Introduction
Feature Summary: Set up packages to automatically assign to specific membership types at no cost. Punches can follow the calendar month or each member’s own membership cycle, starting on their membership start date.
Use Cases: Auto-assigning packages is a great way to offer added perks to certain membership types. For example, if you want Premium Members to receive a set number of free bookings or event registrations each month, you can configure an auto-assigned package to provide those benefits automatically.
Note: This article covers auto-assigned packages that recur each month or each membership cycle. If you want to assign a package one time only when a membership is purchased, see Create Packages for guidance on setting up a one-time auto-assigned package.
How Package Assignment Timing Works
When a package uses Recurring Monthly, timing depends on the Punch period and Punch Eligibility Period settings.
Calendar Month
Assigned Month Only - Packages are assigned one month in advance, allowing members to book ahead of time for the upcoming month. For example: A June package is assigned on May 1. Although members receive it on May 1, it can only be used to book activities taking place in June. A July package is assigned on June 1, and so on.
Any Time Period - The package is assigned on the 1st of each month and expires when the calendar month resets. Punches can be used for activities taking place on any date while the package is active.
The month appears in the package label, for example, “4 Open Play Sessions (June).” This helps members and admins confirm which package applies to upcoming bookings.
Membership Cycle
Packages follow each member’s membership start date instead of the 1st of the month. The package label shows the date range it applies to, for example, “4 Open Play Sessions (Oct 14 - Nov 13).”
Assigned period only - Members receive the current membership cycle’s package and the next cycle’s package in advance. For example: A member whose membership starts on September 14 receives packages for Sep 14 - Oct 13 and Oct 14 - Nov 13. On October 14, the first package expires and the Nov 14 - Dec 13 package is assigned.
Any time until the period ends - Members have one active package at a time. Punches can be used for activities taking place on any date until the package expires at the end of the membership cycle, and then the next cycle’s package is assigned.
Note: Packages set to One-Time Only are assigned a single time per membership and do not renew.
Prerequisites
The Packages Additional Feature must be enabled to set this up.
Create Package Categories to keep your packages organized. Click here to learn more on enabling packages and creating categories.
Setup Requirements
Log in to the admin dashboard.
Click Settings on the side menu.
Scroll down to the Billing Settings row.
Click Packages, and then Create Package.
Enter a Name and Package Description. If your club uses Package Categories, select a Package Category.
From here, admins can enable Set Package to be Auto-Assigned. Once this setting is enabled, admins can choose the Punch Eligibility Period. This will decide if players can use these punches for bookings only from the assigned month, or if the punches can be used for bookings on upcoming months too.
Assignment Frequency - Select how often the package is assigned to eligible members.
Recurring Monthly - A new package is assigned to eligible members each month, one month in advance. For example: A club offers a Single Gold membership that includes four open play sessions per month. The January package is assigned on December 1 with a label such as “4 Open Play Sessions (January),” and members can use those punches to book January open play sessions starting December 1.
One-Time Only - The package is assigned a single time when a membership is purchased or assigned from the admin side. It does not renew each month.
Note: Changes to auto-assign settings, including Punch period and Cycle length, are processed at the start of the next day. Once a package has been sold, the Assignment Frequency setting locks and cannot be changed. This prevents accidental changes that could affect members who already have the package. Hover over the lock icon for details. To use a different frequency, use the Copy Package button to create a new version of the package.
Punch Eligibility Period - Select when members can redeem punches from an auto-assigned package.
Note: When a package is set to auto-assign, the expiration date settings are locked and can’t be configured, except for One-Time Only packages set to Any Time Period with the Calendar month punch period. Otherwise, expiration follows the Punch period setting:
Calendar month - The package expires when the calendar month resets on the 1st, and the next month’s package is issued.
Membership cycle - The package expires at the end of each member’s membership cycle, and the next cycle’s package is issued.
Assigned Month Only - Punches can be redeemed only for items taking place in the month shown on the package label.
Any Time Period - Punches can be redeemed for items taking place in any time period, not just the month the package was assigned. For example: A package auto-assigned in April could be used for a reservation taking place in May or any other upcoming month.
