Applications and Invitations

Orbit supports several ways for people to join your membership — from instant self-service to staff-reviewed applications. This page covers the different join flows and how to manage them.

How Users Join

The join experience depends on the checkout mode you set on each membership level (in the Pricing & Access tab):

Purchase Mode (Direct Checkout)

When set to Purchase, the membership page shows a payment button. Users select a pricing tier (if multiple exist), enter payment details via Stripe, and their membership activates immediately. Free memberships activate instantly with no payment step.

Guest checkout is supported — visitors don't need an existing account. See Guest Checkout for details.

Apply Mode (Application Flow)

When set to Apply, the membership page shows an "Apply for Membership" button that links to an external URL you configure — typically an application form.

The typical application flow:

1. You create a membership level with checkout mode set to Apply and paste your application form URL
2. A visitor clicks "Apply for Membership" on your membership page and fills out the form
3. You review the application in your form tool (Google Forms, Typeform, Jotform, etc.)
4. If approved, you send a membership invitation from the Orbit admin (see below)
5. The applicant receives an email with a payment link and completes their membership

Application form tools: Any form service works — just paste the URL. Google Forms, Typeform, Jotform, and Microsoft Forms are popular choices.

For memberships with Contact Us pricing, the application flow is especially useful since you can negotiate pricing before sending a custom-priced invitation.

Invitations

Staff can send personalized membership invitations from the admin portal. Invitations are the bridge between an application and an active membership — after reviewing someone's application, you send them an invitation with specific pricing terms.

Creating an Invitation

Navigate to a membership level and open the Invitations tab, then click New Invitation. Each invitation includes:

Custom Pricing on Invitations

When you select a Contact Us tier for an invitation, the form shows price and billing frequency inputs so you can set the exact terms for that specific recipient. This is how enterprise or negotiated pricing works in practice — the tier defines the category, and the invitation defines the actual price.

For standard (non-Contact Us) tiers, the price is pre-filled from the tier and can't be changed on the invitation.

Invitation Discounts

You can apply a discount to any invitation:

Discounts can be scoped to:

Discounts are implemented via Stripe's native coupon system — Stripe handles recurring discount math automatically.

Sending an Invitation

Click Compose Email on the invitation detail page. This creates a draft email in the mailer with the invitation details pre-filled (recipient, membership name, price, expiration, and a link to the payment page). You can review, edit the content, and send when ready.

The recipient receives an email with a link to accept the invitation and complete payment (or join for free if the invitation is for a free membership).

Guest Checkout for Invitations

Invitation recipients don't need an existing account. When they click the payment link:

• If they're logged in, the purchase is linked to their account
• If they're not logged in, they go through Stripe Checkout as a guest. An account is created automatically when payment completes.

Invitation Lifecycle

Each invitation tracks its status: