Evalato’s December 2023 update delivers more options for applicants and entry management 

With the holiday season just around the corner, Evalato’s latest update rivals Santa’s sack of toys this year, delivering more functionality for program organizers using the awards management software, including refunds, and enhancing the Applicant portal. The new features come hot on the heels of Evalato’s forms and fields update which significantly improved data handling and user experience.        

More functionalities for applicants 

Evalato’s new update adds more features to the software’s flagship Applicant portal, giving your program’s applicants the options to: 

• Add new entries — with just a click, your program applicants can add entries for submission, and if they happen to be paid, make a payment straight from the Applicant portal; 
• Change the category of an entry — your applicants can select another category for an existing entry if they have made a mistake or have had time to reconsider. 

Naturally, Evalato gives you the power to decide whether to enable these options for your applicants or not, depending on your program.

And that’s not the only improvement for applicants this time around, with Evalato also updating its cancelation fee functionality. With the new update, the awards management software now keeps the default cancelation fee at zero, if an entry is canceled before payment, and at the full price if cancelation occurs after payment. While you naturally have the final say in setting every amount, this tweak adds an extra layer of convenience for your applicants.    

New “Request changes” status 

The update also comes with a significant online awards program management improvement, adding a new resubmission status for your program applications, namely: 

• Request changes — you can ask your applicants to amend and resubmit their entries before the submission deadline

Note that this is in addition to the already existing Request resubmission status that enables you to give your applicants the option to resubmit their entries even after the submission deadline. You also get to approve applications, set them as draft, or reject them, in which case your applicants will no longer be able to resubmit them. 

Migration for better application management 

The new status change provides more application management options for better program customization. Note that if you have an existing program in Evalato, this means the following:  

• If you have allowed the re-submission of rejected applications, any existing applications with a Rejected status are automatically migrated to a Changes requested status since with the update, rejecting an application is final.  
• If you have not allowed the resubmission of rejected applications, there will be no changes to the status of your existing applications. 

Did anyone say refunds? 

In the world of online payments, refunds are absolutely essential. So, if you charge entry fees for your program, sometimes applicants will need to cancel their entries and ask for a refund. 

The latest Evalato update gives you the option to record and add refunds in the awards management software as a negative value in the case of an overpayment.

This improvement helps you stay on top of your program revenue at all times and ensures better customer service for your applicants.        

Closed tooltips for an even more intuitive application form 

The new update makes Evalato’s application form more user-friendly than ever — you can now enhance every form field with a closed tooltip to give extra information to your applicants while maintaining the form’s sleek look. 
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More gifts on the way 

As always, Evalato has more neat features in the pipeline, to make your program even smarter and help you grow. In the meantime, you can head over to Evalato Academy to hone your awards management skills and kick off the new year with a cool certificate.