When Membership cycle is selected, these options are relabeled:
Assigned period only - Punches can be redeemed only for items taking place within the package’s date range.
Any time until the period ends - Punches can be redeemed for items taking place at any time, until the package expires at the end of the membership cycle. Members have one active package at a time with this option.
Note: If you select Assigned Month Only with the Calendar month punch period, a member who receives this package late in the month will have very little time to use it before it expires. For example: A member assigned the package on the 29th of the month will lose access to those punches on the 1st, when the next month’s package is issued. If this is a concern and your club bills members on their membership start date, consider the Membership cycle punch period so each member receives a full membership cycle.
Punch Period - Select whether punch periods follow the calendar month or each member’s membership cycle. This setting is available only when Set Package to be Auto-Assigned is enabled. If you don’t see this setting, contact the CourtReserve customer support team.
Calendar month - Punches are granted on the 1st and expire at the end of each month. This is the default setting.
Membership cycle - Each member’s punches start on their membership start date.
Cycle length - Select how long each period lasts.
1 month - Each period runs one month from the member’s start day. For example: Sep 14 - Oct 13. This is the default setting.
Number of days - Enter how many days each period lasts. For example: 30 days for a trial membership.
Note: Use Membership cycle with memberships billed on the member’s start date, not prorated to the 1st. This keeps each member’s punches aligned with their billing.
Note: With a 1 month cycle length, if a membership starts on the 29th, 30th, or 31st, membership cycles end on the last day of shorter months. Periods never extend past the membership end date.
Note: Once a package has been sold, the Punch period and Cycle length settings lock and cannot be changed. To use a different setting, use the Copy Package button to create a new version of the package.
Admins can then choose which memberships this package should be assigned to in the Auto-Assign to Following Membership(s) field.
Note on Family Memberships: When auto-assigned packages are attached to a Family Membership, the total punch count must cover all family members, since everyone shares the same package.
Once Set Package to be Auto-Assigned is enabled, certain settings on the Package Setup page will be disabled. This is because a price cannot be associated with an auto-assigned package.
The tabs at the bottom of the Edit Package screen are key—they define which items are eligible for punches in the package.
In the example below, this package applies to any Adult Pickleball Social event, and one punch will be deducted per use. You can specify any combination of the options available here to deduct punches from the package.
After clicking Save, the selected memberships will be set up for auto-assignment.
How Auto-Assignment Works
Initial Package Auto-Assignment
When setting up auto-assignment for the first time, all selected memberships will receive their package(s) the following morning. The system does not wait for the start of the next month. This allows admins to review and make any necessary updates before the packages are auto-assigned. With the Calendar month punch period, packages assigned mid-month still expire at the end of the month. With Membership cycle, packages follow each member’s membership cycle.
If a membership type is removed from the Set Package to be Auto-Assigned setting while editing a package, any previously auto-assigned packages will automatically expire the next morning.
After the Initial Package Auto-Assignment
Once the initial auto-assignment is complete, new packages are assigned based on the Punch Period setting:
Calendar month - New packages are assigned on the 1st of the month, and packages from previous months expire at the end of the month.
Membership cycle - New packages are assigned at the start of each member’s membership cycle, and packages from the previous cycle expire at the end of that cycle.
Punch Usage
For packages set to Assigned Month Only, punches can only be used for items taking place in the month shown on the package label. For example: A June package assigned on May 1 can be used for a lesson on June 10, but not for one on May 28. Packages set to Assigned period only work the same way with the dates on the label.
If a member is confused about why their package isn’t working to pay for something, check whether they’re signing up within the dates on the package label and whether they have punches remaining. Calendar month packages are labeled with the month, for example, “(June).” Membership cycle packages are labeled with a date range, for example, “(Oct 14 - Nov 13).”
Assigning Memberships with Auto-Assigned Packages
When a membership type is set up for auto-assigned packages, any player who purchases or is assigned this membership mid-month will receive the associated packages immediately. If the membership has a future start date, the packages are assigned on that start date. These packages follow the standard expiration cycle for the package’s Punch period setting.
