Platform audit blueprint · Northbridge Alliance · Sample document
Sample documentSummary
- Fixed quote for the build
- $118,000
- Running cost
- $1,650 a month
- Over five years
- about $116,000 less
Northbridge Alliance is a trade network of 1,412 independent member firms in 38 countries, organized in nine regional chapters, with an annual conference of about 400 delegates. It runs on five subscriptions, an integrator and a spreadsheet. The number one complaint from staff is re-typing; from members, that the directory is wrong.
We recommend one member platform: CRM, portal, directory, renewals, events and the public website on one record, built on Next.js and PostgreSQL in accounts in the Alliance's name. Fixed quote for the build: $118,000. Running cost: $1,650 a month. Over five years the platform costs about $116,000 less than the current stack and leaves the Alliance owning its system.
1Inventory
Every tool, what it costs, who touches it.
- Tool
- Website
- Monthly
- $180
- Who uses it
- Staff, public
- Connected to
- AMS, through a plugin that breaks on updates
- Workaround, hours a week
- 2
- Tool
- AMS (association management system)
- Monthly
- $1,150
- Who uses it
- Three staff
- Connected to
- Website plugin; email tool by export
- Workaround, hours a week
- 3
- Tool
- Email tool
- Monthly
- $190
- Who uses it
- Membership lead
- Connected to
- Monthly export from the AMS
- Workaround, hours a week
- 1.5
- Tool
- Directory plugin
- Monthly
- $240
- Who uses it
- Members, public
- Connected to
- Weekly export from the AMS
- Workaround, hours a week
- 2
- Tool
- Events and ticketing
- Monthly
- $260
- Who uses it
- Events coordinator
- Connected to
- Nothing. Registrations re-typed
- Workaround, hours a week
- 3
- Tool
- The spreadsheet
- Monthly
- $0
- Who uses it
- Everyone
- Connected to
- Nothing. It is the reconciliation
- Workaround, hours a week
- 2
- Tool
- Integrator retainer
- Monthly
- $800
- Who uses it
- Head office
- Connected to
- All of the above
- Workaround, hours a week
- —
- Tool
- Total
- Monthly
- $2,820
- Workaround, hours a week
- 13.5
| Tool | Monthly | Who uses it | Connected to | Workaround, hours a week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website | $180 | Staff, public | AMS, through a plugin that breaks on updates | 2 |
| AMS (association management system) | $1,150 | Three staff | Website plugin; email tool by export | 3 |
| Email tool | $190 | Membership lead | Monthly export from the AMS | 1.5 |
| Directory plugin | $240 | Members, public | Weekly export from the AMS | 2 |
| Events and ticketing | $260 | Events coordinator | Nothing. Registrations re-typed | 3 |
| The spreadsheet | $0 | Everyone | Nothing. It is the reconciliation | 2 |
| Integrator retainer | $800 | Head office | All of the above | — |
| Total | $2,820 | 13.5 |
Staff hours at a loaded $40 an hour come to $28,080 a year, more than the AMS. The spreadsheet is the real member list; it has one owner and no backup.
2Data health
What a migration would carry, and what it would leave.
- Measure
- Member firms
- Found
- 1,412 records, 1,396 current
- What it means for migration
- Clean enough. Sixteen lapsed firms still listed as current in the directory.
- Measure
- People
- Found
- 3,904 contacts, 214 duplicates
- What it means for migration
- One de-duplication pass, reviewed by the membership lead.
- Measure
- Contacts with no valid email
- Found
- 31%
- What it means for migration
- The renewal leak, measured. A re-verification campaign runs before launch.
- Measure
- Membership categories
- Found
- 4 in the AMS, 1 unused since 2021
- What it means for migration
- Three carry over. One retires.
- Measure
- Custom fields
- Found
- 38 defined, 12 in use
- What it means for migration
- Twelve move into the data model. Twenty-six are dropped, with sign-off.
