How a Chicago Company Solved 18+ Hours Weekly Manual Event Registration Using Make

Managing event registrations manually is a time-consuming and error-prone process for many organizations, leading to delays and inefficiencies. 📅 Recently, a company based in Chicago faced a critical challenge: spending more than 18 hours per week just processing event registrations by hand. This case study explores how they utilized the power of Make to automate their workflows, dramatically reducing manual workload while improving accuracy and internal communication.

This article dives deep into the company’s background, the manual process challenges they faced, and the step-by-step automation workflow designed and implemented by RestFlow, delivering Automation-as-a-Service including design, hosting, monitoring, and ongoing support. Startup CTOs, Operations leads, and automation engineers can learn practical insights for integrating tools like Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack, and CRMs using Make.

If you’re looking to understand how automation can transform a repetitive, error-prone process like event registration management, keep reading to discover the solution architecture, workflow nodes, error handling, performance considerations, and results that saved this Chicago company dozens of hours every month.

Feeling inspired to streamline your own processes? Don’t forget to Explore the Automation Template Marketplace to get started faster.

The Problem: Manual Event Registration Overload in Chicago

The client is an event management company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, operating in the Professional Services sector. Their Operations department was primarily responsible for handling event participant registration, a process critical for event success and customer satisfaction.

Originally, event registrations were managed entirely manually. Registrations would come in via web forms and emails, and operations staff would manually collect attendee info into spreadsheets. Then, separate emails confirmed registrations, and data was entered into their CRM for follow-up.

This manual system led to several major pain points:

• Time-consuming tasks: The Operations team logged more than 18 hours weekly consolidating registrations and sending confirmations.
• High error rates: Manual data entry caused frequent typos, duplicate records, and missed updates.
• Lack of visibility: Management had no real-time insight into registration status or capacity limits.
• Slow communication: Delays in confirming registrations frustrated clients and attendees.

Overall, these issues increased operational costs and risked damaging their brand reputation at a critical customer touchpoint.

Our Approach: Discovery and Proposal

At RestFlow, we started by closely collaborating with the Operations team to map the existing registration process. We identified all key data sources and endpoints:

• Incoming registration webforms (via Typeform and email)
• Registration data storage in Google Sheets
• CRM system (HubSpot) for contact management
• Email and Slack channels for participant communication and internal alerts

Our objective was to design an automation solution that:

1. Automatically collects and validates registration data in real-time
2. Eliminates manual copy-pasting between systems
3. Sends automated confirmation emails
4. Updates CRM with attendee info
5. Notifies internal teams via Slack
6. Provides dashboards and reports for management visibility

After evaluating the client’s existing tech stack and automation options, we proposed using Make for orchestration due to its powerful visual workflow builder and native integrations with Google Sheets, Gmail, Slack, and HubSpot APIs. Make’s modular, scalable architecture perfectly fit their needs.

With this approach, the client gained an end-to-end automated event registration workflow that drastically reduced manual interventions and errors.

The Solution: Architecture & Workflow

The automation architecture is built around a centralized Make scenario orchestrating triggers, data processing, and actions across integrated tools and systems.

Global Architecture Overview

• Trigger: Submission of new registration forms via webhook endpoints from Typeform and monitoring of dedicated Gmail inbox
• Orchestration Tool: Make scenario acts as the workflow engine handling all processing logic
• External Services Integrated: Google Sheets (data logging), HubSpot CRM (contact creation and updates), Gmail (confirmation emails), Slack (internal notifications)
• Outputs: Automated confirmation emails, updated CRM records, real-time Slack alerts, and aggregated registration reports via Google Sheets dashboards

End-to-End Workflow Walkthrough

1. Trigger Reception: When a new event registration form is submitted on Typeform, Make receives a webhook trigger containing the registrant’s data.

2. Data Validation: The scenario checks mandatory fields (email, name, event type) and validates email syntax.

3. Duplicate Check: The workflow queries Google Sheets and HubSpot CRM to detect existing registrations for the same event to prevent duplicates.

4. Data Enrichment: Additional metadata such as registration timestamp and event details are appended.

5. Record Logging: The registration data is appended as a new row in a centralized Google Sheet acting as the single source of truth.

6. CRM Sync: A search-and-update operation runs against HubSpot CRM contacts; new registrants are created, or existing contacts updated with registration info.

7. Automated Email: A personalized confirmation email is sent via Gmail, including event details and receipts.

8. Internal Notification: Slack alerts are posted to #event-ops channel notifying the team of new registrations in real-time.

This seamless orchestration replaced hours of manual effort with a single automated pipeline.

Step-by-Step Node Breakdown 🚀

1. Webhook Trigger Node

This node listens for HTTP POST requests from the Typeform registration form. It captures raw JSON data containing all registration fields. Key headers include authentication tokens ensuring secure submissions.

2. Data Validation & Filtering

Using Make filters and conditional routers, this node ensures that email fields match regex patterns and that mandatory fields aren’t empty. Invalid registrations are flagged and logged to a fallback Google Sheet for manual review.

3. Duplicate Detection Node 🔍

This step uses Google Sheets “Search Rows” and HubSpot CRM API “Search Contacts” actions to detect if the registrant’s email already exists. It applies conditional logic: duplicates abort registration confirmation to avoid double-booking.

