Create selection types
You can use selection types to present people with options when they sign up. Each attendee must choose a selection type to register, so at least one is required in a signup to collect registrations.
Selection types can be tailored to get what you need from every attendee. Common factors to consider for setting up your selections are:
Different pricing for different attendee groups.
How you want to apply discounts.
The information you need to gather based on roles or demographics.
Forms for different attendees.
Locations you want to check people into.
Here are some examples of common selection types:
Roles - Leader, Volunteer, Greeter, Participant, Student, Chaperone
Demographic Groups - Child, Adult, Parent, Single, Pre-K - 5th Graders, Seniors 55+
Reservation Slots - Morning Class/Afternoon Class, Friday/Saturday/Sunday, 9 a.m. Service/11 a.m. Service
Want to watch a video before you get started? No problem! This eight-minute video will show you the steps in this article in action.
Create a selection type
When you create the signup, a "Standard" selection type is automatically created for you.
In Registrations, select the Signups page in the top navigation.
Choose your signup from the list.
Select the Configuration tab.
Select the Selection Types tab on the left.
Select New selection in the top right.
To edit an existing selection type, choose it from the list.
Name the selection type in a way that lets people know who or what they are registering for.
(Optional) Enter the cost of the selection type, not including add-ons.
This is a per-attendee cost.
If there is no cost, set the price to $0, and it will be displayed on Church Center as 'free.'
For group pricing, set the cost to the per-attendee amount and use a group discount.
(Optional) Enter additional details in the selection type description box to provide more information.
If you chose Named Attendees when creating the signup, choose who can register for this selection type by adjusting the Available to options. Restrict a selection type by grade, gender, or age. People can only register for the selection types that their profile currently matches.
Tip
Does your organization use a different grade structure than the default setting? An organization administrator can change your account's grade list in Account settings.
If you chose Named Attendees when creating the signup, choose which information is collected from each person, and whether or not it should be optional or required, in the Personal information to collect section.
All information collected through these fields will update a person's profile automatically. The only exception is the Emergency Contact field, which is only stored within a signup.
Profile information already listed when a person registers cannot be changed by the registrant.
When creating a signup for children, it is recommended to hide the email address field to prevent adult emails from being added to child profiles. Adult registrants will provide an email by default when registering.
(Optional) Include a custom confirmation message that is sent after someone registers for this selection type. To include a custom confirmation message for the entire signup, go to the Confirmation message tab.
In the Options box, check the Show on Church Center box to make the selection type available on Church Center. Uncheck the box if you don't want registrants to see this option while registering. Administrators and editors can register people for this selection type from Registrations.
Check the Allow partial payments box to allow people to register without paying in full. Use this option to require a deposit.
Select Save to save your selection type.
If these options don't cover all the information you'd like to receive from an attendee, check out the other available options for collecting information with a Signup.
Collect grades
Most information collected with selections is pretty straightforward, but the grade can be tricky, especially if someone registers in the summer.
For instance, if an attendee registers in July with the grade they just finished, and you've already promoted grades in the system for the coming school year, that person's profile will be a grade behind their peers and needs to be edited.
Here are a few things to note about collecting grades:
If someone's birthdate and grade are already set, these fields cannot be edited during the registration process.
The Grade field will always have the grade label.
When a registrant enters their grade, it will update the grade on their profile immediately.
To help avoid those situations:
In Registrations, select the Signups page on the top navigation.
Choose your signup from the list.
Select the Configuration tab.
Select the Selection types tab on the left.
Choose the selection type you'd like to edit.
Set the Available to section to Certain grades.
Enter the grades for this selection.
Expand the Grade field label dropdown and select the title that will best guide people to enter their grade correctly for the time of year they're registering.
Grade: If you're collecting registrations during the school year, since there isn't any confusion over what grade kids are currently in.
Current Grade: If you have an event at the end of the school year, before school lets out.
Last Completed Grade: If you are doing a summer camp and haven't promoted your kids over the summer yet. This gets people to enter the grade that matches the current information in the system.
Grade Entering: If you have already promoted kids to their new grades, but you're doing VBS or grade-based signups before school starts back up, ask for the Grade Entering.
Select the Save button to save the changes.
Edit or delete a selection type
To edit or delete a selection type:
In Registrations, select the Signups page on the top navigation.
Choose your signup from the list.
Select the Configuration tab.
Select the Selection types tab on the left.
Choose the selection type you'd like to edit or delete.
Edit the selection type details, such as name, price, or Available to settings.
Select the Save button to save your changes or select the Delete button to remove the selection type completely.
If you run into issues deleting your selection type, know that:
If a selection type is used for an active or canceled registration, it cannot be deleted.
If you do not see the option to delete a selection, at least one person is registered under it. You must reassign those attendees to a new selection or delete any associated registrations using that selection and refresh your browser.
If you still do not see the delete option in the selection, someone else has started registering for that selection in Church Center. If that person does not complete their registration within 15 minutes (if any selection type in the signup has a capacity, 48 hours if there is no capacity set for any selection type in the signup), it will expire, and you can then delete the selection. You can also hide it on Church Center to block anyone else from choosing it until you can delete it.
Manage selection type options
Selection types also offer a few options that can be set:
Maximum selections per registration: limits attendees from registering for more than one selection or more than one person per registration.
Split registrations: allow registrants to signup for different dates and times with the same registration. This is only available for signups that collect a simple count of attendees.
Capacity for signups: limit the number of attendees for each selection type or the entire event. This will show on Church Center.
Waitlist: allow people to be on the waitlist until you add more capacity or other attendees cancel. A capacity must be set to turn on the waitlist.
To enable these options:
In Registrations, select the Signups page from the top navigation.
Choose your signup from the list.
Select the Configuration tab.
Select the Selection types tab on the left.
Select the Options button to see the Maximum selections per registration and Split Registrations (only in signups that collect a simple count of attendees) option. Select the Manage button to edit them.
Select the Capacities button to set the Capacity for signups.
Check the Waitlist box if you want to enable the Waitlist.