How to Customize Terminology in Sodalo

Last updated: May 2026

Sodalo lets you customize the language used throughout the platform to match your organization's culture and traditions. Instead of generic terms like "Member" and "Meeting," you can use language that feels natural to your group — "Brother," "Rotarian," "Sister," "Congregant," "Player," etc.

This guide shows you how to customize terminology during onboarding, use quick presets, or manually customize individual terms.

Table of Contents

• What is terminology customization?
• When should I customize terminology?
• How to customize terminology during onboarding
• How to customize terminology in settings
• Using terminology presets
• Customizing individual terms
• Where terminology appears
• Examples by organization type

What is terminology customization?

Terminology customization lets you replace Sodalo's default terms with your organization's preferred language.

You can customize:
- Member terms (singular and plural) – e.g., "Brother/Brothers" or "Rotarian/Rotarians"
- Meeting terms (singular and plural) – e.g., "Gathering/Gatherings" or "Service/Services"
- Chapter terms (singular and plural) – e.g., "Lodge/Lodges" or "Club/Clubs"
- Dues term (singular) – e.g., "Assessment" or "Fees"
- Officer terms (singular and plural) – e.g., "Leader/Leaders" or "Board Member/Board Members"

Example transformation:

Default Sodalo:

"You have 45 active Members. The next Meeting is Tuesday at 7 PM. Dues are due on the 1st."

Customized for a fraternal lodge:

"You have 45 active Brothers. The next Meeting is Tuesday at 7 PM. Dues are due on the 1st."

Customized for a Rotary club:

"You have 45 active Rotarians. The next Service is Tuesday at 7 PM. Fees are due on the 1st."

When should I customize terminology?

Customize terminology if:
- Your organization uses specific terms for members (Brothers, Sisters, Rotarians, Friends, etc.)
- Generic terms feel impersonal or don't match your culture
- You want Sodalo to feel purpose-built for your organization type
- You're a fraternal order, religious group, professional association, or sports team with unique language

You can skip customization if:
- Your organization is comfortable with generic terms (Member, Meeting, Chapter, etc.)
- You're not sure yet — you can always customize later in Settings

How to customize terminology during onboarding

When you first create your organization in Sodalo, you'll be guided through a setup wizard. One of the steps is "Customize your terminology" where you can quickly select a preset.

During onboarding:

1. After uploading your logo, you'll see the "Customize your terminology" step
2. Choose a preset from the dropdown that matches your organization type:
3. Fraternal (Brothers) – For Masonic lodges, Elks, Lions, etc.
4. Sororal (Sisters) – For sororities and women's organizations
5. Rotary – For Rotary Clubs
6. Quaker (Friends) – For Quaker meetings
7. Church – For churches and religious congregations
8. And more (see "Using terminology presets" below)
9. Click "Continue" to apply the preset
10. Or click "Skip" to use default terms (you can customize later)

What happens:
- The preset automatically configures all terminology fields
- You'll immediately see your custom terms throughout Sodalo
- You can fine-tune individual terms later in Settings

How to customize terminology in settings

If you skipped terminology during onboarding or want to change your terms later:

1. Log into Sodalo and go to your Staff Dashboard
2. Click the Settings icon (gear icon in top navigation)
3. Click the "Terminology" tab
4. You'll see two sections:
5. Quick Start: Use a Preset (dropdown with preset options)
6. Customize Individual Terms (manual fields for each term)
7. Choose your customization method (see sections below)

Using terminology presets

Presets are pre-configured terminology sets for common organization types. They're the fastest way to customize your language.

Available presets:

To apply a preset:

1. Go to Settings → Terminology
2. In the "Quick Start: Use a Preset" section, select your preset from the dropdown
3. Click "Apply Preset"
4. Your terminology is updated instantly throughout Sodalo

After applying a preset:
- You can further customize individual terms (see next section)
- The preset is just a starting point — feel free to tweak!

Customizing individual terms

If you want full control or need to fine-tune after applying a preset:

1. Go to Settings → Terminology
2. Scroll to "Customize Individual Terms"
3. Fill in the fields you want to change:

Member Terms:
- Member Singular – e.g., "Brother," "Sister," "Rotarian," "Friend"
- Member Plural – e.g., "Brothers," "Sisters," "Rotarians," "Friends"

Meeting Terms:
- Meeting Singular – e.g., "Meeting," "Gathering," "Service," "Game"
- Meeting Plural – e.g., "Meetings," "Gatherings," "Services," "Games"

Chapter Terms:
- Chapter Singular – e.g., "Chapter," "Lodge," "Club," "Team"
- Chapter Plural – e.g., "Chapters," "Lodges," "Clubs," "Teams"

Dues Terms:
- Dues Singular – e.g., "Dues," "Fees," "Assessment," "Contribution"

