Shares

CBSmembers maintains a full share register. Shares are organised into classes and issued in numbered batches. Each member holds one or more share certificates.

Share classes

A share class defines the type of share — its name, nominal value, and dividend rate. A society can have a single class (e.g. "Community Shares" at £1 per share) or several, and CBSmembers supports any number of them.

Share classes are managed from Org Settings → Share Classes.

Share issues

Each time new shares are offered to members, a share issue is created. An issue records the offer period and links to all certificates sold during that round.

Issues are managed from the Issues screen (accessible from the toolbar). From the Issues screen you can also generate share certificate PDFs in bulk for all members in an issue.

Share certificates

Each certificate represents a block of shares purchased by a member. A certificate records:

  • The member it belongs to
  • The share class and issue
  • The number of shares
  • The certificate date (when shares were purchased)
  • The certificate reference number (set automatically)
  • The effective date (when the shares begin earning dividends — defaults to certificate date)
  • Status: Active, Withdrawn, Suspended, or Transferred

Viewing certificates

The Shares tab on a member record lists all their certificates. Click a certificate to see full detail.

Issuing new shares

To issue shares to a member:

  1. Open the member record and go to the Shares tab
  2. Click New Certificate
  3. Select the share class and issue, enter the number of shares and the certificate date
  4. Click Save

The certificate reference number is assigned automatically.

You can optionally generate and email a PDF certificate immediately from the confirmation screen.

Withdrawing shares

Withdrawal records when a member exits the society and their shares are redeemed.

  1. On the Shares tab, select one or more certificates, then click Withdraw
  2. Enter the withdrawal date
  3. Check the dividend rate on each certificate — it defaults to the certificate's share class but can be adjusted
  4. Click Withdraw to confirm

To withdraw several certificates at once, hold Ctrl (or Shift) and click to select them before pressing Withdraw. The dialog lists each certificate on its own line with a running total of the dividend due, and processes them together. Because the rate is per certificate, a single batch can span certificates from different share classes.

CBSmembers calculates the pro-rata dividend for each certificate automatically. The dividend period runs from the later of the last paid dividend run and the certificate's own active date, up to the withdrawal date — so it covers exactly the time since the member was last paid. A note is recorded on each certificate, and a single summary entry is added to the member's CRM log.

Withdrawal is whole-certificate only. If a member wants to take out only part of a holding, withdraw the certificate in full and re-issue a new certificate for the balance they keep.

Withdrawn certificates remain visible in the register for audit purposes.

The button on the certificate is the bookkeeping step that closes the certificate in the register. The wider workflow — the member's original request, the committee's decision, the notice period, and the cash payment — is managed separately on the Withdrawals screen. See Withdrawal Requests.

Suspending shares

Suspension temporarily freezes a certificate — the shares remain in place but are excluded from dividend calculations.

  1. Open the certificate and click Suspend
  2. Enter the suspension date and reason

To reinstate a suspended certificate, open it and click Reinstate.

Transferring shares

CBSMembers has no one-click transfer — there is no Transfer button that moves a holding from one member to another in a single step. A change of holder (for example when a member dies and their shares pass to a beneficiary, or shares are gifted) is recorded by closing the original certificate and issuing a new one:

  1. On the original holder's Shares tab, open the certificate and set its Status to Transferred. It stays visible in the register, marked Transferred, for audit.
  2. On the receiving member's Shares tab, click New Certificate and issue them a certificate for the same shares.

There is no automatic link between the old and new certificates, so note the reason and the other party in the member's CRM log to keep the trail clear. An Allow share transfers option under Org Settings records whether your society's own rules permit transfers at all.

Certificate PDFs

A PDF share certificate can be generated at any point. It uses your organisation's branding (logo, address) and shows the member's name, certificate reference, number of shares, and certificate date.

  • Single certificate — from the certificate detail screen, click Generate PDF
  • Bulk certificates — from the Issues screen, select an issue and click Generate Certificate PDFs

Generated PDFs are stored in MinIO and can be published to the member portal for download.

Member statement PDF

A member statement summarises all a member's current certificate holdings. Generate it from the Shares tab with Generate Statement.

Pro-rata dividends

When a certificate is issued or withdrawn mid-dividend-period, CBSmembers calculates a pro-rata dividend based on the number of days the shares were held. See Dividends for the full calculation.