Bring members together with events

Event access as part of a Shopify membership

Memberply puts events in the Members Area alongside the rest of your membership benefits. Use it when customers join for access to workshops, launch previews, tastings, online sessions or an in-store community.

Choose visibility for all active members or only the event’s membership tier. This is a member-event workflow, with Shopify handling checkout and inventory for paid ticket products. If you need reserved seating, individual ticket scanning or appointment scheduling, verify those requirements separately before choosing your event system.

Free RSVPs or paid tickets?

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Illustrative example: a coffee club could offer a free tasting with 20 member RSVP places, then a separate paid workshop sold through a ticket product. Explain which experience is included in membership and which costs extra. The hero shows a sample free event.

Who can see the event and buy tickets?

Set event visibility to All active members or Only this membership tier. Test with an eligible member, a member on another tier and a visitor without membership before sharing the event.

For a free or paid ticketed event, create a Shopify ticket product and select it using Memberply’s product search. Set its Shopify price to 0 for free admission, then share the product link with members or use it in your event calendar. A manually typed product URL does not provide the product connection used to record attendance. Saving the ticketed event adds its ticket product to that tier’s Exclusive Product Access list.

Event visibility and permission to purchase the ticket are separate checks. In particular, verify ticket access for every intended tier when an event is visible to all members. Follow the exclusive product access setup and confirm checkout protection is synchronized, including direct cart links.

Capacity and waitlists for free member events

Capacity counts members marked Going plus confirmed guests and guests awaiting payment. It limits new free RSVPs and guest bookings. When it is full, members already Going keep their response. Other members can choose Join waitlist when enabled, or still respond Maybe or Not going.

When a Going member changes to Maybe or Not going, a place can open. With waitlist-opening email enabled, Memberply’s background check can notify waitlisted members. An opening email is not an automatic promotion to Going or a guaranteed reserved seat; the member needs to return and respond.

Waitlist checks run in the background on an hourly schedule, so avoid promising an immediate message. For free and paid ticketed events, manage available ticket quantities in Shopify instead of assuming RSVP capacity prevents ticket orders.

What a paid ticket purchase records

When an eligible member’s paid purchase of the connected ticket product is recorded for an upcoming or live event, Memberply marks that member Going. An earlier Maybe or Not going response is updated.

The member attendance record is per member and event. Buying several ticket units does not create separate named guest records. Enable guest places and ask members to use the guest form in their member area to register a named +1. Use a dedicated product for each paid event to keep the purchase-to-event connection clear.

Allow time for order processing. Test pending payments and payment completion using the methods your store accepts, rather than treating a ticket in the cart as a confirmed RSVP.

Let each member bring one paid or complimentary guest

In the event settings, choose no guests, a complimentary guest or a paid guest. Paid guests need a connected Shopify product with one variant, a price above zero and no shipping requirement. Existing stores must grant Memberply the additional Shopify permission shown in the event settings before enabling paid guests.

After confirming their own place, members enter their guest’s name and optional email in either Shopify customer accounts or the legacy member dashboard. Complimentary guests are confirmed immediately. Paid guests receive a separate one-ticket Shopify checkout, and the place is confirmed only after payment is verified. The optional email records contact details; it does not send an invitation or subscribe the guest to marketing.

An unpaid guest checkout holds one event place for 30 minutes from booking. Members see the expiry time and can book again after expiry if space remains. Memberply checks payment and cancels the unpaid checkout before releasing the place. Checks run every minute, and uncertain payment or cancellation status keeps the place reserved. Completed orders, including payments still processing, do not expire. Members can cancel unpaid checkouts from their member area. For completed checkouts, the merchant manages cancellations and refunds in Shopify. Payment status refreshes when bookings are viewed and through background checks. Guests appear alongside their inviting member in the attendee list and CSV, with individual check-in controls.

RSVP changes, ticket refunds and event cancellation

For a free event, changing Going to Maybe or Not going can release a place. Members must cancel an active guest booking before changing their own Going response. For a paid event, changing an RSVP is not a Shopify refund or an inventory adjustment.

Likewise, do not assume refunding a ticket automatically removes the member’s Going response. The purchase-to-RSVP flow records paid purchases; review the attendee list separately after refunds, membership cancellation or other changes.

If you cancel or reschedule an event, review event details, ticket availability, attendee communications and any refunds as separate tasks. Publish a clear cancellation and guest policy before taking payments.

Announcements, reminders and attendee lists

Optional event emails include a new-event announcement, three reminders and waitlist-opening notifications. Set each reminder’s hours before the event, and edit the copy from the Events benefit page or the Emails page. Reminders target the relevant Going members.

Export attendees as a CSV with names, email addresses, RSVP statuses and check-in values. Use the list to plan staffing, supplies and check-in. Check RSVP statuses and paid order quantities separately, especially when a member buys more than one ticket. Online event locations can include your meeting link; this does not mean Memberply hosts the video session.

Set up your first member event

1. Open Benefits, choose the tier’s Edit Benefits, then enable and edit Events.
2. Select Add event. Enter the title, location, start date and time, optional end time and description.
3. Choose member visibility and free or paid entry. Configure free-event capacity and waitlist, or select the paid ticket product.
4. Configure notifications, save, and test the member journey before announcing the event.

Follow the event setup guide. Make the meeting location, arrival instructions, included benefits and any extra ticket cost clear in the description.

Member event app pricing and event costs

Memberply Growth costs US$49/month, with unlimited members, a 14-day app trial and no Memberply transaction fee. Check the Shopify App Store listing. Your membership fees and ticket prices are separate from the merchant app subscription.

Budget venue hire, hosts, supplies, staff time, refunds and Shopify/payment fees. A free member event can still cost your business money. For example, supplies at $8 per attendee for 20 attendees cost $160 before venue and staff expenses. This is an illustrative budget, not a customer result.

Use the paid membership launch guide to decide which events belong in the membership and which should be paid add-ons.

What to test during your app trial

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Shopify member event questions