FlexWare Club Management System
QuickStart Guide


version 1.0
Freedomware, LLC
22 July 2004
FlexWare Logo



Table of Contents

    1.  Introduction
       1.1. Versions
       1.2. Conventions Used

    2.  Getting Started
       2.1.  Installation

    3.  Working With Members
       3.1.  Adding a Member
       3.2.  Finding a Member

    4.  Working With Products
       4.1.  Creating a Standard Product
       4.2.  Creating a Membership Product
       4.3.  POS Introduction

    5.  Assigning a Membership
       5.1.  Selling a Membership
       5.2.  Payment Options

    6.  Collecting Payments
       6.1.  Direct Debtor Update
       6.2.  Transmitting Payments to Processor
          6.2.1.  Transmitting EFT Payments
          6.2.2.  Transmitting Credit Card Payments

    7.  Maintenance
       7.1.  Backups
       7.2.  Upgrades


1.  Introduction

This document serves as a guide to help you get acquainted with the FlexWare Club Management System.  It covers the basic tasks that need to be performed in order to quickly begin using the system in a working environment.

1.1.  Versions

FlexWare is available in a few different versions.  This guide follows the latest version now available, version 1.8.  Most of the features covered in this guide apply to all versions, however the steps to perform certain tasks may vary.  As a general rule, it is best to be running the most current version of the software in order to have access to the most features.

1.2.  Conventions Used

The following conventions are used throughout this guide to help you understand what is being referred to.

Entry fields are indicated with italic lettering.  For example, the First Name field would refer to the actual field where you would enter a first name.

Menu items are show in the following way: [File]->[Change Password...].  This would tell you to click on 'File' then on 'Change Password...'.

Finally, most window titles and specific terms are shown in 'quotes'.

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2.  Getting Started

Let's get right into it.  At this point we assume that you have the FlexWare Software (hereafter referred to as FlexWare) installation program on a CD or you have downloaded it from one of the available sources on the Internet.  One such source is here.

2.1.  Installation

To install FlexWare you will need to run the setup program.  If you have a CD, insert it and double-click the icon on the CD (there should only be one).  If you have downloaded the installation, run it by double-clicking on the icon fro the downloaded file.  Follow the instructions on the installation program.  When it has completed the installation, you should have an icon for FlexWare 1.8 on your Desktop.

The first time you run the program, you will be prompted to enter your license number.  If you have not received you permanent license yet, you can click the 'Demo' button to activate the 30 Day Demo license.  This will allow you to begin working with the program until you obtain your permanent license.

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3.  Working With Members

Members are your most important assets as club owners, and managing and tracking their information may be your most important task.  It is important to know how to quickly find information about a member, and to know how to properly maintain the member's account.

3.1.  Adding a Member

To add a member record to FlexWare, open the 'Edit Member' window, click on the add button
[screenshot 3.1a], and begin entering the member's information.  When first adding a member, you will want to concentrate on these tabs only: Personal, General, and Membership.  Go ahead and add a sample member (you could add yourself) at this point.  We will use this member record throughout this guide.

Begin by selecting a Member Number for the member.  If you are assigning keychain tags to your members, you will enter the number on the back of the tag into the
Member# field.  Be sure to enter all of the digits in the number including any leading zeros.  For your sample member, just use '123'.


Note:  Do not change the number that was chosen for Card#.  The program automatically picks this number for you when you add a new member.  Despite the confusion regarding the names of the fields, the keytag number always goes in the Member# field.


The other information is fairly self-explanatory.  Once you have entered all of the member's information, finish by clicking on the save button at the top.  Any time you wish to modify a part of a member's record, simply click in the proper field, and make your change.  However, remember to click the save button after any change you make.

3.2.  Finding a Member

Finding a particular member record is very easy.  Click on the 'Find Member' button on the toolbar, this will bring up a list of your members [screenshot 3.2a].  You can scroll up and down in the list or use the search features at the bottom to locate the member.  Once you have found the member you wish to pull up, select it from the list and click on the 'Open' button at the bottom.

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4.  Working With Products

In order to sell any products to your members, you will need to define them in the system.  There are two different types of products you can define in FlexWare.  First, a Standard product would define a product that you would sell one time, for example, a tee shirt, a bottle of water, or even a joining fee.  Second, a MemberType product would define a membership which will be paid for in installments, probably monthly.  We will go over creating both types of products below.

Begin by opening the 'Product Maintenance' window, [Edit]->[Products...].

