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Restricting event registrations to only allow attendees that match Contacts in Salesforce

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With the Events app, you are able to restrict attendees for a given event to only those who have matching Contacts in Salesforce, if Salesforce integration is enabled for your site and the Events app. You can define the matching criteria on an event by event basis. This matching criteria can consist of one or multiple fields with an Attendee Information field matched to one or more Contact fields in Salesforce. Both standard and custom Attendee Information fields or Salesforce Contact fields can be used for matching purposes.

To use this feature for an event, you must have the attendee information fields enabled. It is recommended that the fields used for matching to a Contact are set as required.

To create matching criteria:

  • Open the event for which you wish to restrict attendees
  • Click the Attendee Info tab
  • Scroll down to the Contact Matching Validation section
  • Click Add Matching Validation
  • In the modal popup, for Source Field, choose the standard or custom Attendee Information field whose value you wish to match to a Contact record in Salesforce
  • For Match Fields, select the Contact field in Salesforce you wish to use when matching the value entered by the registrant in the Source Field
  • If you wish to include additional Contact fields as potential matches with this Attendee Information field, click Add Match Field and select a new field
  • Click Save

If you wish to add another Contact Matching Validation rule, click Add Matching Validation and repeat the process.

What logic is used when there are multiple validation rules?

If you include multiple validation rules, an attendee must match all of them in order to successfully be registered. As an example, if you include Last Name and Email as Source Fields, both must match an existing Contact.

What logic is used when there are multiple Match Fields in a single validation rule?

If you include multiple Match Fields in a single validation rule, an attendee must match one of them in order to successfully be registered. As an example, if you include Email as a Source Field and Email, Personal Email, Work Email, and Other Email as Match Fields, a Contact with a matching email in any of those Contact fields can be registered.

What happens if no matching Contact is found for an individual attendee?

If no matching Contact is found for an individual attendee, the registration is not allowed to process, the registration form is reloaded, and a validation error is displayed, such as the following: "There was an error matching a ticket holder's data to an existing record. Please try again.". This message can be customized for the Events app under Events > Configuration > Attendee Info tab > Matching Validation Error Message.

What happens if multiple matching Contacts are found for an individual attendee?

If multiple matching Contacts are found for an individual attendee, the registration is not allowed to process, the registration form is reloaded, and a validation error is displayed. This is the same message as shown when no matching Contact is found.

Does the Events shopping cart support Contact Matching Validation?

The Events shopping cart does not support Contact Matching Validation at this time. Contact Matching Validation is only available for standard event registrations.

Example Use Case

I am a membership organization. Each member is issued a unique Member Id. This Member Id is included as a custom text field on the Contact record. A Member Id custom field is also included on the Attendee Information form for an event.

I want to allow allow attendees with a valid Member Id to be successfully registered as attendees for the event. To do so, I add a Contact Validation Matching rule with a Source Field of Member Id and a Match Field of Member Id.

Example Use Case Variations

Some possible common iterations on this use case might included:

  • Adding Email as a Source Field and all email fields on the Contact record as Matching Fields to ensure attendees match on both email and Member Id
  • Ensuring that only valid, current members are able to register by creating a formula field on the Contact object that renders the Member Id of the Contact only if the member is in good standing - then using the formula field as the Matching Field in the Contact Matching Validation Rule rather than the Member Id text field

 

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