Key takeaways
- Every representative joins as an individual, with the member firm and membership category asked as your own questions.
- Sector councils and committees each get a join link, so you see which groups members came from.
- Requests for chamber services, such as certificates or representations, stay with your secretariat. Milvao handles asks between members.
- A chamber with several representatives per firm often passes 300 people, which is the Growth plan.
How a chamber differs from a trade association
Milvao's page for business associations covers single-trade bodies run by an elected committee. A chamber shares the committee, but three things change the set-up.
| Chamber of commerce | Effect in Milvao | |
|---|---|---|
| Members | Firms from many sectors, from manufacturers to hospitals to IT services | A skills list built from services members buy from each other, not from sector names |
| People per member | A member firm often sends two to five representatives | Each representative is one member; ask the firm name so your team can group them |
| Who does the daily work | A paid secretariat, with staff who change less often than office bearers | Secretariat staff as operators, the chamber's own email as owner |
| What members ask the chamber for | Certificates, attestations, policy issues, event passes | Not for Milvao; these stay with the secretariat |
| Groups | Sector councils, committees, a young entrepreneurs wing, a women's wing | One join link per group, questions for one group where needed |
Setting up chamber of commerce member software
- 1Use the chamber's own email address for the owner account, held by the secretary general or the secretariat head.
- 2Invite secretariat staff who handle membership as operators. Starter includes two seats, owner included; Growth includes five.
- 3Add profile questions: member firm name and membership category as required, membership number visible to operators only.
- 4Build a skills list from the services member firms sell to each other: Freight forwarding, Export documentation, Industrial safety audits, Commercial insurance, Corporate travel, Event venues.
- 5Create a join link for each sector council and committee group, and ask each convenor to pin it.
Keep chamber services and member asks apart
Members already message the secretariat for certificates of origin, attestation, visa recommendation letters or passes for an event. Those are chamber services, handled by your staff, and they shouldn't be on the skills list. Milvao is for one member firm helping another.
If a member sends a chamber-service question to the community number by mistake, Milvao finds no skill that fits and hands it to your team under Needs you, with the member's message. Your staff can reply with Message member or close it with a note. See reviewing requests.
What member firms ask each other
Made-up examples of asks between members of a multi-sector chamber.
- "Need a freight forwarder for a first export shipment to Germany, LCL, from Ludhiana." (sample)
- "Looking for a fire safety audit for our new plant in Mohali." (sample)
- "Hotel members: need a venue for 120 people for a dealer meet in Chandigarh in February." (sample)
- "Koi member jo corporate health check-ups karta hai, 80 staff, Panchkula?" (sample)
Each goes only to a member firm whose representative lists the service and covers the city, and the group never sees it.
Limits for chambers
- Two representatives of the same firm are two members. Milvao doesn't group them into one account, so either can be asked.
- Matching runs across the whole chamber. Keeping a request inside one sector council is planned.
- Milvao doesn't take membership fees, issue certificates or send circulars.
- Several chapters or branches under one account is planned.
Sources
- Milvao Help Center: Roles and your team (checked 5 November 2026)
- Milvao Help Center: Review a request and choose who to ask (checked 5 November 2026)
- Milvao Help Center: Who sees what (checked 5 November 2026)
Facts about WhatsApp and other services come from the pages listed, on the dates shown, and can change.