GSheet Membership

Access — the login and page gate

GSheet Membership lets you use a private Google Sheet as your membership database.

• Truly private — the sheet is never shared publicly. Access is granted exclusively to a Google Service Account that you control.
• Login gate — only users whose email address appears in the sheet can log in to WordPress.
• Membership codes — each row contains an email address and a membership code (e.g. GOLD, SILVER, PLATINUM).
• Per-page restrictions — set required membership code(s) on any page or post via a sidebar panel.
• Flexible access-denied handling — redirect to a custom URL or show a configurable inline message.
• Caching — sheet data and OAuth2 access tokens are cached as WordPress transients.
• Site Mode — every site runs as Main (a single roster) or Chapter (its own local roster, alongside or instead of the main one) — Chapter mode is enabled by the separate Chapters add-on.
• Expiration handling — warn members as their membership approaches its end, grant a configurable grace period after it lapses, and show a custom message once access is revoked.
• Extra user-info fields — map any additional sheet columns (address, phone, region, or anything else you track) so members can view and verify them on the front end via [gsma_user_info].
• Custom login page — host the sign-in form on any WordPress page you choose with the [gsma_login_form] shortcode, instead of WordPress’s default login screen.
• Front-end appearance controls — force the login form and status panel to keep their original colors if your theme recolors them, and scale their text size independently of your theme.
• Two code-matching modes — require an exact membership code, or “letters mode,” where a member’s code must simply contain every letter in the required set (e.g. a required code of “AB” matches any member code containing both A and B).

How it works

The plugin authenticates using a Google Service Account — a special non-human Google account your server uses to read and update the sheet. You share the spreadsheet with it; no one else can access the sheet. Credentials are stored securely in your WordPress database and are never exposed in the browser or source code.

Signing in

There’s no separate account-creation step for members. A member already on the roster enters their email on your sign-in page: the first time, a 6-digit verification code is emailed to them and they’re prompted to create a password after entering it; after that, they sign in with the password directly. See the FAQ entry below for the full flow.

Optional Pro add-on

GSheet Membership Pro adds authenticated mailbox sending, Group Email, PDF watermarks, PayPal checkout, gift purchases, editable membership levels, and admin refund/retry tools. The Access and Sales admin screens show read-only previews of relevant Pro features and a direct upgrade button. After purchasing, install and activate the Pro add-on, then complete its license activation; the free plugin’s existing settings stay in place.

Built for organizations with branches or chapters

Most membership plugins assume one site and one member list. Many real organizations don’t work that way: a national society with local chapters, an alumni association with regional groups, a union with locals. GSheet Membership was designed for exactly that structure:

• One national roster, many chapter rosters — the national organization keeps the master membership sheet; each chapter keeps its own local roster sheet. Both live in ordinary Google Sheets the organization owns.
• Each chapter runs its own WordPress site — with its own pages, branding and admins, while membership checks stay consistent: a chapter site can honour the national roster, its local roster, or both.
• Chapter-local sales and email — in chapter mode, membership sales write to the chapter’s own roster, and group email (Pro add-on) goes to the local chapter list.
• No per-chapter SaaS fees — association platforms typically charge every chapter a monthly subscription and hold your member data. Here the data stays in your own Google Sheets and each chapter site is just WordPress.

Chapter mode is provided by the GSheet Membership — Chapters add-on; the free plugin covers everything a single-roster organization needs.

External services

This plugin connects to the following third-party services to provide its core functionality:

Google Sheets API and Google OAuth2 (developers.google.com)
Used to read and write membership data to your private Google Sheet, and to authenticate as your Google Service Account. When a page’s access is checked, when a purchase is recorded, or when you save settings and test the connection, the plugin sends: your Service Account’s signed authentication request to https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token, and membership-related row data (emails, membership codes, and — depending on which features you use — names, addresses, and purchase details) to https://sheets.googleapis.com. This only occurs because you have configured a Google Service Account and Spreadsheet ID; no data is sent to Google until you do so.
Google APIs Terms of Service: https://developers.google.com/terms
Google API Services User Data Policy: https://developers.google.com/terms/api-services-user-data-policy
Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Stripe (stripe.com)
Used to process membership purchases via Stripe Checkout. When a buyer completes a purchase, their payment is handled entirely on Stripe’s hosted checkout page (card details never pass through this site); the plugin sends the buyer’s selection and price to Stripe to create the Checkout Session, and receives a webhook confirming payment so it can update your Google Sheet. This only occurs when Stripe is enabled and configured with your API keys.
Stripe Terms of Service: https://stripe.com/legal/ssa
Stripe Privacy Policy: https://stripe.com/privacy

GSheet Connect (access-manager-pro.replit.app) — free tier only
The plugin’s hosted payment service, used when you take card payments without the Pro add-on. It handles “Connect with Stripe” onboarding, creates the Stripe Checkout Session for each purchase (applying the disclosed platform commission), processes refunds you issue from the dashboard, and relays Stripe’s payment confirmations back to your site. The plugin sends: your connected Stripe account ID, the purchase amount, currency and description, the buyer’s email address, and your site’s webhook address at https://access-manager-pro.replit.app. The service stores no member data; payment processing itself is performed by Stripe. This only occurs after you click “Connect with Stripe” — sites using their own Stripe API keys (including all Pro sites) never contact this service.
Service overview: https://access-manager-pro.replit.app

PayPal (paypal.com) — requires the GSheet Membership Pro add-on
Used to process membership purchases via PayPal Checkout as an alternative to Stripe. Only active if you install the Pro add-on and configure your PayPal credentials; the free plugin does not send any data to PayPal on its own.
PayPal User Agreement: https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/paypal/useragreement-full
PayPal Privacy Statement: https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/paypal/privacy-full

Mailchimp (mailchimp.com) — requires the GSheet Membership Pro add-on
Optional delivery method for the Group Email feature. When you choose Mailchimp delivery, connect an API key and select an audience, each send first syncs that Mailchimp audience to your current membership filter — the plugin sends member email addresses and names from your Google Sheet to https://.api.mailchimp.com to add, update, or archive audience members — and then creates and sends the campaign through Mailchimp. Only active if you install the Pro add-on, choose Mailchimp as the delivery method, and configure your Mailchimp API key and audience; the free plugin does not send any data to Mailchimp on its own.
Mailchimp Standard Terms of Use: https://mailchimp.com/legal/terms/
Intuit Mailchimp Privacy Statement: https://www.intuit.com/privacy/statement/