### Create an organization

Your organization is home to all your events. In order to create events on Yarra you will first need to create an organization. This step requires&#x20;

* Naming your organization
* Deciding on your URL alias

While these are both big decisions, as they are an important part of your brand, they are both reversible! You can change your organization name or URL alias at any time in [settings](/directors/settings).

When you're ready to get started, you can click "[Create an event](/directors/events/new/select)" and you will be prompted to create an organization if you haven't already.

<img height="271" width="527" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/clu327z650006jq0fyxz795gu/organization.webp" />

Note: each account is limited to creating one organization.

Create an organization

### Creating an event

* Open the [new event page](http://dev.tryyarra.com:3000/directors/events/new "new event page").

<img height="229" width="542" alt="Image showing the three &quot;new event&quot; options." title="Image showing the three &quot;new event&quot; options." src="https://d20w42ixvme5vl.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/select.webp" />

* Select your event type.
  * Note: if you haven't [set up Stripe](http://dev.tryyarra.com:3000/directors/pro "Stripe setup settings.") yet, you won't be able to select "Paid" events.
* Fill in the new event form. All these settings are configurable later -- it is okay to put in placeholders for now and update them before you publish the event.

<img height="380" width="557" alt="Screenshot of the &quot;New Event&quot; form." title="Screenshot of the &quot;New Event&quot; form." src="https://d20w42ixvme5vl.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/new.webp" />

* You will be dropped on the event management page. You can preview your event by clicking "Event page" in the upper right, or modify any settings.

<img height="258" width="649" alt="Screenshot of the event editing page." title="Screenshot of the event editing page." src="https://d20w42ixvme5vl.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/edit.webp" />

* By default, the event is not published. Only you will be able to access it. You may change this by clicking the pencil in the upper right hand corner of the "Publishing" card and switching "Published" to on. 
  * You may also publish the event from the event page itself via the "Publish" button at the top.
* Once you publish an event, people will be able to register for it via the registration page during the registration dates you specified while creating it.

Create an event

### Customize branding

You can customize the banner image, event name, and primary color on your event pages. To do this, you may navigate to the branding settings panes and modify them.

#### Modifying the primary color in your pages and emails

* Navigate to the [organizer settings page](/directors/settings).
* Click the pencil in the upper right hand corner of the branding card.

<img height="347" width="491" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/branding.webp" />

* Modify the color by pasting in a hex code or by using the color picker.
* Don't forget to click "Save" or your changes will not be saved.

#### Modifying the event banner, url, and name

In order to modify an event banner, url, or name, navigate to the metadata settings pane under the "Registration" tab of an event.

* Click the pencil in the upper right hand corner

<img height="240" width="451" alt="Screenshot of the metadata settings pane before the pencil icon is clicked" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/preedit.webp" />

* Click the upload icon in the upper right hand corner of the banner to upload a new banner
* Edit the "Name" field to modify the name.
* Edit the "Url" field to modify the url.
* Don't forget to click "Save" when you're done, or your changes won't be saved.

<img height="361" width="474" alt="Screenshot of the event metadata settings card" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/editbranding.webp" />

Customize branding

### Create a homepage

If you would like to have a landing page where entrants can see all your events, you can enable your Yarra homepage in settings.

* Navigate to [settings](/directors/settings).
* Click the pencil in the upper right hand corner of the branding settings card.
* Fill out the form and click "Enable homepage".
* Click "Save" to enable your homepage.

Create a homepage

### Customizing the registration email

Every person who registers for one of your events receives an email at the time of registration. This email contains their receipt, your logo, and an optional message that you can customize in settings. You can customize the theme color and logo in this email by following the instructions in the [branding help article](/documentation/articles/customize-branding).

To customize the receipt email body:

* Open the event page from your [events list](/directors/events).
* Open the Email tab.

