Frequently Asked Questions

Please contact us if you feel anything should be added here.

Table of Contents

Setting up events

How do group bookings work?

Groups are not defined beforehand. When the first person in a group registers a special link is used to link the next registration to that same group. Therefore, if someone else is to register within this group the first person needs to send this link to the other people in the group. Group bookings are still individual bookings all with their individual information and answers to custom questions as well as individual emails.

The only difference from normal bookings is that there will be a linkage between bookings for the purpose of paying for all of them in one payment transaction. If room assignments are used the system will also default to putting these people in the same room. There are no extra "group" features involved.

This group feature is also useful if you have multiple people who should all should register with almost the same details, eg. a family. The system will automatically prefill subsequent bookings with information from the first booking, so all you have to enter is the name change.

How do I set up booking of accommodation rooms?

There are multiple ways of doing this, depending on your needs and goals.

One booking will be only for one person:
- You'll need to choose one of two scenarios:
  1. People book just one bed in the type of room they choose (= multiple bookings share a room, so possibly with a stranger)
    - Create custom field where they select the type of room they want to stay in, and specify the price for that.
  2. People book a whole room and need to pay for the full room.
    - Create custom field where they can select the room, and specify the price of the entire room. Other people staying in the same room need to be able to select an option saying something like "Staying with someone else".
- To assign people to specific rooms you can use Room Assignments on My Events. After bookings are made, you as organizer can assign people to rooms. See also FAQ section on Room Assignments.
- To make it easier for families when each person need to make their own booking, it can be helpful to use the grouped bookings feature.
One booking can be for multiple people:
- See Multiple people per booking.
- Room Assignments on My Events is not very useful under this circumstance as it assumes 1 booking = 1 person.

How are discount codes/coupons generated?

You generate the discount codes yourself. You can set a fixed price for the given code (incl. paying nothing), or you can set a fixed discount or a percentage discount to apply to the total amount to be paid for that booking. With custom pricing logic you can calculate any type of discount to be applied.

You can also set a discount code within the options of a custom field which will allow people who use that discount code to pay a different price for that particular option than other people do.

Can settings and custom fields be changed once we open for bookings?

Some things can be changed but you want to give the same options to all your participants. Prices and the basic structure of your custom fields should be properly in place before you open for booking. You should not open for booking without having figured out all the questions you need to ask. Minor things like adding a option to a list will be possible though.

Can I do test bookings without being logged in as organizer?

Yes, you can set the event as active (first field under Basic Event Settings) and make sure that the booking opening date is set to a future date. Then on the My Events page you will have a special link you can give to anyone who should be able to see and make a booking before the opening date.

How to add links and images in HTML? — An HTML Crash Course...

Some fields allow you to put in HTML which allows you to add links, images, and other formatting - for example in custom field descriptions. Where possible we provide a rich text editor to aid in formatting your text. If you need to know the HTML here are some examples:

Link that opens in same tab: <a href="https://yoursite.com">More information</a>
Link that opens in new tab: <a href="https://yoursite.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">More information</a>
Image: <img src="https://yoursite.com/image.jpg" alt="Description of the image goes here">
Bold and italic text: Bold text, Italic text (Bold text, Italic text)
Text size: This text is twice as large, This text is smaller and bold
Colored text: Green text (see possible color names here)
Line-break (new line):  
Bullet points/lists
Tables — To nicely format a table you can add these classes to the <table> tag: <table class="table table-striped bs-auto-width">

If you don't have access to a website where you can put images and documents you can upload files via the Media Manager (access from My Events). To get the link (called a URL) to use in your HTML right-click the file and choose Show URL.

Managing bookings

How do I delete a booking of someone who has already paid?

Edit the booking and go to the Payment section.
Click Undo next to the payment received notice.
Click X next to the payment(s).
Click Delete in the top of page to delete the booking.

How do I register that we have received the parental letter?

On My Events page click Bookings and search for the participant and edit the record.
Put the date you received the letter in the field "Parental letter received".

How is limited participant capacity managed?

