Defining General Meeting/Session Product Information

For a master meeting product, the Product Code and Parent Product values are the same. To relate a session to the master meeting product, select the Parent Product of the master meeting. The related sessions are then defined by the Product Code.

 

When creating a SESSION product, for meeting sessions that occur before the actual meeting begins and need to be purchased separately (for example, a pre-conference session), you need to create them as a meeting parent product.

Note.pngFor information on uploading multiple sessions for a master meeting product via an Excel spreadsheet containing the sessions’ details, please see Uploading Sessions for a Meeting Parent Product.

To define the general meeting product:

1.    From the Personify main toolbar, select Meeting Definition > Meeting and Session Setup.
The Product Maintenance search screen displays.

2.    Click Create New Product.

3.    Click Meetings, as highlighted below.
meetings.png
The General Setup screen displays, as shown below.
general.bmp

4.    Enter the Product Code.
Parent Product defaults to the same value.

5.    Enter the Product Name.
Invoice Description defaults to the same value.

6.    Enter a Product Sub-Title (used optionally on the Web).

7.    Check the applicable checkboxes:

a.    Master Product

b.    Available To Order

c.    Zero Price

d.    Default Attendance to “Y”

e.    Returnable

f.      Members Only

g.    One Price Only

h.    Allow Price Update

i.      Include In Program

8.    Select the Product Type from the drop-down.
To create a session product, select "Break-Out Session" from this drop-down. Meeting subproducts include "Badge", "Exam Product" and "Sponsorship/Other Fees".

Note.pngBadges can only be created for meeting parent products. You can not create a badge for a session unless it is considered a pre-conference session, at which point you would create the pre-conference session as its own meeting parent product, thus allowing you to create an additional badge for the pre-conference session.

9.    Select the Product Class from the drop-down.

10.  Select the Product Status from the drop-down.

11.  Select the Available from date from the drop-down.

Note.pngThe Available From date cannot be changed if orders have already been created for it.

12.  If necessary, select the Available thru date from the drop-down.

13.  If necessary, click the Primary Search Group link and search for a Primary Search Group to link to the product.

14.  In the Meeting Products section, perform the following:

a.    Click the Facility link and search for a facility.
Available facilities are defined on the Meetings Facility Maintenance screen. For more information, please see Setting Up Facilities for Meetings.

b.    Enter the Location, if necessary.

c.    Select the Room and Configuration from the drop-downs.

Note.pngIf the meeting has multiple facilities, you can select the additional facilities on the Assign a Room screen. For more information, please see Assigning a Room.

15.  Select the applicable checkboxes:

·           Predefine Conference Room Inventory

·           Predefine Requirements Inventory

·           Allow Registration Time Conflicts

·           Allow Capacity Override

·           Is a Donation

·           Multi-Day

16.  Enter the Begin Date & Time and End Date & Time.

Note.pngIf you update the Begin Date & Time and/or End Date & Time of the meeting product, the system will NOT ask if you want to also update the Start Date and End Date of the room assignments. To manually update the Start Date and End Date of the room assignments, access the Assign a Room screen. For more information, please see Assigning a Room.

17.  Select the Last Registration date from the drop-down.

18.  Select the Last Refund date from the drop-down.

19.  Click Save.

Screen Element Description

General Product Setup
Subsystem Read-only. The area, or module, with which the product is associated.
Product Code Text box. For master products, the Parent Product is the same as the Product Code. For subproducts, the Product Code is the event/session name and the Parent Product is the master meeting product.
Parent Product Link and text box. For master products, the Parent Product is the same as the Product Code. For subproducts, the Product Code is the event/session name and the Parent Product is the master meeting product. This code must be unique and can be alphanumeric.
Product Name Text box. Describes the meeting name. This is an alphanumeric field with approximately 120 characters.
Invoice Description Text box. Defaults to the Product Name. If your Product Name is extraordinary long, you can edit the Invoice Description to 50 characters. If the Invoice Description is longer than 50 characters, it will be cropped off the invoice.
Product Sub-Title

Text box. This sub-title of the product is used optionally on the Web.

