hope-events/WHATS-NEW.md

What's new in Cross Events

What each version changes for the church, in plain language. Churches see these notes on Site settings → Licence before they ask for an update, so they can decide whether they want it.

1.48.0

• Webhooks. Connect Cross Events to other systems — ChurchSuite, Planning Center, a Google Sheet through Zapier or Make. Choose what to send (new registrations, payments, check-ins, new accounts, published events) in Site settings → Webhooks, and it goes out as it happens.
• Every message is signed so the other system can trust it, failures are tried again automatically, and a delivery log shows what was sent.
• Each webhook is added to your operator register for POPIA. Children's details are never sent.

1.47.4

• Asked for an update, and a newer one came out? The Licence page now shows which version you asked for, tells you when a newer one is out, and lets you ask for that one instead with one button.

1.47.3

• Season passes. Sell a ticket for several events in a series at one price — say all of next year's breakfasts. People buy it on the series page, pay once, and get a ticket for each event.
• The money is shared out over the events in line with their normal ticket prices, so each event's cashup shows its part.
• Set passes up on the Event series page. A pass stops selling when its first event starts.

1.47.2

• Compare a series year on year. A new report puts the events in a series side by side — registrations, tickets, income and how many came — with how much each went up or down from the one before. Open it from Reports, or with Compare on the Event series page.

1.47.1

• Event series. Group events that come back — every year's camp, the monthly breakfast — on one page that shows what's coming up and what's been. Each event in a series links to the next one.
• Follow a series. People can follow a series and get an email when the next event in it is out. It counts as news, so only people who chose to get news and announcements receive it.
• A copied event stays in its series, and a series can have events at different campuses.

1.47.0

• Copy an event. Running the same camp, course or breakfast again? Press Copy on the event and the editor opens with everything filled in: tickets and prices, early birds, sessions, the form, feedback questions, certificates and groups.
• Pick the new start date and every other date moves with it — sessions, deadlines and early-bird dates included. Check each step, change what's different this time, and save.
• Registrations, coupons, attachments, kids check-in and volunteer roles aren't copied.

1.46.2

• See what's new before you update. When a new version is out, the Licence page lists what it brings, so you can decide whether you want it.
• Changed your mind? Withdraw an update request, and your provider is told not to update the site.
• Not now: hide the "update available" reminder until the next version comes out. Updates that fix a security problem or a serious bug are marked in red and can't be put off.
• Notices from your provider, such as planned maintenance, now show as a banner for site admins and supervisors.

1.46.1

• Behind-the-scenes maintenance. Nothing changes for you.

1.46.0

• Volunteer rosters: set up serving roles (Welcome, Parking, Kids, Sound…) per event or session. Anyone with an account can sign up under My account → Serving, or supervisors can assign people.
• Reminders by WhatsApp or email the day before a shift.
• "Can't make it" swaps: a volunteer asks for cover, and the first to accept takes the place.
• Volunteers check in by scanning the event's QR code; kids-room volunteers count as leaders on duty.
• Roster sheet with phone numbers and check-in times, and hours served per person.
• Fixed: the free kids check-in ticket was offered on the public event page.

1.45.1

• The built-in privacy notice and terms of use are brought up to date for kids check-in, sessions, certificates and campuses. If you published your own privacy notice, review it under Admin → Privacy.

1.45.0

• Kids check-in: a secure check-in and pickup for children's ministry, run from a staff desk, with no label printers needed.
• Parents keep their children's details (allergies, medical and custody notes) and authorised adults under My account → Kids.
• Each check-in gives the family a pickup code by WhatsApp or email; children can only be collected with the code.
• Rooms with age ranges, capacity and ratios, live room screens, and an offline desk mode.

1.44.0

• Staff for some campuses: supervisors and staff can be limited to certain campuses (Admin → Users). They then see only those campuses' events, plus events for all campuses, everywhere in the dashboard, reports and the scanner.
• The scanner says which campus a ticket is for.

1.43.0

• Campuses for churches with more than one campus (Site settings → Campuses, off by default).
• Events belong to one campus or to all campuses; the public events page has a campus filter and each campus gets its own page.
• Reports, dashboards, broadcasts and the daily summary can be filtered by campus.
• People can choose their home campus on their profile.

1.42.1

• Behind-the-scenes improvements to licence checking. Nothing changes for you.

1.42.0

• Request update: when a new version is out, press Request update on Site settings → Licence and your provider updates the site for you.

1.41.3

• The platform is now called Cross Events. Nothing else changes, and everyone stays signed in.

1.41.2

• Fixed: the Background jobs page showed last-run times two hours ahead.

1.41.1

• A site without a licence is now read-only until a licence key is connected.
• Fixed: a site whose licence was released kept showing it as active.

1.41.0

• Licences: the site connects to Cross Events with a licence key (Site settings → Licence) and checks in every 15 minutes with its version and health — never anyone's personal information.
• After a licence's end date there's a grace period with a reminder for site admins.
• Site admins see when a newer version is available.

1.40.0

• POPIA toolkit, part 3: a privacy readiness checklist with a score, and links to fix each item.
• Retention settings: choose how long personal information is kept. Inactive accounts are warned and then anonymised after 5 years (on by default).
• Breach register: record security incidents, with draft messages for the people affected and for the Information Regulator.

1.39.0

• POPIA toolkit, part 2: Admin → Privacy (POPIA).
• Edit and publish your own privacy notice, with numbered versions, and ask everyone to accept a new version when it changes significantly.
• A register of the outside services that handle personal information, a consent log, and an access log of who downloaded personal information.

1.38.0

• POPIA toolkit, part 1: a Privacy page for everyone (My account → Privacy): choose whether to get news by email or WhatsApp, download your data, ask for a correction or delete your account.
• Bulk messages are either event updates (to everyone booked) or news (only to people who opted in, with an unsubscribe link). Replying STOP on WhatsApp stops news.
• Admins handle correction and deletion requests under Admin → Data requests.

1.37.4

• Behind-the-scenes improvements to updating the site. Nothing changes for you.

1.37.3

• Behind-the-scenes fix. Nothing changes for you.

1.37.2

• Payment status checks: online payments whose confirmation never arrived from PayFast are found and recorded automatically, with a "Check status" button under Payments → Reconcile.
• A "Test connection" button for the PayFast settings.

1.37.1

• "Pay online" is no longer offered when online payments are off or the amount is under R15; people are told to pay at the event instead.

1.37.0

• PayFast: a second online payment provider (card, instant EFT and more), set up in Site settings → Payments.
• When more than one provider is on, people choose how to pay.

1.36.0

• Site settings → Payments: turn online payment providers on or off and choose their order.
• Online payments must be at least R15; smaller balances are paid at the door.

1.35.1

• Waitlist per session on events where people pick sessions.
• "All sessions" tickets let people choose which sessions they'll come to.
• At the door, walk-ins can be booked straight into today's session.
• Several fixes for per-session tickets and stock limits.

1.35.0

• Pick sessions: a multi-session event can let people choose which sessions to come to — day passes for a conference, or a weekly drop-in class — with a price per session.
• Each session can have its own capacity, and tickets only scan on their own session.

1.34.0

• Background jobs page (Site settings → Background jobs): see every scheduled task, when it last ran, and run it now.
• Scheduled tasks (reminders, summaries, backups) are more reliable and run on South African time.
• Fixed: at the door, multi-day tickets showed as used up from the second session.

1.33.0

• Multi-day events: an event can run over several sessions (e.g. every Wednesday for 5 weeks); people register and pay once.
• Check-in per session, optional reminders before each session, and late joining at a lower price.
• Attendance register with ticks per session and Excel/PDF export.
• Completion certificates with four designs, issued automatically, each with a QR code anyone can check.

1.32.0

• Event cards show an "Early bird" ribbon while early-bird pricing is running.

1.31.1

• A field for Google Search Console verification (Site settings → Organisation).

1.31.0

• The registration funnel recognises visits from Facebook, Instagram, Google and other sites without tagged links, and shows shares and QR code scans separately.
• Events can appear in Google's event listings with their date, venue and tickets.

1.30.1

• All tickets — emailed, WhatsApped and printed — share one clean design, with bigger QR codes.

1.30.0

• People can add an optional donation when they register, paid together with their tickets.
• Fixed: event pages with a waitlist could crash.

1.29.1

• The Coupon codes page is easier to use, including on phones, and hides codes that are off, expired or used up.

1.29.0

• Bundle deals come in four types: an exact set, pick any mix, buy X get Y free, and group discounts.

1.28.3

• Fixed: the bundle deals form didn't fit on the screen.

1.28.2

• The Bundle deals page has a new layout that works on phones.

1.28.1

• Bundle deals work at the door, in manual registration and on the self-service kiosk too.

1.28.0

• Bundle deals: sell a set of tickets together for one price, e.g. 2 adults + 3 kids for R220. They apply automatically, with no code, and the saving shows on invoices and receipts.

1.27.1

• Behind-the-scenes improvements to the demo data. Nothing changes for you.

1.27.0

• Cashups record where each payment method's money ended up: in the bank, cash on hand, or still pending. Card fees and bank charges can be written off with a reason.
• Pending money can be marked received later without reopening the event.
• Every dashboard page has the same "Back to dashboard" link.

1.26.1

• Behind-the-scenes improvements to the demo data. Nothing changes for you.

1.26.0

• Behind-the-scenes upgrades and security updates.
• Fixed: the refund reason didn't show at the door.

1.25.1

• On phones, the cookie notice and the help button no longer hide each other or the menu.

1.25.0

• Yoco settings in Site settings: enter and check the secret key, and set up payment notifications with one click.

