Convention Registrar Tools

Administrator Guide

1. Introduction

The Convention Registrar Tools plugin extends the functionality of Eventin and Eventin Pro to provide a complete registration management system for Al-Anon conferences and similar events. It was developed to simplify conference registration while minimizing the technical knowledge required by volunteer registrars and conference committees.

Rather than replacing Eventin, this plugin builds upon it by providing tools specifically designed for conference registration, attendee management, reporting, and registrar workflows.

The system supports both online registration and registrar-entered registrations while maintaining a single, consistent attendee database.

---

2. System Overview

The registration system consists of several integrated components.

WordPress

Provides the website framework, user management, security, and page management.

WordPress Theme

Provides the visual appearance of the public website. Convention Registrar Tools is designed to render its operational interface independently of the active theme.

Eventin / Eventin Pro

Handles:

• Event creation
• Ticket management
• Registration workflow
• Checkout process
• Order management
• Attendee records

Convention Registrar Tools

Adds conference-specific functionality including:

• Panel de control del registrador
• Registration Entry
• Attendee Management
• Booking Management
• Badge Export
• Mailing List Export
• Informes de conferencias
• Registrar security controls

Raya

Processes electronic payments during public online registration and, when configured, Stripe Terminal card-present payments for registrar-entered transactions.

---

3. Software Requirements

The system has been developed and tested using the following software:

• WordPress
• A supported WordPress theme
• Evento
• Eventin Pro
• Stripe Payment Gateway
• PHP 8.x
• MariaDB/MySQL

Additional WordPress plugins may be used provided they do not interfere with Eventin or the Convention Registrar Tools plugin.

---

4. User Roles

The system recognizes several categories of users.

Public Visitor

May:

• Browse conference information
• Register for the conference
• Select and purchase registrations
• Complete electronic payment

May not:

• Access registrar pages
• View attendee information
• Access reports

---

CRT Registrar

The CRT Registrar role is intended for the primary volunteer responsible for convention registration. CRT also creates a CRT Chair role as an operational backup with the same Registrar Tools access.

CRT Registrar and CRT Chair users may:

• Enter registrations
• Enter complimentary registrations through Registration Entry
• View attendees
• Edit attendee information
• View bookings
• Update booking contact information
• Export reports
• Export badge lists

CRT Registrar and CRT Chair users cannot:

• Access the WordPress administrative interface beyond their own profile settings
• Modify website content
• Install plugins
• Change system configuration
• Delete Eventin bookings or attendees

If an obsolete failed or duplicate booking must be deleted, a CRT operator should identify it and ask an Administrator to perform the deletion in Eventin.

---

Administrator

Administrators have unrestricted access to both WordPress and Convention Registrar Tools.

Typical responsibilities include:

• Conference configuration
• Event creation
• Ticket configuration
• User management
• Plugin updates
• Website maintenance
• Backup management

---

5. Public Registration Workflow

A typical online registration follows these steps:

1. Visitor opens the conference website.
2. Visitor navigates to the Registration page.
3. Visitor selects one or more registration types.
4. Visitor enters attendee information.
5. Visitor completes billing information.
6. Electronic Payment (Stripe) is selected automatically; public online registration does not offer cash/check.
7. Visitor selects Proceed to Payment and completes payment in Stripe.
8. Eventin records the booking and updates it to completed after successful payment.
9. Convention Registrar Tools makes the registration immediately available within the registrar interface.
10. A completed paid registration is synchronized to Convention Treasurer Tools when that plugin is active.

No additional synchronization or manual processing is required.

---

Failed or Abandoned Electronic Payments

Eventin creates the booking when the registrant proceeds to Stripe. Until payment succeeds, the booking may appear with a failed status even though the buyer and attendee information has already been saved.

• Intentar otra vez reopens Stripe and reuses the existing booking.
• A successful retry changes the same booking to completed.
• Failed bookings do not create Treasurer transactions.
• Eventin does not prevent a registrant from later creating another booking with the same information.
• Registrars should periodically sort/review failed bookings and investigate possible abandoned or duplicate registrations.
• If a failed booking is clearly obsolete, an Administrator may delete it from Eventin after confirming the valid completed booking.

Deleting a completed Eventin booking does not automatically void or delete its Treasurer transaction. Any required accounting correction must be handled deliberately in Convention Treasurer Tools.

