Organizer Manual

Getting Started

Car Show Expert is built for car show organisers. Once you sign up, your account sits inside an organisation (your club or event brand). Everything — shows, staff, classes — lives under that organisation.

Your dashboard

After signing in you land on the organizer dashboard. The left sidebar gives you access to all areas:

• Shows — create and manage your shows
• Classes — your organisation's reusable vehicle class library
• Registrations — view all entries across all shows
• Staff — your staff contact library
• Judges — your judges library
• Awards — awards across all shows
• Settings — organisation settings and billing

Plans at a glance

• Standard — free account. Basic shows are free. Upgrade individual shows to Expert from $29/show.
• Pro ($49/mo) — every show is Expert by default. Also unlocks Homepage Branding (custom logo, colours, and styling on your public registration pages). Best for clubs running 2+ shows a year.
• Enterprise ($99+/mo) — for large organisations with custom requirements.

Creating a Show

Go to Shows in the sidebar and click New Show. Fill in the details:

Show fields

• Name — the public-facing name (e.g. "Valley Cruisers Spring Meet 2026")
• Date — the show date
• Venue — venue name (e.g. "Riverside Fairgrounds")
• Address — full street address, used for geo-notification to nearby subscribers
• Description — shown on the public registration page
• Max entries — optional cap; registrations beyond this are waitlisted automatically
• Show tier — Basic (free) or Expert (unlocks judging, People's Choice, QR codes, unlimited entries)

Show status lifecycle

• Draft — not visible publicly; work in progress
• Open — registration link is live; entrants can register
• Live — show day; check-in and judging are active
• Completed — show is over; results can still be published

Basic vs Expert

When you create or edit a show, you choose whether it's a Basic or Expert show:

• Basic — free. Online registration, check-in, walk-ins, email confirmations, CSV export. Entry cap applies.
• Expert — unlocks QR codes per entry, digital judging, People's Choice voting, awards publishing, volunteer management, and unlimited registrations.

On a Pro or Enterprise plan every show is Expert automatically — no per-show upgrade needed.

The public registration link

Once your show is Open, a public registration URL is generated at:
yourclub.carshowexpert.com/register/[showId]

Share this link on social media, in your newsletter, or on your club website. Entrants don't need an account to register.

Classes & Entry Types

Vehicle classes

Classes let entrants self-select the right category for their car — Classic American, Modified JDM, Trucks & Utes, etc. They work at two levels:

1. Go to Classes in the sidebar to build your organisation-level class library.
2. Inside each show, go to the Classes tab to assign which classes apply to that show.

Per-show settings for each class:

• Entry fee override — charge a different fee for this class specifically
• Max entries — cap entries per class

Entry types & pricing

Entry types let you offer different registration tiers — General Entry ($0), Club Member ($10), VIP ($25). Go to the Entry Types tab inside a show to add them.

• Name — e.g. "Standard Entry", "Club Member", "VIP"
• Price — set to $0 for free entry
• Max entries — optional limit per tier
• Sort order — controls the display order on the registration form

Managing Registrations

Go to Registrations in the sidebar to see all entries across all shows. Use the show name filter to narrow down to a specific show.

Registration statuses

• Pending — submitted but not yet confirmed by an organiser
• Confirmed — accepted entry
• Waitlisted — show is full; entry is in the queue
• Checked In — arrived and checked in on show day
• Withdrawn — cancelled by organiser or entrant

Actions on a registration

• Confirm — move from Pending to Confirmed
• Withdraw — mark as withdrawn (keeps the record)
• Delete — permanently remove (use with care)
• Check In — mark the entrant as arrived on show day

Adding a walk-in

On the Registrations page (or the show's Registration tab), click Add Walk-In. Fill in the entrant's details — their car number is assigned automatically. Walk-ins are immediately set to Confirmed.

CSV export

Click Export CSV to download all registrations for the current view. If you've filtered by show or status, only the filtered rows are exported. The CSV includes: car number, class, entry type, name, email, phone, vehicle year/make/model, status, payment status, and registration date.

Importing registrations from a spreadsheet

Use Import CSV to register multiple cars at once from a spreadsheet file. This is useful when you have pre-collected entries from a paper form, a previous system, or a club member list.

