Everything you need to run a great show
Guides for organisers, judges, and vendors — plus how Car Show Expert compares to paper, spreadsheets, and other software.
Quick start: get your first car show live in 20 minutes
For first-time organisers on the free plan. Follow ten steps and you'll have a public registration link ready before your next committee meeting.
Read guide
How to set up judging: a step-by-step walkthrough
From building your class library to publishing awards — every step of configuring and running digital judging, in the order you'll actually touch it.
Read guide
Offline check-in and duplicate dashcard detection
How Car Show Expert keeps your gate moving in dead-signal venues — and flags duplicate dashcard fraud in real time.
Read guide
The participant portal: My Shows, My Garage, and results
How entrants use their account to track registrations, manage their vehicle library, and view awards — and why it saves you support emails.
Read guide
Custom dash card templates: full HTML control over your printed cards
Upload your own HTML file and use merge tags to produce fully branded dash cards — sponsor logos, QR codes, and your club's identity, exactly where you want them.
Read guide
Setting up Stripe for your car show
Never used Stripe before? A plain-language walkthrough of what it is, what it'll ask you for, and how to connect it so entrants and spectators can pay by card.
Read guide
How to set up vendors: a step-by-step walkthrough
Turn on vendor applications, define booth spaces and fees, share the sign-up link, and review, approve, and get vendors paid — in the order you'll actually touch it.
Read guide
How to set up spectator ticket tiers for gate admission
Sell more than one gate admission price — Adult, Child, Weekend Pass — instead of a single flat fee, and see every paid ticket land in your own Spectator Payments tab.
Read guide
The trophy ceremony export: stop building the winner list by hand
Turn your assigned awards into a print-ready MC script with one click — grouped by class, with Best in Show and other special awards saved for last.
Read guide
Editing registrations on show day
Why a typo takes ten seconds to fix but a car's class can't be touched once judging starts — and what to do when the wrong car shows up.
Read guide
Check-in staff guide: scanning cars in on show day
A phone-based walkthrough for gate volunteers — download the entry list before gates open, check cars in by search or QR scan, and handle duplicate dashcards.
Read guide
Head judge guide: running judging on show day
A phone-based guide for head judges — open classes for scoring, track every judge's progress live, and close judging without needing the organiser.
Read guide
Judge guide: scoring cars on show day
A phone-based walkthrough for judges — look up a car, score every category, and keep working even if you lose signal on the show field.
Read guide
Car show software vs. a car show platform — what's the difference?
Most car show software handles one workflow. A platform connects registration, check-in, participant garages, public show pages, and commercial management in one account.
Read guide
Car show management software: what it does and how Car Show Expert covers it
One platform for registration, check-in, judging, People's Choice voting, and awards — how Car Show Expert replaces spreadsheets, paper forms, and group texts.
Read guide
Car show registration software: online forms, card payments, and automatic confirmations
How Car Show Expert handles the full registration workflow — public form, Stripe payments, automatic confirmation emails, capacity limits, waitlists, and CSV import.
Read guide
Car show judging software: digital scorecards that tally automatically
Judges score on their phone, results tally in real time, and winners are ranked the moment judging closes — no paper, no transcription, no hand-counting.
Read guide
Car show voting software: QR code People's Choice without the poker chips
Every dash card gets a unique QR code. Attendees scan to vote. One vote per person enforced automatically. Results ready when polls close.
Read guide
Car show check-in software: scan a QR code and keep the gate moving
Gate staff check in vehicles by QR scan or name search from any phone. Works offline. Multiple staff on the same live list. Search-based check-in is free on every plan; QR scanning is an Expert show feature.
Read guide
Car Show Expert vs CarShowPro vs DrivenToShow vs CarShowSoftware
Full feature, pricing, and platform comparison of the four main car show management tools — so you can pick the right one for your show.
Read guide
How to run a car show: the complete guide for first-time organisers
The full arc of a car show — venue, registration, check-in, judging, and the trophy ceremony — with real numbers and timelines from 35 years of experience.
Read guide
Car show registration: how to set it up so show day isn't a disaster
What your registration system actually needs to do, how to handle online payment, and why the confirmation email is not optional.
Read guide
Car show judging: how to set up a fair system that owners will actually respect
The 100-point scoring breakdown, how to recruit and train judges, and the chief judge role that holds everything together.
Read guide
How to write car show classes and categories that actually work
Build classes for your actual entrant base, write descriptions that prevent misregistration, and handle reclassing before judging starts.
Read guide
Car show check-in: how to run a fast gate on show day
Two minutes per car is achievable — if you've set up the right lanes, the right list, and printed your dash cards before the first car arrives.
Read guide
People's Choice awards at car shows: how to run a vote that feels fair
Poker chip votes, digital QR voting, hard close times, and why People's Choice is the most important award at a community show.
Read guide
How to get car show sponsors (and what to actually offer them)
Sponsors are making a business decision — here's how to build tiered packages, write proposals, and keep the same sponsors coming back every year.
Read guide
How to create a car show dash card (window placard) that actually works
What goes on the card, what size to print, when to print, how to handle sponsor logos, and why QR codes are more useful than you think.
Read guide
Car show day-of logistics: what goes wrong and how to prevent it
Weather, parking chaos, missing volunteers, PA failure, and trophy errors — every one of these is predictable. Here's the plan for each.
Read guide
How to run a car show volunteer team (without burning out your best people)
Recruit 30% more than you think you need, write specific role descriptions, run the 7am briefing, and call your best people before show day.
Read guide
Car shows in Pennsylvania — 2026
Upcoming shows across PA — from community charity events to regional marque gatherings — with dates, locations, and links to full details.
Read guide
Need help right now?
The user guide covers every feature in Car Show Expert with step-by-step instructions.