Member Classes
A member class is a tier: Silver, Gold, Platinum, or whatever your programme calls them. This page creates them and explains the one thing that makes classes matter more than they look.
The reason classes matter
The class is what the rest of BigLedger reads. A price-book rule that gives members a better price keys off Member Class. A commission scheme that pays differently on a tiered member keys off the class.
Labels do not do this. A price-set rule on Member Label is not evaluated at all — it is treated as satisfied, which means it widens the rule rather than narrowing it. So a “Gold members get 10% off” rule built on a label applies to everybody.
If a distinction between members needs to change a price or a commission, it is a class. If it is for your own segmentation and reporting, it is a label.
A member belongs to exactly one class at a time, and can carry any number of labels.
Meet GadgetSphere
GadgetSphere Sdn Bhd runs three tiers: Silver on joining, Gold above an annual spend, Platinum by invitation. Gold gets 5% off accessories; Platinum gets 8% and early access to launches.
Step 1: Create the classes
Membership Admin > Member Class > +
Two required fields — Membership Class Code and Membership Class Name — plus a status.
Name the code for what it is and keep the convention: GS-SILVER, GS-GOLD, GS-PLATINUM. The code is what a CSV upload of members will name, and what you will recognise in a price rule six months from now.
The listing shows the code, the name, the status and how many members are in the class — which is the quickest health check on your programme you will get anywhere.
Step 2: Look at what is in a class
Click the class
- Details — the code, name and status, plus the class’s images and aliases.
- Labels — the labels associated with the class.
- Members — who is in it.
Step 3: Make the class do something
Creating a class changes nothing on its own. It earns its keep when something reads it:
- Pricing. Build a price set with a Member Class header rule and a discount treatment. See designing pricing rules.
- Commission. The commission scheme applet can pay differently by class.
Do this next, or you will have three tiers that are indistinguishable at the till.
Step 4: Move members between classes
A member’s class is set on their Details tab in the member record, one at a time — or in bulk through Upload Membership, where the CSV carries the class by code.
There is no automatic promotion in BigLedger: a member does not move from Silver to Gold because they crossed a spend threshold. Promotion is something you do, on a rhythm you decide, from a report you run.
What success looks like
Three minutes:
- Open Member Class. Your tiers are there, and the member counts look plausible against the size of your programme.
- Raise a draft sales line for a member in your discounted tier. The discount lands, and the description beside it names your price set.
- Do the same for a member in the base tier. It does not.
Discard both drafts.
Common mistakes
| What goes wrong | What you see | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Building the tier as a label | The price rule applies to everybody | Member Class rules are evaluated; Member Label rules are not |
| A class with no price set behind it | Nothing happens at the till | Build the price set — the class alone does nothing |
| Expecting automatic promotion | Members stay in the tier they were put in | Promote from a report, on a rhythm |
Codes like MC1, MC2 | Unreadable in a price rule or a CSV | Name them for what they are |
| Trying to put a member in two classes | Only one sticks | One class at a time; use labels for everything else |