 

For example, while creating a meeting product, if you are unsure of the exact location of the facility, use the Product Sub-Title field to list the city and state of the meeting location.
Product Type Drop-down. The primary type of product. For example, meeting or break-out session. The type selected affects the choices for Product Class.
Product Class Drop-down. Used to classify any meeting product (master or subproduct) to distinguish between break-out sessions and social events from general sessions. It can also be used to give a discount to a certain class of products. The options available are determined by the Product Type selected.
Product Status Drop-down. The status of the meeting product. Values include Active, Cancelled, and Discontinued.
Status Date Read-only. System-generated status change date.
Available from Drop-down. Defaults to the system date, but it can be overridden. The date from which the meeting product will be available from.
Available thru Drop-down. This field is usually left blank unless there is a specific date on which registrations will close. If a date is entered, the meeting product will not be available for orders after this date.
Primary Search Group Link. This is an optional feature that allows organizations to assign a search group code to products and customers, so that back-office staff assigned to that primary search group can optionally pre-filter searches for customers or products by their assigned primary search group. Primary search group codes are defined on subgroup customer records and mapped to zip codes. An organization can have customers be automatically assigned to a primary search group based on the zip code of their primary address by setting the "CUS" "AUTOMATIC_SEARCH_GROUP_ASSIGNMENT" application parameter to "Y".

Options
Master Product Checkbox. When checked, indicates whether this product can stand alone. When unchecked, it implies that the product cannot be entered directly without already having another product with the same parent product but different product code. The checkbox defaults to checked when the product code and parent product code are identical.
Available to Order Checkbox. When checked, sets this as an active meeting product for purchase by customers. An example of why it would not be selected is if you are blocking rooms for a board meeting.
Zero Price

Checkbox. When checked, indicates this product is available for $0, so you can validate the product without entering pricing and GL account information. You still must enter a default rate code.

Note.pngThis checkbox should only be selected BEFORE entering GL account and pricing information.
Default Attendance to “Y” Checkbox. When checked, indicate the attendance status for those who order this meeting product will be automatically set to “Y”. If this is checked for the Parent Product, then the session will automatically be checked. This checkbox was added in the 7.2.2 release so you no longer have to manually set the attendance for registrants once the meeting is completed.
Returnable Checkbox. When checked, indicates this product can be returned.
Members Only Checkbox. When checked, sets that only members can buy this meeting product.
One Price Only Checkbox. When checked, indicates pricing cannot be targeted solely to one rate structure and all rate structures receive the same price. Processing time is quicker when the product is available to all purchasers and this checkbox is checked. When unchecked, indicates the rate structures apply to the price of the product.
Allow Price Update Checkbox. If this checkbox is selected, the Unit Price field is editable on the Order Entry screen and the Line Item Details screen.

 

If the price of the product is $0 and this checkbox is selected, the Line Status will default to Proforma regardless of the Org Unit Line Status default. The system assumes that the price will be manually changed.
Include in Program Checkbox. When checked, indicates the meeting should be included in the program.
Has Assigned Sales Rep Checkbox. When checked, indicates this product has a sales representative assigned.

Meeting Products
Facility Link. Displays a list of facilities that were setup in the Meeting Facilities screen. Hotels/venues not specifically designated as a “facility” will not display. Available facilities are defined on the Meetings Facility Maintenance screen. For more information, please see Setting Up Facilities for Meetings.
Location Text box. A free-form field where you can define more information for the facility. This field is not used for a room name and is not required.
Room

Drop-down. Select a defined meeting room, e.g., Banquet Hall, Conference Room, Ballroom, Classroom. The options available depend on the room types selected on the Facility Setup screen.