1.24.0

• Ticket transfers now need the new holder to accept, by a link sent to them.
• Updated terms of use and privacy policy, with a full cookie policy and a "Cookie settings" link.
• Fixed: activating an account didn't sign you in.

1.23.0

• View as user: admins can see the site exactly as someone else does, to help with problems. It's read-only, limited to 30 minutes and recorded in the audit log.

1.22.0

• Registration funnel report: see where people drop off between viewing an event and paying, by traffic source and device. Only visitors who allow it are counted.

1.21.0

• Post-event feedback: send a short survey after an event, with one reminder, and see the results in a Feedback summary report.
• New form question types: star ratings and multiple choice.

1.20.0

• Sponsor a spot: people can pay for a place for someone who can't afford it, with an optional goal and progress bar.

1.19.0

• Rooms & groups for camps: put attendees into rooms, cabins, small groups or buses by drag and drop or automatically, with printable lists.
• Events can ask each person's gender.

1.18.0

• Ticket transfer: hand a ticket to someone else before the event; the old QR code stops working.

1.17.0

• Offline ticket scanning: download an event's tickets to a device and keep scanning without a connection; scans sync when it's back online.

1.16.0

• Waitlists for sold-out tickets: when a place frees up, the next person is offered it automatically.

1.15.0

• Parental consent for youth events: parents give consent online, with optional medical and emergency details, before their child can be checked in.

1.14.0

• Named attendees: when booking for several people, each person can be named and get their own ticket.

1.13.0

• Coupon codes: percentage, fixed-amount or free codes, with limits on events, dates and uses.
• Staff prices for tickets.
• A Discounts report.

1.12.0

• Two-factor login is now required for admins and supervisors.

1.11.0

• Two-factor login for everyone who wants it: a code by email or WhatsApp after the password, and "Trust this device for 30 days".

1.10.6

• Security updates.

1.10.5

• Events that have started but not finished stay listed on the home and events pages.

1.10.4

• Fixed: "Add to calendar" didn't work.

1.10.3

• More admin actions are written to the audit log.

1.10.2

• Behind-the-scenes fix to error monitoring. Nothing changes for you.

1.10.1

• Security fixes for file uploads, and security updates.

1.10.0

• Add to calendar on event pages and in confirmation emails.
• Better link previews and search engine listings for events.
• Nightly database backups, which you can download from Site settings → Backups.
• Audit log of refunds, donations, manual registrations, cancellations, event changes and settings changes.

1.9.5

• The site copes better with automated traffic probing for pages that don't exist.

1.9.4

• Behind-the-scenes server setting. Nothing changes for you.

1.9.3

• People registered at the door or by staff get their account activation link straight away.
• Fixed: the self-service kiosk's "Choose a password" didn't work.

1.9.2

• Contact-only events no longer get a daily summary email.

1.9.1

• Fixed: the browser tab and home page showed the default name instead of your church's name.

1.9.0

• Events have a location, with a "Directions" link and a map on the event and contact pages.

1.8.0

• Contact-only events (e.g. baptism) show a "Contact us" button instead of registration.
• Invoices and receipts as branded PDFs with registration and payment emails, with a "pay now" link and QR code.
• Fixed: buying more tickets after early bird ended re-priced the tickets already bought.

1.7.0

• Brand colours: primary, secondary and accent colours across the whole site and emails, a favicon, and a live preview. Colours can be suggested from your logo.

1.6.0

• Supervisors can unassign a donation that was applied to a registration.
• Faster payments and dashboards.

1.5.4

• The home page shows "My Dashboard" to people who are signed in.

1.5.3

• Fixed: help popups could be taller than a phone screen.

1.5.2

• Dashboard tiles and charts fit better on phones.

1.5.1

• Fixed: scheduled WhatsApp messages were sent as emails.

1.5.0

• Site redesign: a new look across the whole site, new dashboards with trends and top events, and a "Need help?" button with a guide on every page.
• A separate Contact page, and recent sign-ins on Profile & Security.

1.4.2

• Fixes to how refunds and donations are counted in reports and cashups.

1.4.1

• Reports fit better on phones.

1.4.0

• Reports redesigned: filters that apply to every report, charts, and styled PDF and Excel exports, by email or WhatsApp too.
• Cashups show who recorded each payment, with per-person cash counts.
• A payment link placeholder for messages to attendees.

1.3.2

• The self-service kiosk is safer with returning visitors' details, and asks before changing them.

1.3.1

• The self-service kiosk can find a returning visitor's account.

1.3.0

• Check-in at the door by number of people, without scanning each QR code, and a confirmation message to the ticket holder.

1.2.0

• "Make payment" goes straight to paying the full balance.
• Staff can record a payment straight after a manual registration.

1.1.0

• A payment history page in My account.
• Registration status shows as a coloured badge.

1.0.1

• Closed and past events are tidied away in My Events.

1.0.0

• The first release.