Local Consolidation Instructions (NEW)

Follow these instructions when you see the following screen "Consolidate Locals" upon clicking the "Consolidate" button from the Info/Officers screen of a Local.

A Local Consolidation of a Lodge/Chapter/Club is a non-regular combination of two or more Lodges/Chapters/Clubs inside of a single Parent Organization.

This article will guide you through the tasks and subtasks required of a Secretary or Assistant Secretary and the Parent Office during a Chapter/Lodge/Club Merger or Consolidation:

This article aims to provide directions and to expedite the resolution of any question or issue you are having during the setup and completion of a consolidation.

Covered in this Article:

1. What is a Consolidation?
2. Preparation in anticipation of a merger/consolidation.
3. Parent Office: Admin task of processing a merger.
4. Parent Office: Admin notify Groupable|m2/OLP
5. The post-merger Local setup process.
6. Updating your Local WePay Merchant Account

1. What is a Consolidation?

A Consolidation is when one or more locals demise into a Surviving Local, and this surviving local continues with the existing name and/or number. In the consolidation process, groupable|m2 inactivates the demising Local or Locals and incorporates any demising Local(s) into the Surviving Local. Historical records for the demising Local(s) will henceforth be read-only by the Parent Group or Local Officers of the surviving local.

Demising Local:

• One or more Lodge, Chapter, or Local groups that is ceasing to exist and whose members will be accepted into a Surviving Local group.

At the time of the Consolidation, the following will occur:

• Demising Local will be marked merged inactive.
• All active offices held for the Demising Local will be terminated.
• All donations attributed to the Demising Local will be transferred to the surviving local.
• All members of the Demising Local will be have a "consolidated out' event added to their history.
• All members of the Demising Local will be added to the surviving local with a "consolidated in" event.
• The annual census report for the Demising Local will be closed.
• All financial records for the Demising Local will be closed.
• Any un-transferred funds of the Demising Local will be marked transferred to the treasurer of the Demising Local.
• The open budget period for the Demising Local will be closed.

Surviving Local:

• The one local that will receive members in a consolidation.
• The one local that will remain active after a consolidation has been processed.

At the time of the Consolidation, the following will occur:

• Officers, Financials, Dues, Member Types, Online Payments, and all other records will remain intact
• The 
• Newly incorporated members from the Demising Local(s) must be assigned a member type with dues rate and dues owed updated for their new affiliation.

What if I need to process a Merger?

A Merger occurs when two or more local groups form a brand new entity, with a brand new name and/or number. A Merger results in a new local, with brand new officers, member types, financial setup, etc.

To process a Merger, Create a New Local, and then Consolidate the two or more Locals into the new (surviving) local that has just been created. 

For both Demising Locals, the following will occur at the time of the Consolidation:

• Demising Locals will be marked merged inactive.
• All active offices held for the Demising Local will be terminated.
• All donations attributed to the Demising Local will be transferred to the surviving local.
• All members of the Demising Local will be have a "consolidated out' event added to their history.
• All members of the Demising Local will be added to the surviving local with a "consolidated in" event.
• The annual census report for the Demising Local will be closed.
• All financial records for the Demising Local will be closed.
• Any un-transferred funds of the Demising Local will be marked transferred to the treasurer of the Demising Local.
• The open budget period for the Demising Local will be closed.

1. Preparation in anticipation of a merger/consolidation:

HARD STOP: Does either local currently have AutoPay enabled? Contact support@groupable.com for further information before moving forward with the consolidation/merger!

The following records must be up to date and/or obtained prior to the merger by the Local Secretary, Assistant Secretary, or a Parent Office Administrator working in collaboration with the Local Officer.

1. Membership of all affected Locals should be up to date.
2. Details of the new or surviving Local should be gathered:
   1. Name, date of consolidation, meeting address, Tax ID, Officers, etc.
3. Dues Payments and Dues Owed should be updated for all members before the consolidation is processed when groupable|m2 has been used for dues records.
4. When there are Life/Endowed/Perpetual Memberships, please review all life memberships after the consolidation with the Parent Group Administrator (Grand Lodge, Grand Chapter, etc). These Life, Perpetual, and Endowed memberships will usually transfer automatically (aside from your already-deceased Life or Perpetual Memberships which must be checked by the Parent Body Admin).
5. Honorary members will transfer automatically.
6. Generate an excel sheet with a list of all members from the Demising Local(s) including their Member Type to accurately Assign Member Types and Initialize Dues after the consolidation has been processed (see screenshot for creating this report of members by Member Type):

5. At this point, when all records are up to date, the Secretary or Parent Office may wish to print Historical Budget Periods for the Demising Lodge/Chapter/Club. This is will capture any existing financial records entered into m2. (This can always be done after the consolidation, and this data will be retained on the Inactive Local).

Access the Historical Budget Periods by clicking on Income/Expenses and looking in the lower right corner for Budget Periods.

If the Secretary needs assistance with any of these steps, they can contact their parent body, and Groupable will provide any additional support needed.

2. Admin task of performing a merger:

Your Parent Office will perform the merger in m2. This form is completed by an Admin and should not be submitted twice. The actual merging of lodges is time intensive and may take a moment to complete and load. WAIT ON THIS SCREEN until you receive confirmation.

Click the Consolidation Button, which will bring you to the following screen. Be sure to review the Caution Panel!!

Ensure that you are ready to process the consolidation and that you are Consolidating the correct Local and selecting the correct Surviving Local.

3. Parent Office: Notify Groupable: m2/OLP

After the merger has been completed, the Parent Office must notify Groupable (please create a ticket with zendesk). There are two steps that we will take. The first will activate the Info/Officers screen and can happen same-day.

The following day, the Our Lodge Page (OLP powered by Groupable) merger can be processed. 

4. The post-merger Local setup process.

Now the Secretary can, in collaboration with their Parent Office as needed, log in to m2 and Setup Dues going through the steps as outlined in the Setting Up Dues Mid-Year (video embedded below).

The steps of setting up dues mid-year will require you to have on hand the following materials and information:

1. Your Dues Rates for each Member Type
2. Your Member Types reports from Step 1
3. Any Current Dues Owed (generally dues may be carried, but arrears may not be carried forward in a consolidation - your Parent Office will provide you the specific instructions and rules for your organization)

Now review these instructions: How to Start Using Dues Mid-Year

If instead you are setting up dues for the first time, see:

And if you are setting up dues for a new year, see:

Please notify your Parent Group or use the Help Button in the lower right corner if you have any questions in this process!  ----->

6. Updating your Local WePay Merchant Account

When you have completed a Merger or Consolidation, it's essential to double-check that your WePay Merchant Account is ready to use.

Please log in to your OLP Dashboard > Groupable Payments, and click "Signup with WePay". You'll be asked to log in, and then complete setup with re-entering the verification information. Be sure to verify the EIN and Legal Name as filed with the IRS.

Groupable Payments: WePay Verification Requirements

Once you have completed the verification process, immediately process a dues or donation online payment. Doing this will ensure that your Merchant Account is verified promptly by WePay Trust & Safety. 

If your Local WePay Merchant Account is still connected and Active, no action is necessary and your members can continue making online payments with no disruption.