Short answer: If you run 4+ events a month with 50+ attendees each, a registration system with payments and QR check-in is worth it, at about NT$120K–350K and 6–10 weeks. If you only hold a few events a year or don't need member data, platforms like Accupass or KKTIX are cheaper.
A professional association runs six talks and workshops a month with 60–120 people each. Registration uses Google Forms and payment is by bank transfer, so staff spend six hours a week matching account digits. Waitlists live in Excel, so freed seats often go unfilled. On event day a paper list means 20-minute check-in lines and late starts.
When it fits and when it doesn't: frequent events and owned member data
The deciding factors are event frequency and whether you want to own attendee data.
| Good fit | Poor fit |
|---|---|
| 4+ events a month or recurring series | 1–3 events a year |
| Member, early-bird and group pricing | One price or free entry |
| Registration data must sync with members or CRM | Data ownership doesn't matter |
| E-invoices, attendance certificates or credits needed | Large ticketed shows needing anti-scalping |
Alternatives: platforms are easy, custom keeps data and flexibility
Most organizers start on a platform and go custom once rules get complex.
- Google Forms plus transfers: free and instant, but manual matching and no waitlist or check-in.
- Event platforms (Accupass, KKTIX, etc.): sell today with payments and QR tickets, but per-ticket fees and platform-owned data and layout.
- WordPress plus plugins: about NT$50K–150K; plugin dependencies, and custom pricing or invoices often need rework.
- Custom system: NT$120K–350K; pricing, waitlists, members and invoices follow your process and the data is yours.
Build process: 6–10 weeks from rules to the first live event
The slowest part is defining pricing and refund rules, not coding.
- Weeks 1–2 | Rules: ticket types, early bird, member price, groups, refunds and waitlist; deliverable is a rules table and Notion spec.
- Weeks 2–3 | Design: Figma screens for registration, payment, e-tickets and admin; deliverable is a clickable prototype.
- Weeks 3–7 | Build: Laravel admin, ECPay payments and e-invoices, LINE notifications, QR tickets, with reminders scheduled through Laravel queues.
- Weeks 8–9 | Testing: simulate sell-outs, cancellations, backfill and refunds; deliverable is a test-case sheet.
- Week 10 | Pilot: run one 50-person event with phone-based QR check-in.
Real costs: add payment fees and messaging to development
First-year total is usually development plus 10–20%.
- Development: basic (registration, payment, QR check-in) NT$120K–200K; full (member pricing, waitlist, invoices, certificates) NT$200K–350K.
- Payment fees: cards around 2–3% depending on your ECPay or other provider contract; NT$300K monthly revenue means about NT$6,000–9,000.
- Notifications: LINE Official Account plans, and SMS at about NT$1 each.
- Hosting and maintenance: hosting NT$1,000–3,000 a month; maintenance from NT$2,000 a month.
- Hidden costs: staff training and 10–20 hours cleaning old registration data.
Reality vs expectations: the biggest gap is refund and waitlist rules
A system follows rules exactly, so unclear rules become errors.
- Expected waitlists to fill automatically; actually you must set a payment window and what happens on timeout.
- Expected QR check-in to always be fast; actually you need an offline list when venue Wi-Fi fails.
- Expected no more reconciliation; actually refunds and voided invoices still need a monthly check.
Common traps and fixes: write rules as a table before building
Three of the five traps are process gaps, not software.
- Verbal refund rules: make them computable, such as full refund 7 days before, 50% at 3 days.
- Too many ticket types: keep four or fewer and use promo codes for the rest.
- No oversell protection: deduct seats only after payment and hold the payment page for 15 minutes.
- Wrong invoice timing: agree with accounting whether to issue on payment or after the event.
- Collecting too much data: ask only for needed fields and disclose use under Taiwan's Personal Data Protection Act.
Success metrics and a 90-day roadmap: watch reconciliation time and check-in speed
The 90-day goal is to halve admin hours.
- Day 30: 80%+ paid online and reconciliation under 2 hours a week.
- Day 60: average check-in wait 5 minutes or less and 70%+ waitlist backfill.
- Day 90: repeat registration is tracked and data drives targeted invites for the next event.
Decision checklist: 7 or more yeses means custom is worth it
Answer yes or no.
- ☐ 4+ events a month
- ☐ 50+ attendees per event
- ☐ 2+ ticket prices
- ☐ Frequent waitlists
- ☐ 3+ hours of weekly reconciliation
- ☐ E-invoices required
- ☐ Attendance certificates or credits required
- ☐ You want attendee data in your own system
- ☐ Platform fees exceed NT$50K a year
- ☐ Must connect to an existing member system or CRM
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions readers ask most, each answered in the first sentence.
How much does an event registration system cost?
About NT$120K–200K for registration, payment and QR check-in; NT$200K–350K with member pricing, waitlists and invoices.
Should I use Accupass or build my own?
Platforms are cheaper for a few events a year. With 4+ monthly events and member data, custom usually pays back in 2–3 years.
Can waitlists backfill automatically?
Yes. When someone cancels, the next person is notified with a payment deadline, then the next.
Can it issue e-invoices?
Yes, by connecting to providers like ECPay to issue invoices on payment or after the event.
Next step: send us your pricing and refund rules
ScriptWalker (a Taiwan Laravel/Flutter custom development studio) plans and builds event registration and ticketing systems, with custom development from NT$80,000. Send your event frequency, ticket types and refund rules, and a free 30-minute call will tell you whether a platform or a custom build fits:
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 0916-224-047
- LINE: @ufv9089p