There are two ways that a new contact can be created into your database from eCenter Direct:

• First, it could be that your event registration only requires contact details.
• Secondly, any client that abandons the sign-up process mid-way will have as much infomation captured as possible, but sometimes that is only enough to create a contact record in Neoserra. You can find all abandoned sign-ups using either the "Incomplete eCenter sign-up" contact filter, or you can find a link to all incomplete sign-ups on the Data Maintenance page.

When a contact registers for a training event via eCenter Direct, then the event's point of contact will be notified via an email:

Additionally, if this is a new contact or new client, then the Neoserra home page will also be updated to let you know that the registrant's newly created record will need to be reviewed and processed. There are two links on the Neoserra home page that may include new event registrants. If the registrant completed a client sign-up form, then you will see them listed under the "New sign-ups received" heading as "Training Events". If the registrant did not complete a client sign-up form, but rather just entered their personal information then they will be listed as "New contacts entered":

In this FAQ, we will specifically address the link: "New contacts entered," which is designed to capture all new created registrants that do not include client information. By default, the eCenter event registration form will only ask personal information about the attendee. However, some programs may want to ask event registrants not only information about the attendee themselves, but they may also want to ask information about the business that they represent. Programs that only get credit for clients that have attended their events should be sure to collect the complete client sign-up form. If your center requires client information as part of the event sign-up process, then this FAQ is not for you!

New sign-ups received

If you ask your registrants to include company fields on your event registration form, then all your new client sign-ups will be included in the "New sign-ups received" link as discussed in this FAQ.

Note: A client who signs up via eCenter but who abandons their sign-up form mid-process may also be entered into the system as a "New contact entered." These contacts are presented in your database to allow you to follow-up with them to find out why they might have abandoned the process. As a minimum, you can send them the "Request Registration Completion" email template from their contact record which allows them to continue where they left off in the process.

New contacts entered

What exactly happens when a new person signs up for one of your events? Actually, several things happen, almost simultaneously, as outlined below:

1. Email Notifications

As noted earlier, as soon as a person registers for an event on eCenter, an email will be automatically sent to the event's point of contact (see the orange highlighted template below) letting them know that a new person has been added to the attendee list of the event. Additionally, the registrant themself will also receive an email message confirming their registration. The email that the registrant receives depends upon whether the event has an associated fee, or not. In the screenshot below we have highlighted in green, the two possible templates that will be used to confirm registration for the event (again the difference being whether a fee is applicable or not):

2. New Contact Record

At the same time that the email messages are sent, a new contact record will also automatically be created in your Neoserra database. You will know that the record has been added into the database as soon as you see an update on the home page:

The number represented next to the "New contacts entered" label gives a link to all new contacts (i.e. event registrants) in the system. This link is designed to give you a listing of all new contacts in the database, not all events that they have signed up for. Click on the number to see all your new registrants:

We strongly recommend that you review the new registrants daily. Simply click on the contact name to see the newly created record:

You will be asked to click "Okay" to acknowledge the fact that you have reviewed the record. Linking the new contact to an existing client record will also serve as acknowledgement. Below, in the data stream (highlighted in green), you will see the event(s) this client has signed up for.

Note: You can also "Transfer" a contact to another center if this person didn't actually sign up for an event but rather abandoned their client registration form.

If you do not manually click "Okay" within 90 days after the record has been created. then Neoserra will automatically clear the banner.

3. Attendee List Update

At the same time that the confirmation emails are being sent; and the new contact record is being created, the attendee list is also being updated. The new contact will be automatically added to the attendee list for all the events that they signed up for:

The new registrant will be automatically added to the attendee list with a status of "Registered" and their Fee and Paid columns will be updated depending upon whether there is a fee due and whether they have submitted payment online. If a user has not yet paid, then they can cancel their registration from eCenter Direct and this will automatically update their status "Cancelled":

For more information on how to manage attendee lists, please refer to this FAQ.

Want more? Browse our extensive list of Neoserra FAQs.