Event group registration workflow
A company wants to send twelve people, and your single-delegate form does not say who pays, who is named or who gets the confirmation.
The short answer
A group registration separates two roles: the booker, who arranges and usually pays, and the delegates, who attend. The workflow must say when each delegate is named, who receives which message, how a substitution is made and who is invoiced.
Decide whether seats are named at booking or reserved first and named later. Reserving first is easier for the booker but needs a naming deadline, or the final list is still unknown at the caterer's cut-off.
The workflow in stages
- The booker registers with the number of seats and their own contact details, and chooses a payment route.
- The system or secretariat holds the seats for a stated period and records the booker as the contact.
- The booker supplies delegate details by a naming deadline, either on a form or in a template you send.
- Each delegate receives or is sent their confirmation, depending on the contact rule you set.
- Substitutions are allowed until a stated date and recorded with the old and new names.
- Unnamed seats at the deadline are released or flagged for the booker, as you decided in advance.
Decisions to settle before opening group booking
| Decision | Options | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Named or reserved seats | Name at booking, or reserve and name later. | Reserving needs a naming deadline and a release rule. |
| Who pays and is invoiced | The booker or each delegate. | Finance needs one invoice name and a payment reference per group. |
| Who receives confirmation | Booker only, or booker and delegate. | Delegates who never hear from you may not know what to bring or where to go. |
| Category per delegate | One category for the group, or per delegate. | Mixed groups need each delegate checked. See category rules. |
| Substitution and cancellation | Free until a date, or approval each time. | Define it alongside your cancellation process. |
| Dietary and access requests | Per delegate on the form, or via the booker. | Collect them per person so counts are right. See dietary reconciliation. |
Duplicates and shared emails in groups
Group bookings are where duplicates start: a booker enters a colleague who also registers alone. Ask for each delegate's own name and a work email, and apply your duplicate detection rules to group entries as well.
Information the booker needs back
- A group reference and a list of seats named and unnamed.
- The naming and substitution deadlines.
- What the booker can change themselves and what needs the secretariat.
- The invoice or payment status for the whole group.
Worked example · Fictional example
A company books twelve seats for a seminar
Fictional organisation and figures, written to show the level of detail that is useful.
Syarikat Fiktif Teknologi Pembinaan books 12 seats at a seminar through its training coordinator. Six delegates are named at booking and six are reserved, with a naming deadline stated in the booking confirmation.
By the deadline four more are named. The secretariat emails the coordinator about the two unnamed seats, and the coordinator releases them. One named delegate is replaced by a colleague before the substitution date, recorded as old and new name on the group record. Finance sends one invoice to the company.
Use this yourself
Group registration workflow sheet
Complete one sheet per event and adapt your form and messages to it.
- Seats named at booking, or reserved and named later:
- Naming deadline and what happens to unnamed seats:
- Booker's details collected:
- Delegate details collected (name, work email, category, dietary, access):
- Who is invoiced and who receives payment confirmation:
- Who receives each delegate's confirmation:
- Substitution rule and last date:
- Cancellation rule for a seat and for the group:
- Group record shows: reference, seats named, unnamed, payment status:
- Test: a group of five with two unnamed seats, one substitution, one cancellation:
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- Groups are rare and small, and one person handles them by email.
- You are happy for the booker to be the only contact.
- Payment is a single invoice per group.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Groups make up a large part of attendance and arrive in waves.
- Delegates need individual badges, sessions or dietary counts.
- Several groups share a sponsor or a parent organisation with its own rules.
Want group bookings run without the email chains?
A conference project lead can design the group workflow with your secretariat and finance, set up the naming and substitution rhythm, and chase unnamed seats before supplier cut-offs. Decisions on refunds and exceptions stay with your committee.
Questions organisers ask
Should we collect each delegate's name at booking?
If the group is small, yes. For larger groups, reserve seats first but set a naming deadline so badges and counts can be finalised.
Who should get the confirmation email?
Decide when you design the flow. The booker usually receives the group confirmation, and delegates also need their own details if they must act.
How do we handle a group paying by one invoice?
Agree with finance who is invoiced and what reference is used. The group reference should appear on the invoice and on the registration record.
Can the platform handle group bookings?
Check its own documentation or support, and test the flow with a fictional group before opening. Do not assume it handles substitutions or unnamed seats the way you need.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.