Event Management System

What an event management system consists of

Think of the system as a database with jobs attached. Each job is a module. Not every event needs every module, but each one answers a question you will face:

• Registration and ticketing

  Who is coming, what they paid and what they chose. This module creates the attendee record the others depend on.

• Program and speakers

  The agenda: sessions, tracks, rooms and speakers, published to the website and the app.

• Communication

  Confirmation emails, invitations, reminders and push notifications, sent to the right segment at the right time.

• Exhibitors and sponsors

  Floor plans, booth sales, exhibitor details and the sponsor packages that fund the event.

• Onsite operations

  Check-in, badges, session scanning and walk-in registration on the day.

• Engagement

  Live Q&A, polls, networking and gamification, in the app or the virtual platform.

• Reporting and integrations

  Dashboards and exports, plus connections to your CRM, email tool, payment gateway and website.

How this guide differs from the other event management pages

We have three pages on neighboring questions, so you can go straight to the one you need:

• What event management is

  The discipline: the stages from planning to follow-up and who does the work.

  Event management guide

• How to choose software

  What to compare across vendors: features, fees, onsite needs, integrations and support.

  How to choose event management software

• This page

  The system's anatomy: modules, data flow, how to implement it and a requirements checklist.

How data flows through the system

The reason to use one system instead of five tools is that data entered once is used everywhere. Follow one attendee through an event and you can see where a break in the chain costs you time:

How to implement an event management system, step by step

Implementation is mostly decisions, not installation. Allow several weeks before your next event, and avoid switching systems in the weeks before a big one.

1. 1

   List your events and the pain

   Write down what you run, how often, how big and where time is lost today: re-typing, queues, late reports.

2. 2

   Write requirements

   Use the checklist below to separate must-haves from nice-to-haves, and note what your team already uses.

3. 3

   Shortlist and demo

   Ask each vendor to demonstrate one of your real events, not a generic one.

4. 4

   Decide who owns the system

   Name an owner for the data, the settings and the user accounts, so there is one answer to every question.

5. 5

   Connect your other tools

   Set up the payment gateway, CRM, email list and single sign-on before building anything.

6. 6

   Build one event end to end

   Create the event, registration, program and communication, and test the whole path with real test orders.

7. 7

   Train the team and rehearse onsite

   Everyone who touches the door, the app or the data practices with the real equipment.

8. 8

   Run, review and improve

   After the first event, compare results with the goals, fix the settings and make the build a template for the next.

An event management system requirements checklist

Write this down before demos. Mark each line must-have, nice-to-have or not needed, so every vendor is judged on the same list.

EVENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Organization: [Name]   Prepared by: [Name]   Date: [Date]
Events per year: [Number]   Typical size: [Attendees]   Formats: [In-person / virtual / hybrid]
Mark each line: MUST / NICE / NOT NEEDED

REGISTRATION AND TICKETING
[ ] Branded registration page  [MUST / NICE / NOT NEEDED]
[ ] Free, paid and donation tickets
[ ] Promo codes and waitlists
[ ] Refunds and changes
[ ] Payment gateway we use: [Name]

PROGRAM AND APP
[ ] Sessions, tracks, rooms and speakers
[ ] Personal agendas
[ ] Event app with our branding
[ ] Push notifications

COMMUNICATION
[ ] Email campaigns from templates
[ ] Segments by ticket type or answers
[ ] Integration with: [Email tool]

EXHIBITORS AND SPONSORS
[ ] Floor plan and booth sales
[ ] Exhibitor details and lead capture
[ ] Sponsor packages

ONSITE
[ ] QR check-in on phones or tablets
[ ] Self-service kiosks
[ ] Badge printing on: [Printer model]
[ ] Offline check-in
[ ] Walk-in registration

ENGAGEMENT
[ ] Live Q&A and polls
[ ] Networking or matchmaking
[ ] Surveys after the event

VIRTUAL AND HYBRID
[ ] Virtual sessions with recording
[ ] Hybrid schedule

DATA AND INTEGRATIONS
[ ] CRM: [Name]
[ ] Single sign-on: [Provider]
[ ] Exports of attendees, orders and leads
[ ] Who owns our data if we leave

COMMERCIAL AND SUPPORT
[ ] Total cost for [Number] attendees: [Amount]
[ ] Support during the event, with contact method
[ ] Contract length: [Months]
[ ] Trial or test event before purchase

The Eventdex event management system

Eventdex is a single platform with modules for registration, the event app, check-in, exhibitors and virtual events, and integrations for the tools around them. Here is what its pages state:

• Registration and ticketing

  Branded registration pages, ticket types, promo codes, waitlists and payments, with 0% commission ticketing available.

  Event registration software

• Planning tools

  Floor plans and seating, the agenda and email campaigns with your own templates, scheduled or sent at once.

  Event planning software

• White-label event app

  An iOS and Android app with your event's name, logo and colors, holding the agenda, speakers, exhibitors, notifications and networking.

  Event management mobile app

• Onsite operations

  QR check-in, self-service kiosks, on-demand badges on Zebra, Epson and Brother printers, and offline check-in.

  Onsite event management software

• Virtual and hybrid

  Sessions, booths and networking online, and one schedule for in-person and online audiences.

  Hybrid event platform

• Integrations

  Salesforce, Mailchimp, Zapier, Twilio, single sign-on, payment gateways, live streaming and badge printers.

  Integrations