Registration Knowledgebase
Registration Knowledgebase
Your race starts with registration which has far more complexities and options than many people have considered.
On this page we will share what we've learned from decades in setting up registration and conducting packet pick up for races from tiny to huge.
We want this information to be helpful even if you choose a different registration provider!
Since no two races are exactly alike, our recommendations may differ from race to race, and when that occurs, we will do our best to explain the differences to help guide you to the best decision for your event.
- Using the registration company you receive your race fees periodically, no merchant account set up is required.
- Using your merchant account you receive all charge funds immediately, and you also retain any difference between the processing fees collected and the processing fees paid out to the registration company and the charge processor.
- Setting up a merchant account with Stripe is simple, free, and no monthly fees are incurred if no charges are processed.
- Your race fees are in your account accruing interest immediately.
- Charge processing fees are deducted before the money is transferred out so the only additional step is paying the invoice from EDS which is typically sent following the closing registration.
- You retain any overage between the amount of the fees and the amount charged the customer.
- Example: $100 race charge + $3.50 + 5.5% fee = $109 charged to customer.
- Stripe charge cost: $0.30 + $3.16 (2.9%) = $3.46 charge cost.
- Race retains $9 - $3.46 - $3.50 = $2.04 or ~2% revenue stream.
- EDS registration fee is $3.50 and includes packet pick up automation, but what you charge the customer for processing fees is set by the race, so you control the revenue stream amount.
- No additional set up required, all race fees are forwarded on demand, typically after registration closes but can be put on a weekly or monthly schedule if preferred.
The Choice:
Use the merchant account of the race registration company or use your merchant account to collect charge revenue.
The Difference:
Using EDS's Merchant Account:
Our Observation:
For most races, setting up your merchant account in Stripe is a very simple process and the extra income stream benefits the race as well, but is not right for every race, organization, and situation.
Our Recommendation:
We recommend using the Stripe account where possible!
The Choice:
Processing fees can be either additive or inclusive.
The Difference:
- Additive is the most common and that is where the fees are added on the race price.
- Inclusive is where they are included in the race price so the price the customer pays is fixed.
- Additive fees are normal and are looked at like sales tax and shipping fees and in are most cases expected and not perceived in a negative light by the customer.
- Inclusive fees are generally positively viewed by the customer, but they lower the net income to the race.
Our Observation:
Since most races use additive fees and they are a normal part of most online transactions, most customers aren't able to accurately assess the difference between the two, so a race that nets the same income to the race organizer looks more expensive to the customer and may actually cause the customer to go with a different race due to the perceived price difference.
Our Recommendation:
Additive fees present your race in the most competitive light for pricing purposes. Even if your processing fees are higher, most customers make their race decision based on the price of the race, and not the total price that they pay.
The Choice:
Race prices can be set at a fixed rate or set to go up periodically.
The Difference:
- Fixed race prices are simpler to set up, but don't encourage early registration and can make some logistic more complex.
- Tiered pricing encourages earlier registration by offering a lower price to do so.
- Tiered pricing not only brings in more income earlier, it also helps simplify some race logistics such as shirt and aid station reply orders.
- Fixed price races very typically pick up over half of the registrations in the last week or two before the race.
- Using tiered pricing shifts income earlier and also makes estimating needs for t-shirts, aid station supplies and other race logistics more predictable by using the early registration rate to reasonably predict the final race size.
- Using a price tier with a t-shirt size guarantee cut off date prevents large unexpected shortages and overages of race t-shirts which increase both customer satisfaction and race profitability.
Our Observation:
Tiered pricing has a lot of upside with virtually no down sides other than increased complexity of set up.
Our Recommendation:
We strongly recommend using tiered pricing to make things go both smoother and more profitably.
EDS Suggested Structure & Strategy:
Early Bird Pricing - Start here, market hard.
Normal Pricing - Start 1 to 4 weeks after registration opens.
Late Pricing - Start at t-shirt order deadline date, clearly state t-shirt size not guaranteed for registrations after this date.
Race Day Pricing - Race day only (optional, can help lock in last minute logistical purchases of race supplies).
Use this template to set up your pricing tiers and email to registration@eventdatasolutions.com.
About Waivers:
Race waivers protect you and your organization in case something goes wrong, they can also be helpful in educating your race participants of the rules and policies of company, organization or event. On your registration form, waivers must agreed to with a check box or initials to acknowledge acceptance of the waiver.
Disclaimer:
We're not attorneys, (and we don't play one on TV... 😉) , so please make sure you have your waivers reviewed by an attorney prior to opening up registration.
Types of Waivers:
Race Waiver
This is an absolute must have, this protects the race in case someone is accidentally injured while participating in your event. To get started you can find many existing waivers online which you can adapt for your race, and we STRONGLY recommend review by an attorney before opening registration.
Minimum Age Waiver
This is usually initialed and is an acknowledgement of the participant being under the legal age of consent and initialed by someone over the age of consent who is legally permitted to grant consent for that participant.
Refund and Transfer Policies
This can be included in the main waiver, but for clarity (since these are typically the most commonly occurring type of issue that arises), we recommend it be a separate waiver and acknowledgment on the registration form.
Disputed Results Policy
We also recommend including a waiver, either separately or as a part of the main waiver, that covers how the race will deal when someone disputes the results as posted in the race's official scoring. This is typically a fairly rare occurrence, but making this clear beforehand allows those who are concerned with these types of matters to take the proper steps to have the correct documentation to challenge the official results if needed. Most commonly, this means providing GPS tracks to document that the entire course was covered or photographic evidence of presence on the course at a particular time. An added benefit of this type of waiver is that it shifts the responsibility of proving the race was completed properly to the participant instead of placing the burden on the race to prove that it did not occur properly.
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