Collect Tap to Pay, card reader, and manual checkout payments against a guest’s Event Balance during your in-person event.
The RallyUp Events app is a free mobile app for iOS and Android that lets your event staff collect in-person payments for a RallyUp Campaign. Install it on the phones your team will use at check-in or checkout, and staff can charge a guest’s Event Balance using a connected Stripe M2 Reader, the phone’s built-in Tap to Pay, a manually entered card, or cash or check — all without leaving the checkout line.
The app only collects payment on Event Balances that already exist in your Campaign. It is not a general point-of-sale tool for one-off or walk-up payments. If a purchase, bid, or donation hasn’t already been added to a guest’s Event Balance, the app can’t charge them for it.
For background on how Event Balances work, see Understand: Event Balances and Guest Numbers.
Availability: The RallyUp Events app is currently available for Android on Google Play. The iOS version is coming soon.
Before You Begin
Make sure the following are in place before your event:
- Event Balances are enabled on your Campaign. The app can only collect payment against Event Balances, so your in-person Campaign needs this turned on ahead of time. See How do I enable Event Balances? if you haven’t set this up yet.
- Each staff member has an organizer or admin login. Anyone using the app to collect payments needs to log in as the Campaign organizer or another administrator on the Campaign — there’s no separate staff-only login.
- Every device has an internet connection. The app requires an internet connection to look up Event Balances and process payments. If a device loses its connection, the app will show a notice until the connection is restored.
- You’ve decided how staff will collect payment. Card reader and Tap to Pay both need a small amount of setup before the event — see How do I set up a payment method? below.
How do I download and log into the app?
- On each device your staff will use at the event, download the RallyUp Events app:
- Android: Get it on Google Play.
- iOS: Coming soon.
- Open the app and log in with your existing RallyUp organizer or admin account, the same way you’d log in on the web app. You can log in with email, log in via social, reset your password, or create a new account from this screen.
- By default, the app scopes itself to your active Campaign with in-person Gala features enabled. If it picks up the wrong one, you can change it — see How do I switch which Campaign the app is scoped to? below.
- The first time you log in, if you haven’t connected a payment method yet, you’ll see a prompt letting you know the app works best with an M2 Reader connected. Select Connect to set one up now, or Close to go straight to the Balances screen and connect one later.
How do I set up a payment method?
Go to Settings in the bottom navigation to set up how your team will collect payment. Manual card entry and cash/check are always available with no setup, but a card reader and Tap to Pay each need to be connected first.
How do I connect a Stripe M2 Reader?
- In Settings, select Connect Readers.
- If this is the first time anyone has connected a reader, you’ll be asked to select or create a Location first. Stripe requires every reader to be registered to a Location:
- Choose an existing Location under your Stripe account, or
- Select Create a new Location and enter the address.
- Once a Location is set, select the button to connect a new reader. This opens the Discover Readers screen.
- Hold the M2 Reader nearby and make sure it’s turned on. Pair the M2 Reader through the RallyUp Events App, not your device’s Bluetooth settings — the app needs to connect to it directly, and pairing it through your device’s settings first will prevent the app from finding it.
- Select your reader from the list once it appears. If a required software update needs to install, the app will show the update’s progress — don’t turn the reader off while this is happening.
- Once connected, you’ll see the reader’s battery level, registered Location, serial number, and software version. Select Continue to return to Connect Readers with the reader active, or Disconnect to unpair it.
Any reader you’ve connected before will be listed under Previously connected for quick reconnecting at your next event.
How do I enable Tap to Pay?
Tap to Pay lets staff accept contactless payments directly on a supported iPhone or Android device — no reader required.
- In Settings, select Tap to Pay.
- If you haven’t set a Location yet, you’ll be prompted to select or create one, the same as for Connect Readers.
- Select Enable.
- If the device doesn’t support Tap to Pay, you’ll see a message letting you know. Otherwise, Tap to Pay switches to Enabled and becomes available as a payment option at checkout.
- To turn it off, return to this screen and select Disable.
Note for iPhone users: the first time you use Tap to Pay on a given Stripe account, Apple will ask you to accept terms and conditions and link the account to a valid Apple ID.
How do I set a default payment method?
In Settings, select Default payment method to see every payment method set up on the device. Any method that isn’t active yet (for example, a card reader that hasn’t been connected) is still listed but greyed out. Choose the method your team will use most often — it’ll be selected automatically when staff open the charge screen at checkout, though anyone can still switch to a different method for an individual guest.
How do I find a guest’s Event Balance?
There are two ways to find a guest’s Event Balance, depending on where you are in the checkout process.
Browsing the Balances screen
Select Balances in the bottom navigation to see a list of every Event Balance on the Campaign. For each guest, you’ll see their name, Guest Number, email address, balance amount, and status (Paid or Unpaid).
- Search: use the search bar to find a guest by name, Guest Number, or email address.
- Filter: use the filter control to show All, Unpaid, or Paid balances. The screen defaults to Unpaid only.
