MotorsportReg.com Blog | Features (8)

Give Up the Dark Side- No More Printing Entry Forms

November 22, 2013 by Jennifer Ghidinelli

We received this lovely letter from one of our long-time customers Sherry Grantz from SCCA San Francisco Region. We're sharing it in hopes it will inspire you to turn away from the dark side...

Topics: Features

Keep Registration Flowing with our Check-in Tool

August 9, 2013 by Stacy King

Attendee: Hi, my name is Jim Wilk…
Registration volunteer: Wilkerson, James … you’re registered for two days of HPDE as well as time trials for Saturday only right?
Attendee: Um, well… yeah, that’s me!
Registration volunteer: Great, glad you made it here safely! I see that you’re all paid up, just sign the waiver and you’re good to go to head on over to tech.
Attendee: That’s it? But I just got here! I was expecting a small social while everyone waited in line to get checked in. Now I can relax a bit… you guys are the BEST!

Wouldn’t that be nice? Well… it IS when you use MotorsportReg.com’s Check-in feature!

Topics: Features

Registration Form Co-Drivers, Text & Photos

August 13, 2013 by Brian Ghidinelli

View of a team created by Co-Driver Picker For the past few weeks we have been quietly testing some enhancements to the registration form. Co-Driver Pickers, while not glamorously named, let attendees indicate when they are sharing a vehicle with another participant so you, as the organizer know about it. Text Blocks, one of the form layout options, let you embed rich text including links and photos anywhere on the registration form for more descriptive text and endless merchandising opportunities.

Topics: Features

Pit Stop- Restricting Visibility Date

August 9, 2013 by Ann Boss Maycock

Q: When should I use the Restrict Visibility by Date function on the Form Layout?

A: You ONLY need to use that function when you have an item on the Registration Form Layout that you want to show up for a limited period of time. A good example of when you want to use this feature is a late fee that you want to kick in 5 days before online registration closes.

You do NOT need to have the visibility of every item on the Registration Form Layout restricted by date if the items are available for the same time period registration is open. This creates issues and extra work when the event is cloned and the dates need to be updated.

You can find examples and more information in our help documentation found here.

Topics: Features

Encourage Early Registrations by Charging Credit Cards Later

August 12, 2013 by Jennifer Ghidinelli

Tired of writing those refund checks? How about dealing with all of the checks and cash you get at your event? We can think of much better things to do than standing in line at the bank! That’s why we developed deferred payment processing and why it’s one of the most powerful features on MotorsportReg.com.

Deferred payment processing allows you to collect payment information at the time of registration but not charge the account until a later date. It’s similar to making a hotel reservation. The attendee puts their card on file and “reserves” a spot at your event. And at the time of your choosing, you charge the card. You can charge the card when confirming a registration, after your cancel cutoff date, the day of the event or even the day after the event. You have 100% control. This feature is part of our Premium Plan.

It is especially attractive to organizations who offer liberal refund policies like programs where any driver who doesn't turn a wheel is entitled to a full refund. With deferred payment processing, you simply don't charge their account, eliminating the need to process refunds.

Attendees love this feature too! For them, there’s no penalty for signing up for an event (especially if they have cash flow concerns). And based on our statistics, on average, attendees sign up 7 days earlier for events offering deferred payment processing than not.

So what are you waiting for? Stop standing in line at the bank and start using deferred payment processing!

Topics: Features

Pit Stop- Cancellation Fees and Negative Packages

August 14, 2013 by Ann Boss Maycock

Q: I refunded an attendee’s payment, less a $30 cancellation fee, per our policy. How do I account for that the difference in the amount they paid and the amount that I refunded to them?

A: You can create a Cancellation Fee package to apply to the registration when an attendee cancels. Then you refund them all but the amount of the cancellation fee. Here are the steps to do that:

Topics: FAQ, Features

Webinar Recap- More Automation with Validation Rules

August 14, 2013 by Jennifer Ghidinelli

In our last webinar on validation rules, we showed our attendees just how easy it is to use this powerful tool. This feature allows you to do a wide variety of things, but the most common examples (and the ones we demonstrated in the webinar) are:

Require valid membership or prevent non-members from registering

Require guest names for additional tickets for social events

Enforce race compliance fees

Verify that a race transponder is on file

Setup a password protected section of your registration form for special "bonuses, " and

Enforce base and indexed/PAX classes for auto cross.

In case you missed it, you can find the recording of the webinar here.

If you want to be notified of upcoming webinars, sign up below.

Topics: Features, Webinar

Webinar Reminder- More Automation with Validation Rules

August 14, 2013 by Jennifer Ghidinelli

There's still room to register for our upcoming webinar on mastering validation rules! These rules help steer your attendees through your registration form and remove unnecessary work on the back end.

They are most commonly used for:

Enforcing race compliance fees

Requiring valid membership or preventing non-members from registering

Enforce base and indexed/PAX classes for auto cross

Verifying that a race transponder is on file

Checking the vehicle make for marque-specific events

Making sure guest names are filled out for additional tickets

And more!

If you want to learn more, join our free webinar:

More Automation with Validation Rules
Friday, April 19th
10am PST/1pm EST
We'll teach you everything you need to know!

Topics: Features, Webinar

Webinar: More Automation with Validation Rules

August 12, 2013 by Jennifer Ghidinelli

Ever get frustrated with your attendees because they don't read your registration form and ignore all your directions? Good news, setting up validation rules can help steer them down the right path and save you time. Bad news, we still haven't cracked the code on making your attendees read what's in front of them!

Validation rules are a powerful way of checking for registration conditions and taking action. A broad selection of rules let you enforce specific rules and policies with great precision. They are most commonly used for:

Enforcing race compliance fees

Requiring valid membership or preventing non-members from registering

Enforcing base and indexed/PAX classes for auto-cross

Verifying that a race transponder is on file

Checking the vehicle make for marque-specific events

Making sure guest names are filled out for additional tickets

And more!

If you want to learn more, join our free webinar:

More Automation with Validation Rules
Friday, April 19th
10am PST/1pm EST

We'll teach you everything you need to know!

Topics: Features, Webinar

Pit Stop- Fixed-Answer List Event Questions

August 12, 2013 by Ann Boss Maycock

photo by Bambi851 @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/bambi851/

Q: What type of question should I use on the registration form to get the data I need to make decisions about my event?

A: To make your data collection more fool-proof and increase the likelihood of getting the information you are after, consider using an event question that has a fixed-answer list. This question format has a pick-list of pre-determined responses rather than allowing free-form text answers.

Here's an example: Let's say you are tying to gauge the level of experience a driver has so that you can assign them to the correct run group and determine whether or not they need an instructor. If you simply ask what their driving experience is, you'll get answers that are all over the map because the attendee isn't sure what you're looking for. Their answers might range from "I started driving when I was 12" to "I've done a lot of track days and I autocross regularly".

A more accurate way to capture the decision-making data you need is to set some parameters around the responses you are seeking. In the example above, you might set up a fixed-answer list that looks like this:

How many track days have you participated in during the last 18 months?

0-1 track days
2-5 track days
6-10 track days
11+ track days

These responses will give you quantifiable data in order to assign run groups and instructors. You can find instructions on setting up a question with a fixed-answer list in our help section

Topics: Features, Pit Stop