<img height="261" width="631" alt="Screenshot of the email tab showing the pencil icon to update the email body" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/email.webp" />

* Click on the pencil icon in the "Receipt email" card to begin editing.
* Write your receipt email.
* Click "Save" to save your changes.

Once you have saved your receipt email, you may come back and delete it at any time via the "Event emails" list below.&#x20;

Customizing the registration email

### Customizing registration questions

We recommend collecting as little information as is necessary from your registrants. Large registration forms can be intimidating and cause drop-off during registration.

Yarra allows you to customize which questions are asked of your registrants during registration. You can modify these selections via the "Add ons" tab of your event page.

* Click on an event from [the events view](/directors/events).
* Navigate to the Add ons tab.

<img height="257" width="491" alt="Screenshot of the add ons tab of the event editing view" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/questions.webp" />

* Click on the pencil in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
* Switch on or off whichever questions you want.
  * Note: minimum age can be set as low as 0, but Yarra requires the person filling out the registration form to be 18 years or older.
* Don't forget to click "Save".

After checkout, we will also always ask participants to volunteer "How did you hear about us?" By moving this question after checkout, we reduce the barrier to entering your event.

Customizing registration questions

### Set up Stripe

In order to accept payments on Yarra, you must connect a Stripe account. Stripe allows the Yarra platform to enable direct payments from your registrants to you. That is: you get paid directly for your events, it never passes through a Yarra account.&#x20;

Setting up Stripe is quick, easy, and will allow you to start accepting payments immediately.&#x20;

* Navigate to the [professional settings panel](/directors/pro) in your director dashboard.
* Click "Link Stripe"

<img height="161" width="476" alt="Screenshot of the Yarra Pro settings panel" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/stripe.webp" />

* Answer the questions in the Stripe account onboarding wizard.
* You may exit this panel at any time and revisit it via "Revisit setup" or "Continue setup" in your pro settings panel.

Once you finish Stripe set up, you will be able to create paid events. Stripe may, from time to time, ask you for additional information. You must make sure to keep your Stripe account in good standing you will not be able to accept payments on Yarra.

Set up Stripe

### Event price setup

You can set the price on individual events (e.g. if you event has a 5k and a 10k and they are different prices). You may do this in "Events" tab of an event.&#x20;

* Navigate to an event from your [events list](/directors/events).
* Open the "Events" tab.
* If you haven't yet, you must finish setting up Stripe in [pro settings](/directors/pro) in order to create paid events.

<img height="224" width="570" alt="Screenshot of the events tab in an event" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/events.webp" />

* Click the pencil icon in the upper right of the registration options card to begin editing.
  * Note: if the event was previously marked as a free event, you must click "Convert to paid event" to enable the price fields on the registration options.
* Select a currency: by default, USD will be selected.
* Fill out the "Price" field of every registration option. Every event must be at least $1.00.
* Click "Save" to persist the changes.

### Price schedules

If you would like the price of the event to increase as you approach the event start date, you may also set up a price schedule. Click the button that says "Set up a price schedule" to set up a price schedule.

* Open the price schedule modal.
* Click "Add" to add a price, a start date, and an end date
  * The price will be the top level price any time outside of these dates.
  * Dates may not overlap.
* Click "Add" to add additional scheduled dates.

Note: Participants who initiate a checkout within 30 minutes of a price schedule change will be able to finish their checkout on the previous scheduled price.

Event price setup

### Collect sales tax

As an event director on Yarra, you are responsible for collecting and remitting all sales tax related to your event. You may choose to add sales tax to transactions or track your sales tax outside of Yarra. To add sales tax to transactions, you must set up tax rates in Stripe.

* Visit stripe to [create tax rates](https://dashboard.stripe.com/tax-rates/).
  * Note: using automatic tax calculation is not currently supported; only manual tax rates.
  * Exclusive tax rates will be added on top of transactions, inclusive taxes will be available in Stripe transaction reports.

