Moving from iMIS to AssociationServer
We've moved national associations off iMIS onto AssociationServer over the years, including their member data, history and online services. Here's how the two compare, where iMIS is strong, and how a move works.
Usually it isn't one thing.
- The lifecycle runs across products. The member record, applications and learning can sit in separate systems joined by sign-on and sync.
- Every change goes through someone else. A new form, workflow or report often means a partner quote.
- Complexity they'll never use. Associations moving off iMIS tell us they pay for, train on and work around features they will never use, even if they knew how.
- Upgrades become projects. Each major version means planning, testing and often a separate budget.
- Canadian requirements. Canadian hosting, Canadian ownership, PIPEDA, CASL and French for members.
How the two compare.
iMIS facts are taken from ASI's own published pages, linked in each row. Checked November 2026.
| iMIS | AssociationServer | |
|---|---|---|
| Applications and review | OpenWater, a separate ASI product acquired in 2022; its data is made available in iMIS. Source | Intake, screening, staff review, external reviewers, fees and the decision run as stages of one workflow on the member record. |
| Learning and CE | TopClass LMS, connected to iMIS through single sign-on and a two-way sync. Source | Event attendance, Zoom sessions, CE credits and certificates are recorded on the same member record. |
| Who implements it | Delivered with independent partners who offer implementation, customization, integration and support. Source | Oasis Computing implements directly, with a fixed written price after discovery. |
| Changes after go-live | Partners list customization and integration among their services. Source | Your staff adapt forms and workflows in the Studios, starting from Solution Blueprints added at no charge. Custom fields → |
| Staff interface | ASI publishes a list of the iMIS Desktop features moved to the web Staff site, and its upgrade guide asks you to review which have and have not moved before upgrading. Source | Web-based since 2001. Staff work in the browser. |
| Version upgrades | Major upgrades are planned projects. ASI's upgrade guide starts with a planning phase: deciding whether to use an ASI upgrade package, reviewing Desktop features not yet migrated, and ordering a staging site to test. Source Ask what your last upgrade cost, who did the work, and what the next one will cost. | Included in the subscription. Clients have moved across four platform rebuilds without an upgrade invoice. |
| Who runs it day to day | Ask whether you'll need a dedicated iMIS administrator or developer, or a partner retainer, and budget for it. | Your existing staff, with how-to support for every staff user included. |
| What your staff deal with | Ask how much of the system your staff actually use, and what it costs to train them, and keep them trained, on the rest. | Complex tasks become step-by-step setup wizards, shaped around how your association already works and the terms your staff already use. Staff follow the steps instead of learning the system. |
| Pricing model | Ask for the licence, modules, partner services and upgrade costs in writing. | One plan, priced per staff user, with every module and version upgrade included. Pricing → |
| Hosting and ownership | Ask where your data is hosted and which jurisdiction governs the vendor. | Canadian owned and operated. Hosted on Microsoft Azure in Canada Central and Canada East, with each client's data in its own database. |
Where iMIS is strong.
- A long track record and a large installed base, in Canada and internationally.
- A wide partner network, so you can choose who implements and supports it.
- TopClass is a well-regarded learning system for organizations whose priority is a full LMS.
- If your first requirement is the largest vendor with the most partners, iMIS is a serious option.
Four steps, priced before you commit.
A ballpark, at no charge
Tell us what you run on iMIS today, including add-ons and integrations, and we'll give you an indicative range.
Discovery
Four to six weeks. We map your iMIS data to AssociationServer, list every customization and work through your workflows. You get a fixed written price.
Build and data load
We configure the platform, load your members, organizations, history and transactions, and test with your real data.
Go-live
Your staff and members move over, with us alongside.
The questions we usually hear.
We've been on iMIS for 15 years. It's too embedded to move.
Long histories are the normal case. We've moved national associations off iMIS before. Discovery maps every table, customization and integration before any price is set.
Our partner built custom features for us.
Discovery lists each one. Many become configuration in the Studios, which your staff can change later. Anything that still needs building is quoted before work starts.
Is a smaller vendor a risk?
We've run AssociationServer on the web since 2001 and are Canadian owned. Your data stays yours to export, and each client's data lives in its own database. About us →
Our staff know iMIS. Retraining is a cost.
Staff work in a browser-based workspace with how-to support for every staff user included, plus an AI Assistant that answers questions about the record in front of them.
Sources (checked November 2026)
ASI acquires OpenWater (OpenWater press release, January 2022)
TopClass LMS: iMIS integration
iMIS blog: the iMIS partner ecosystem
iMIS documentation: Desktop to Staff site, migrated features
iMIS documentation: Phase 1, planning for an upgrade
iMIS is a trademark of Advanced Solutions International. AssociationServer is not affiliated with ASI.
Thinking about leaving iMIS?
Tell us what you run today and we'll give you a ballpark at no charge.