We recently announced a migration of Lightbox registration customers to the RunSignup platform.
Lightbox – RunSignup FAQ
Why is Lightbox partnering with RunSignup?
We have always been focused on how we can help our customers. After analysis of all of the features that RunSignup has in their platform, we made the decision that we would not be able to provide as wide a set of features at an affordable price. RunSignup has over 20,000 races using the platform, and this broad community provides the critical mass to allow them to continue to develop more and more features.
Will I have to pay more?
Like Lightbox, the RunSignup platform is free to use, and they make money by charging a transaction fee. In most cases, this fee will be lower.
Lightbox Fees:
- $1.25 per Participant
- 6.25% of the transaction total
RunSignup Fees:
- $1.00 per Transaction (not per participant, so this should be a big savings)
- 5.8% of the transaction total (going to 6.0% for races created after May 1, 2022)
- 4% flat fee for donations
RunSignup pricing can be found on their website at https://runsignup.com/Pricing.
What key features does RunSignup have that are an upgrade from Lightbox?
There are many features, but here are some highlights:
- Free Website
- Free EMail
- Extensive marketing tools such as Referral Rewards
- Flexible self service participant management options for deferrals, event transfers and refunds
- Integrated Donations and Fundraising options
- PCI Level 1 Security
- Fully Approved and Automated Payment Facilitator by Visa, Mastercard, American Express
How do I learn about RunSignup?
There is a great hub of information at http://runsignup.com/getstarted. There is also a wealth of Getting Started information on their support pages, including extensive documentation, screen shots, video and webinars on specific topics. They also have an excellent YouTube Channel.
How do I get started on RunSignup?
You can get started immediately if you want by going to RunSignup.com and clicking on Get Started.
How will I get paid by RunSignup?
When you set up your first race, you will be setting up a Payment Account. RunSignup is a Payment Facilitator, which means they are kind of like a branch bank. In the background, they set up a merchant account for you with the credit card companies and hook that to your bank account. Just like a bank, they will have to verify your information including Tax ID and bank account information to comply with credit card processing laws. It is a more formal and automated process than LIghtbox.
I heard RunSignup takes care of sales tax processing – how does that work?
Yes, RunSignup takes care of automatically calculating and charging sales tax on each transaction based on a set of complex state and local rules. They collect the tax and make payments to the 9,000 jurisdictions across the US that collect sales tax. You can read more at https://runsignup.com/SalesTax.
Will I still be able to use iResults?
Yes. Steve Delahunty will continue to work on iResults as well as other race technology. That technology will be integrated with RunSignup as part of the partnership agreement.
My race is already open on Lightbox, should I switch mid-stream?
Probably. Work with the team at Lightbox and RunSignup to make sure that the race setup in RunSignup is properly configured, and then to help with transfer of participants who are already registered.
Will I have access to my old Lightbox Race Information in the future?
Yes, Steve Delahunty has agreed to keep the site up and available for at least a year until March, 2023. This will allow customers to export participant and email information and import it onto the RunSignup platform easily.
RunSignup Contacts for help
RunSignup has a robust help and support system available at https://help.runsignup.com/. You can also email info@runsignup.com. It is also important to work with your timer to make sure your race is set up with their timing systems.