<img height="371" width="291" alt="Screenshot of the stripe tax creation pane" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/stripetax.webp" />

* Once you have created a tax rate, you may select that tax rate in the event settings pane.

<img height="364" width="420" alt="Screenshot of the event settings pane where a tax rate is being selected" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/selecttaxrate.webp" />

* If multiple tax rates apply to a transaction (e.g. Sales tax US - WA and Sales tax - Seattle special district tax), you may select multiple tax rates.

The Yarra application fee is calculated before taxes are applied: you will not be charged an additional application fee for collecting taxes.

Collect sales tax

### Price schedules

If you would like the price of the event to increase as you approach the event start date, you may also set up a price schedule. Click the button that says "Set up a price schedule" to set up a price schedule.

* Navigate to the "Events" tab in the event editing view.&#x20;
  * Click on an event in the [events list](/directors/events).
* Click the pencil in the upper right hand corner of the registration options card to begin editing.&#x20;
* Open the price schedule modal by clicking "Set up a price schedule" on an option.
* Click "Add" to add a price, a start date, and an end date
  * The price will be the top level price any time outside of these dates.
  * Dates may not overlap.
* Click "Add" to add additional scheduled dates.

Note: Participants who initiate a checkout within 30 minutes of a price schedule change will be able to finish their checkout on the previous scheduled price.

Price schedules

### Fees & paid add ons

Add ons provide a flexible way to collect both paid and unpaid elections from your registrants. While you may use add ons to add arbitrary fees to checkout, we recommend making your event pricing inclusive of all fees, as it is a better registrant experience.

To add a paid add on:

* Visit the events settings page by selecting the event in your [events list](/directors/events).
* Open the "Add ons" tab.
* Click the pencil in the upper right hand corner of the "Add ons" card.
* Click the button labeled "Add" to create a new add on.
* Fill out the fields. For free options / add ons, you may leave the price blank or set it to $0.

<img height="469" width="416" alt="Screenshot of the add ons settings card." src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/addons.webp" />

* "Entrant level" add ons appear for every entrant in a registration.
* Non "entrant level" add ons appear at the very bottom of the registration form, once.&#x20;
* Add ons that have a single variant will be presented as fees, in that they don't require the registrant to make a selection but will appear on the receipt.

You may remove add ons at any time during the registration process. Previous entrants will retain their selections. If you rename a variant, previous entrants will be updated to that renaming -- we recommend deleting and creating new variants rather than renaming add ons.

You may charge taxes on top of add ons by following the instructions in the [taxes help article](/documentation/articles/collect-sales-tax).

Fees & paid add ons

### Coupons & discount codes

You may create discount codes for your entrants in your [pro settings pane](/directors/pro). You must have finished Stripe setup in order to create coupon codes.

* Navigate to the [pro settings page](/directors/pro).
* Click "Create" in the coupons card.

<img height="314" width="455" alt="Screenshot of the coupons settings card" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/coupons.webp" />

* Create a code, select the discount type (absolute or percent off), and amount of the discount.
* Expiry date and maximum uses are optional.
* Absolute discount codes can only be applied for events of the same currency.
* Discount codes apply to entire transactions.
* You may exclude events from coupon codes in the event settings page.

You may come back at any time and delete discount codes via the Settings cog in the right hand side of the coupons list.

Coupons & discount codes

### Offer Memberships

Memberships are a convenient way to offer discounts to your recurring customers. Set up memberships in your [director portal](/directors/memberships) and your customers will be able to purchase them from your homepage.

* Go to [membership settings](/directors/memberships).
  * Note: Stripe must be set up to offer memberships.
* Click the pencil in the upper right hand corner of the memberships card.
* Click the "Offer Memberships" switch to enable memberships.

