It has been amazing to see all the adaptations associations have made through the long, uncertain pandemic. We’ve been in the thick of the association industry, building next-generation membership software for more than 20 years at Cobalt and we have never seen changes like this. 

More than ever, we know you’re working hard to connect with your members, create new ways of generating revenue for your organization, and help your team stay organized, focused, and motivated. The association management software (AMS) you’re using should be able to help your staff and members with all these challenges.

Put Our Membership Software Ideas to Work for Your Members and Staff


In this blog, we’ve collected some highlights and links to some of what the Cobalt team has been learning recently. Skim the headlines and areas we’ve addressed recently, and if you’re in the market for a new AMS — or you just want to see what’s new and possible— schedule a product showcase.

1. AMS Data and Report Headaches

Is your staff still spending lots of time and effort to get select data from your AMS and make it report ready? We’ve got some ideas that can help:

Stop Scrambling Before Big Meetings: Embed a Power BI Report in Microsoft Teams

2. Membership Approvals

What does your membership approval process look like these days? Your AMS can do a lot to streamline things and make life easier for whoever is responsible for approvals while also turning those applications around faster for your newest members. Check out:

How To Use Power Automate to Make Approval Processes a Little Less Painful

3. Helping “Lite” AMS Users Get What They Need

Many of your staff who regularly interact with members might not interact with your AMS very often (or very confidently). Wouldn’t it be nice if they could get the most relevant data they need directly within Outlook? We thought so, too:

How to Use the Dynamics 365 App for Outlook to Increase Member Engagement

4. Empowering Your Committee Members

You know that the folks who serve on your committees are some of your most engaged and critically important members. How about some new ways to improve their experience? Read more in our blog:

The Three Most Important Elements to Add to Your Microsoft Teams Committee Homepage

5. Working Well with Your Members During COVID-19

Meaningful collaboration with your members is always important but even more so these days. Your AMS can help create a great place to get important work done with your members. Check out our webinar:

Using Microsoft Teams to Collaborate with Your Members

6. Engineering a Smarter Engagement Score

Many AMS solutions will offer some kind of stock engagement score to help you see how people are interacting with your staff and other members, but what if you could easily customize the formula that calculates that score? You’ll want to see:

Using Engagement Scores Efficiently

7. Identifying At-Risk Members

Dynamics 365 has some out-of-the-box functionality built into Business Process Flows that can help you create a lifecycle data point that will help surface at-risk members. Have a look:

Leveraging D365 Business Process Flows to Manage Membership Lifecycle

8. Engaging with At-Risk Members

Everyone is facing some variation of the same problem right now — what can you do to continue positioning your association and membership as important amidst all the competing priorities? Here’s some practical help:

Staying Relevant During Difficult Times: Engaging At-Risk Members

9. Explore Refined AMS Solutions and Membership Software

There is always more that your association management software can do to improve efficiency for your team or refine your members’ experience. Cobalt has spent decades supporting associations with CRM and membership software solutions powered by Microsoft Dynamics 365 (and its previous iterations). We’re always listening to your needs and pressing the boundaries of our expertise to find improvements that make a difference in your world.


Is your association due for a new AMS? Our buying guide has been a big hit with teams all along the vendor selection process. It’s packed with our best practices to help you make that important decision with confidence.

Our team would love to give you a product showcase of Cobalt’s AMS solutions. We’ll cover areas such as how to :

  • improve efficiency and make your job easier by leveraging a modern AMS built on Dynamics 365
  • make your members’ experience better using our flexible member portal
  • gain easier access to data to make better decisions using robust reporting capabilities including Power BI

Connect with an AMS Expert

We understand associations and the needs you have throughout the process of researching, selecting, and implementing new membership management software. Wherever you are in your AMS search today, we can help you find clarity about your options and take the next steps with confidence.

Take a Quick AMS Tour