There are 2 ways for members to register with the Makerspace. Administrators can manually register a member, or members can register themselves and an admin adds their key fob afterwards.
- Grab a registration packet from the “Member Contracts” wooden box on the lobby wall. This should include an orientation packet. The parking sticker is in the same place as the key fobs in the filing cabinet. If we are low on any of these, print or request more.
- In person, ask the new member to review and sign the Member Contract. This is a good time to check the member's ID. The member must have some form of ID that verifies their name and address. Combinations of different forms of ID are acceptable. If the member does not have any form of ID, you may not issue them a key; they must return at a later date before being granted a key.
- Get a new key fob from the filing cabinet. Notify the board if we are low on key fobs (fewer than 10 remaining).
- Scan the new fob at the front door. The scanner should blink red when it is done.
- Sign in to members.manchestermakerspace.org as an admin user.
- Open the portal menu and choose Members.
- Click Create New Member at the top. Fill out the member's details, set the Status and Role, and tick Member Contract Signed? to show they signed the Member Contract. The email address entered here is used to invite the member to Slack and Google Drive. You can also choose How they found us. If you choose I took a class at the makerspace, a Class name box appears. If you choose A friend or member told me, type who told them in the box that appears.
- Click Save. You are taken to the new member's profile.
- If you have not already, confirm the member's ID. The member must have some form of ID that verifies their name and address. The key fob form shows the address from the member's record, and the address on their ID must match it exactly.
- On the profile, click Register Fob to open the Register New Fob form.
- Click Import New Key. This replaces the red No Card Found message with the fob's unique number. If the number does not appear, scan the fob at the front door again. For repeated problems importing a fob, check the #doorboto-private Slack channel for scanning issues or contact support. On an Android phone you can also use the Scan NFC menu item instead.
- Click Submit to return to the profile. The Register Fob button now says Replace Fob, which shows the key is registered.
- Click Renew to open the renewal form. Choose the term the member paid for (1, 3, 6 or 12 months) and click Submit. If the member is on the Household plan, see Household memberships below.
- The membership is now active and the key is registered. Give the key to the member and have them try it at the front door to make sure it works. Give them a parking sticker. If a member needs a replacement sticker, they should ask in the Slack #Parking channel.
- Give them an orientation of the space. You are shaping how comfortable someone is going to be using the space. Make sure they understand where the lights are and our policy around the fire door. Double check what their needs will be in the space and see if it is necessary or possible to help them reach their checkout goals or find the resources they need.
On the member's profile, the Slack Provisioning and Google Drive Access lines show where their invitations stand. Google Drive access is set up once the member has a future expiration date and a usable fob. The Drive, Block Drive and Slack buttons manage them by hand if needed.
How a member found us
When someone signs up themselves, they are asked How did you hear about us?. Their answer shows on their profile as How they found us. Only admins and board members see it. It is used to see how many members come over from classes and from referrals.
To correct or add it, open the member's profile and click Edit. Change How they found us. The Class name box appears for I took a class. For A friend or member told me, the box holds the name the member typed, and a search lets you link the member who referred them. The profile then shows Referred by with a link to that member. Changing the answer to something else clears the class name and the link. These changes are recorded in the audit log.
When a member's email changes
Changing a member's email on their profile moves their Google Drive access to the new address automatically. Slack needs a step. The member's Slack indicator turns red, with the reason in its tooltip, and the members relations Slack channel gets a message naming the old and new address.
Ask the member to change their email in Slack as well, in Slack's account settings, and to confirm the link Slack sends to the new address. That keeps their existing Slack account, and the indicator should turn green after the next sync. Check the indicator before doing anything else.
If the member does not change it in Slack, click the Slack button on their profile. This deactivates their old Slack account and sends a new invitation to the new address, which the member accepts from their email. Do not click it if the member has already changed their email in Slack and the indicator is green or still updating: it can deactivate the account they just updated. If a member deliberately uses a different email in Slack from the one on their membership, check with an admin before clicking Slack.
Household memberships
The Household plan covers two adults who live at the same address. The portal does not set the household up by itself, so staff create it when the first adult is onboarded.
When you open the profile of a member who pays the household rate but has no household yet, a yellow Household setup needed banner appears at the top of the profile. When you register their fob or renew them, a warning message repeats the reminder, and a message is posted to the members relations Slack channel with a link to the profile. Only admins and board members see the banner and message. Members never see them.
- Open the paying member's profile and click Create Household. The banner goes away once the household exists.
- Choose Manage Household, then Add Secondary Member, and search for the second adult.
- Select them and confirm. The second adult needs their own member account with the same street address and postal code as the paying member, and should not also have their own subscription.
If the second adult has no account yet, register them first (steps above), then add them to the household. Use Manage Household to remove a second adult or dissolve the household later.
- Members go to members.manchestermakerspace.org and choose Sign Up. See Sign Up for what they do.
- Once the member has signed up and signed the Member Contract, sign in to the portal as an admin user.
- Open the portal menu and choose Members.
- Use the search box above the table to find the member by name or email. Partial searches work, which helps when a full search shows no results. If you cannot find them, check the View only current members filter above the table.
- Click the member's name to open their profile.
- Complete the steps from “confirm the member's ID” above to register a key, start their membership and give them an orientation.
Last reviewed: October 2026