How household and family memberships work

This page explains how household and family membership levels work in MapleGather — what “primary member” means, how billing works across the household, and what happens to linked members when the primary’s payment fails.

The short version

A family or household membership covers one primary member plus a set number of linked members under a single membership. The primary member signs up and pays. Each linked member has their own membership that mirrors the primary’s — the same level, term and status. There is one household bill, and it is the primary’s. If the primary’s payment fails, linked members are affected too.

How it works

The primary member

The person who applies for a family membership becomes the primary member. They:

Own the payment method on file for the household
Manage who is added or removed via the Household page in their portal
Receive all billing-related emails (such as renewal receipts — no failed-payment email is sent yet)

Linked members

Linked members are added by the primary after sign-up, or listed on the application. People listed on an application are not contacted or added when it is submitted; each is created as a member only when the organization accepts the application. Each linked member can have:

Their own email address and portal sign-in (on levels where every member signs in, the default)
A profile without a sign-in — for example, a child or dependent the primary adds without an email address, or anyone on a level that uses owner-only sign-in (see Who can sign in)

Each linked member has their own membership, which follows the primary’s: it has the same level, term and status, and it changes when the primary’s renews, is cancelled or changes level. It is never billed separately. Because of that, a linked member can’t cancel or change the level of their own membership, and renews only as described in Who can renew. Their My membership page says the primary manages billing for the household, and hides those actions. Linked members can view the household from their own portal, but only the primary can add, remove, or reassign. If a linked member is removed from the household, their membership is cancelled and stops following the primary’s.

Each household level has a Who can sign in? setting, chosen by the organization:

Every member (the default) — each household member can sign in to the member portal with their own login.
Owner only — only the household’s primary member signs in.

On an owner-only level, a linked member who has no membership of their own:

Keeps their profile, their membership and their history. Nothing is deleted.
Can’t use the member portal. If they try, the portal tells them the household’s primary member signs in for the household, and to contact that person for account access or to see their membership.
Joins without a sign-in if they’re invited after the level became owner-only.

A linked member who also holds a membership of their own keeps their login. They can still view the household, and they see a note that only the household owner has a login.

Sign-in follows the primary role. If the primary role moves to someone else on an owner-only level, the new primary can sign in once they confirm. The previous primary can’t, unless they have a membership of their own.

It can be undone. For 48 hours after an organization switches a level to owner-only, it can undo the switch and every linked member’s sign-in comes back as it was. After that, the organization can switch the level back to every member at any time, and linked members who had a login sign in with the same account as before.

Seat cap

Each family level has a maximum number of members it allows (the seat cap). For example, a “Family of 4” covers up to 4 people total including the primary. However the level is set up, an application can list at most 20 people, including the applicant. When the cap is reached, the “Add member” button disappears until someone is removed.

Price

The organization chooses how each household level is charged:

Flat fee — one price covers the whole household, however many people are on it.
Per additional member — the level’s price covers the primary member, and each additional household member adds a set fee. The household’s charge is price + fee × the number of additional members.

Who counts as an additional member depends on when the charge is made:

At sign-up — everyone the applicant lists on the application. The sign-up form shows a live Total that changes as people are added or removed, and the payment step charges exactly that total.
At renewal — the household’s linked members who have accepted their place, counted when the membership is renewed (by the primary, or by a linked member where the organization allows it). Someone who is still only invited, or who has been removed, isn’t charged. Automatic renewals don’t run yet; when they do, the amount will follow the household’s size on the renewal date, and you’ll be told the exact amount before you’re charged. (Amended pre-merge 2026-10-10.)

For example, at $50 plus $15 per additional member, a primary with 3 additional members pays $95 per billing period.

Who can renew

By default only the household primary renews. A linked member who tries is told “Only the household primary can renew.”

The organization can turn on Let household members renew for a household level. Then a linked member can renew the household membership from their own portal: they see the amount and confirm, and the household’s saved card — the primary’s default card — is charged. The linked member never enters or sees the card’s details, and no processing fee is added. If the card is declined, or the household has no saved card, nothing is charged and the linked member is asked to contact the primary. A renewal by a linked member renews the whole household, just as the primary’s would.

Counting household members

Because each linked member has their own membership at the household’s level, they count as members of that level everywhere levels are counted or filtered: the level’s member count, member searches and exports filtered by level, and email segments built on a membership level all include them alongside the primary. A member who was removed from a household keeps their ended (cancelled) membership at that level, so a level filter that includes cancelled memberships still finds them.

Membership cards

Each member on a family membership — primary and linked — gets their own digital membership card with a unique QR code. The primary can view any household member’s card from the Household page.

Shared billing means shared status

Because the household shares one payment method, a failed renewal payment affects everyone. If the primary’s card is declined:

All household members’ portal pages show a grace-period notice.
The primary sees the failed-payment notice in their billing portal (no failed-payment email is sent yet) and must update the card to restore normal status.

Once the payment is resolved, all members’ statuses return to Active.

Why it works this way

Centralizing billing on the primary keeps invoicing simple — even when a linked member renews, the household’s card is the one charged — for both the organization (one invoice per household) and the family (one card to update). The primary gets all billing notices so they’re never surprised by a charge they didn’t expect.

Edge cases & boundaries

Per-member pricing counts accepted linked members when the membership is renewed; an auto-renew amount shown in advance is an estimate at the current household size. The renewal invoice and its receipt itemize the charge: one line for the level’s fee and one line for each additional member. (Amended pre-merge 2026-10-10. Updated 2026-10-14, v1.6: until then the renewal receipt did not itemize the charge per member.)
Removing a linked member ends their household membership. They remain a contact in the organization but lose member access. They have a 48-hour window to reverse the removal.
On a level that uses owner-only sign-in, linked members without a membership of their own can’t sign in to the portal — only the primary member can. They keep their membership and profile, and the portal tells them to contact the primary for account access. There is no emailed link that lets them see their membership without signing in.
The primary can hand their role to another confirmed household member from the Household page. The new primary gets an email and must confirm before anything changes; if the household renews automatically, they add (or agree to use) a card for future renewals when they confirm. If the primary can’t be reached, the organization can start the handover instead — the new primary still confirms.