If a membership with auto-assigned packages is canceled mid-month, the associated packages will automatically expire immediately upon cancellation.
Note: With the Calendar month punch period, when a member purchases or is assigned a membership mid-month, their package expires at the end of that calendar month regardless of when it was assigned. With Membership cycle, the member’s first period starts on their membership start date, so they receive a full period. For guidance on mid-month assignments, see Package Types and Best Practice Examples.
Membership Cycle Example: Monthly Membership
A club offers a monthly membership that includes four open play sessions. Members can join on any day of the month, and each member is billed on their membership start date.
Create a package for the membership with the following settings:
Name - 4 Open Play Sessions
Assignment Frequency - Recurring Monthly
Punch Eligibility Period - Assigned period only
Punch period - Membership cycle
Cycle length - 1 month
Total Punches - 4
For example: A member joins on October 14 and receives packages for Oct 14 - Nov 13 and Nov 14 - Dec 13. On November 14, the first package expires and the Dec 14 - Jan 13 package is assigned. Each membership cycle starts on the 14th, matching the member’s billing date.
Because the package uses Assigned period only, punches can only be redeemed for sessions taking place within each package’s dates. The member can use the Oct 14 - Nov 13 package for an open play on November 10, but not for one on November 20. For the November 20 session, they can use the Nov 14 - Dec 13 package, which they already have, so they can book ahead.
With the Calendar month punch period instead, the same member would receive an October package that expires on October 31. That would leave them only 18 days to use their first four sessions.
Note: Unused punches do not carry over to the next membership cycle.
Admin Perspective
In the example below, a package was created to give all paying members four Open Play sessions per month. Since the system auto-assigns the package, the price is set to zero and cannot be changed. Each drop-in to an Adult Pickleball Social session deducts one punch from the package.
In the Admin Portal, you can confirm that a member has received their package by navigating to Member (select a Member) > Billing > Packages. If this is the first time the feature has been enabled, the package will be added to their account the following morning. It expires on the last date shown on the label, and a new package is assigned automatically at the start of the next month or membership cycle. Here is an example of the member receiving their sessions:
Under Punches, you'll see how many they have used. The Payment Status will be PAID as it was included as an auto-assigned package at no additional cost.
When registering a player for Open Play, they will initially appear as Unpaid on the admin side. When you select Pay, you’ll see the option to Pay by Package, along with the available package(s) and the number of remaining punches.
After processing the package payment, you will see how they paid from the Event List and on their Member > Billing > Punch Usage screen.
Punch Usage view: Cost for the event is showing 1 punch.
Member > Billing > Packages view: Punches have adjusted to they've used 1 of 4.
Click the number of punches link to view the package details.
You will see a summary screen of their package including total punches, punches used, and punches remaining. Other things to note:
Click Deduct Punch(es) to manually remove punches from a package.
Under Usage, you can review details such as the event, date, time, number of punches used, and the player associated with each deduction.
Under Eligible Items, view the specific items in your system that are configured to deduct punches from this package type.
Note: If a Player/Member cancels an event tied to a package "punch", it will show in the TRANSACTIONS > REFUNDS > Pending Refunds. It will need to be Accepted by the admin to return the punch to the Player /Member. Example of a refund:
Player Perspective
The Player/Member will see their package and the available sessions under Billing > Packages. Here is an example from the Member Portal:
Players/Members can click their package link to view details, including how many punches they have remaining and how they’ve been used.
If they’d like to purchase additional sessions, a Purchase Package button is available on this screen for any packages you’ve configured.
When a Player/Member registers for an event or reservation eligible for their existing package—and if your organization requires upfront payment—they will see the following screen, allowing them to apply their package for payment.
Note: If a member pays for a reservation with an auto-assigned package set to Assigned Month Only or Assigned period only, they can reschedule it from the member portal only to a date within that package’s dates. For example: A reservation paid with an Oct 14 - Nov 13 package can be moved from October 30 to November 2, but not to November 14.
Related Videos
Watch a Spark Series webinar on perfecting packages in CourtReserve.