# What Membership applications does

> A public join form, confirmation by email, a proposer asked to vouch, and the committee's election, which makes the member records and the first invoice.

Who this is for: Anyone with “Membership applications” (by default: Administrator).
Last checked in release 2026.10.23, on 23 October 2026.
Source: https://sportsclubos.net/help/applications/overview/

Membership applications takes people who want to join from a public form to the committee's decision. The applicant fills in the club's join form and confirms their email address. A member they name as their proposer is asked to vouch for them, by email. The office sees each application, chases the proposer if needed, and records what the committee decided. Electing makes the new member records and, as the office chooses, a login, a welcome email and the first invoice.

## Who uses it

- **People applying** use the join form. It needs no sign-in.
- **Proposers and seconders** answer from a link in an email. It needs no sign-in.
- **The office** sees the applications and records the committee's decisions. Only the Administrator can, and this cannot be given to other roles: electing makes member records and invoices. Everyone who can do it is emailed when an application arrives and when a proposer answers.

## Its pages

| Page | Where | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| **Join the club** | A public address, with no sign-in; **Open the application form** on the Applications page opens it | The form: choose a membership, then five steps. |
| **Membership applications** | Club > Members > Applications | Every application, by stage. Open one to see it, chase a proposer, add notes and record the decision. |
| **Proposer's page** | The link in the email to a proposer or seconder | Says whether they know the applicant and support the application. |

## The words it uses

- **Proposer**: a current member who vouches for the applicant. The applicant may write to the committee instead, if they know no members.
- **Seconder**: a second member who knows them. Recommended, not required.
- **The stages**: **Email not confirmed**, **Waiting for proposer**, **Ready for committee**, then **Elected**, **Declined** or **Withdrawn**.
- **Electing**: recording the committee's vote to accept the application. It makes the member records.

## What it connects to

- **Members:** electing makes a record for each person on the application, linked as one household for a family.
- **Membership types:** each category on the form is one of the club's membership types, so the fees shown are the ones invoiced, worked out for the day of joining.
- **Invoices:** electing raises the first invoice, unless the office switches it off.
- **Users:** electing can make a login for the adult the club writes to.

## What it does not do

- An application is not a member record. Nothing about the applicant reaches the member list until they are elected.
- The form never says whether the proposer named is a member, so it cannot be used to find out who belongs to the club.
- No invoice is emailed. The welcome email gives the invoice number and total.
- The committee's vote happens outside Sports Club OS. The office records the result.

> **Not built yet:** choosing to pay monthly on the join form or at election. Elect the member, then change how they pay on their page. There is also no settings page for the form's categories, wording and rules.

## Articles

- How it works: [How an application moves from the form to election](https://sportsclubos.net/help/applications/how-it-moves/index.md).
- For the office: [Record the committee's election](https://sportsclubos.net/help/applications/record-the-election/index.md), [Chase a proposer](https://sportsclubos.net/help/applications/chase-a-proposer/index.md), [Decline an application, or record that the applicant withdrew](https://sportsclubos.net/help/applications/decline-or-withdraw/index.md).
- For applicants and proposers: [Apply to join the club](https://sportsclubos.net/help/applications/apply-to-join/index.md), [Answer as a proposer or seconder](https://sportsclubos.net/help/applications/answer-as-proposer/index.md).
- Setting up: [Put the join form on your website](https://sportsclubos.net/help/setup/join-form/index.md). Members who make their own logins are approved on Club > Members > Portal sign-ups: see [Approve portal sign-ups](https://sportsclubos.net/help/members/portal-sign-ups/index.md).