What a typical Canadian car show looks like
Canadian car clubs run a mix of events: a summer car show in a town park, a charity show in a church or arena parking lot, a weekly cruise night, a swap-meet-and-show day at a fairground. The season is short and the shows are packed into it, so organizers want every event to run smoothly the first time.
The paperwork is familiar: entry forms by email, a spreadsheet that only one volunteer understands, hand-written dash plaques, and a rush at the registration table when forty cars arrive at once. Car Show Expert puts registration, check-in, judging and results in one system the whole committee can run from their phones.
How Car Show Expert covers a car show or cruise night, start to finish
- •Online registration. Entrants register on a public form with no account needed, and get a confirmation email. You choose your own classes, by decade, make or anything else. You can also add or bulk-import registrations from a spreadsheet.
- •QR dash cards. Each entry gets a dash card with its own QR code. Entrants can print their own from a free account, or you print them all, plus blank cards for the cars that show up on the day.
- •Check-in at the gate. Volunteers scan the dash card or search by name. Download the entry list while you have Wi-Fi, and check-in keeps working in a field or parking lot with weak cell service, then syncs afterwards.
- •Judging. Judges score from their own phones against categories you set, and totals build up as scores come in. No clipboards and no adding up at the end.
- •People's Choice. Spectators scan a QR code and vote with no login. Voting is limited to one vote per person per category.
- •Volunteers and staff. Set up volunteer roles such as gate, parking and judges' helpers, and give staff only the access they need.
- •Sponsors. Add your local sponsors with a logo and tier. Title sponsors feature on your show page and dash cards, with supporting sponsors listed below them.
- •Announcements. If a storm rolls in or the entrance moves, email entrants, volunteers, staff or vendors from one screen, including only the cars that have already arrived.
- •Results. Assign trophies, publish a public results page, and print a winners list for the awards presentation.
Canadian dollars and your club's own Stripe account
In your organization settings, in the Region & Currency card, choose Canada as your country and CAD as your currency. Entry fees, spectator tickets and vendor fees are then charged in Canadian dollars.
Card payments go through Stripe. You connect your club's own Stripe account in Settings, under Payment Collection, and the money goes straight into it. Car Show Expert does not hold your funds. Your Stripe account needs to be in a country that Stripe supports. Car Show Expert adds a small platform service fee on card payments, shown to the entrant at checkout and not taken out of your price; the current figure is on your payment settings page.
You can also turn on cash on the day for entrants who would rather pay at the gate. Card and cash can be offered together.
The venue address search on the show form finds Canadian addresses.
What to know before you start
A few honest limits, so nothing surprises you on the day.
- •English only. The app, the registration form and the emails are in English. There is no French version.
- •Our own plans are in US dollars. Car Show Expert is free for up to 3 active Basic shows, an Expert Show is $29 per show, and the Pro plan is $49 per month. Those prices are in US dollars. Your entrants still pay you in Canadian dollars.
- •Judging, check-in and People's Choice are Expert Show features. Online registration, walk-ins, confirmation emails, CSV export and basic results are on the free Basic show. Announcements are also an Expert feature.
- •No GST/HST handling. Car Show Expert does not add or itemize GST, HST or provincial sales tax. If your club needs to account for it, do that in your own books.
- •Some details are US-style. The optional state field on the registration form lists US states, so it is not useful for Canadian entrants. The distance setting for "voters must be near the show" is in miles. Email alerts for people who want to hear about shows near them only accept US zip codes today, so promote your show through your own club channels.
Canadian car show software FAQs
- Does Car Show Expert work for Canadian car clubs?
- Yes. A club chooses Canada and CAD in its organization settings, and entry fees, spectator tickets and vendor fees are charged in Canadian dollars. The interface is in English only.
- Can I take entry fees in Canadian dollars?
- Yes. Set your currency to CAD in the Region & Currency card in Settings. Card payments are taken through Stripe into your club's own Stripe account, which must be in a country Stripe supports. You can also offer cash on the day.
- Does it work at a cruise night with weak cell service?
- Check-in does. Download the entry list while you have Wi-Fi, and gate volunteers can keep checking cars in without a signal. Their actions sync when the device is back online.
- How much does it cost?
- Basic shows are free, for up to 3 active at a time. An Expert Show, which adds judging, QR check-in and People's Choice voting, is $29 per show, or the Pro plan is $49 per month. Plan prices are in US dollars.
- Can I run a weekly cruise night, not just a big show?
- Yes. A Basic show is free and covers online registration, walk-ins, confirmation emails and results. Move up to an Expert Show when you want judging, QR check-in or People's Choice voting.
- Will spectators find my show through Car Show Expert?
- Not in Canada yet. Email alerts for shows near a person currently work with US zip codes only, so share your public show page and registration link through your own club, social media and posters.
- Do I need a Stripe account?
- Only if you want card payments. Without one you can still take registrations online and collect fees in cash on the day.