Membership & CPD administration in small UK professional bodies — a 10-minute research survey

I'm a UK software engineer researching how small professional associations and membership bodies manage renewals, CPD and member records. This is research, not marketing — there's nothing to buy, and no one will contact you unless you ask me to. It takes about 10 minutes, mostly multiple choice. As a thank-you, you can opt into free early access to anything I build, plus a founding-member discount.

About your organisation

What kind of organisation are you?

Professional body / practitioner association

Regulatory or accrediting register

What is your role there?

Paid staff — membership or operations

Paid staff — CEO, director or secretariat lead

Volunteer officer or board member

We're a management company running it on the organisation's behalf

Roughly how many members do you have?

Who does the membership admin day to day?

An external company or virtual office

Which of these does your organisation run? (tick all that apply)

Membership grades or post-nominals

A public directory or register of members

Committees, branches or regional groups

Exams or assessed qualifications

Does your organisation run an approved-member, accreditation or quality-mark scheme — for example approved practitioners or installers, accredited firms, or a trusted-trader mark?

Yes — with vetting or audits and a renewal fee

Yes — informal or badge-only

No, but we're considering one

Is your organisation itself accredited or overseen by an external scheme — for example a PSA Accredited Register, a Trading Standards approved code, or a Royal Charter?

About 2 minutes. Some questions appear only if they apply to you.

Does your organisation require members to do CPD (continuing professional development)?

Yes — mandatory, with consequences for non-compliance

Yes — voluntary or encouraged

No, but we're considering it

Tools, time and money

What do you currently use for membership and CPD records? (tick all that apply)

Something built for us

How well does that setup work for you?

Good enough, with some friction

Frustrating, but we cope

We're actively looking to replace it

We have no real system

What would most get in the way of changing systems? (pick up to two)

Moving our data across

Getting board or committee agreement

No one has time to manage a switch

Risk of losing member records

Nothing — we'd switch if something clearly better existed

We don't want to change

Roughly what do you spend per year on membership/CPD software, excluding payment processing fees?

In a typical month, how many hours go into membership and CPD admin across everyone involved? Average out any renewal-season peaks.

Which of these cause the most pain? (pick up to three)

Chasing renewals and payments

Collecting CPD evidence

Tracking hours or points against requirements

Running audits or spot-checks

Keeping the public register or directory accurate

Producing reports for the board or an accreditor

Committee and branch record-keeping

Members asking about their CPD or membership status

Honestly, none of these

Have you ever bought or trialled software specifically for CPD tracking?

Yes — still using it

Yes — but we abandoned it

Looked, but found nothing suitable or affordable

Optional: what's the messiest or most time-consuming membership or CPD situation you've dealt with recently?

Imagine one UK-based system that handled renewals, payments, CPD records, declarations, audits and your public register — with payment fees passed through at cost, no percentage added. Realistically, what would that be worth to your organisation per month?

Nothing — we wouldn't pay for this

Up to £50 (£600/yr)

£50–£100 (£600–£1,200/yr)

£100–£200 (£1,200–£2,400/yr)

£200–£300 (£2,400–£3,600/yr)

If that system existed today, at a price in the range you chose, what would your organisation most likely do?

Switch as soon as we reasonably could

Trial it alongside our current setup

Wait until other organisations vouch for it

Probably nothing — switching is too disruptive right now

Nothing — we wouldn't pay for it

Optional: what would make a system like this a definite yes — or a definite no — for your organisation?

Who would need to approve a purchase like that?

A director or CEO could

Our board or council would vote

Members would (AGM vote)

How quickly could a decision like that realistically be made?

Within three months

At the next board or AGM cycle

Would you like free early access — and a founding-member discount if it launches — in exchange for feedback?

Maybe, tell me more

I'm happy for you to contact me about my answers.

Your answers are confidential and used only for this research. If you've ticked the box, I'll email you personally — no lists, no spam, and I'll delete your details on request. (UK GDPR basis: consent.)