1. On the show's Registrations tab, click Import CSV alongside the Walk-In and Add Registration buttons.
2. In the panel that opens, click Template to download a ready-to-fill CSV with all 12 columns and an example row.
3. Fill in the template (or prepare your own CSV with the required columns), then click the upload area to select the file.
4. The preview screen shows every parsed row. Rows with green row numbers are valid and will import. Rows with red row numbers have errors and the reason is shown — those rows are skipped.
5. Click Import n rows to confirm. The result screen shows how many were created, any warnings, and any failures.

The maximum file size is 500 rows per upload. If you have more, split the file and run a second import — car numbers continue sequentially from where the first import left off.

Show Day: Check-In

On the show detail page, go to the Check-In tab. Open this on any phone or tablet — no app install needed, works in any browser. The check-in screen is offline-first: it caches the full entry list on the device so gate staff can work without a signal.

Going offline-ready

When the check-in screen loads, click Go offline-ready (or Refresh if you've used it before). The app downloads every confirmed and pending entry to the device. After that, check-ins work even with no internet connection. Once connectivity returns, all actions sync automatically.

Stats bar

The check-in screen displays a live progress bar showing:

• Total entries in the list
• How many have been checked in
• How many are confirmed (not yet arrived)
• Check-in percentage

An online/offline indicator and a sync status badge ("All synced" or "3 pending") appear in the top bar. When a sync is in progress, a spinner is shown next to the pending count.

Searching for an entry

Type in the search box to find an entrant. You can search by:

• Car number (type a number to match exactly)
• Entrant name
• Vehicle make or model

Matching entries appear as cards. Each card shows the car number, entrant name, vehicle, class, and current status. Tap the green Check In button on the card to check in a confirmed entry.

QR code scan

Entrants on Expert shows receive a unique QR code in their confirmation email. Gate staff can scan it directly — the matching entry appears without any manual search.

Walk-ins on show day

Use the Add Walk-In button directly from the check-in view. The new entry is assigned the next available car number and immediately marked Checked In.

Duplicate dashcard detection

If you attempt to check in an entry that is already checked in, the screen shows a full-screen red alert — "Already Checked In". The alert displays:

• The entrant name and vehicle
• The time of the original check-in
• Two action buttons: Dismiss and Flag as Suspicious

Tap Flag as Suspicious if the situation looks like a duplicate dashcard or photocopied QR code. The entry is immediately marked as flagged on the device and synced to the organiser dashboard. From that point, the entry shows a red Flagged badge in the registrations table, including the exact time the flag was raised.

Judges & Scoring

Setting up judges

1. Go to Judges in the sidebar and add your judges to the organisation library.
2. Inside the show, go to the Judges tab and assign judges to specific vehicle classes.

Scoring categories

Go to the show's Judging tab to create scoring categories — Paint, Interior, Engine, Presentation, etc. Each category gets a max score. Judges score against every category for every car in their class.

The judge experience

Judges receive a link to their scorecard. They open it on their own phone, walk the show, and score each car in their assigned class. No app install required. Scores submit immediately — you see live totals update on the organiser dashboard.

Viewing results

The Judging tab shows a live leaderboard per class, updating as judges submit scores. Use this to prepare your awards before officially publishing.

People's Choice Voting

Every confirmed entry on an Expert show gets a unique QR code. Print it and display it on or near the car. Attendees scan it with their phone camera and cast their vote — no app or account needed.

How to set it up

1. On the show's People's Choice tab, enable voting.
2. Print QR codes from the registration list and place them on cars.
3. Open voting when the show starts.
4. Watch results update live on the dashboard.
5. Close voting before you announce the winner.

Anti-stuffing

One vote per person per show — enforced by browser fingerprint. No login required from voters. If someone clears their browser they could vote again, but casual stuffing is prevented.

Awards & Results

After judging and/or People's Choice, create and publish your awards from the show's Awards tab.

Creating award types

First, go to Awards in the sidebar to set up your award types — 1st Place Classic, Best Engine, Best Interior, People's Choice, Organiser's Pick. Do this once and reuse across shows.

Assigning placements

1. Open the show's Awards tab.
2. For each award, search for the winning entry by car number or entrant name.
3. Assign the placement.

Publishing results

Results are private until you click Publish Results. Once published:

• Winners are notified by email
• Placements appear in the participant's Garage profile under My Trophies

Public Results Page

Once you publish results, a public page is generated at:

[yourclub].carshowexpert.com/results/[showId]

This page is accessible to anyone with the link — no account required. It shows every award in placement order, with the entrant name, car number, vehicle details, and class. A link to the individual car page is included for each winner.

