I have limited experience with RegOnline (a coworker who has moved on was our main Regonline person) but I can respond somewhat.

I use Regonline for our online registrations--simple setup and they pay with credit card or check. 
Our Events specialist did, however, create very intricate multi-layered registrations for conferences that included breakout sessions, various price elements and choices, and it is very well suited for that as long as you put in the extra effort. 

Once a month you receive a statement from Regonline that details the cash flow and a check for whatever the final amount of income was minus their fees. 

It's worked very well for us. Of course it has quirks that one must get accustomed to and the helpline sometimes takes awhile to respond but they also have phone help.

A cheaper alternative I've heard of is Brown Paper Tickets (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/) but I have no experience using it.

The College of Continuing Education has a registration system but it differs from Regonline in that you do not have access to create or alter the form--that is handled by CCE staff--so depending on whether you want someone else to do that piece and pay or have full access to do it yourself via something like Regonline, that's a consideration.

I hope this is helpful. Others may be able to respond more fully.

Karen Anderson at CEED

On Wed, Apr 4, 2012 at 1:04 PM, David Peterson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Good Afternoon All:

Stemming from the PCI/CC talk a few months ago, I ended up looking into regonline to replace an antiquated registration system as well as handle credit card transactions for a non-profit conference (AIRUM) with which many people in the IR office are involved.  There is actually a multi-institutional committee which handles the conference, this is another reason we are hoping to use a SaaS registration system. The committee was very interested, and I am hoping to explore regonline and the alternatives a bit further this spring. I had a few talking points I'd like to know, please respond to the list if they apply to many. 

1.) Have you used regonline, and what was your general experience with the product?
2.) Did you use regonline's payment gateway? If so, how does regonline handle payouts, once the registration cash is collected?
3.) Did your event have multiple registration options, and did it work well (e.g. conference + pre-conference workshop, with different price points)
4.) Are their any Open Source/Cheaper alternatives which are worth looking into as a non-profit who is hosting a conference?
5.) Any other general advice or experience is much appreciated.

Thanks for the time,

Dave
--
David Peterson
IT Professional
Office of Institutional Research
University of Minnesota
http://www.oir.umn.edu

612-625-0914
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