Using Pre-Printed Registration Forms

[Secretary Sue]

We're hoping to add this dimension this year but I need a plan!  I would be interested to hear how churches utilize these forms to streamline the registration process. 

Rick and Commander Clay, we had some discussion on this last fall at the conference in Lynchburg, VA but I need a refresher on how you do this at your church. 

[Rick Leffler]

The pre-filled Registration Form can make it easier and quicker for both the club secretary and the parents to re-register their children because the form is already filled in with data pulled from the database.  All parents have to do is review and make corrections if needed. Parents with multiple children will especially like this because up to 6 children are listed on a single page.

Many sections of the Registration form can be customized.  I suggest going to the Reports tab and then printing a sample of the blank and pre-filled versions of the Registration Form Report.  Notice the choices on the report dialog.  (There's even a special LEADER version too.)  Then, go to Admin > Options > Registration Form and explore the different customization options.

Note: Before you officially print all of the pre-filled forms for the new club year, be sure that you run the New Year Setup FIRST, so that all of the clubbers will be promoted to their next school grade and appropriate new club. I'd also recommend that you not run the New Year Setup until you've upgraded to at least version 4.1.2.0.

Hopefully others will continue this discussion and share any tips they may have.

[duane]

We print out the pre-printed forms for everyone who has ever walked through the door of our clubs (just in case they decide to walk through it again).  Then we also print a blank form and make several copies.  The pre-printed forms go in an alphabetical file.  When someone comes in to register, we ask if they have ever attended Awana at our church.  If their answer is no, they get a blank form.  If yes, we find the pre-printed form.  Easy!

[tapper1]

we have used pre-printed forms for clubber and leader regisration.  At the end of last year at the closing program we had an Ice Cream Social where we invited families to sign up for the following year (we usually have waiting lists for puggles and cubbies). 

We have signed up 50 clubbers for 2010 -2011 - many repeats and the forms simplify the reocrd keeping.

Just as imporatnat during the week after the closig program we have a dinner for the leaders and pass out their pre-printed forms and ask for them to re sign -up or sign up for another position of interest or take the form and pray over the summer how God would use them for His kingdom.

The result was about 35 leaders signed up again, ready for a new club year!

[MaureenCooper]

This is my second year with AW.  I did the New Year Setup.  I then added 4 new clubbers who registered online.  Now I want to print out the preprinted registration forms.  However, since these clubbers did not attend last year, it doesn't give me the option of printing out their forms.   It also wants to print out forms for clubbers who have moved.   How do I get it to do what I want?

[tapper1]

How do you register on line - do you use a canned form and then copy the info into the database?  HOw do you handle fees?

I am curious as we have considered on line registration but not sure how to get there.

[MaureenCooper]

Our club has a website and I created an online form they fill out and it gets sent to my email account.  They still have to come to club to pay registration fee and buy books, etc.  This way I can have the form filled out for them.  you can check it out on www.tcawana.org

Re the form, I can choose 0 times attended and my new ones come up but also all those who did not come last year but the previous year.  I know I can select it to print only the new registers.  It would be nice to have a selection to archive those who moved or we know will not be back.  I saw a post where Rick might consider doing that.

[Rick Leffler]

Yes, the new Status choice of "Archived" has been added in 4.2.  This will make it easier to exclude "old" members from appearing on lists and reports.

[Emily]

We had online registration this year.  We used a WuFoo form, and people could pay when they registered.  We also have another WuFoo form for people who registered with a regular paper form, but they want to pay with a credit card.  So far almost half the payments have come in online.  I then export the data to an excel file (WuFoo does that), and then I print a form using Microsoft's mail merge.  (We also pre printed registrations with mail merge rather than using the software's pre printed forms, so the online and pre printed forms look the same)  When people came to club, if they registered online, I had them sign the medical release, and they were in!

~Emily

[MaureenCooper]

What does WuFoo cost your church for taking credit cards or PayPal?  Do you have the form on a club website?

[duane]

Going back to Maureen's original question: If you have entered the new clubber into the database, you should be able to use the "Only those households selected below" option under the Selection Criteria on the registration form page to choose the new clubbers.  That option generates a list of all of the households in your club.  You should then be able to choose the household(s) that you need to print out with preprinted info.  I do it routinely without a problem.   

[tholgate]

We mail out all the pre-printed registration forms each year and encourage every family to pre-register so that opening night can be all about getting everyone settled into their groups and not completing paperwork.

Question for Rick - Maybe I'm dreaming but I thought we discussed making the medical information section on the Leader form customizable like it is on the Clubber form?  We really just want to know if there are issues and don't want the leaders going to the trouble of filling in the medical info.

Thoughts?  Thank you!

[Rick Leffler]

I thought we discussed making the medical information section on the Leader form customizable like it is on the Clubber form?  We really just want to know if there are issues and don't want the leaders going to the trouble of filling in the medical info.

Yes. This will be included in the final release (next build).

[tapper1]

NOt sure you will get my bug report in time, or someone else noted that when you exit and come back into the db the custom fields revert to "custom" in the checkin tab instead of the selected titles input under ADMIN.  This only happened after I went to a previous year looking at data and then came back - I suspect there is a table problem that gets messed up.  I tried to repair the db - nothing changed - I think if this flaw stands it is fatal for the new custom columns

[Rick Leffler]

I agree this must be fixed, and it will be in 4.2.3.x    Thanks!