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Need a Streamlined Solution for Tracking Participant Signups and Billing

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VentureOff
4 - Data Explorer
4 - Data Explorer

Hello Airtable Community,

I’m currently working on improving our Airtable system and could use your expertise. We have a setup where participants sign up for trips, and upon signup, we need to automatically generate a billing record. Here's the challenge I hope you can help me solve:

We have a "Trips" table with trips that participants can sign up for, and a "Participants" table with a list of individuals who may sign up for multiple trips over time. When a participant signs up for a trip, we need to:

  1. Identify the most recent participant who signed up for a trip.
  2. Create a record in a "Billing" table that links the participant, the trip, and the cost associated with that trip to generate a bill.

The main obstacle is that the participants are existing records, and their signups do not create a new participant record; they're simply linked to another trip. Here’s what we’re aiming for:

  • A fully automated process: From the moment a participant signs up for a trip, the system should identify this latest addition and then create a corresponding billing record without manual input.
  • Avoidance of complex multi-step automations: We prefer a solution that doesn't involve creating additional junction tables or extensive scripting, keeping the system manageable and user-friendly.

The current setup is as follows:

  • A "Trips" table with a linked field to "Participants."
  • A "Participants" table with all individual records.
  • A need to track the latest participant signup and create a billing record accordingly.

Constraints:

  • We cannot rely on the 'Created Time' for participants as they are pre-existing records.
  • We're looking to minimize manual processes and complex automations.

Could anyone suggest a formula, automation, or a restructuring of our base that could provide a seamless solution for these requirements? Your help would be invaluable and greatly appreciated.

1 Reply 1

Hey @VentureOff

Nice case study, I am building something similar like a digital tour guide for my home city in Greece. 

My first thought is to recommend using softr.io for the frontend for your users. This will create a better user experience for your users who then will sign in to see all available trips and when they choose one trip then the right record will be created in your base. 

However, in your current system what I got is that your users sign up for a specific trip to join. If that's right then you could use prefill and hidden objects on your forms so then the form that is submitted from the chosen trip, will include the user's record id and the trip's record id. Then when the from is submitted you can trigger the automation to create the record in billing table. 

On the other hand if am wrong, would you like to explain more about the sign up process or send us a sample? I am always happy supporting 😊 😎

Yours sincerely, 
Dimitris Goudis