Workflow for new constituents. How to add a doc verification step?

Question

Relative Noob here.

With my relatively out of the box installation I have new users joining the org via a membership contribution page.

I can use the profile-advanced settings to automatically add the people to an "active member" group once the dues are paid (either by cc or by cash/check).

That works well.

But, I now want to add a new step where a club administrator needs to verify a document for all new members.

The workflow would be something like

Non-Member
↓
[uses a registration/contribution page to join]
↓
If cash/check   --yes-->   They get queued in pending payment
↓                          ↙
↓   cc                  ↙   admin registers pmt
↓                     ↙   
User enters a new state pending verification of document, maybe via profile-advanced-grp
↓
[Admin verifies, just like an admin can confirm payment]
↓
user is now a full active member

Can someone recommend some good reading material that might be helpful here? I see member rules that might be a good start

Is there an easy strategy to get an admin action working to have an admin kick a user from State-A to State-B once they verify the document?

Thanks

Answer 1

In similar situations, the "membership signup" form I use isn't a membership signup form at all - it's a Webform or profile, which puts someone in a "Needs Review" group.

A staff member can then go through the group that needs review, and upon approval, removes them from the group and sends them an email template that links to the "payment page", which is the "real" contribution page for membership signup.

I also use my Fast Action Links extension to streamline the process - after searching for people in "Needs Review", you can click Accepted, Denied, or Needs More Info, which triggers a set of actions (via CiviRules integration). E.g. selecting "Accepted" removes them from the "Needs Review" group, sends the email with the new link, adds them to an "Approved" group, and registers them for the next upcoming event, all with a single click.

Answer 2

One part of your flow that isn't clear is: what happens if someone registers with a cc and then is rejected? You probably don't want to have to refund a cc, right?

For a similar setup, what I did was to limit the payment method to pay later and set the instructions as "sit tight until you hear from us", and then after the validation/approval process, they were sent an invoice that they could pay by cheque or using a credit card (you can pay an invoice via cc using a direct link in the invoice if you set it properly).

The only wiring necessary was the notifications, which can be done in various ways.