Renewing your membership

The IRMS operates a rolling membership which means that your renewal date is set by the date your membership became active. Many of our members have renewal dates around 31 December/1 January therefore in line with our accounting year (Jan-Dec) we outline renewals by financial year. 

If your membership is due for renewal at any point during the year then the below will apply to you and can assist you in renewing with ease or in a way that suits your organisation (if your organisation pays for your membership). 

How it works

About 1 calendar month before your renewal date we will write to you to advise you that your membership is due for renewal and advise you on how you can go about renewing.

Please note, this email will go to the named contact email address we have on your main membership account. Please therefore ensure it is up to date and the person who owns that mailbox knows what to do with the renewal notice when it arrives. 

The website generates an invoice which details the cost of your membership fee for the coming year. This breaks down the cost and any VAT that may form part of that cost.

You can also access this invoice and any previous invoices for your membership via your online membership account by clicking on your name at the top right-hand side and selecting 'invoices'. This will also give you details of how to pay any membership invoices that are due. 

Once the invoice is paid your membership continues and there is no disruption to your access or member benefits. 

Paying for membership

There are various ways to pay for your IRMS membership. 

Credit or debit card: We welcome payments by card but we are aware of an issue with the embedded payment system that is affecting some payments. If you experience an issue which means your payment does not go through, please do not re-attempt to make payment - please email  info@irms.org.uk  or phone 01625 664520 who will reply to you with a secure link. Important - if you get a random direct email from us asking for payment details, this is not genuine and is likely to be a scam. If in doubt, contact us directly. 

Direct Debit: Another secure and more convenient way to renew your membership is to switch to a direct debit (DD). This will mean your membership automatically renews each year unless you tell us otherwise. To setup a DD, please email info@irms.org.uk or phone 01625 664520 and we will give you a link to set up your Direct Debit. Membership can be paid annually or in monthly or quarterly instalments - always on the 1st of each month. 

BACS: If you wish to pay by BACS an invoice can be generated when you complete the online application or found in your membership profile area. Alternatively, an invoice can be requested by emailing info@irms.org.uk or phoning 01625 664520.  When making payment please quote your invoice number as reference.

Cheque: Please only explore paying by cheque if all other options are not valid for you. If you do wish to pay by cheque, please make a signed cheque payable to 'Information and Records Management Society'. Cheques must be in Pounds Sterling and cannot be post-dated. Cheques should be posted to: IRMS, St James House, Vicar Lane, Sheffield, S1 2EX. 

What happens if my membership lapses or is late in being paid?

If your membership lapses because you either want to take a break or are leaving the Society, then your membership access will be suspended 30 days after the date of your renewal. So if you were due to renew on the 31 December then your access will automatically be removed on the 31 January. The membership system will work out the date for you and advise you of this as part of the renewal process. 

We appreciate that not everyone is able to pay their membership invoice within 30 days. Especially if there are restrictions on what budget year such a payment can come out of. Therefore if payment is late for your membership but you fully intend to renew please let us know. We have a range of options to make it easier for you, including looking to change your renewal date so it falls on a period that works better for your own organisations budgets. 

Please do not just simply ignore the invoice or assume someone else is dealing with it. If we don't hear from you after chasing then we will assume you do not wish to renew and your membership will lapse. 

Who can I speak to if I have any issues?

All queries should go to our membership admin team via info@irms.org.uk or 01625 664520. Our Treasurer and Secretary will then work with them to resolve any issues. While the new membership system has streamlined the renewals process substantially there will always be some bumps in the road. Therefore always feel free to get in touch as we want to know if something isn't right and will do our best to resolve it. 

If you do decide to leave us, our Membership Director may be in touch to ask you to complete a leaving survey. We are always sad to see members leave us so we are really keen to understand why and learn from it where we can. If you are able to complete that survey and provide us with your honest feedback it is very much appreciated.