Publishing results

1. Open the show and go to the Awards tab.
2. Assign all placements.
3. Click Publish Results.

Until you publish, the public URL shows a holding page: "Results not yet published." This means you can share the link in advance — participants can bookmark it and check back.

Where participants see results

Participants who registered with an account see a View results link on their My Shows page. The link appears only once results are published. Their awarded trophies also appear directly on the My Shows card — no need to visit the public page.

Participant Portal

Participants who create an account at carshowexpert.com/sign-up get a personal portal at /participant/. The portal is separate from the organiser dashboard. Participants use it to track their shows, manage their vehicles, and view awards.

My Shows

The My Shows page lists every show the participant has registered for. Each card shows:

• Show name, date, and venue
• The vehicle and class entered
• Registration status (Pending, Confirmed, Checked In, etc.)
• Show status (Open, Live, Completed)
• Any awards won, shown as amber trophy badges
• A link to the public show page and, once published, a link to the results page

My Garage

The My Garage page is a personal vehicle library. Participants add their vehicles once and the details are used to pre-fill future show registration forms — they don't have to re-enter their year, make, model, colour, description, or license plate every time.

Each vehicle card can include:

• Year, make, model, and colour
• State and license plate
• A build description and private notes
• A vehicle photo

To add a vehicle, click Add Vehicle. On the add-vehicle page, the system automatically detects vehicles from past registrations and offers them as one-click import candidates — saving participants from re-typing details they've already provided.

Profile

Participants can update their name, email, and phone number from the Profile section of the portal.

Staff & Volunteers

Staff library

Go to Staff in the sidebar. Add staff contacts to your organisation library — stewards, marshals, committee members. Store their name, contact details, and default role.

When setting up a show, go to the show's Staff tab and assign staff members with their role for that show. Build up your crew record over time — staff you've used before are quick to re-assign.

Volunteer roles

Volunteer roles are different from staff — these are positions you want members of the public to sign up for: Gate Marshal, Parking Attendant, Registration Desk, Gofer.

1. On the show's Volunteers tab, create volunteer roles with a name, description, and slot limit.
2. Share the public volunteer signup link: yourclub.carshowexpert.com/volunteer/[showId]
3. View sign-ups on the Volunteers tab.

Email Notifications

Car enthusiasts can subscribe to be notified about shows near them. This is separate from the registration confirmation emails — it's a show discovery service.

How subscribers find out about your shows

• New show alert — when you set a show to Open, subscribers within 100 miles receive an alert email automatically
• Weekly digest — every Monday, subscribers get a list of shows within 100 miles in the next two weeks

How people subscribe

• The public subscribe page at /subscribe — share this link anywhere
• A nudge shown after registering for a show — pre-fills their email address

As an organiser

You don't need to do anything — the system handles alerts automatically when a show goes Open. Make sure your show address is filled in accurately so the geo-filter works correctly.

Settings & Billing

Organisation settings

Go to Settings in the sidebar to update:

• Organisation name
• Subdomain (e.g. valleycruisers.carshowexpert.com)
• Contact email

Your plan

The Settings page shows your current plan. On a Standard plan, you'll see an upgrade prompt if you're running multiple shows — Pro at $49/month includes unlimited Expert shows, which is better value than per-show upgrades once you're running 2+ shows a year.

Upgrading a show to Expert

1. Open the show in the Shows list.
2. On the Show Overview tab, click the Upgrade to Expert button in the tier banner.
3. Confirm the upgrade. The show is immediately upgraded and all Expert features are unlocked.

Upgrading your plan

On the Settings page, click Upgrade to Pro. You'll be taken to the billing page. Pro and Enterprise plans include Expert shows at no extra per-show cost.

Homepage Branding

Go to Homepage in the sidebar. This page controls how your public registration pages look to entrants — your club's logo, colours, tagline, and links.

What you can customise

• Logo — upload your club's logo. It appears in the header of your public registration pages.
• Banner image — a wide hero image shown at the top of the registration page.
• Primary colour and accent colour — set the brand colours used for buttons and highlights on your public pages.
• Tagline — a short line of text shown under your club name on the registration page.
• Social media links — add links to Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms. They appear as icons on your public pages.
• Navigation header links — add custom links to your public page header (e.g. your club website, a rules page).

Importing styles from your website

If your club already has a website, click Import from website and enter your site's URL. The system attempts to pull your primary brand colour automatically, so your registration pages feel consistent with your existing site.