Lodge Services

Strong lodges and halls are an important part of a vibrant fraternity, but managing a lodge or hall can be complex and time-consuming. These turn key solutions have been developed to streamline business processes, ease communication with members and the public, and protect important lodge history. They can be accessed on an a la carte basis, or you can choose to implement them all for your lodge.

• Streamline business processes
• Ease communication with members and the public
• Protect important lodge history

The following Lodge Services can be accessed on an à la carte basis, or you can choose to implement all of them for your lodge.

Financial Services

Intacct - Simplified bookkeeping/accounting and reporting system
Tax Preparation Services - Professional help completing and filing annual lodge tax returns
PayPal - Payment collection tool

Real Estate Services

Real estate support services for property management and real-estate transactions

Communication Services

Website template and hosting - An easy-to-maintain lodge website

Document Management

The Lodge Vault - Document collaboration and storage in the Member Center
Iron Mountain storage - Archival cold storage for important documents/ artifacts

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Intacct

Intacct is an online bookkeeping, accounting, and financial reporting solution that simplifies processes for lodges and hall associations. Its many features can help you save time and stay organized. Features include:

• Cash management
• Accounts payable and receivable
• Financial reports
• Budgets
• Payroll

It is easy to set up and use Intacct! Grand Lodge's Financial Services team provides free training for your lodge treasurer to implement Intacct and is available to provide ongoing telephone and email support. Additional information including a training manual, instructional videos, and FAQs are available on the Intacct information page.

To get started, contact Financial Services at (415) 292-9170 or financialservices@freemason.org.

Tax Preparation

Tax-exempt status as a non-profit organization is a very important element of your lodge finances. Each lodge's tax-exempt status is dependent upon filing taxes every year. Grand Lodge tax preparation services help your lodge file taxes on time to keep your tax-exempt status current.

To get started, contact Grand Lodge Financial Services at (415) 292-9170 or financialservices@freemason.org.

PayPal

PayPal is a simple way to collect online payments via credit or debit card. Grand Lodge can help you set up a PayPal account quickly and easily, and will provide you with a code that can be placed on your website, or on a standalone webpage, where members can make payments. This system is a great way to simplify transactions for stated meeting dinners, dues, donations to lodge charities, and other lodge initiatives. Recurring payments can be scheduled, if needed.

To get started, contact Grand Lodge Financial Services at (415) 292-9170 or financialservices@freemason.org.

REAL ESTATE SERVICES

Lodge halls are important and valuable assets, and navigating real estate decisions can be tough. Each lodge and hall association's situation is unique. Grand Lodge real estate services can help with the following:

• Providing technical expertise and counsel to hall association trustees for the lease, purchase, sale, and improvement of their buildings; suggestions for negotiating transactions and structuring agreements
• Input on strategic approaches to leverage the asset value of hall properties
• Support for completing Grand Lodge Masonic Properties Committee applications
• Capital improvement and building operations issues, such as reserve funding, solar projects, etc.
• Cost-benefit analyses of real estate projects relative to the lodge and hall association objectives
• Replacement cost estimates to gauge sufficient coverage against property loss

To get started, contact Grand Lodge Real Estate Services at (415) 292-9111 or realestate@freemason.org.

New hall association templates are available: Lodge Use Agreement and Hall Use Agreement

COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES

Lodge app

Thank you for your interest in the lodge app. At this time, no new lodge apps will be created as we are in the process of moving to a new platform. Information about the new platform will be shared with members in the coming months.

Website templates and hosting

Your lodge's website is a "front door" for your lodge: It is the first place where prospective members and the general public look for information, so it's important that it is professional, welcoming, and current. The downside? Not all members have the technical abilities needed to keep sites updated and relevant.

To help reduce Web administration, Grand Lodge offers simple, easy-to-manage website templates that lodges can set up and manage with minimal technical skills. Click here to see an example of the lodge website template.Customizable templates include the following features:

• Events calendar: Place all events in a single calendar that automatically syncs to your website and lodge app.
• Social media feed: When you post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube, this content automatically integrates into your website, keeping your homepage vibrant. Your members can post news and content on easy-to-use, familiar platforms, without special technical skills or duplicative work.
• Optional news feed: Your lodge can post and maintain your own news, or pull in Masons of California content that is relevant throughout the state.
• PayPal payments: Annual and monthly dues, and other types of payments can be collected through PayPal on your website. (A PayPal account is required for this feature.)
• Evergreen content: Basic information about your lodge and Masonry stays the same, allowing you to present a consistent and welcoming image to new members, and your community.
• Hosting by the Grand Lodge of California: Grand Lodge will set up and pay for the hosting of your lodge web site
• Training and administrative support: Grand Lodge staff will set up your site and train you on how to maintain these simple templates. Templates have been designed so that they are easy to update and use.
• Option to purchase a customized domain: You can use your existing URL or create a new one (such as BearStarLodge101.org). Or, you can use the generic URL that comes with your site, like "Lodge101.freemason.org".

Sign up to get started with your web site template.

Grand Lodge staff will contact you in the order requests were received.

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT

The Lodge Vault: Store and Share Living Documents

Emailing lodge documents back and forth can cause confusion and take unnecessary time. The Vault bypasses these steps, offering a convenient online system in which members and officers can easily save and share digital records. Information is securely protected, backed up, and accessible only after members log in with a user ID and password. Files are accessible anywhere with an Internet connection.

The Vault is already configured to store minutes, bylaws, meeting agendas, recent Trestleboards, and tax filings, but folders can also be customized and expanded to meet specific needs. To get started, go to Member Center> My Lodge > Lodge Features > The Vault.

If you need help using The Lodge Vault, read the Lodge Vault User Manual.

2GB of storage is available for free for your lodge. Should your lodge reach that limit, additional storage can be purchased from Grand Lodge on a monthly basis at the following low prices:

10GB = $5/month
30GB = $10/month
60GB = $20/month

For more information, or to purchase extra storage please email memberservices@freemason.org or call
(415) 292-9180.