StarChapter - Avis

It is a cost-effective way to manage association information, particularly with officer transitions. It also allows for quick and easy web site updates and various notifications to different member types. It has made membership information management and document retention a breeze as well!

Meeting registration requires multiple steps, which may be a deterrent for members who don't often use a computer or need to take extra steps to pay for an event , etc.

Star Chapter is easy to use for those that do not have a website creation background.

It would be nice to have to have new and improved features implemented quicker.

I am considering switching to Wix and Affinapay

Invoicing, creating pages, creating events

Members are able to renew their memberships, pay for meetings easily. The website management with the event planning flows smoothly. Communicating with members via StarChapter is great as well.Payments using StarPay has worked out well for our chapter too.

Our biggest complaint is not having immediate customer service with an individual we can talk to available if we have a quick question or are having a problem. Needing to submit a ticket and wait for a response to set up a time and day to talk with a StarChapter representative has taken sometimes 3-5 days.

I appreciate the functionality and ease of use. It is not as complex as other website design/operation products. The website appearance is professional and current. Updates are easy, event management is straightforward.

It does seem to lack more advanced features. The corporate members option is appreciated, but lacks ability to customize it to our organizational needs. It would also be great to have compatibility for ID scanning hardware to ease check-in procedures at events. The current method of checking people in via the meeting manager page is cumbersome and slow.

What I like most is the essential functionality of creating member profiles, database, events and announcements.

Absolutely do not like the backend coding platform that does not make it easy to change content. Some features are not helpful to add content and pictures to the home and subsequent webpages.

All in one database, single sign on, training videos are very useful for new users.

Updating of minor configurations however, this could be user error and a need for additional training.

User friendly. It’s easy to get someone to support us if we have a question.

we don’t have a membership. We only use this as an event platform, so I think it could be streamline. Maybe an opportunity for you.

Upgrading the website to a newer platform was a very easy process. StarChapter was very good to work with and the design team did an excellent job!

Sometimes there is a lag when you edit content before you can go back into it!

Star Chapter Membership, Dues and even management work well for us.

Star Chapter could work to reduce our credit card fees to help our non profit retain as much in dues and event fees.

First, StarChapter has a solid value proposition for a small organization -- competitive with Wild Apricot and similar "value" options. However, biggest selling point is its customer support. Unlike Wild Apricot, StarChapter doesn't outsource set up and has an in-house design team that walks you through the process. (start up cost 1/3rd of what I was quoted to set up a Wild Apricot site!). They were very accommodating and worked hard to create a web layout that replicated our branding image, and were able to integrate some external features. The final product exceeded expectations at launch, and was handled seamlessly.

The steep, steep learning curve and the absence of an on-call service line. Although the set up was excellent, I was not ready to manage the system on my own when we launched. As a result, I really struggled to complete basic tasks, and made lots of errors that resulted in member frustration or confusion. I was able to send in support tickets and get responses - usually within 24 hours, but the damage was often done by the time I got an answer. I think a comprehensive user manual - whether on-line or downloadable, would be really helpful. The knowledge base is very segmented and it's not easy to get step by step instructions when you need them.

StarChapter set everything up
The training they provided was comprehensive
The support is excellent. I had a few questions and received a response back within hours or even minutes.
Once you get the hang of how it works, it is easy to make changes
The price is incredible! We are a very small non-profit with a limited budget.
Our users love the software. The admins really like the back end and the information it provides.
Our members love the website and how easy it is to renew membership, sign up for classes and events.

Reporting is a little weak:
I can find everything I need but it isn't as easy as I think it could be. (That said it could be that I haven't figured everything out yet.)
I can get a list of new members, members that have renewed, and members that have not renewed BUT it does not produce a very attractive output. This would definitely not stop me from recommending this software.

The features I like best about StarChapter are: ease of administration, swiftness of launch, good value for your money. It's great for smaller associations.

Reporting is what I like least about StarChapter. Historical information isn't easy to access.

multi user capable. Everything handled in "one place"

difficult to maintain web pages. have to edit multiple places to update a page. Switched from accepting PayPal to their own credit card processing application. Does not accept any "foreign" card (any card from outside the US, this mean even Canada. We have a number of Canadian based members who can't be processed. Fees are high than PayPal. Can not accept (swipe or chip) cards onsite, have to manually key them in.

I've used StarChapter for more than 10 years. The platform is very user-friendly and customer service is top notch. The knowledge base is thorough and easy to navigate.

When membership dues are variable based on size, the platform isn't intuitive. Flat dues work great!

Integration was easy and the support team did a great job. I felt we received everything we asked for and I am learning how to use the system everyday with the help of the support team.

Navigating and understanding my way around the website is my biggest challenge but I am new to this and feel that eventually I will get the hang of it.

