BNI Connect: how to automate the import of your guests

BNI Connect sends a confirmation email every time a member invites someone, and these emails can be forwarded automatically to a dedicated address that feeds the guest list with no re-typing. This guide explains how this automation works and what it changes before a big table.

The problem with importing guests manually

An active BNI chapter easily receives ten to twenty invitations a week through BNI Connect. Each email contains the guest’s name, the name of the member who is inviting, and sometimes the reason for the visit. Without automation, someone has to open every email, copy the information into a spreadsheet, and check that no duplicate has slipped in.

This work almost always falls on the same person, often the guest manager or the secretary, and it has to be done right before the big table, when everyone is already busy with something else.

How the automatic import works

The principle relies on email forwarding rather than on a complex technical integration with BNI Connect.

Step 1: a dedicated email address per group

Each group receives a unique email address, specific to Liwa. This is the address that will receive a copy of the invitation confirmations.

Step 2: the redirection from BNI Connect

In the notification settings of BNI Connect, you simply add this address as a copy or automatic forward of the guest confirmations. This setup is done once, not at every meeting.

Step 3: the automatic parsing

As soon as an invitation email arrives at the dedicated address, the system extracts the guest’s name and the inviting member’s name, then automatically creates the matching record in the group’s guest list.

Step 4: the list ready before the meeting

On the morning of the meeting, or the evening before depending on the configured time zone, the guest list is already complete. All that is left is a quick check, without re-typing everything.

What it changes for bizouk tracking

Once the list is imported automatically, each guest can be tracked with their bizouk status: pending, fee paid, exempt, or already called. Done by hand, this tracking easily takes fifteen to twenty minutes before each big table for a chapter that welcomes a lot of people. Automated, it comes down to a quick check.

The list of paying guests can then be exported to Excel and sent directly to the restaurant, without going back to a table rebuilt by hand.

What you need to know before setting this up

• This automation is available on the Franchise plan, designed for chapters with a large flow of guests or Regional Directors managing several chapters.
• No data is pulled directly from BNI Connect: the system relies only on forwarded emails, with no direct connection to the group’s BNI Connect account.
• Setup takes a few minutes, usually done once by a group administrator.

The time saved in practice

For a chapter that receives about ten guests a week, automating the import saves on average thirty to forty minutes before each big table, combined across data entry, duplicate checking and preparing the export for the restaurant. Over a year, that adds up to several full days of administrative work avoided.

For a Regional Director who oversees several groups, the effect multiplies: each chapter handles its own flow of guests independently, without the coordination load systematically rising to regional level.

Common mistakes to avoid

Forgetting to check the setup after a change of BNI Connect account. If the administrator who set up the forwarding leaves their role, the new person in charge must check that the redirection is still active, otherwise invitations silently stop arriving.

Not telling the group members about the new method. Some members keep sending their invitations through another channel out of habit, which creates duplicates or missing guests if everyone does not use BNI Connect in the same way.

Waiting until the last moment to check the list. Even when automated, a quick check the day before the meeting remains useful, to spot an email that landed in spam or a forward that was temporarily interrupted.

An automation that adapts to the rhythm of the group

Some groups receive their invitations several weeks in advance, others see most of them arrive in the last few days before the meeting. The automation works the same way in both cases, with each email processed as it comes rather than in a single batch import. This avoids the peak effect the day before the big table, where everyone ends up handling dozens of invitations at the same time.

For a chapter that receives a variable number of guests from one week to the next, this regular processing provides continuous visibility on the number of people expected, useful to anticipate the welcome logistics well before the day of the meeting.

In short

Automating the import of BNI Connect guests relies on a simple trick, forwarding emails to a dedicated address, rather than on a heavy technical integration. The result stays the same: a guest list ready before every meeting, without anyone having to rebuild it by hand.

Liwa Team