, not with BankID. And Membly is built for one association at a time — not for a federation with districts and member organisations.
What you get in exchange is that the members actually use the system, and a price that does not move: SEK 299 a month however many you are, no setup fee and no member ceiling. Several of the systems you are comparing charge a setup fee of several thousand kronor and price in member brackets.
Member data stays with the association
A membership system is by definition a register of personal data, and the association is the data controller for it. Membly is the processor: we handle the data on the association’s instructions, under a data processing agreement you accept when you create the association.
Ordinary members never see each other’s phone numbers, email addresses or postal addresses — that information is shown only to administrators and leaders. Personal identity numbers are optional, encrypted, masked in the interface, visible only to administrators and leaders, and never included in an export.
Membly is developed and operated within the EU and funded by the subscription, not by advertising. We never sell member data. You can export the whole register as CSV whenever you want, and every member can request or delete their own data.
What is included
All in the same subscription. No add-ons, no modules to buy.
Member register
Contact details, membership type, status and custom fields. Import from Excel, export as CSV and filter on what you need.
Membership fees
Your own membership types with different fees. Members pay by card or Klarna, and you see immediately who has paid.
Permissions and roles
Two permission levels — administrator and member — plus roles for leaders and board members. Not everyone sees everything.
Announcements, chat and feed
Reach every member or a selection. Association chat and a chronological feed — no algorithm hiding the information.
Events with sign-up
Notices, RSVPs and attendance. Members answer Yes, Maybe or Can’t, and you see who is coming.
Digital membership card
Every member carries their membership card on their phone, with a QR code that can be verified at the door.
Groups
Split the association into sections, classes or voice parts. Every group gets a chat, a calendar and a feed of its own.
Getting started
Most associations are up and running the same evening they decide to be.
Create the association
Answer a few questions about the association — name, legal form and activity. No installation, nothing to download to get going.
Move the member register in
Upload your existing list as Excel or CSV. You map the columns, see a preview and approve before anything is saved.
Invite the members
Members receive an email invitation and sign in with a link — no passwords. They fill in what is missing themselves, so the register becomes accurate without anyone on the board chasing details.
Collect fees and keep it running
Set up membership types with fees, send payment requests and follow who has paid. From there you run events, announcements and the register in the same place.
Who it is for
Membly is built for associations where the board is voluntary and time is short — not for federations with their own IT department.
- Cultural associations: choirs, orchestras, theatre groups and study circles
- Non-profit associations with a membership fee and recurring activity
- Associations currently run through Facebook groups, email threads and spreadsheets
- Boards that change chair or treasurer at regular intervals
- Associations from twenty members up to several thousand
Compared with what you do today
Most associations do not arrive from another membership system. They arrive from a set of tools that were free while the association was small.
Spreadsheet
Where it breaks
A file on somebody’s laptop. Nobody knows which version is current, and the data goes stale without anyone noticing.
In Membly
One register every authorised person sees at once, kept current by the members themselves.
Facebook group
Where it breaks
An algorithmic feed decides who sees the notice, and it requires members to hold a Meta account. The association and Facebook also share responsibility for the data.
In Membly
A chronological feed, targeted announcements and clear data responsibility with a processing agreement.
WhatsApp thread
Where it breaks
Everything lands in the same thread. Decisions, notices and jokes mix, and what was written in March cannot be found in October.
In Membly
Chat for the conversation, feed for what should stay, and events for what needs an answer.
An older membership system
Where it breaks
Built for the administrator. Members rarely if ever log in, so the register ages and all communication happens elsewhere anyway.
In Membly
The same register, but with an app members have a reason to open — so the data stays fresh.
| What you use today | Where it breaks | In Membly |
|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet | A file on somebody’s laptop. Nobody knows which version is current, and the data goes stale without anyone noticing. | One register every authorised person sees at once, kept current by the members themselves. |
| Facebook group | An algorithmic feed decides who sees the notice, and it requires members to hold a Meta account. The association and Facebook also share responsibility for the data. | A chronological feed, targeted announcements and clear data responsibility with a processing agreement. |
| WhatsApp thread | Everything lands in the same thread. Decisions, notices and jokes mix, and what was written in March cannot be found in October. | Chat for the conversation, feed for what should stay, and events for what needs an answer. |
| An older membership system | Built for the administrator. Members rarely if ever log in, so the register ages and all communication happens elsewhere anyway. | The same register, but with an app members have a reason to open — so the data stays fresh. |
What a membership system costs with us
SEK 299 per month for the whole association, however many members you have. Every feature is included — no modules, no setup fee and no lock-in. The first 30 days are free and require no card. If you collect fees in the app, the association always receives the full amount you asked for — the SEK 25 service fee is added to the member's payment, and Membly takes no percentage on top. The payment feature is entirely optional.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a membership system and a member register?