- Pagination: balances are shown 10 per page.
Select any guest in the list to open their Event Balance.
Looking a guest up at checkout
When a guest is ready to pay, select Checkout in the bottom navigation instead. This gives your team a faster, dedicated lookup screen for moving through a line of guests:
- Enter the guest’s Guest Number or email address.
- The app takes you straight to their Event Balance — no need to search or scroll through the full list.
The Event Balance screen
However you get there, the Event Balance screen shows the guest’s name, Guest Number, and email, along with a line-item list of everything on their balance — tickets, donations, auction items, bids, and so on. In this release, you can view the items on a balance but can’t add, remove, or edit them from the app; make those changes from the web app instead.
From here, select the Charge button to collect payment — see How do I collect payment for an Event Balance? below.
How do I collect payment for an Event Balance?
From a guest’s Event Balance screen, select Charge to see up to four ways to collect payment, depending on what you’ve set up. Not every donor pays the same way, so your team can pick whichever method fits the moment.
Card reader
Only available once you’ve connected an M2 Reader.
- Select the card reader option.
- The app shows the charge amount and the guest’s name and Guest Number, and prompts them to swipe, insert, or tap their card on the connected reader.
- On success, you’ll see a Payment Complete screen with a button back to where you started (the Checkout lookup screen or the Balances list).
- On failure, you’ll see a Failed notice and return to the swipe/insert/tap screen to try again. Select Cancel at any point to back out and return to the Event Balance screen.
Tap to Pay
Only available once you’ve enabled Tap to Pay on the device.
- Select the Tap to Pay option.
- Have the guest tap their contactless card, phone, or smartwatch against your device.
- On success, you’ll see a Payment Complete screen with a button back to where you started.
- On failure, you’ll see a Failed notice and return to the Event Balance screen, where you can select Charge again to retry.
Manual card entry
Always available, no setup required.
- Select the manual card entry option.
- Enter the card details, plus an optional billing address.
- On success, you’ll see a Payment Complete screen with a button back to where you started.
- On failure, you’ll see a Failed notice and return to the Event Balance screen.
Cash or check
Always available, no setup required. Use this to record an offline payment so your books stay complete.
- Select the cash or check option.
- Choose whether you’re recording cash or a check. For a check, enter the check number and date.
- Once submitted, you’ll see a Payment Entered screen with a button back to where you started.
How do I test the app before my event?
Test Mode lets you and your team practice checking guests out with sample data and a Stripe test card, without touching real Event Balances.
- Go to Settings and select Test Mode to enable.
- While Test Mode is on, the app scopes itself to a designated practice Campaign with sample balances, and a colored banner appears throughout the app to remind you that you’re seeing sample data, not your real event. Select the banner at any time to jump back to this screen and disable it.
- Charge a sample balance using a Stripe test card to confirm your reader or Tap to Pay setup is working. Test charges show a success or failure result, but they don’t actually change the balance’s status — so the same sample balance can be tested again, including by other staff members.
- Select Disable when you’re done to return to your real Campaign.
We recommend running through Test Mode with every device and payment method you plan to use before your event starts.
How do I get help from within the app?
Go to Settings and select Contact Support for three ways to reach us without leaving your event:
- Visit our Help Center — opens our Help Center in your device’s browser.
- Live Chat — opens chat support right inside the app.
- Email Us — opens your device’s email app with our support address pre-filled.
This screen also lists our support hours and a phone number you can call for help during a live event.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the RallyUp Events app free?
Yes. The app is free to download for Android now, with iOS coming soon. Transactions processed through the app are still subject to your Campaign’s usual fees and Stripe’s processing fees, which can vary by payment method.
Can I use the app to take a payment that isn’t already on a guest’s Event Balance?
Not yet. This release is built to collect payment on Event Balances that already exist in your Campaign — tickets, donations, auction items, bids, and similar charges that were added before checkout. It doesn’t support one-off or walk-up payments that aren’t attached to a guest’s Event Balance.
Do I need a card reader?
No. On a supported device, Tap to Pay lets you accept contactless payments with no extra hardware. If your team prefers a dedicated reader, the app also connects to the Stripe M2 Reader over Bluetooth.
Which devices support Tap to Pay?
Tap to Pay works on supported iPhone and Android devices. If a device doesn’t support it, the app will let you know when you try to enable it in Settings.
Can I add, remove, or edit items on a guest’s Event Balance from the app?
Not in this release — the app shows the items on a balance but doesn’t support editing them. Make those changes from the web app instead.
Does the app require an internet connection?
Yes. Staff need an internet connection and to be logged in to look up balances and process payments.
Can multiple staff members use the app at the same time?
Yes. Install the app and log in on as many devices as your team needs to run the checkout line, all scoped to the same Campaign.
Does recording a cash or check payment mark the Event Balance as paid?
Recording a cash or check payment submits it against the guest’s Event Balance and shows a Payment Entered confirmation. If you need to confirm a balance’s current status, check it on the Balances screen or in the web app.