They easy elements of communications, setting up events and sign-up of membership.

It is difficult to see what type of membership is for each person and how much they paid and what they paid. There is no integration for webinars! Adding contacts is also limited and makes it difficult to email all potential leads. Also you should have an app that allows easy QR checkins for attendees. What about a program attached to your meeting that issues certificates that can be easily emailed to the participant.

The ease of use that allows us to have a members only section on our website; the quick and straightforward set up and designs for each page on our site; the ability to adapt pages to include accessibility options for folks using screen readers or are hearing impaired.

The communication tool - we've been using Constant Contact for several years and we've found the flexibility both in e-list management and design that CC provides will keep us using that service over StarChapters.

The look and feel of the StarChapter ("SC") website is so much better than what we previously had through the national "mother" association.

Implementation was said to be quick and easy. We had exactly the opposite. Little follow-up, unclear directions, reliance on written tutorials rather than a live body to help us through the process, email contact that was not direct from the implementation person which caused the "system-generated" email to not just get caught in a spam filter but to get lost in a quarantine quagmire. Also, we provided tax details that only were acceptable after we pointed out it was all the IRS issued to us. SC was able to go to the IRS's online look-up which gave SC the same details we sent them - then they said what we sent was good. I still don't understand what the hang-up was but didn't push it any further.When we finally got approval for the StarPay ("SP") module, the SC implementation person turned off our "collect money at the door" option for registrants (she was not directed to do so), and had to go back again to get her to turn that back on. It was an easy and overnight fix, but shouldn't have had to go through the time and hassle of doing that in the first place.

The majority of the software makes it very easy to manage our chapter's website, from meetings and payments to board transitions and communication. StarChapter provides ample live and pre-recorded instructional videos, as well as an extensive "knowledge base" of articles. When I can't find what I need, or when there is a problem, I can submit a support ticket. I always get a response in under 24 hours, usually less than 12.

If you want to create complicated web pages (more complex than the template pages that are provided), you need to know a bit more about website design. It's not as user friendly for those who aren't tech savvy. Also, sometimes the editing/formatting features can be a bit frustrating, like using tables and things for page design.

Starchapter is a great tool if you want everything housed in one place. It is truly a one stop shop. We use this for chapter website, registrations, member management, email forwarders, etc. It is nice to not have to keep up with a ton of different logins and passwords for different things.

Custom creation is difficult in this software. We were overpromised, and the delivery was not near what we were assured. Customer service is also barely helpful. We get a lot of "we can't do that, but we will tell someone so maybe we can do it eventually."

Top items:
1) Ease of access from any location.
2) Ability to have most of the associations information in one spot
3) Email communication
4) Reports available. Love the graphs for membership, meeting attendance, etc...
5) Love that the members can download the meetings they attended to track their own CEH credits.
6) Love how the support team gets back promptly on issues.
7) The newsletter StarChapter sends out although finding time to read it gets in the way.
8) The ease of using it. It's not hard to train others to use it.

Least liked:
1) Email verification.
2) The difficulty to find where to change some information and the need to ask what page it is on.
3) Renewing a members dues from administrative point of view has been difficult.
4) Would like notification of any issues concerning members.
5) Screen size for creating an event. Would like it bigger.

Ease of learning how to do stuff for someone who isn't a technology nerd. Sometimes that means my current intern has to look at the video and then show me, but once the lightbulb goes on, I can do 'most anything.

Some of their training videos have left me wondering what I just watched. That's when I reach out to a digital native / millennial to help me "get it." Or, I submit a job ticket.

This software is affordable and great for nonprofits that are just starting out. It provides everything you need to get started, including a website, dues structure, member letters and member CRM.

This software lacks a lot of functions that nonprofits really need. There doesn't appear to be a platform for managing CEUs, there is no membership card template, customizing emails with member data appears to have limited functionality, extracting membership data for dashboards is near impossible - you can only customize the data so much and the reports and charts built in are limited. Member categories are tracked poorly - our system doesn't categorize expired members, you have to go to the non-members section to find them - even though Expired is a category in the data filter! One screen has a specific number of active members, and another screen will have a different number. And the Knowledgebase is terrible. I've had to open like 50 tickets because so many of the concerns I have or matters I need help with are not on the Knowledgebase! My nonprofit has decided to move on with another platform.

I like being able to edit any portion of the software at any time. I like that it is a word-friendly software to make the text appealing as well as being able to add images.
I also like the payment portal; setting up the customer ticket options gives you the ability to make items required during a registration of an event.

At this time, the only item I do not find easy to navigate through are the reports. The reports are not easy to build or customize for each event. I tend to have to make an extra step in my process to match the entries.