Enterprise Student Union Platform

vs MSL

MSL (Membership Solutions Limited) has been the enterprise student union platform since 2005, serving 130+ organizations across the UK, Ireland, Australia, and beyond. Here's how it compares to communities.one for solving the club finance compliance problem.

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Feature Breakdown

Side-by-side comparison

How the platforms compare across essential capabilities

Feature
communities.one
MSL
Events & Ticketing
Event management
Event ticketing
Member Management
Member management
Payments
Online payments
Task Management
Task management
Security
Team password vault
Pricing
1% platform fee
Self-service signup
Other Features
Discussion forums
Social media publishing
Full support
Partial support
Not available
Why communities.one

What sets us apart

Key features that make a difference for modern clubs and societies

Auto-Compliance Solves the Real Problem

Traditional systems force a choice between hands-off management (no visibility) or centralised control (slow and frustrating). Auto-locking cards achieve both: students can spend freely, yet the card locks until receipts are uploaded.

Near-100% Receipt Compliance

When compliance is built into spending, you get receipts automatically. No more staff spending 10+ hours/week chasing treasurers for documentation.

Proactive Fraud Detection

AI flags duplicates, policy violations, and unusual patterns in real-time, preventing issues before they occur during an audit months later.

Decision Guide

Which platform is right for you?

Honest guidance to help you make the best choice

Choose MSL if you need

  • Enterprise student union management
  • Case management and advice services
  • Volunteering and employability tracking
  • Student voice and feedback systems
  • 150+ reports and analytics
  • Full website CMS
  • 20 years of institutional experience

Choose communities.one if you want

  • Auto-compliance: cards lock until receipts uploaded
  • Real-time visibility across all club spending
  • AI fraud detection catches issues proactively
  • No out-of-pocket spending risk for students
  • Audit-ready documentation at all times
  • Zero cost to universities
The Verdict

MSL is comprehensive enterprise software that digitises traditional club finance workflows. communities.one takes a different approach: making compliance automatic by building it into the spending process itself. The card won't work until the receipt is uploaded.

If your student union needs case management, volunteering tracking, and student voice systems, MSL's 20 years of experience shows value. If your pain point is club financial compliance—whether it's chasing receipts, discovering fraud too late, or audit anxiety—communities.one's auto-locking cards solve that problem at its root.

communities.one vs MSL (2026) | Platform Comparison | communities.one