- Measure
- Event history
- Found
- Six years, in the ticketing tool only
- What it means for migration
- Imported to the member record so staff see attendance without the old tool.
| Measure | Found | What it means for migration |
|---|---|---|
| Member firms | 1,412 records, 1,396 current | Clean enough. Sixteen lapsed firms still listed as current in the directory. |
| People | 3,904 contacts, 214 duplicates | One de-duplication pass, reviewed by the membership lead. |
| Contacts with no valid email | 31% | The renewal leak, measured. A re-verification campaign runs before launch. |
| Membership categories | 4 in the AMS, 1 unused since 2021 | Three carry over. One retires. |
| Custom fields | 38 defined, 12 in use | Twelve move into the data model. Twenty-six are dropped, with sign-off. |
| Event history | Six years, in the ticketing tool only | Imported to the member record so staff see attendance without the old tool. |
3The platform, in words
One record. Six faces.
For members. One login for the website, the portal and the directory. A directory searchable by country, service and chapter, with a request sent from the listing and a reply-by time the network agrees. A renewal page with the conference on it. A chapter page per region with its own calendar and member list.
For staff. One record per firm and per person, with dues, chapter, events, requests and notes on it. Lists that sort and filter. A renewal sequence of four reminders to every contact at the firm, and a fourteen-day list for each chapter chair. A restrained dashboard: what needs doing today.
What stays outside, connected. Mailchimp keeps sending, from an audience synced nightly. QuickBooks keeps the books, with invoices posted to it. Stripe collects dues and event payments in four currencies. Google Workspace signs staff in.
What retires. The AMS, the directory plugin, the ticketing tool, the integrator retainer and the spreadsheet.
4Migration and launch
Sequenced around the renewal cycle.
Migration. Three passes. A dry run into the new database with the membership lead reviewing duplicates and categories. A second pass after the email re-verification campaign. A final pass the weekend before launch, with the old systems frozen for two days.
Launch. The website, the portal and the directory go live together, so the public face and the member face change on the same day. Renewals switch on before the next dues cycle opens. Events switch on before conference registration opens. Chapters follow, one region first as a pilot, then the other eight.
Handoff. Documentation and runbooks delivered before launch. Two staff training sessions, recorded. Accounts confirmed in the Alliance's name, with a written list of who holds access.
5Costs, and the five-year comparison
Renting against owning, year by year.
- Year
- 1
- Renting five systems
- $61,900
- Cumulative
- $61,900
- Owning one platform
- $146,800
- Cumulative
- $146,800
- Year
- 2
- Renting five systems
- $65,000
- Cumulative
- $126,900
- Owning one platform
- $19,800
- Cumulative
- $166,600
- Year
- 3
- Renting five systems
- $68,300
- Cumulative
- $195,200
- Owning one platform
- $19,800
- Cumulative
- $186,400
- Year
- 4
- Renting five systems
- $71,700
- Cumulative
- $266,900
- Owning one platform
- $19,800
- Cumulative
- $206,200
- Year
- 5
- Renting five systems
- $75,300
- Cumulative
- $342,200
- Owning one platform
- $19,800
- Cumulative
- $226,000
| Year | Renting five systems | Cumulative | Owning one platform | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $61,900 | $61,900 | $146,800 | $146,800 |
| 2 | $65,000 | $126,900 | $19,800 | $166,600 |
| 3 | $68,300 | $195,200 | $19,800 | $186,400 |
| 4 | $71,700 | $266,900 | $19,800 | $206,200 |
| 5 | $75,300 | $342,200 | $19,800 | $226,000 |
Renting: subscriptions $2,020 a month, integrator $800 a month, staff 13.5 hours a week at $40, rising 5% a year. Owning: audit $9,000, build $118,000, run $1,650 a month, flat. The lines cross in year three.
6
Decision
Build. The Alliance's members need to find each other across borders, its chapters need their own space, and its renewals leak through the contact problem the data shows. Those are the three conditions under which a platform pays for itself, and all three are present.
Alternatives considered: a more capable AMS with more modules, which would keep the directory and events as its weakest parts and keep the integrator; and staying put, which costs about $342,000 over five years and leaves nothing behind. Both are honest options for a simpler association. Neither fits this one.
Sample document. Northbridge Alliance is a fictional association; every figure above is illustrative. A real blueprint carries the association's own numbers and is theirs to keep, whoever builds the platform.