Member rates (billing schemes)

What it is

A member rate is a named package of financial terms that you assign to a member. Internally it is called a billing scheme.

One syndicate can run any number of member rates side by side. Each rate carries its own periodic dues and its own modifier to the asset’s base usage rate. That is how a single syndicate supports both a traditional equity member (low hourly, monthly dues) and a member on the “renter” rate (higher hourly, small annual fee) without any code changes.

“Renter” is a rate label, not a role. Members on the renter rate have the same member role as everyone else. What differs is the scheme they are assigned to.

Who can use it

Owner and admin — create, edit, and assign member rates.
Treasurer (admin) — same.
Member — sees their own rate on the usage-log estimate and on their balance; cannot change it.

Where to find it

In the app:

Open the syndicate.
Go to Settings on the syndicate.
Open Billing schemes.

Route: /syndicates/:syndicateId/billing-schemes.

A member is assigned to a scheme from the member’s detail row under Members. Per-asset overrides of a scheme’s rate live on each asset’s Billing settings screen.

Fields / options

For each member rate:

Field	What it sets
Name	Display label (for example “Equity member”, “Renter”, “Founder”).
Default	One scheme is the syndicate default. New members land on it unless reassigned.
Dues amount	Amount charged every dues interval, in the syndicate’s currency.
Dues interval count	Number of units between dues charges (e.g. 1).
Dues interval unit	`day`, `month`, or `year`.
Rate modifier type	How the scheme adjusts the asset base rate: `none`, `fixed`, `percent`, or `override`.
Rate modifier value	The number the modifier applies. Meaning depends on the modifier type.

Modifier semantics

Modifier type	Effective rate
`none`	base rate
`fixed`	base rate + modifier value (floored at 0)
`percent`	base rate × (1 + modifier value ÷ 100), floored at 0
`override`	modifier value, regardless of the base rate

Behaviour rules

Every syndicate has at least one scheme. When a syndicate is created, a default scheme called Member is added automatically — you can rename it, edit its rates, or add more schemes alongside it, but the syndicate is never left with zero schemes.
Every member of the syndicate is assigned to exactly one scheme. New members are assigned to the default scheme on invite acceptance.
The dues charge runs on the scheme’s interval. The amount and interval are whatever the scheme defines — monthly, annual, or daily.
The usage rate a member pays is resolved at the point they log usage. The order of precedence is laid out in rate resolution chain.
Changing a scheme’s modifier affects future usage logs only. Logs already written carry their snapshotted rates — see finalisation rules.
A scheme that is currently the default cannot be deleted. Promote another scheme to default first.
Deleting a non-default scheme prompts you to reassign any members on it before the delete completes.
Rates are stored in the syndicate’s currency without VAT.

Worked examples

All numbers are in GBP. Rates are shown with the +VAT qualifier — the figure is what the member owes on their balance before VAT; VAT is applied at invoice time.

Example 1 — equity member and renter rate side by side

A single-aircraft syndicate with a wet base rate of £180+VAT/hr configures two member rates:

Member rate	Dues	Modifier	Effective rate
Equity member	£100+VAT/month	`none`	£180+VAT/hr
Renter	£100+VAT/year	`override` = £220+VAT	£220+VAT/hr

Outcomes:

The equity member pays £100+VAT monthly dues and £180+VAT per logged hour at finalisation.
The member on the renter rate pays £100+VAT yearly and £220+VAT per logged hour.
Both sit in the same syndicate, book on the same calendar, and see the same assets.

Example 2 — percent modifier for a discounted instructor rate

Same asset (base £180+VAT/hr). The syndicate adds a third rate for qualified instructors who give training flights:

Member rate	Dues	Modifier	Effective rate
Instructor	£0+VAT	`percent` = −25	£135+VAT/hr

A member assigned to the instructor rate pays no dues and £135+VAT per logged hour.

Example 3 — founding member pays a lower hourly

A historical founder rate, with dues folded into an annual fee:

Member rate	Dues	Modifier	Effective rate
Founder	£600+VAT/year	`fixed` = −20	£160+VAT/hr

fixed = -20 subtracts £20+VAT from the base rate, so the founder pays £160+VAT/hr with one yearly fee of £600+VAT.

Example 4 — per-asset override

A two-aircraft syndicate has a Cessna 172 (base £180+VAT/hr) and a newer SR22 (base £260+VAT/hr). The syndicate wants members on the renter rate to pay the same £40+VAT/hr premium on either aircraft, not a flat override. Two setups work:

Use a fixed = +40 modifier on the renter scheme and no asset-level override. Members on the renter rate pay £220+VAT/hr on the 172 and £300+VAT/hr on the SR22.
Alternatively, keep the renter scheme at override = £220+VAT, and set an asset-level override on the SR22 that pins the renter rate to £300+VAT/hr for that aircraft only. The override takes precedence over the modifier — see rate resolution chain.

Example 5 — per-scheme event fee override

Event fees (landing fees, touch-and-go fees, and any other configured counter fees) have their own per-scheme override, parallel to the usage rate override but separate from it. The resolution chain for event fees is shorter:

asset-scheme event fee override  →  asset's base event fee

There is no modifier layer for event fees — a scheme either inherits the asset’s base fee, or pins a specific rate (including zero to waive the fee).

Waive landing fees for founders on the club Cessna. The asset’s base landing fee is £12. The syndicate has a Founder scheme whose members paid in capital up front and are exempt from landing fees on that one aircraft only, but still pay the same hourly rate and the same fees on every other asset. Set a per-scheme event fee override on the Cessna, for the Founder scheme, with the landing counter pinned to £0. Members on every other scheme continue to pay £12 per landing on the Cessna; Founder members log their landings as normal but those entries carry £0 at finalisation.

Charge higher landing fees on the renter scheme. Same structure, opposite direction. Base landing fee £12, override the Renter scheme’s landing counter to £18. Touch-and-go stays at the asset’s base unless you pin it too. Overrides are per-counter, not per-scheme-blanket.

Per-scheme event fee overrides live on each asset’s Event Fees table under Asset → Billing settings. Entering a value pins the override; clearing a row reverts to the asset’s base fee (“From asset”). Reset All stages a delete of every override in one go — still needs Save Event Fees to commit.