---

6. Registrar Workflow

Registrars perform daily operations entirely through the front-end registrar pages.

Typical workflow:

• Review new registrations.
• Enter walk-in registrations as needed using Registration Entry.
• Select Paid or Complimentary registration type as appropriate.
• Accept cash, check, or Stripe Terminal for paid in-person registrations.
• Add configured fixed-price registration merchandise add-ons when requested.
• Record standalone merchandise sales when needed.
• Correct attendee information when necessary.
• Review bookings.
• Export badge lists prior to badge production.
• Export mailing lists or attendee reports as requested.

Registrars do not need to access the WordPress administrative dashboard during normal operations.

---

Registrar Registration Entry

Registration Entry is the authorized in-person registration workflow. It is separate from Eventin's public online checkout.

• Registration type is selected as Paid or Complimentary.
• Paid registrations may use cash, check, or Stripe Terminal.
• Complimentary clears registration charges but does not turn merchandise into a complimentary item.
• Multiple ticket quantities create the corresponding attendee-entry sections and one Eventin booking for the transaction.
• Active fixed-price merchandise catalog items marked as Registration Add-ons may be included in the same tender.
• Registration and merchandise remain distinct for Eventin and optional Treasurer accounting.
• Stripe Terminal payment is completed before the Eventin order is created. If an unsettled Stripe attempt fails, the registrar may retry or switch the unchanged transaction to cash/check; Stripe-only processing fees are removed when the tender changes.

Ventas de mercancías

The standalone Merchandise Sales page records merchandise without creating an Eventin booking. Administrators configure its catalog through Registrar Tools → Merchandise or the Merchandise Settings link on the main Registrar Tools setup screen. Fixed-price catalog items use quantities; variable-price items such as Literature accept a sale amount. Cash, check, and Stripe Terminal are supported. If an unsettled Stripe attempt fails, the registrar may retry or switch the unchanged sale to cash/check. When Convention Treasurer Tools is linked, each completed merchandise line is synchronized separately using its stable catalog item ID.

---

7. Administrator Responsibilities

Before registration opens, administrators should:

• Create the conference event.
• Configure registration/ticket types and pricing.
• Configure ticket sale dates.
• Verify attendee information fields.
• Configure Stripe for public online registration.
• Configure Stripe Terminal if in-person card payments will be accepted.
• Configure and test the merchandise catalog and Registration Add-ons if used.
• Test registration.
• Test payment processing.
• Verify confirmation pages.
• Verify registrar access.
• Verify report generation.
• Verify badge export.

After registration closes, administrators should archive reports and create a complete website backup before making changes for the next conference.

---

8. Backups

Regular backups are strongly recommended.

At a minimum, backups should be created:

• Before plugin updates
• Before WordPress updates
• Before Eventin updates
• Before changing conference configuration
• Before enabling registration
• After significant testing
• After registration closes

A complete backup should include:

• WordPress files
• Database
• Uploaded media
• Plugin files
• Documentation

Verify every backup before relying upon it.

---

9. Routine Maintenance

Periodically review:

• WordPress updates
• Plugin updates
• Theme updates
• Stripe configuration
• Registrar user accounts
• Website backups

Test a complete registration whenever major updates are installed.

---

10. Troubleshooting

When unexpected behavior occurs:

1. Verify the user has appropriate permissions.
2. Verify Eventin is active.
3. Verify Eventin Pro is active.
4. Verify Convention Registrar Tools is active.
5. Verify Stripe configuration.
6. Review browser console for JavaScript errors.
7. Review WordPress debug logs, if enabled.
8. Restore from a verified backup if necessary.

Whenever possible, perform troubleshooting on a development copy of the website before making changes to the production system.

---

11. Additional Documentation

Additional guides are included with this plugin:

• Conference Setup Guide
• Deployment Guide
• Developer Notes
• Spanish Translation Guide
• Eventin Spanish Translation Notes

These documents provide detailed procedures for installing, configuring, maintaining, and extending the system.

Companion Plugin Convention Identity

When Administration or Treasurer is installed on the same site, Registrar supplies the optional canonical identity from its configured Eventin event. Linked companion conventions follow Eventin for displayed name, while lifecycle remains independent. Eventin title changes appear after refresh.