How do I collect applications and approve attendees before the event?

Applications add friction on purpose. Use them when the right mix of people matters more than the number:

• Workshops and bootcamps with limited seats and a required skill level;
• Hackathons and accelerators that form teams or select projects;
• Closed dinners, salons and networking evenings where every guest shapes the room;
• Sensitive events where you need to know who is coming (see the guide on hiding the location);
• Scholarships or free places at a paid event;
• Volunteer recruitment for your own events.

For open meetups, applications only lower turnout. Keep instant registration there.

Ask only what helps you decide, and say how you decide. Good questions are specific:

• "What do you want to get out of this workshop?" (long text)
• "How many years have you worked with X?" (number or choice)
• "Link to your portfolio or LinkedIn" (text)
• "Can you attend all three days?" (yes/no)

In AET the form combines standard fields (first name, last name, organization, position, phone with a WhatsApp flag, email, selfie, other info), custom fields of 9 types (text, long text, number, email, phone, date, choice, yes/no, photo) and a survey at registration (short text, single choice, multiple choice, yes/no). Mark what is required and drag fields into order.

Five to eight questions is a reasonable maximum; long forms filter out busy people, not unsuitable ones.

Open the event in Edit mode and click the applications counter above the registration form. For each applicant you see their questionnaire answers and can accept or decline. You can also export all applications to Excel to score them with a team.

Tips for a fair process:

• Decide the criteria before reading the first answer.
• Set a review date and say it on the page ("decisions by 15 March").
• If two people review, agree on a simple yes/maybe/no scale.
• Decline politely and quickly — people plan around your answer.

Each applicant receives an email with the decision.

If Paid participation is on, approval triggers an email with a payment link. The link works without signing in to AET. You set how many hours an approved person has to pay; you can send a reminder and extend the deadline for someone who needs more time. Money goes straight into your own plata by mono or Stripe account, and AET takes 0%.

This avoids the classic problem of paid applications: nobody pays before being accepted, and you do not have to refund rejected applicants.

• If QR tickets are on, approved participants get a personal QR ticket by email and on the event page.
• If you hide the venue or time until a set moment, only approved participants receive them at reveal.
• You can open Materials and Cases only to registered participants, for pre-reading or homework.
• At the door, the scanner at aet.events/qr checks each ticket.
• After the event, send a feedback form and invite participants to your community (they join only if they opt in).

• Google Forms plus manual emails works for a few dozen applications but needs copy-paste for every decision, ticket and payment.
• Luma supports approval-required events and is a solid choice for free community events (check its current pricing for paid tickets).
• Dedicated application platforms (for grants, accelerators) offer scoring rubrics, multiple review rounds and reviewer assignment, which AET does not.

AET is a good fit when you want applications, decisions, payment and tickets in one flow for an event-sized cohort.