<img height="414" width="443" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/clu327z650006jq0fyxz795gu/memberships.webp" />

* Fill out the tier details.
  * You may have up to three tiers. We recommend offering an annual subscription at a lower rate than your monthly subscription to avoid customer churn.&#x20;
* Customers who purchase subscriptions from you here will be able to cancel their subscription at any time and retain benefits through the end of the period.
* You are in control of refunds via Stripe or via the Receipts view.&#x20;

#### Membership benefits

* By default, memberships can only affect event and add on pricing. When enabled, event discount percent and add on discount percent will be applied to all your events.
  * You may exclude an event from membership discounts via the "Exclude from discounts" checkbox in the Event Options settings card.
  * Our default discounts are 10% off events and 10% off add ons, but you may change these to be any percentage between 0 and 100.&#x20;
* You may offer other benefits outside of Yarra, but would need to explain those benefits outside of the context of the Yarra homepage.&#x20;

Offer memberships

### Issue a refund

To issue a refund, locate the receipt in the [receipts list](/directors/receipts) and issue a refund for the desired amount. Issue a refund does not cancel entries related to that refund unless those entries are canceled separately.&#x20;

* Navigate to the receipt via the [receipts list](/directors/receipts).
* Click "Refund"
* Modify the amount to your desired refund amount.
* Click "Refund"
  * Note: you must have sufficient funds in your Stripe account for the refund to be processed.

You may also re-forward the buyer receipt via the "Resend receipt email" button. The new receipt will include any refunds issued.&#x20;

Issue a refund

### Checking in entrants

If you have wifi or cellular service at your race location, you may want to check in entrants via the Yarra dashboard. You may do this via the event entrants list.

* Navigate to the event via the [events list](/directors/events).
* Open the "Entrants" tab.
* Locate the entrant you would like to check in by searching for their name or email.
* Click the "Settings" cog to open the check in modal.

<img height="287" width="391" alt="Screenshot of the check in modal" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/checkin.webp" />

* If the entrant had add on selections, they will be shown at the bottom of the check in modal.
* Click "Check in" to mark the entrant as checked in.
* Click "Mark add ons as delivered" to indicate you delivered to the entrant any selected add ons.
  * Note: if you accidentally click the check in for the wrong entrant, you may simply click it again to cancel the check in.

The entrants checked in status will be reflected in the entrant list and on the individual entrant page. You may see what time an entrant checked in by mousing over the green "Checked in" badge on the entrant's page.

Online check in

### Checking in entrants

On race day, you may want to check in entrants via pen and paper. Our recommended way to do this is to download and print your entrant lists.&#x20;

* Navigate to the event via the [events list](/directors/events).
* Open the entrants tab.
* Click "Download entrants list"

A \*.*csv* (comma separated values) of the entrants will be downloaded. You may import this file to a tool like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets and format it however you like for race day.&#x20;

Entrant name, email, and add on selections will be included in the downloaded *csv*.

Offline check in

### Manually adding entrants

If you accept registrations off platform, or take race day registrations, you may want to manually add entrants to the entrant list. You may do this via the entrants list in your Yarra dashboard.

* Navigate to the event via the [events list](/directors/events).
* Open the "Entrants" tab.
* Click "Add Entrant"
* Fill out the entrant form and click "Save".
  * Note: while fields may be required to register on your customer facing portal, you may leave as many fields as you like blank: it is only necessary to select an event.

Manually adding entrants

### Cancel an entry

If someone registers for your event and you need to cancel the entry for any reason, you can do so from the entry page. Canceled entries release spots for other entrants if you have a limit on your event.

* Navigate to the [entries list](/directors/entries).
* Locate the entry via search for name or email.
* Click on the entry to open the entry page.
* Click "Cancel entry"

<img height="327" width="437" alt="Screenshot of the entrant page" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/cancel.webp" />

* Confirm the cancellation in the dialog.

Canceling an entry does not automatically issue a refund. You may issue a refund by visiting the receipt page.

