This blog will be a tutorial on how to create, setup/edit, and manage events on the online event ticketing e-RegisterNow platform.
In order to setup or edit one of your events go to Edit; Events. Here you can create a new event, duplicate an existing one and make modifications, or just edit an existing one. Now you can select which event you would like to edit and click “Edit Selected Event(s)”. The first tab “Event Settings” is where you will make most of your edits.
Starting in Event Information the first field is “Event Name”. The name that you input in this field is what will show up everywhere in the system like reports and receipts. This means that you will want to give each event its own unique name like x movie 6pm and x movie 9pm. This name can be changed at any point in time.
The “Event Matrix Display Name” is what is shown on Step 1. The Event Matrix Display Name is comprised of custom HTML code and is used to make the row that is shown on Step 1. If the field is left blank the system will use the Event Name.
There is a feature known as overlapped events these events have the exact same Matrix Display name but different Matrix Column Headings and share a row on the Step 1 Display Matrix. For example if you are selling T-Shirts this would be how you put Small, Medium, and Large all in the same row. Hidden events are another type of overlapped events. Hidden events are events that are tied to an event but can’t be seen. These are used for things like administrative and ticket fees. To make a hidden event you set up an event and make the Matrix Display Name and the Matrix column heading and order exactly the same as the actual event order. This will trigger both events for purchase when the registrant clicks “next”.
You can also have an event that does not appear on the Step 1 Display Matrix but is instead triggered by an answer to a custom question. This requires more advanced knowledge and should initially be set up by e-RegisterNow staff.
The Event Badge Name, Location, Instructor, Code, Category, Message 1, 2 and 3 are all just extra information for the purchaser of this specific event only and can be called using special variables from the e-ticket, receipt, and custom email template files.
The Event Enabled menu is to select whether someone is able to register and if the event will appear in reports.
“Is this a Label” is used to tell the system that this event is a visual placeholder and not a real event. This also means that this event will not appear in reports.
The Event Order Number is the order of how your events will appear on screen from 0 – infinity. It is recommended that you space out your events by at least 10 just in case you would like to slot events in between at a later date. This is the same order that your events will appear in reports unless your report filters by event name.
Now we can move on to the Registration/Enrolment section. The Registration Period is a date range that you select for when registration automatically opens to the public and when it automatically closes. Registration will open at midnight on the opening day and closes the midnight of the closing day.
The Registration Form field is where you select which registration form this specific event will use. Each event can have its own unique form. See the Registration Forms video for how to make a Registration Form. Multiple events can use the same registration form. If a registrant registers for two events with unique forms but they have some of the same questions with identical field names the system will automatically merge them so that you don’t ask the registrant the same question twice.
The Enrolment Units field is used to select the unit you wish to keep track of registrations with. Always leave this field on Registrations.The recount button refreshes the enrolment numbers.
The starting enrolment field is used to reserve spaces in your event. Whatever number is input is the number of spaces you are reserving out of the max enrolment. In order to make these spaces accessible again you need to reduce the number down to 0. In the enrolment report there is a switch to display how many reserved spots have been input.
Confirmed Enrolment displays how many people are confirmed registrants.
Enrolments in Progress shows you how many registrations are currently taking place in real time. There is an internal clock of 10 minutes before the space is released to the public again.This means that a registrant has 10 minutes to finish their registration before the system times them out and releases the spaces back to the public. This will force them to start from the step 1 event selection page again. No spots are reserved until a registrant in on the step 2 registration form page.
Total/Max Enrolment defines the maximum number of registrants for the event and causes the Sold Out icon to appear when that number is reached. The Maximum Enrolment per Transaction limits the number of spots purchased per transaction.
Linked Event Group Name combines events and allows you to set one big total in Group Maximum Enrolment. For example you have a VIP Event with 200 spaces, a middle silver tier with 200 spaces, and a bronze tier with 600 spaces. You would link them in the Link Group Event Name and put 900 into the Group Max Enrolment.
Once the maximum group enrolment number hits ALL of the grouped events display as sold out regardless of individual sales. This guarantees that you won’t sell anymore than the maximum number of seats alloted. Individual event maximums may hit before the group max hits but only that event will display as sold out, the other events will still be available.
The waiting list option changes the Sold Out icon to the Waiting List icon if enabled. For more information please see the Waiting List video.
The Drop Event Condition is a custom question that if it is answered a specific way will de-enroll the registrant from the event.
You are able to set a password for an event in the Event Password field. There are four different password modes that you can use which are:
- One specific password without any spaces
- A series of acceptable passwords which are typed in and separated by a tilde
- Anything is valid. If you type in ANYTHING (all caps) the system will read it as a special keyword and bring up the textbox for a user to input a password but anything they type in will be valid, including nothing.
- EPASSCODES (all caps) is a special keyword that brings up the password textbox and allows entry based on passcodes defined in an SQL table called EPASSCODES. This initially has to be setup by e-RegisterNow staff.
Click on the “Event Password(s)” hyperlink for more details.
e-RegisterNow also has the capability to do reserved seating events and the Reserved Seating section is used to set it up. Please contact e-RegisterNow staff for more information on how to setup Reserved Seating.