Officer Terms:
- Officer Singular – e.g., "Officer," "Leader," "Board Member," "Coach"
- Officer Plural – e.g., "Officers," "Leaders," "Board Members," "Coaches"

1. Click "Save Settings" at the bottom

Tips:
- Use sentence case (not ALL CAPS): "Brother" not "BROTHER"
- Make sure singular and plural forms match: "Brother/Brothers" not "Brother/Brother"
- Keep terms short and clear (they appear throughout the interface)

Where terminology appears

Once you customize terminology, your terms will replace default language throughout Sodalo:

Staff Dashboard:
- Navigation: "Members" becomes "Brothers," "Rotarians," etc.
- Member counts: "45 active Members" becomes "45 active Brothers"
- Buttons: "+ Add Member" becomes "+ Add Brother"
- Page titles: "Member Directory" becomes "Brother Directory"

Member Portal:
- Navigation tabs
- Event descriptions
- Email history
- Dues/payment pages

Emails:
- Email templates (if you use merge fields)
- Automated emails (RSVP confirmations, payment reminders, etc.)

Reports & Exports:
- CSV export headers
- PDF printouts
- Financial reports

Settings pages:
- Organization settings
- Custom field labels
- Dues configuration

Note: Some technical fields remain unchanged for clarity (e.g., database field names, API responses).

Examples by organization type

Here are real-world examples of how different organizations use terminology customization:

Masonic Lodge

Preset: Fraternal (Brothers)
- Member: Brother/Brothers
- Meeting: Meeting/Meetings
- Chapter: Lodge/Lodges
- Dues: Dues
- Officer: Officer/Officers

Result: "45 active Brothers in the Lodge. Next Meeting is Tuesday at 7 PM. Dues are due on the 1st."

Rotary Club

Preset: Rotary
- Member: Rotarian/Rotarians
- Meeting: Service/Services
- Chapter: Club/Clubs
- Dues: Fees
- Officer: Board Member/Board Members

Result: "45 active Rotarians in the Club. Next Service is Tuesday at 7 PM. Fees are due on the 1st."

Church Congregation

Preset: Church
- Member: Congregant/Congregants
- Meeting: Service/Services
- Chapter: Congregation/Congregations
- Dues: Offering
- Officer: Leader/Leaders

Result: "45 active Congregants in the Congregation. Next Service is Sunday at 10 AM. Offering is due on the 1st."

Quaker Meeting

Preset: Quaker (Friends)
- Member: Friend/Friends
- Meeting: Gathering/Gatherings
- Chapter: Meeting/Meetings
- Dues: Contribution
- Officer: Clerk/Clerks

Result: "45 active Friends in the Meeting. Next Gathering is Sunday at 10 AM. Contribution is due on the 1st."

Youth Sports Team

Preset: Sports Team
- Member: Player/Players
- Meeting: Game/Games
- Chapter: Team/Teams
- Dues: Fees
- Officer: Coach/Coaches

Result: "45 active Players on the Team. Next Game is Saturday at 2 PM. Fees are due on the 1st."

Sorority Chapter

Preset: Sororal (Sisters)
- Member: Sister/Sisters
- Meeting: Meeting/Meetings
- Chapter: Chapter/Chapters
- Dues: Dues
- Officer: Officer/Officers

Result: "45 active Sisters in the Chapter. Next Meeting is Thursday at 7 PM. Dues are due on the 1st."

Changing your terminology later

You can change your terminology anytime without losing data:

1. Go to Settings → Terminology
2. Apply a different preset or edit individual terms
3. Click "Save Settings"
4. The changes apply immediately throughout Sodalo

What happens to existing data:
- Member records remain unchanged
- Historical emails retain their original wording
- New emails use your updated terminology
- The interface updates instantly

FAQs

Q: Can I customize other terms besides Member, Meeting, Chapter, Dues, and Officer?

A: Currently, those are the only customizable terms. If you'd like to customize additional terms (like Event, Prospect, or Volunteer), email [email protected] with your request.

Q: Do I need to update my existing email templates after changing terminology?

A: No. Sodalo automatically uses your custom terminology in all new emails. However, if you manually typed terms in existing templates, you may want to update those.

Q: Can different chapters/lodges under my organization use different terminology?

A: Currently, terminology is set at the organization level. All chapters within an organization share the same terminology. If you need chapter-specific terminology, contact [email protected].

Q: What if my terminology doesn't fit any of the presets?

A: Use the "Customize Individual Terms" section to manually set exactly what you want. You can start with the closest preset and then fine-tune.

Q: Can I reset to default terms?

A: Yes. Apply the "Default" preset in Settings → Terminology, and all terms will reset to Member, Meeting, Chapter, Dues, and Officer.

Still have questions?

If you need help customizing terminology for your specific organization type, email us at [email protected] — we're happy to help!

You can also browse our other guides at sodalo.com/guides for more detailed tutorials.