An event is a single happening that has a start date, end date, and a location. An event is the starting point for creating both online registration forms and websites. All registrations belong to an event, which makes event setup the foundation of both registrations and registration reports.
The Event List is the page you see when you log in to Certain. The Event List is where you click on an Event to manage it and view registrants for the event.
The first page you see when accessing an event is the Event Dashboard. The Event Dashboard includes setup options and summary data about registrants.
Certain provides instructions for creating events for three ways to get started creating your first event.
Certain recommends the following process to successfully configure an event:
| Step 1: Configure event details | Step 2: Create forms and customize | Step 3: Add optional components | | --- | --- | --- | | Event Details Primary Location or Venue Primary Registration Contact Attendee Types Event Questions Custom Registration Statuses Configure Event Settings | Profile (collect personal data) Attendee Types (determine how registrants choose or are placed in attendee types) Questions (collect additional information about attendees) Verify (enable attendees to verify and/or edit their information) Confirmation (provides attendees with final data on their registration) | Agenda (establish an agenda that attendees can browse and select from) Payment (how will attendees pay if they need to?) Accommodation (enable attendees to reserve a hotel room) Additional Registrations (enable attendees to register other attendees) Logic (create conditional rules that cause things to happen on the form or behind the scenes) Custom HTML (displays additional optional messages on the form) |
After configuring the event, publish the forms.
Publishing forms has several options:
- Post links to the forms on your public Website.
- Create a Website inside of Certain to market your event.
- Email a link to your registration form to potential attendees.
Event Setup
An event has a start and end date and status. The event status determines whether the event is in testing mode or is accepting live registrations. The event status also tracks when the event physically takes place.
Basic event setup also includes choosing which Functional areas are needed for the event. Functional areas are enabled or disabled depending on which features are needed to run the event.
For instance, if an event does not need to collect fees, the Finance and E-commerce modules can be disabled. Basic event setup is configured on the Plan > Configure > Options page.
Modify basic event settings (details)Location / Venue
Each event can be assigned a primary venue. The primary venue can be unique to the event. The primary venue can also come from the account's database of previously used suppliers.
The event's primary venue is defined on the Plan > Event Setup > Details page.
Registration Contact
Each event can be assigned a registration contact. A planner can select a registration contact from the account's list. A planner can also add a new registration contact to that list as part of assigning that contact.
The registration contact is done under 'Contact' on the Plan >Event Setup > Detail page.
Attendee Types
Registrations for an event are divided into one or more attendee types. Attendee types can include attendee, sponsor, guest, employee, etc.
Attendee types are created and modified on the Plan > Event Setup > Attendee Types page.
On the Attendee Types page, the planner can:
- Select an attendee type from the ones available to the event, or create a new one.
- Modify the attendee type, default status, and confirmation text.
- Set limits on the number of registrations in this attendee type for both the event and a single order.
- Assign date-based registration and cancellation fees for the attendee type.
- Designate a passcode to the attendee type and send it to all invitees of that type.
- Enter projected amounts for all attendee type fees, which are used in budget reports.
Registration Status
Registrations in an event can be tracked by their status.
Registration status includes standard values:
- Requested Invitation
- Waitlist Hold
- Invited
- Request Denied
- Invitation Sent
- Pre-registered
- Declined Invitation
- Cancelled
- No-show
- Attended
In addition, custom registration statuses can be created for each event. Custom registration statuses are created on the Plan > Configuration > Status page.
Modify the event's registration statuses (details)Custom Questions
An event may contain up to 30 custom questions. Custom question answers are stored for each registration in that event.
Custom questions should collect information that is specific to the event only. Questions that have prices or inventory limits should be set up as agenda items.
Questions whose answers describe a person, that do not change that much over time, and are not event-specific should be set up as custom profile questions.
Custom registration questions are created and modified on the Configuration tab > Questions sub-tab.
On the Questions sub-tab, the planner can:
- View, reorder, and remove questions in the custom question list.
- Modify the custom questions.
An event has 60 custom questions available to it. 30 custom questions are custom profile questions. 30 custom questions are custom registration questions.
Custom profile questions are set up for an account. All events in that account use the same 30 custom profile questions.
Each event can have its own distinct 30 custom registration questions. Custom registration questions contain event-specific information.
Create and modify custom registration questions (details) The difference between profiles and registrationsHow to set up custom profile information for an account
Agenda Items
An event may have many agenda items. Agenda items occur between the start and end dates.
Agenda items may include breakout sessions, optional activities, meals, guest programs, classes, speaker engagements, etc.
Agenda Items are created on the Plan > Event Setup > Agenda page.
On the Agenda page, the planner can:
- Edit existing agenda items or create a new ones.
- Modify the name, online label, and description of the agenda item.
- Manage agenda items by grouping them by Location, Track, or Session/Group.
- Limit how many registrants can select an agenda item by assigning it an inventory.
- Assign date-based and time-based registration and cancellation fees.
- Assign CEU credits to the item.
- Enter projected amounts for all agenda item fees, which are used in budget reports.
> Note: If a Certain edition includes Speaker and Session Management features, the event uses "sessions" instead of "agenda items". > See Manage > Speakers and Sessions > Sessions.
Payment Processing
Events that involve online payment processing from the attendees must be assigned an e-commerce account. An e-commerce account lets the system know where to direct the payments received.
Set up an e-commerce account to accept payments online Assign an e-commerce account to an eventAccommodation
Accommodation reservations, including room block and sub-block management, are set up on the Plan > Accommodation page.
On the Plan > Accommodation page, the planner can:
- Create or modify hotels, room types, and room night inventory limits.
- Create or modify accommodation blocks and sub-blocks.
- Select housing options to ask of registrants.
- Enter optional fees and projected numbers.
Room Sharing and Roommate Matching
Registrants can be enabled or required to share hotel rooms with other registrants if the event includes that requirement.
The Room Sharing and Roommate Matching module provides elements that can be shown on the Accommodation pages of the form. The Room Sharing and Roommate Matching module also provides Roommate Matching functionality that is accessed from the Accommodation area.
Potential roommates can:
- Select housing options to ask of registrants.
- Input roommate matching criteria requirements.
For example, only attendees of the same gender may room together.
Setup Room Sharing and Roommate Matching (details)Online Display Settings
Each event can have its own custom online display. Custom online display defines the overall look and feel of both Websites and online forms.
Online display settings are modified on the Settings tab > Display sub-tab.
The display settings area enables the planner to:
- Upload an image for the event.
- Create custom headers and footers for the page display.
- Select the page alignment, width, and layout.
- Select font faces, colors, and sizes.
- Add custom HTML shells for advanced users with HTML knowledge only.