Moving onto the Event Pricing (Basic) tab, we start with the price of the event. You first input the cost of the event then you select which currency type you are working with either US Dollars or Candian Dollars. Note** You can only choose one currency type**. The price you input is the price including taxes. If taxes have been created and enabled a breakdown will appear on this page.
Next you select the payment frequency for the event. There are seven different payment frequency options which are:
- One-Time: The registrant is charged the event cost once.
- Monthly: The registrant is charged the event cost on a monthly basis. This is used for subscription services.
- 30 Days Free then Monthly: This is the same as Monthly but the registrant gets a free 30 day trial before they are charged on a monthly basis.
- Prorate/Prorate Daily: The event cost is based on how many days are left until the Event End Date. The registrant is charged the full amount at the start of the next cycle.
- Prorate Monthly: is the same thing as Prorate/Prorate Daily except it is based on how many days are in a month, not the whole year.
- Prepaid Monthly: The registrant pays for the month at the beginning of the month instead of at the end of it.
- Prepaid Annually: is the same as Prepaid Monthly except on a yearly scale.
For more details please click on the “Event Cost (including taxes)” hyperlink.
You also have the option to input a GL Account Number that is associated with you event to show how much the event made (See the Reports 1 video for more details). Whether a GL number that is input is an internal number or otherwise all revenue generated for THIS event will be associated with it. The GL number can be changed at any point in time, including after transactions have taken place. If a GL number is present and a GL report is generated the e-RegisterNow system will automatically pull out taxes for you.
If you would like to use the Revenue Analysis Report Variables in the C level these fields must have inputs. These are giving detailed titles to the reports and the more detail you put in, the more detailed your report will be.
The applicable taxes field is where you can attach any number of taxes to your event (See the Taxes video on how to enable taxes). The exempt a registrant under the age of 14 from all taxes menu allows you to exempt all registrants under the age of 14 from all taxes. In order for this option to be available, the registration form must ask the birthdate of the registrant. The field name for this custom question must be DOB.
You are also able to setup a deposit system by simply entering the amount you would like to collect as a deposit. The rest of the registrants payment will then show up in Tasks; Deferred Payments, this allows the rest of the payment to be collected at a later date. The Balance Payment Due field is the cutoff date for accepting deposits, after this date registrants have to pay the full amount when they are registering for your event. The Refund Amount box is where you enter the amount of the deposit to refund if someone cancels their registration. For example if you collect a $200 deposit but you charge a $5 admin fee if the customer wants a refund you input $195 in the box.
Next is the Mail/E-Mail tab, the first thing that you select in the email tab is if you would like to send a standard confirmation email or a custom confirmation email. If the standard confirmation email is used a generic email is sent out after successful completion of registration of THIS event. The standard email contains the registrants first and last names, the event name, how much they paid, how they paid, and the contact info you have setup in the preferences tab. The custom email can be customized with a special message for EACH individual event. In order to setup a custom email you need to make a text or HTML file and upload it to the system by going through Tools; File Upload. HTML gives you more customizability so they generally look better. If there are any attachments you wish to send with the email you do the same thing by uploading what the file will be called to the system. You are also able to CC yourself on the email. When a registrant registers for two or more events with different custom emails they will receive a confirmation email for each event. This ensures that they will receive all of the information that they need.If you cc yourself you will get a copy of every email sent out.
You can generate mailing labels in the C level. The switch here tells the system what to use either the registrants home address or their business address for THIS event if the question was asked on the registration form.
It is suggested to ask the [Emailbox] question twice to force the registrant to enter their email twice this helps to ensure that the registrant does not misspell their email due to human error. The confirm email boxx will not allow autofill which helps to ensure that the email is typed in correctly. If you want to ensure that every registrant has a unique email address you can enable the “Guarantee that people have unique emails for this event?” field. This however should never be used for ticketed events due to a customer possibly wanting to buy more than one ticket.
The e-card feature is used for people who are buying an event or ticket as a gift. The purchaser gets the receipt emailed to them while the attendee gets the e-card to their email. There is also an option to send a copy of the e-card to the sender as well.
Now we have to setup the Display Options for the step 1 page. The first thing you need to select is who can see the event on the step one page, either everyone or just the cashiers If you select cashiers only, the direct cashier login and the Step 2 direct link can access THIS event. This is a great way to hide the event from the public and send out a private link for early registration.
The promotion codes box is used to filter visible events by an answer the registrant gives on the step 1 page. This needs to initially be setup by e-RegisterNow staff because it involves specific html template file editing.
The Step 1 Selector is the way you would like your registrants to select the quantity of event registrations. You can use checkboxes, radio buttons, drop-down boxes, a text box to type in quantity, or nothing.
The step 1 url is a link that you can send to anyone to give direct access to the Step 1 page.
The next option is to select whether you would like the event to appear on the Step 1 Event Matrix at all, this includes cashiers. You need to select “Yes” to enable it on the Step 1 Matrix. You can change the Column Heading, Colour, and Column order very easily just by inputting values. The “URL for Matrix Display Name Link” is where you can put the URL to a page that you want the events display name to link to when clicked on. The Accelerator Number drop down menu is used to select whether you want accelerator numbers to appear which show the number of spaces left in real time.