Cancel an entry

### Send entrants an email

Yarra offers the ability to send emails to event entrants. You may do this from the email tab of an event page. **Yarra is not an email marketing platform**. You may send event communications through this platform to notify registrants of critical event information. If you would like to do email marketing, we recommend [connecting your CRM](/directors/api).

To send entrants an email:

* Navigate to an event via the [events list](/directors/events).
* Click on the tab labeled "Email".
* Click "Create email"

<img height="375" width="456" alt="Screenshot of the email sending tool" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/email2.webp" />

* Fill out the subject and body.&#x20;
  * If you'd like to send yourself a test email before sending it, click "Save for later".
* Either:
  * Schedule the email by putting in a Scheduled date
  * Save for later by clicking "Save for later"
  * Send now by clicking "Send now"
* If you schedule the email the email will enter our scheduling queue and be sent within 30 minutes of your scheduled date.

Email sends and suppressions will appear in a list below the email once it is sent. Because Yarra is not an email marketing tool, if you send too many emails your account may be throttled. You can contact [limits.request@tryyarra.com](mailto:limits.request@tryyarra.com) if you would like to increase your account limits.

If Mailchimp is not your CRM you can request a new integration by emailing [integration.requests@tryyarra.com](mailto:integration.requests@tryyarra.com).

Send entrants an email

### Mailchimp integration

In order to support your email marketing campaigns, Yarra will sync marketing opt ins with your Mailchimp account. Once set up, all registrants who opt into marketing will be sent to your configured Mailchimp list.

* Navigate to [integration settings](/directors/api).
* Click "Connect Mailchimp".
* Follow the prompts to authorize Yarra to upload contacts.
* Click "Enter list id"
  * You can find this under Audience -> Settings -> Audience Name & Defaults in Mailchimp

<img height="141" width="370" alt="Screenshot of the mailchimp list settings" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/mailchimplist.webp" />

* Enter a list id
* Click "Save"

You may disconnect Mailchimp at any time by revisiting these settings. Contacts will be saved to the list that you specify in your configuration here.

Sync marketing opt-ins to your CRM

### Add people to your Yarra team

Yarra has powerful team management features so that you can give people access to as little or as much of your Yarra account as you please. Adding event managers, timing professionals, and other administrators to your account is a convenient way to enable other people access to your events.

* Navigate to [team settings](/directors/team).
* Click "Invite"
* Select your desired permissions while filling out this modal.

<img height="338" width="318" alt="Screenshot of the invite team member modal" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/invite.webp" />

* The invitee will receive an email they can click a link on to join your team.

You may remove people at any time by returning to this view and removing all their permissions.

Add people to your Yarra team

### Update team member permissions

If you would like to add or remove user permissions you can do so via the Team settings page.

* Navigate to the [team settings page](/directors/team).
* Click the settings cog on a team member.

<img height="414" width="383" alt="Screenshot of the team member permissions modal." src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/updateteam.webp" />

* Add or remove permissions by clicking on them.
  * Note: the Admin permission grants all other permissions, so adding it will check all other permissions.
* Click "Update" to save your changes.

Update team member permissions

### Unlock unlimited entrants in free events

Yarra limits free events to 100 entrants. While this free tier meets the needs of a lot of free events, it is insufficient for some. You may unlock more entrants by either:

* Subscribing to [Yarra Pro](/directors/pro).
  * Yarra Pro is $25/month and allows you to create events with unlimited entrants.&#x20;
* Upgrading a single event for $10
  * If you increase the limit of entrants above 100 while creating an event you may pay $10 while creating it to enable unlimited entrants in that event. This one time fee only applies to that individual event.
  * You may upgrade an existing event by clicking the pencil in "Registration options" and clicking the link that says "Paying $10" to open the event upgrade modal.

<img height="217" width="374" alt="Screenshot of the Yarra Pro upgrade modal" src="https://dnan4ixatrs6o.cloudfront.net/images/yarra/upgradeyarrapro.webp" />