What "Who Invited You" Actually Links

Two ways this field can be filled

When recording who invited a visitor, Sermfy either links a real, searchable Member record, or falls back to a plain typed name if no matching member is selected. Both are visually similar on the visitor's profile, but they behave very differently afterward.

Why the difference matters

A linked Member inviter is a real relationship Sermfy can use elsewhere, it shows correctly on the inviting member's own profile too, and it's the kind of connection that could feed future member-engagement or invitation-tracking features. A plain typed name is just text, it can't be searched, reported on, or connected to anything else, even if it happens to match a real member's name exactly.

A typed name that happens to match an existing member's name doesn't automatically link to them. If the inviter is a real member, always search and select them, don't rely on typing their name correctly.

Best practice

Train whoever handles check-in or visitor registration to always search first before typing a name freehand, it takes the same amount of time and produces a genuinely useful record instead of an unlinked text field.