Next we have the Display Options for Step 2 – 4. Any changes made within this tab are for the registration form to the receipt. All modifications that are made here only affect this specific event.
The direct step 2 Return URL is where you input a specific URL that you would like the built-in back button to go to. By default it goes to the page before it but you are able to change it to whatever you wish. It is recommended that you use the step 2 direct URL.
The “Display ‘Thanks’ Page instead of Payment Pages” option can only be used for $0 events. It is used so that there is no need to capture any credit card information. The Event Step 2 Direct URL is just like the one from step 1 except this URL immediately takes you to the registration page of this specific event bypassing the Step 1 page regardless of the event being open to the public or not. The Step 2 Direct link also only allows entry for THIS specific event.
The “Enable Step 2 Home Phone ‘Recall’” option enables a button on the step 2 page that allows a user to recall their information if they have registered with you through e-RegisterNow before and by inputting their phone number. This fills in the latest known information which may not be up to date.
The “Display Coupon Code box” is a switch that allows you to enable a text box on the step 2 page where your registrant can type in a coupon code. See the Coupons video on how to make coupon codes.
The “Display Event Cost” switch allows you to choose whether you would like the price of the event to appear on the step 2 page or not.
The “Display Editable Event Quantity” switch is used to select whether you would like your registrants to be able to edit the quantity of registrations after the step 1 page.
The “Display Regular Pricing Details” option breaks down the cost of the event on the final review page with the cost of the event, taxes etcetera.
Event Name Prefix/Suffix appends extra information about the event in the event list but does not affect the event name in the backend. An example of this could be something like “All Sales are Final” or “Price Includes Taxes”.
The “Display Date with Event Name” just enables the display of the date of the event under the event name.
The “Barcode Text: Include on Step4” field is where you select whether you would like the actual code of the barcode to be displayed under the barcode of every ticket sale.
The “Display the ‘Register Another’ button” and the “Display the ‘Repeat’ button” is where you can enable the appearance of these buttons. The Register Another button allows you to register another person in the same transaction for a different event, and the repeat button is the same but for a different person for the same event.
The note boxes is where you can input small blurbs of information you would like your registrants to see while they are registering for this specific event. There is a Top, Middle, and Bottom note box. You can input plain text or html in the note box or in Edit; Preferences; step 2 page there are 10 note box spots where you can pre fill information. If the registrant selects two events and they happen to use different note boxes, the note boxes will stack on top of each other.
Moving onto the Event Pricing (Advanced) tab. This tab is where you can enable certain discounts like Early Registration, Group/Family Discounts, and Nth Registrant Group Discounts. Please see the coupons video in the cashiers course for how these discounts work.
This tab is also where you can edit the button name that appears in the Box Office program. This is also what appears as the column header in the e-Ticket Mailing List.
Next is the Event Groups/Collections tab. The Event Group Settings is where you can setup a discount if a registrant purchases two or more events in the same event group. To do this you type in the group name and select the coupon you wish to have applied. You type in the exact same group name in every one of your events that are a part of the group.
The Event Collection Settings is where you can setup a discount if a registrant purchases all events within a collection. Contact e-RegisterNow for setup.
Last in the Event Settings tab we have Portal/Membership. This tab is where you set an event up to sell a membership type. Note***The initial setup of the portal and declaring types of memberships require the help of e-RegisterNow staff. Within “Portal Account” is where you can say that there can only be one email address per Active portal account. This ensures that two people can’t sign up with the same email address. You also select which C-Level account is associated with the portal.
In membership settings is where you select which membership type this event is selling. Again the initial setup of this requires the assistance of e-RegisterNow staff.
The next main header tab is Applicable Coupons. This tab is where you select which coupons are associated with this specific event. You are able to add to and remove coupons from association by checking or unchecking the box in the left column and clicking “Save Changes”. You need to make a coupon for it to appear here, please see the coupons video on how to do this.
Next there is the Conflicting Events tab. This tab allows you to check off events that have timing conflicts. After the conflicting events are checked off the e-RegisterNow system will automatically recognize that a registrant cannot attend both events so it will not allow the registrant to buy both events.
Lastly, there is the E-Ticket Settings tab. The first thing that you need to do is to turn on e-Tickets by checking off the “Create an E-Ticket Series for this event” box and clicking save changes. This will enable the issuing of a barcode for tickets sold. The Eticket series should but doesn’t have to have the same name as the event. Everytime the event is registered for a barcode is generated. You also have to attach an e-Ticket template file. See the e-Ticket template file video for more information.
Lastly if an event is not being displayed on step 1 please double check these five things before contacting e-RegisterNow staff.
- Check that the event is enabled
- Make sure that the registration period is open
- Check that the event is visible to everyone
- Make sure that the event is set to display on the step 1 display matrix.
- Make sure the event is not merged with the other event by having the same Event Matrix Display Name and Matrix Column Heading
Read More:
An API for Online Event Registration