Five ways to collect payments when using online registration.

Using online registration has many advantages for event planners and event
participants. This is especially true when an online registration system can
help deal with collecting event fees. There are several different payment
options to consider when setting up your online registration system and each has
advantages and disadvantages for different types of events. Below is a list of
five different payment processing options.

Five ways to collect payments using online registration:

Cash

Cash is not the most common option for dealing with event fees when using online
registration, but it does have its place. If there is a small fee to attend an
event that can easily be collected at the door, allowing people to pay by cash
can be a good option. When people register, the total owing will be calculated
based on what selections they make and recorded in the database. Participants
will usually be reminded how much they owe in a confirmation email. Event
planners are able to print a payments report to take to the event showing how
much each person owes.

Advantages

Easy to set up.
Will allow people without credit cards to register.

Disadvantages

“No shows” may increase if people have not prepaid.
Collecting the money, making change and writing receipts may create
line ups at the event.

Cheque

Pay by cheque works in a similar way as cash except the system will
usually tell participants who to make the cheque out to and where to
mail it. The online database will show event planners who will be
sending a cheque and for how much. As the cheques arrive the event
planner can update the database with the paid amounts.

Advantages

Easy to set up.
Can collect payments before the event to make sure people
attend.
Good if you expect some people don’t have credit cards or if you
are dealing with businesses whose accounting departments prefer to
pay by cheque.

Manual labour is involved to cash cheques and update the
online database.
Risk of cheques bouncing.
If registrations are permitted to come in up until the a few
days before an event some people’s cheques could be “in the
mail” when the event takes place.

Participants know right away if their card is accepted.
Event planners are assured the participant has paid and
doesn’t have to follow up on bad cheques, or decline credit
card numbers.
Very little labour is required as funds are deposited
directly into the event planners account and the online
payment report is automatically updated.

Setup time can be several weeks by the time the
necessary accounts are opened.
There are fees to pay the bank, the gateway company
(the company between the bank and the online
registration vendor that is required to facilitate the
transaction) and the online registration vendor.

Can use an existing standard merchant account.
Quick and easy to set up.
Bank fees can be lower and no gateway company is
required.

Requires manual labour to process the
transaction and to update the database.
Event planners may get some declined cards
and have to send time contacting participants to
collect payment.

Allows people who need an invoice to
still use the online registration system.
Saves event planners a lot of time as
they don’t have to create and mail the
invoices.

Not as efficient as using credit
card transactions, but may be necessary
depending on the participants
registering.

Disadvantages

Credit Cards – Automatic

Credit cards are probably the method most people are familiar
with when using online registration. Participants enter their
credit card information and click “submit” to start the
processing. If the transaction is approved, funds are
automatically transferred to the event planner’s account, the
database is updated with the status of the transaction and the
participant receives an emailed receipt.

Advantages

Disadvantages

Credit Cards – Manual

A variation on automatic credit card processing that
you may want to consider is to securely collect credit
card details online and send them to the event planner
without processing the transaction at the time of
registration. When this type of service is used the
event planner processes the credit card the same way
they would if obtained via fax or mail using a standard
merchant account. Although this system is more labour
intensive, it can be more cost effective than automatic
processing for smaller events while still getting a firm
commitment from participants. Once processed the online
payment report can be updated in the same way as with
cheques.

Advantages

Disadvantages

Request an invoice

Before issuing a cheque, some companies may
require an invoice for accounting purposes. This
can be added as a payment option on the online
registration form.
When a person selects “request an invoice” and
submits their registration, they will have an
electronic invoice detailing the transaction
emailed to them. They can then print the email
or simply forward it to the appropriate people.
The online payment report will show who has been
invoiced, including the amounts owing. Again,
event planners can update the report when the
payment is received.

Advantages

Disadvantages

Please feel free to contact us if you have any
questions or comments about this article.

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