4.1.  Creating a Standard Product

Again, a Standard product would define something that will be sold once.  You can add a new product by clicking the 'New Product' button [screenshot 4.1a].  In the screenshot example, you can see that we have filled out the General tab.

Item Number is a unique number that must be assigned to the product.  What numbering scheme you use is up to you, however, it makes sense to leave gaps in between numbers so that you can later add products anywhere in the list (i.e.  100100, 100200, 100300, etc.).

You can see that Usage is set to Standard.  This is what defines this as a standard product.

Description is the name you are giving to the product.  This is what will show on the receipt when you sell the product, so be as descriptive as possible (i.e.  XL Club Tee Shirt).

The last thing we need for our product is the Cost, located on the Price tab [screenshot 4.1b].  Enter the cost for the product and click on the save button.

Go ahead and create a Standard product for your joining fee.  We will use this in a later section.

4.2.  Creating a Membership Product

Let's go ahead and add a MemberType product while we're in here.  Click on 'New Product' and fill in the General tab.  To properly define our membership, we need to select 'MemberType' for the Usage [screenshot 4.2a]
Go ahead and define one of your memberships here.  For example, if you have a 12 month membership option, call this product 'One Year Membership Special'.  Again, fill in the cost for the membership.  This will be the amount that will be paid each month for the membership (i.e.  $39.00).

Because this is a MemberType product, we also need to fill in the Membership tab [screenshot 4.2b].  The Period defines the term for this membership.  In the screenshot example, this is '12 Months', which would define a one year membership.  Direct Debit must be checked and the Payment Period must be set to 'Monthly'.

Once you have defined the product, click the save button.  You should now see both of your products in the list at the top [screenshot 4.2c].

4.3.  POS Introduction

The Point of Sale (or POS) screen can be accessed through the [Edit]->[POS...] menu item.  This section will give a brief introduction to this feature.

Let's begin by taking a look at the POS screen [screenshot 4.3a].  You can see that the product list is shown in the upper left corner.  We also have a keypad the the right.  The receipt is shown in the lower left corner, and a few other settings to the right.

The best way to understand how the POS works is to use it.  In the next section we will use the POS to sell the membership products we have defined to a member.

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5.  Assigning a Membership

Assigning a membership to a member is as simple as selling them a membership product.  Most clubs have a joining fee that is paid when the member signs up.  The member usually pays their first month's dues at this time as well.  Before you can sell a membership, you must have the member entered into the system.  Let's use the sample member we created earlier and go through selling the membership.

5.1.  Selling a Membership

We begin by opening the POS screen.  The first thing we must do is to select the member we are assigning the membership to.  Use the 'Find Member' button to locate the member.  You should see the member's name and card number once the member is selected.  Next we begin by selling the membership that the member has applied for.  Double click the membership product that we defined earlier.  You should see the product on the receipt [screenshot 5.1a].  Next we will add the Joining Fee product to the sale.  Double click the joining fee product and you should see it added to the receipt [screenshot 5.1b].  Now that we have both products on the receipt, we are ready to click 'Sub Total'.  You should see the total for the sale displayed at the top [screenshot 5.1c].  In the screenshot example, the total is $118.00.

Now you must select the Payment Type.  This is the method that the member is going to use to pay for this transaction.  This only applies to this sale.  For example, if a member is going to use your EFT service, but is going to pay for this (joining fee and 1st month) with a credit card, select Credit Card.

Once you have selected the Payment Type, click on the 'Total' button to complete the sale.  Because we are selling a MemberType product, the program will now ask us when we want the next installment of the membership to be due [screenshot 5.1d].  Set the Due Date to the next payment date and click the 'Save' button.  You should then receive a message about the member's record being updated.

5.2.  Payment Options

Now that we have sold the membership to the member, we need to specify how they are going to pay for the installments.  To do this we open the member's record and go to the 'Banking' tab [screenshot 5.2a].

The most important field on this tab is the Account Type field.  This determines the payment method for the member.  If they will be paying via EFT, select 'Bank Account'.  If they will pay via credit card each month, choose Visa, Mastercard, etc.  The other fields are fairly self-explanatory.  Fill in all of the information about the member's chosen payment method and click save at the top.

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6.  Collecting Payments

6.1.  Direct Debtor Update

The first step in collecting your payments is to 'update' the members' records.  This procedure records the members' payments as paid, and also moves their next due date forward.  The update screen can be accessed through [Edit]->[Direct Debtors]->[Update...] [screenshot 6.1a].

