Hear about the tools and features that are available in Beacon for u3as to use. This is mainly an overview of the functionality, as in most u3as Chairs only view key data in Beacon from time-to-time, but we’ll also cover how to send emails and basic navigation.

Responsible for overseeing all of the groups and supporting leaders of the individual ones, Groups Coordinators can use many helpful tools in Beacon.

In this session we'll cover setting up, managing and deleting groups. We'll also look at how to send emails, adding members with and without a waiting list and also using the schedule and group ledger.

This session is not suitable for group leaders (sometimes called interest group coordinators). Separate sessions are provided or being developed to support group leaders.

There are quite a few tools in Beacon to help group leaders. In this session we'll take you through the essentials of logging in and managing your group's members as well as sending emails.

We'll then look at the adding events to the calendar, how to use the waiting list.

This session is suitable for new and existing group leaders who are comfortable using websites and online systems. If you would prefer a simpler course at a slower pace, please take a look at the session "Beacon for the terrified: group leaders"

Aimed at u3a secretaries (not membership secretaries), during this session we'll go through the key functions in Beacon that are relevant to secretaries, including an overview of the member record and member management. However, this session is not sufficient for membership secretaries and we run a separate course for them.

Beacon is a membership management system, built by u3as for u3as, so it's no surprise that membership secretaries are usually the main user of Beacon in their u3a.

In this session, after a quick overview, we'll look at the tools you have to manage your membership before looking at the communication tools and how you access all of the data held in Beacon, including extracting data. We'll also take a look at how your role and that of the treasurer work together.

Many people now like to "self-serve", so enabling online joining and/or renewal in Beacon allows your members to manage their membership and payment themselves. And it also saves membership secretaries a lot of work!

In this session we'll demystify setting up your PayPal account and configuring Beacon as well as showing you the process for your members. We'll also cover dealing with online payments and how to make sure Beacon is set up to manage this new method of payments in the most efficient way.

Aimed at membership secretaries and treasurers, you should be familiar with Beacon and the processes for managing membership within it as this is not a beginners' course.

As a membership management system, having your u3a’s finances fully integrated through Beacon can really help to cut down on paperwork. But even if you’re an experienced accountant, it’s essential to understand some of the basics of how the Beacon finance feature works.

In this session we’ll take a look at the approach that is used, some of the key terms and concepts and what settings you can control. We’ll then take a quick look at ledgers and transactions, just as an introduction to these.
This is an introductory session for treasurers so we won’t be covering some of the more advanced areas, end of year process, Gift Aid or PayPal.

Please also note: this is an introduction to using Beacon as a treasurer. It is not an introduction to the role of treasurer itself. New courses on specific topics are being developed.

Responsible for overseeing all of the groups and supporting leaders of the individual ones, Groups Coordinators can use many helpful tools in Beacon.

In this session we'll cover setting up, managing and deleting groups. We'll also look at how to send emails, adding members with and without a waiting list and also using the schedule and group ledger.

This session is not suitable for group leaders (sometimes called interest group coordinators). Separate sessions are provided or being developed to support group leaders.

Many people now like to "self-serve", so enabling online joining and/or renewal in Beacon allows your members to manage their membership and payment themselves. And it also saves membership secretaries a lot of work!

In this session we'll demystify setting up your PayPal account and configuring Beacon as well as showing you the process for your members. We'll also cover dealing with online payments and how to make sure Beacon is set up to manage this new method of payments in the most efficient way.

Aimed at membership secretaries and treasurers, you should be familiar with Beacon and the processes for managing membership within it as this is not a beginners' course.