3. Set up Vendors¶

Where: the event site, under Vendors (your event may call it Dealers or another name). You need: admin on the Vendors module (see Step 5 — Make sure someone can administer each module).

Before you start¶

The event has a working Stripe key (1. Create the event). Table sizes cannot be saved without one.
The Vendors module is switched on.
You know your table prices. A table size’s price cannot be changed after you create it.
You know your vendor types — the separate groups you take applications for, such as Dealers Den and Artist Alley.

The settings pages are under Vendors → Advanced. If you are an admin but the Advanced group is missing from your menu, open the addresses given below directly.

Step 1 — Create table sizes¶

Table sizes are one shared list. Later, each vendor type’s form chooses which of them it offers.

Open Vendors → Advanced → Vendor Settings (/app/vendors/system/settings/). You start on the Table Sizes tab.
Click Add New Table Size and fill in:
- Table Size Name and Description.
- Table Size Price (whole dollars).
- Maximum Number of Vendors and Maximum Number of Assistants for a space of this size.
Click Create Table Size. Repeat for each size.

Step 2 — Review the payment settings¶

Open the Table Payment Settings tab.

For most events: leave Enable Separate Table Payment off. Vendors then pay for their table alone, and register for the event as a separate checklist task.
Turn it on only if a registration badge should be charged in the same checkout as the table. The box titled How will this look to the end user? describes exactly what vendors will experience with your current choices — read it before you click Save Settings.
Message is shown to the vendor just before they pay. Use it for anything they must know first, such as your refund policy.

Step 3 — Review the e-mails¶

Open the E-mails tab. Midsummer fills in a default for each; read them and put them in your own words. For each: edit, Render Preview, Save.

E-mail	Sent
Accepted E-mail	Automatically, when you approve an application. Tell vendors here to sign in and complete their checklist.
Rejected E-mail	Automatically, when you reject an application.
Vendor Waitlisted E-mail	Only when you click Send Email on a waitlisted application. It is not automatic.
Payment Confirmation E-mail	Automatically, after a successful table payment.

Applicants also get a short, fixed “application received” e-mail when they submit. It cannot be edited.

Step 4 — Create a vendor type¶

Open Vendors → Advanced → Vendor Types & Forms (/app/vendors/system/ingest-form/) and click Add New Vendor Type.
Fill in:
- Vendor Type Name and Description.
- Applications Open Date and Applications Close Date — set both. Applications are accepted from the open date through the close date, inclusive.
- Include Registration with Vendor Type — whether event registration is part of this vendor type’s flow.
- Allow Assistants — whether vendors of this type may bring assistants.
Click Create Vendor Type. It appears as a card; while today is inside the dates, the card shows Currently Open.

Warning

Never leave a vendor type’s dates empty, and do not clear them later. To close applications, set the close date to a past date instead.

Step 5 — Build the application form¶

Click Edit Form on the vendor type’s card. You start on the Application Form tab.

Minimum requirements. The form cannot be saved without these two fields:

Field	What to do in it
Vendor Basic Details	Collects the business and contact details. Add it, open Edit, and save.
Table Sizes	Add it, open Edit, and click each table size this vendor type may choose so it is selected. If no size is selected, nobody can submit the form.

Then:

Click Add New Field and add Vendor Basic Details and Table Sizes, configured as above.
Add your own questions — Input Field, Select Field, Multi Select Field, Checkbox Field, Signature Pad, and Markdown Text for instructions or rules.
For each field, set its Label and whether it is Required.
Click Save Form.

Warning

Every field you add must be opened with Edit and saved once, even if you change nothing. Until then, applicants see “Waiting for initial configuration…” in its place.

Edit Form Details in the same editor holds the name, dates, and options from Step 4, plus Require Registration — turn it on to accept applications only from people who already hold a paid registration.

Step 6 — Build the vendor checklist (for EVERY vendor type)¶

Danger

Do not open applications for a vendor type until this step is done for that type.

Approved vendors pay for their table through the Pay for Table task on their checklist. There is no other payment button.
A new vendor type starts with an empty checklist.
Checklists are not shared between vendor types and cannot be copied. If you have three vendor types, you build three checklists.

In the vendor type’s form editor, open the Required Tasks tab.

Click Add Task and pick a task type:

Task	What it does
Pay for Table	Takes the vendor to Stripe to pay for the table size they chose. Done when the payment succeeds. Always include this.
Register for Event	Sends the vendor to a registration form — the one you choose in the task’s options, or the event’s primary form if you choose none. Done once they hold a paid registration for this event.
Register Assistants	Lets the vendor add their assistants. Hidden automatically for vendor types that do not allow assistants.
Book Hotel Room	A link to your hotel booking page. The vendor ticks it off themselves.
Custom Task / Link	Any other link — a tax form, your vendor policies, a load-in sign-up. The vendor ticks it off themselves. Add as many as you need.
Sign a Contract	Not available yet. Leave it off the checklist.

For each task, fill in:
- Task Name and Description — the description is shown to the vendor and supports Markdown. Say what you need and by when.
- Prerequisites — tasks that must be finished first. The vendor sees the task locked, with “Complete … first.”
- Task Options — for link tasks, the address to open. For Register for Event, the registration form vendors are sent to: pick your vendor registration form here if you have one (2. Set up Register).
Drag the tasks into the order vendors should work through them.
Click Save Tasks. This is a separate button from Save Form — the checklist is not saved until you click it.
Repeat for every other vendor type.

A sensible starting checklist:

Pay for Table
Register for Event
Register Assistants — with Pay for Table as a prerequisite
Book Hotel Room
One Custom Task / Link for each form or policy vendors must complete

Good to know:

Vendors see the checklist only once their application is approved.
Changes apply immediately to vendors who are already approved.
To change a task after vendors have started on it, edit it. Deleting a task and adding it again clears the ticks vendors have already made.

Step 7 — Optional extras¶

Jury — Vendors → Advanced → Jury Settings → Create New Jury. Only needed if a jury will score applications. It does not have to exist before applications open.
Documents — Vendors → Applications → Document Center → Upload Document. Files are attached to a vendor type and shown to its vendors — floor plans, load-in instructions, rules.

Step 8 — Test it¶

For each vendor type:

Open the vendor dashboard (Vendors → Dashboard) and confirm the type is listed as open.
Submit a test application with a test account.
In Vendors → Applications → Vendor Responses, click Approve on it, and check the accepted e-mail arrives.
As the test account, open the application. Confirm the Required Tasks card appears, shows every task you expect in the right order, and that each task’s button goes where it should — especially Pay for Table.

Ready check¶

Every table size you sell exists, at the right price.
The four e-mails read the way you want.
Every vendor type has both dates set.
Every vendor type’s form has Vendor Basic Details and Table Sizes, with the right sizes selected.
Every vendor type has a saved checklist that includes Pay for Table — and you have seen it as an approved test vendor.