In the screenshot example, you can see that the Start and End dates are set to '08/06/2004'.  Set these dates to one of the due dates you specified when selling the membership and click 'Test'.  FlexWare looks for anyone who is due on this date and displays them in the list at the bottom.  You should see the sample member in the list.  Once you click on 'Commit' the program will ask if you wish to update the members' records, click 'Yes' and it should tell you how many records it updated.

6.2.  Transmitting Payments to Processor

First we will look at transmitting your EFT payments for processing.  It should be noted that the EFT payments must be transmitted at least one day before the due date.  For example, if you are transmitting payments to be drawn on the 8th of March, you must have them uploaded before the 8th (the 7th at the latest).  This differs from Credit Card payments which we will cover in the next section.

6.2.1.  Transmitting EFT Payments

To begin, open the 'Direct Debit Export' window under [Edit]->[Direct Debtors]->[Export...] [screenshot 6.2a].

Under the Direct Debit Update field you should see the date and time that you performed the update in the last section.  In the future, you will need to verify that date and time match the update that you want to export.  The Export Format field must be set to 'Comma Separated Values'.

Next you must specify where you want to save the file that contains the payments.  In the screenshot example, the file will be saved under 'C:\data\080604.csv'.  This means I have a folder called 'data' on my hard disk, and I want the file saved in that folder with a name of '080604.csv'.  Where and what you name your file is up to you.  However, it is recommended that you save it in an easily accessible folder (i.e.  My Documents), and that you name it uniquely (i.e.  using the date as part of the name).  You can use the 'Browse' button to specify where to save it.

Once the filename is set, the last step is to check the payment types that we want exported.  Click on the 'Payment Types' tab and make sure ONLY 'Bank Account' is checked.  Now we are ready to click on 'Perform export'
.  You will see a window asking which fields to include in the export.  You need to make sure ALL of the fields are checked, then hit OK.  It should then tell you how many records were exported.

Finally we need to upload the file we have exported to the EFT processing system.  Begin by connecting to the Internet and open your browser (if you are viewing this online, just click here).  Go to https://www.freedomware.net/fdc2/.

Login using the ID and Password that you have obtained from FreedomWare.  Upon successful login you should see this page [screenshot 6.2b].  Under the File to import field you will need to specify where your export file is located (i.e.  My Documents).  You can use the 'Browse' button to easily locate it.  Next you will need to select the FlexWare version you are using, this should be 'FlexWare 1.8'.  The last step is to specify the Due Date for these transactions.  This is the date that the payments will be drawn from the members' accounts, so be very specific when you choose it.


Note:  FreedomWare Data Center processes EFT payments four on specific dates during a given month.  These are: the 1st, the 8th, the 16th, and the 23rd.  You should be grouping your members into one of these four due dates.  However, there are cases where you will need to transmit one or two payments outside of this schedule (i.e.  returns from NSF, etc.).


Finally you are ready to click on 'Import'.  This will upload your export file to the EFT system.  Several checks are performed on the payments as they are received.  If any of these checks fail, you may see a report detailing what went wrong.  However, if all goes well, you should see a report showing the payments you have submitted [screenshot 6.2c].  It is recommended that you print this page for your records.  Once you are done printing, click 'Continue' at the bottom.  You will be taken back to the Main Page, and you should see your draft under 'Pending Batches'.

You can now logout, or just close your browser window.

6.2.2.  Transmitting Credit Card Payments

Submitting your credit card payments is very similar to the EFT method.  Again, you will process your credit card payments on the day they are actually due.  The credit card transactions are processed 'real-time' whereas the EFT payments are not.

To process your credit cards, make sure you have PC Charge Payment Server running (this is indicated by a green dollar sign icon in your system tray).  Follow the steps for exporting the EFT payments as described in the last section.  The only difference here is that you must select 'PC Charge Payment Server' for the Export Format.  Because we want to process only the credit card payments through PC Charge be sure ONLY the credit card types are checked under 'Payment Types'.  Once you have done this, click on 'Perform Export'.  This will submit the payments through PC Charge.

You can now open PC Charge and run a daily report to verify that the payments are 'Active'.  You will still need to perform your 'End of Day Settlement' within PC Charge to collect the funds.

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7.  Maintenance

7.1.  Backups

coming soon...

7.2.  Upgrades

coming soon...
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Copyright 2004 FreedomWare, LLC.  All rights reserved.