4. Data Enrichment & Transformation

Enriches data by appending event metadata such as event date, location, and registration timestamp. Uses Make’s built-in expression editor to format dates and concatenate personalized email message fields.

5. Google Sheets Append Row Node

Logs the validated and enriched registration into a central Google Sheet tracking all events’ attendees. Key mappings include mapping JSON registration fields to corresponding sheet columns.

6. HubSpot CRM Add/Update Contact Node

Performs an “upsert” operation on HubSpot contacts via their API. If the contact exists (matching email), updates registration properties; otherwise, creates a new contact. Uses OAuth credentials maintained securely within Make.

7. Gmail Send Email Node 📧

Sends a personalized confirmation email using templates and dynamic placeholders for attendee name, event name, and schedule. Triggers automatically with SMTP configured credentials.

8. Slack Notification Node

Posts a message in the #event-ops Slack channel with registration summary and links for quick access. Uses Slack API with bot tokens scoped for channel posting.

Error Handling, Robustness & Security

Error Handling & Retries

Make’s scenario includes error routers with conditional branches that retry failed API calls with exponential backoff delays. Failed registrations are logged in error dashboards, with Slack alerts notifying ops teams immediately.

Logging & Observability

All transactions, successful or failed, are recorded in dedicated Google Sheets logs enabling audit trails. Make’s run history is actively monitored by RestFlow.

Idempotency & Duplication Avoidance

Conditional checks against stored data ensure no duplicate registrations or emails are processed. Webhook payload IDs are stored and cross-checked for repeated submissions.

Security & Data Protection

API keys and OAuth tokens are stored securely in Make’s credential vault. Access is restricted by least-privilege scopes (read/write on Sheets, limited CRM contact scopes). PII is encrypted where possible, and the workflow adheres to GDPR compliance requirements relevant in the US. RestFlow’s managed hosting environment applies regular security audits.

Performance, Scaling & Extensibility

The architecture supports increasing event volumes smoothly thanks to webhook triggers rather than polling, enabling real-time processing.

Queue control settings in Make allow concurrency management preventing rate-limit violations on third-party APIs.

Workflows are modularized into sub-scenarios facilitating code reuse and version-controlled deployments. This modularity enables easy adaptation for new event types, teams, or even international branches.

RestFlow’s managed hosting ensures infrastructure scalability so the solution can grow in line with business demands.

Comparison Tables

n8n vs Make vs Zapier for Event Registration Automation

Option	Cost	Pros	Cons
n8n	Free self-hosted; Paid cloud	Open source, flexible, strong customization, unlimited workflows locally	Setup complexity, hosting responsibility for reliability/scaling
Make	Starting $9/month (scenarios limits vary)	Visual builder, strong API integrations, good error handling, scalable cloud hosting	Pricing can rise with volume; complex workflows may get resource-heavy
Zapier	Starting $19.99/month	User-friendly, extensive app library, good for simple automation	Limited complex branching, fewer error handling options

Webhook vs Polling for Integration Triggers

Trigger Type	Latency	Resource Usage	Complexity	Use Case
Webhook	Near real-time	Low	Moderate (requires endpoint setup)	Best for event-driven integrations like form submissions
Polling	Delayed (minutes to hours)	Higher (periodic API calls)	Low	Useful if source system has no webhook support

Google Sheets vs Database for Registration Logging

Storage Option	Setup Complexity	Scalability	Reporting Support	Cost
Google Sheets	Low	Limited at very large volumes	Built-in charts, easy for ops teams	Free / included with G Suite
Relational Database (e.g. PostgreSQL)	Higher (requires admin/SQL)	High	Requires custom BI tools for reports	May incur hosting costs

Results & Business Impact

The automated Make scenario delivered immediate and impactful business benefits:

• Time Savings: Over 18 hours weekly previously spent on manual registration management were fully eliminated, freeing the team for higher-value activities.
• Error Reduction: Data validation and de-duplication reduced registration errors by an estimated 95%, improving attendee satisfaction.
• Faster Confirmation: Automated emails and Slack notifications accelerated communication by 70%, enhancing customer experience.
• Improved Visibility: Real-time registration dashboards enabled better planning and informed decisions by management.

Operations staff reported significantly reduced stress and higher productivity. [Source: to be added]

Pilot Phase & Maintenance Disclaimer

As with any complex automation, the workflow underwent an initial pilot phase running with controlled real-life data to validate edge cases and fix minor bugs. This allowed fine-tuning of error handling and conditional logic.

After successful pilot completion, RestFlow continues to manage the scenario through full hosting, monitoring, updating, and auditing ensuring stability and security. Clients benefit from proactive support and improvements without additional operational burden.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

By automating the event registration process using Make, this Chicago company transformed a tedious manual process consuming more than 18 hours weekly into a fully streamlined, accurate, and real-time workflow. RestFlow’s comprehensive Automation-as-a-Service delivered an end-to-end solution encompassing design, implementation, reliable hosting, proactive monitoring, and ongoing maintenance.

This case exemplifies how modern automation techniques can drive operational excellence, reduce human error, and accelerate business communications. Whether you manage events or complex workflows, RestFlow enables your teams to focus on impact by removing repetitive work.

Ready to revolutionize your own processes? Explore the Automation Template Marketplace for ready-made workflows or Create Your Free RestFlow Account today to get started!