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Family Portal

The Family Portal (sometimes called the Public Portal) is a token-protected page where families can review their registrants, fill out outstanding forms, set up payment plans, and pay balances without signing in.

It's enabled per event via the Public Portal feature toggle in the event creation wizard's Features step. Once enabled, every family with a registrant on that event gets a unique portal link.

Why it exists​

Most families do not pay in full at registration. The portal lets them come back and pay over time, complete forms they missed, see what they owe, and confirm what's been received.

It also gives admins a clean way to send "you have a balance" or "forms outstanding" reminders that link directly into the family's payment and forms experience.

What families see​

When a family opens their portal link, they see:

  • Each registrant in their family across all active events
  • The total amount due across all registrants
  • Each event's pricing breakdown
  • Any outstanding forms they still need to complete
  • A Pay action that links them to your church database to actually submit a payment

They do not need a password. The link itself is the authentication.

Sign Ups doesn't process the payment itself. The Pay action sends families to your church database (or wherever you collect money) so they can pay there. The new payment appears in Sign Ups on the next database sync.

:::note Screenshot needed family-portal.png: what a family sees when they open their portal link, including balance and Pay button. :::

Each family has a unique URL that includes a secret token. You can grab it from two places:

  • From the registrant slide-out. Open any registrant in Sign Ups → Registrants. The slide-out has a copy/email portal link action for that registrant's family.
  • From the family slide-out. Open a family from Sign Ups → Families. Same actions, scoped at the family level.

You can also automate sending the link through email templates. See Emails.

:::note Screenshot needed family-list-copy-link.png: the registrant or family slide-out with the portal link action visible. :::

Security​

The token in the URL is what authorizes access. Treat it like a password: do not post family portal links publicly. If a token is exposed, you can rotate it from the family's record.

Families cannot see other families' data, even if they have a valid link to their own.

Common questions​

Can a family update their info from the portal? Currently, no. The portal is read-only except for payments. Families needing edits should email you.

Does the portal work on mobile? Yes, it's designed mobile-first. Most families pay from their phones.

What happens after they pay? They pay through your church database. Sign Ups updates the registrant's record and Finances on the next sync. Trigger a manual sync if you need it sooner.

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