Note.pngIn order for a session floor map to display on the mobile device, the room selected must correspond with the defined floor map. See Linking Exhibitor Floor Mappings for more information.
Configuration Drop-down. The meeting room setup. Common examples include classroom, rounds, lecture, theater, etc.
Predefine Conference Room Inventory Checkbox. When checked, enables the Meeting Room Inventory screen. See Defining Meeting Room Inventory for more information. Select this checkbox if you want to define an inventory of the conference rooms because you only want certain rooms to be available for the meeting. Only check this checkbox if you want to schedule rooms within specific time slots. This invokes the scheduling conflict management. When unchecked, select the Room and Configuration from the drop-downs.
Predefine Requirements Inventory Checkbox. When checked, indicates you must set up vendors, supplies, and an equipment inventory prior to scheduling that inventory for meeting sessions. If checked, once you use the inventory, you cannot assign any more because the inventory is predefined. Enables the Requirement Inventory and Session Requirements screens. See Defining Meeting Product Requirement Inventory and Defining Meeting Product Session Requirements for more information. When unchecked, you can order more requirements if necessary because you did not predefine the inventory.
Allow Registration Time Conflicts

Checkbox. Indicates whether the Order Entry screen should allow entry of meeting sessions which possess time conflicts, and whether Personify should allow a meeting registrant to register for more than one session at one time. The checkbox defaults to unchecked.

 

When checked, the Order Entry screen allows you to override the conflict. When unchecked, Personify does not allow a registrant to have active registrations for events that conflict in time with existing Order Detail lines for the same ship-to customer. Although the sessions can be added to the order (to allow for changing the ship-to customer), when you save the order a warning message will display stating that you cannot register because of time conflicts.

Note.pngYou can define a main meeting product and its sessions to have differing values for this field. For example, this logic can be used to not allow time conflicts for a main educational meeting but to allow time conflicts for social events of the main meeting.
Allow Capacity Override Checkbox. When checked, indicates the capacity set on the Define Capacity screen can be overridden when ordering a meeting product. If you select to override capacity when entering a meeting order, the meeting capacity increases by “1” on the Capacity Definition screen. See Defining Meeting Capacity for more information on that screen.
Is a Donation

Checkbox. When checked, indicates that when you purchase this meeting product, it will count as a donation. The amount paid for the meeting registration is included in the giving analysis and recognition. When unchecked, indicates this meeting product is not related to fundraising or donations.

 

If this meeting product is linked to a campaign with a recognition structure on the Product Central > Related to Fundraising screen, then the donor will achieve recognition when he/she purchases the meeting product and receives fundraising credit.
Multi-Day

Checkbox. When checked, indicates this meeting is one session of an event that spans multiple days or sessions. Registrants must register for all of these in the series. When scheduling conflicts are not allowed, the registrant must have all sessions available in the schedule or not register for any of them. A multi-day event is defined as a package, where the individual events cannot be registered for by themselves. The individual events would therefore be “not available” to orders.

 

For the multi-day functionality to work properly, you must define the schedule for the meeting by clicking the “Multi-Day Schedule Detail” button. Please see Defining Room Assignments for a Multi-Day Meeting for more information.
Begin Date & Time Drop-down. Defaults to the system date, but can be overridden. The official published date and time of the meeting product.
End Date& Time Drop-down. The official published ending date and time of the meeting product. This date is different from the Begin Date if the Multi-Day checkbox is selected. For single-day meetings, select the same date as the Begin Date.
Last Registration Drop-down. The last day on which a registration can be entered into the system. It defaults to the end date. For Sessions, it defaults to the start date of meeting.
Last Refund Drop-down. The last day that a refund can be generated for this meeting or session. For Sessions, it defaults to the start date of meeting.
Multi-Day Schedule Detail Button. Displays the Room Assignment (MTG005) screen when you can define the schedule for the meeting. See Defining Room Assignments for a Multi-Day Meeting for more information.
Visual Display Button. Displays the Meeting Scheduling (MTG002) screen. You can view the schedule for the open meeting/session product by day, week, or month in a calendar format. This calendar is for viewing purposes only and you cannot print it.
Clear Schedule Button. Clears the Facility and Room Assignment information.