What a typical Irish club show looks like
Irish car shows are mostly club affairs. A vintage car club runs a vintage rally that finishes in a town square. A marque club books a field for its annual classic car show. A local charity holds a car show in a GAA grounds car park, or a group of friends turns a weekly meet into something bigger. Entrants arrive in the morning, park by class, and the day ends with a presentation of trophies.
The paperwork behind it is familiar: entry forms and cheques arriving by post, a spreadsheet kept by one committee member, number cards written by hand, and a printed programme that is out of date by the time it is handed out. Car Show Expert gives the whole committee one place to run the event from their phones.
How Car Show Expert covers an Irish show, start to finish
- •Online entries. Entrants register on a public form with no account needed, and get a confirmation email. You choose your own classes, such as "Pre-war", "Vintage", "Classic" or your own marque classes. Organisers can also add or bulk-import entries 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 the lot, plus blank cards as a backup for cars that turn up on the day.
- •Check-in at the gate. Stewards 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 on a country road with no signal, then syncs when you are back online.
- •Judging. Judges score from their own phones against categories you set, and the totals build up as scores come in. No clipboards and no adding up at the end of the day.
- •People's Choice. Visitors 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 marshals, 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 the weather turns or the entrance changes, email entrants, volunteers, staff or vendors from one screen. You can send to only the cars that have already arrived.
- •Results. Assign trophies, publish a public results page, and print a winners list for whoever is reading out the awards.
Euro and your club's own Stripe account
In your organisation settings, in the Region & Currency card, choose Ireland as your country and EUR as your currency. Entry fees, spectator tickets and vendor fees are then charged in euro.
Based in Northern Ireland? Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, so a club there should choose United Kingdom and GBP instead, and take fees in pounds.
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, so entrants who would rather pay at the gate still can. Card and cash can be offered together.
The venue address search on the show form finds Irish addresses.
What to know before you start
A few honest limits, so there are no surprises on the day.
- •English only. The app, the entry form and the emails are in English.
- •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 euro.
- •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 VAT handling. Car Show Expert does not add or itemise VAT. 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 entry form lists US states, so it is not useful for Irish 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.
Irish car show software FAQs
- Does Car Show Expert work for Irish car clubs?
- Yes. A club chooses Ireland and EUR in its organisation settings, and entry fees, spectator tickets and vendor fees are charged in euro. The interface is in English.
- Can I take entry fees in euro?
- Yes. Set your currency to EUR 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.
- We are a club in Northern Ireland. Which country do we choose?
- Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, so choose United Kingdom and GBP in the Region & Currency card and take fees in pounds.
- Does it work at a field with no mobile signal?
- Check-in does. Download the entry list while you have Wi-Fi, and gate staff 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 small weekly meet, not just a big classic car show?
- Yes. A Basic show is free and covers online entries, 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 visitors find my show through Car Show Expert?
- Not in Ireland 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 entries online and collect fees in cash on the day.