About County Kildare Chamber
Founded in the heart of Ireland, just 20 miles from Dublin, County Kildare Chamber is a fast-growing business organization supporting over 400 member companies and 42,000+ members across industries. From small startups to established enterprises, the chamber acts as a central hub for business advocacy, member networking, and regional development.
Led by CEO Alan Shine for over 12 years, the chamber has expanded from a small-town group of fewer than 50 members into a recognized voice for businesses across the Mid-East region. With a lean staff of five, the team manages everything from events and communications to sponsorships, policy efforts, and member services.
We sat down with Alan to discuss their recent digital transformation in-depth, from managing data in spreadsheets and using tools with limited flexibility, to adopting Glue Up's all-in-one membership management platform for greater efficiency and long-term scalability.
Here's a closer look at how County Kildare Chamber made the leap to our all-in-one chamber software and what changed after going live.
Growing Chamber in Need of Change
When Shine joined in 2011, the chamber relied on Excel to track member data. As operations scaled, they adopted Zoho, followed by ChamberMaster. These platforms served their needs for a time, but by early 2023, Shine began to see limitations in reporting, customization, flexibility, and ease of use.
"The system that we're using… we reached its capabilities. I found it very hard to get the reports from it. You could spend 10 minutes trying to find the report that you need, and then you have to custom-make the report." — Alan Shine, CEO, County Kildare Chamber
In short, the team needed more visibility, automation, and a system that could grow with the chamber, prompting Alan to look for alternative solutions.
Choosing a Future-Ready Platform
During a visit to the World Chambers Congress in Geneva, Shine encountered the Glue Up team for the first time.
The chamber software’s design, reporting tools, and all-in-one structure aligned with what Shine sought, particularly as the team looked to automate member engagement, billing, and event operations.
While switching platforms came with risks, he felt confident in Glue Up's roadmap and long-term presence.
A Focused Implementation During a Quiet Period
Rather than treating the transition as a long project, Shine and his team decided to move quickly and deliberately. They blocked out August 2023, traditionally a quiet month for the chamber, to focus entirely on implementation.
"We were focused, fully focused on this for one full month… and that was ideal."
The team exported their data from ChamberMaster and began mapping it to Glue Up's structure. Some integrations, like Stripe, were connected almost immediately. Others, like Xero, took a bit more time but are now working well. Shine credited Glue Up's training and support team with keeping momentum high throughout.
"The training is unbelievable. There seems to be training every single day, in different time zones, just constant communications coming in from your team."
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Delivering Measurable Impact with AI-Powered Chamber Software
One of the most important aspects of our interviews is understanding the real-world impact of transitioning to Glue Up. We asked Alan specifically about tangible improvements.
While the team continues to expand how they use the platform, several benefits have already become clear, especially in areas like member billing, engagement tracking, and administrative efficiency. This is part of the larger digital transformation for associations, where technology adoption gradually drives smarter operations and higher member satisfaction.
Automated Invoicing and Payment Follow-Ups
Glue Up's integration with the chamber's accounting system, Xero, has simplified the renewal process by automating invoice generation and reminder flows.
"It'll automatically send invoices out… with the correct invoice, with the correct message. And then it can send out that reminder invoice the following month."
For a small team with limited capacity, automating the timing and delivery of invoices helps ensure consistency and reduces follow-up work, especially for members who may require more nudging.
Early Visibility into Member Disengagement
The chamber now uses Glue Up's CRM to quickly spot members who haven't attended events in recent months. This visibility is helping the team take a more proactive approach to retention.
"We can very easily see that a member is not attending events. The system will allow us to engage very effectively and quickly, send a friendly email, and track click rates as well."
These follow-ups are especially valuable for lower-tier members who pay a smaller annual fee and may be more likely to lapse. With our membership management platform, Shine's team can target disengaged members with timely, personalized outreach before renewal season arrives.
Tiered Member Onboarding and Real-Time Updates
By onboarding members in tiers based on category, the chamber has avoided flooding its support team and is gradually helping users get comfortable with the system.
"We're welcoming them to the new system, showing them how to log in and update their profile."
The phased rollout has also helped re-engage members who hadn't interacted with the chamber in some time. Still, Shine notes that not everyone is ready to go digital.
"We'll still have businesses that won't use it, that just will continually want to pick up the phone and book in and give you the credit card details over the phone."
The team continues to balance new tools with familiar service.
Looking Ahead
County Kildare Chamber continues to roll out Glue Up features at a pace that fits their team and membership. They're planning to introduce event rooms for smaller gatherings, expand use of email segmentation for targeted outreach like HR roundtables, and explore deeper engagement metrics to support retention.
The website is also on the radar for future upgrades, as the chamber looks to align its digital presence with its internal operations.
Want to Modernize Like County Kildare Chamber?
If you're ready to replace outdated systems, simplify your operations, and engage members more effectively, then explore what Glue Up can do for you.
Our all-in-one platform combines CRM, events, email marketing, billing, and community tools, all backed by hands-on onboarding, live training, and expert support.