The system will keep a count of how many people have registered, and the number of remaining seats can optionally be visible on the booking form. When the limit has been reached the booking form will inform people that the event is full. You can alternatively enable a waiting list so that people can still register after the event is full. They will be clearly informed that they are entering a waiting list and will be notified if space becomes available. The system will show you as an organizer when there is available space and you manually activate people from the waiting list - in which case they'll receive an email about the booking having been activated. You can also override the limit by activating people even if the system says there is no space.

The system can also allow waiting list registrations after the booking period has ended.

Payments

How do I register a payment we have received?

For bank transfers (also called wire transfers) you need to manually register when the participant has paid.

Login with the login you have been given.
On My Events page click Bookings and search for the participant, either by name, or by browsing through the list.
In the Payment column click Bank.
Fill out at least amount received and received by (your name or initials).
If you want to you can fill out the payment reference with any kind of information/reference to the specific payment.
Click the Save button.

How often are payment reminders sent if booking is not paid immediately?

Payment reminders only sent if Cancel unpaid booking after X days is set in the Payment section of the Basic Event Settings. Otherwise you need to manually send them by exporting non-paid bookings from under Bookings, or selecting the Non-paid filter in the email list report.
One email is sent right after the booking has been made.
Another email is sent 4 days before they have been told the money must have been received. If they have been given less than 6 days to pay it will be sent 1 day before though.
- The email will be resent every 7 days until the booking is either paid or canceled.
The booking is not automatically canceled until after the additional grace days have passed.
A partially paid booking is never automatically canceled though. Payment reminders will just be continually sent according to the schedule. If action should be taken organizer needs to do that manually.

Can payments be offered to be paid in multiple installments?

Yes, if bank transfers or check payments are used, you can offer participants to pay an initial downpayment within a number of days after booking, and then the remaining amount as one or more installments at certain dates. You need to manually information them about the conditions and rules for this in text on the payment page.

You do this by manually adjusting the event setting Cancel Condition to a required amount or percentage as you reach each of the installment deadline dates. Payment reminders will starting sending again late in the evening when the condition is changed.

The rules for payment reminders and automatic cancelations will apply as normal until the Cancel Condition has been met.

A partially paid booking is never automatically canceled though. Payment reminders will just be continually sent according to the schedule. If action should be taken organizer needs to do that manually.

Can the payments be in mixed currencies, eg. in both Euros and Dollars?

By experience we know this ends up being difficult and confusing to handle — partly because with conversions you will not have precise amounts and it will be difficult for the system to know when a booking is fully paid. The best we can do is to show the amounts on the payment page for bank transfers in multiple currencies — see documentation for Advanced Configuration. When registering the received payments you will need to do the conversion yourself and enter it in the event currency though. As far as the system goes it should only deal with one currency.

How is the fee to RegisterSeat being charged?

After the event is over we look at the total amount registered for all bookings and send out a separate invoice for that. It must be paid within 7 days.

Barcodes

Is it possible to use barcodes for registering participants on arrival?

Yes, you can buy a simple USB barcode scanner and plug it into the laptop and use it to scan the barcode participants bring on their printed booking confirmation. Keep in mind that it is usually a challenge to have participants remember to print and bring a printout even when you ask them to.

We also have an app available called Barcode Scanner Terminal (Android only, not free) that you could use instead of a USB scanner.

We recommend using barcodes of the type Code128 as more devices will be able to read them. Eg. a simple USB scanner you purchase will not be able to read QR codes.

Is it possible to use barcodes for other scenarios, like access to dining hall?

Yes, there are two ways of doing this. Either you can use a scanner plugged into a laptop and use the Barcode lists feature you have under Tools on the My Events page. For example you create a list of barcodes for each meal.

If you don't have a need for multiple scanners/checkpoints you can alternatively use our app Barcode Scanner Terminal (Android only, not free). It requires a bit of technical know-how to set up as you will need to export all the valid barcodes to a file (one for each meal for example). This file you import into the app and you can then use nothing but this app at the door where you scan people eg. for entering the dining hall. App documentation can be found here. Note that there is currently not a way to export the scanned list back into registerseat.com.

Room Assignments

How does room assignments work?

Once people start signing up you will be able to manually assign the participants to different rooms that you create on-the-fly.

There is no setup to be done before people start registering, and the participants themselves cannot choose their own rooms other than by letting you know of their requests in a custom field or in the comment field. See also How do group bookings work?.