The member register is the list of members — names, contact details, membership type and status. The membership system is everything around it: fees, permissions, announcements, events and membership cards. The register is part of the system, and in Membly it is the hub everything else hangs on.
What does Membly cost compared with other membership systems?
Membly costs SEK 299 per month for the whole association, however many members you have. There are no modules to add and no setup fee. If you collect fees in the app the association receives the full amount; the SEK 25 service fee is added to the member's payment. Many systems on the market price per member instead, which makes the cost hard to predict as the association grows.
Can we invoice membership fees with OCR, bankgiro or direct debit?
No. Membly sends a payment request that the member pays by card or Klarna, and the money goes straight to the association’s account via Stripe. We have no direct-debit handling and no OCR reconciliation. If you already invoice by bank transfer you can carry on doing so and mark the payments as paid in Membly, so the member list still adds up.
Is there an integration with Fortnox or Visma?
No direct integration. You do export an SIE file of the membership fees received, and SIE is the standard format both Fortnox and Visma import. In practice that means one file per period rather than a continuous link.
Can members sign in with BankID?
No. Signing in is done with a link sent to the member’s email address — no passwords and no electronic ID. That lowers the barrier for the members who would otherwise never log in, which is a deliberate trade-off.
Can we divide the members into groups?
Yes. An association can be split into groups — voice parts in a choir, classes in a music school, sections in a larger association. Every group gets a chat, a calendar and a feed of its own, while the shared association-wide space remains. A member can belong to several groups, and you can let new members pick a group when they apply. Groups are part of the subscription.
Does Membly suit a federation with districts and member organisations?
No. Membly is built for one association at a time, with no federation tier, districts or shared administration across several associations. If you are a national body administering local associations centrally, you need a system built for that.
Can members pay with Swish?
Not inside the app. Payment methods are set by Membly and are the same for every association — card and Klarna — and cannot be changed per association. It works perfectly well for a member to Swish the treasurer directly and for you to mark the payment as paid in Membly.
Can we move our current member register in?
Yes. Upload your existing list as CSV, XLSX or XLS, map the columns to the fields in Membly and review a preview before anything is saved. An import takes up to 500 rows at a time, and we recommend files of 200–250 rows so they stay easy to review.
Do members have to install an app?
No. Membly runs in the browser on both phone and computer. Anyone who wants to can add Membly to their home screen and use it as an app, but it is optional. Signing in is done with an emailed link — no passwords to forget.
Who can see members’ contact details?
Only administrators and leaders. An ordinary member sees names and roles in the member list, but never anyone else’s phone number, email address or postal address. You always see your own, and a guardian sees their child’s.
How do members pay their fee?
You create membership types with the fees the association has decided on and send a payment request. The member gets a link by email, pays by card or Klarna without logging in, and the payment is registered automatically. If someone pays another way — bank transfer, Swish to the treasurer, cash — you mark it as paid and the list still adds up.
What happens to our data if we leave?
It is yours throughout. You can export the member register as a CSV file at any time and ask for the data to be deleted. We never sell member data, and the service is funded by the subscription rather than by advertising.
Does Membly suit a small association?
Yes. The price is the same whether you are twenty members or two thousand, and there is nothing to configure before you start. It is built for associations where the board is voluntary and time is the scarcest resource.
Read on
- Member registerWhat belongs in the register, who gets to see it and how you keep it current.
- Compare association systemsMembly next to the most common alternatives on the Swedish market.
- PricingOne price for the whole association. What is included, and what costs nothing extra.
- About MemblyWho we are, which company runs the service and where your data lives.