How to create a membership application form with renewal logic

Welcome new and returning members with one dynamic form

This guide will show you how to build a complete membership workflow in Formaloo, from initial sign-up to annual renewals, without writing a single line of code.
You’ll learn how to:

• Collect detailed applicant information
• Track membership duration and status
• Automate renewal reminders with logic and notifications
• Manage active and expired members in dashboards or portals

Perfect for clubs, associations, professional bodies, or online communities that need a clean, automated renewal system.

Step 1 – Create your membership application form

Start in your workspace and click + New → Form.
You can begin from scratch or select a template like Membership registration & renewal with memory formsForm from the gallery.

Add the main fields you’ll need:

• Full name and email address
• Membership type (dropdown with values like Standard, Premium, Lifetime)
• Join date and Membership duration (in months or years)
• Payment confirmation (Yes/No or file upload)

💡 Tip: Add a Profile field if your form will live inside a member portal, so each submission automatically connects to the user’s account.

📘 Learn more: How to create and customize forms

Step 2 – Add renewal fields and logic

Open Settings → Advanced logic → Field logic.
Here you’ll make your form adapt based on whether the user is a new or returning member.

Create a Yes/No field: Are you renewing an existing membership?

Then, set up conditional logic:

• If Yes → Show fields like Membership ID and Previous expiry date
• If No → Show fields like Select membership type and Payment details

💡 Pro tip: Use answer piping to greet returning users personally, e.g. “Welcome back, @field_full_name!”

📘 Learn more: How to add logic and automation

Step 3 – Automate renewal status updates

Go to Settings → Advanced logic → On Submit tab to set automated actions once a form is submitted.

Add a new rule:

• Condition: When Membership type is selected
• Action: Assign to Membership Admin and set Status = Active

Create another rule for renewals:

• Condition: When Renewal = Yes
• Action: Send email to renewal manager

📘 Learn more: What is “On Submit” logic and how it works

Step 4 – Send renewal reminders

Now it’s time to automate your renewal notifications.

First, set up an On Update logic rule in your form.
You’ll use this to trigger an email automatically when a member’s status changes to “Expired.”

Here’s how:

1. Open your form → Settings → Advanced logic → On Update
2. Click Add logic
3. Set your condition: When Status = Expired
4. Add the action: Send email → Renewal reminder template

This way, each time you update a record’s status to “Expired,” an automatic renewal email will be sent to that member.

💡 Daily workflow tip:
You can open your Responses Table each day, filter by Expiry date = today, and change their Status to Expired.
Each time you do, the renewal reminder will go out instantly via your On Update logic.

To set up the renewal email itself:
Go to Apps & Integrations → Email templates → + New template and write something like:

Hi @field_full_name,
Your membership will expire on @field_expiry_date.
Renew today to keep your access active!

Attach a redirect link to your renewal form for a seamless flow.

📘 Learn more: How to send and receive email notifications

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Step 5 – Visualize active and expired members

Open the Results → Responses tab in your project.
Add a Table view or Kanban board grouped by Membership status:

• Active
• Pending renewal
• Expired

You can also create a Dashboard page to visualize member data with charts (e.g., active vs. inactive) and filters (by membership type or duration).

📘 Learn more: How to showcase charts based on form responses

Step 6 – Enable a self-service renewal portal

Turn your project into a portal so members can log in, view their profile, and renew directly.

1. Add a User directory to manage logins
2. Connect the renewal form to each member’s profile

📘 Learn more: How to create a portal and manage users’ access

💡 Pro tips

• Create renewal reports by filtering your Responses table by expiry month.

📘 Learn more: How to add and calculate scores using variable fields

🧠 Example scenario

You run a professional association. New applicants complete your membership form, get auto-approved, and receive a welcome email.

FAQ

1. Can returning members prefill their details?
Yes. If your form is in a portal, enable the Profile field and use Memory forms so known users see their previous answers. You can also use answer piping to greet them or reuse values later in the form.
📘 Learn more: Customize your form/app layout and design, Build logic & automation

2. Can members renew inside a secure portal?Absolutely. Turn your project into a portal, manage user access, and let members log in, view their profile, and submit the renewal form with prefilled data.📘 Learn more: Create a portal & manage users’ access, Add/edit fields in the user base form

Next steps to expand your membership system

You’ve now built a complete membership workflow in Formaloo, from application to automated renewals.
Next, enhance it with features like payment integrations, auto-generated membership cards, or a member dashboard showing renewal history.

Last updated November 2025

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