What SmoothRaffle is, and what every screen in it does.
SmoothRaffle runs basket raffles at in-person fundraisers - a row of prize
baskets along a table, and everybody putting their tickets against the ones
they most want to win. An organizer sets up the baskets and what a ticket
costs, guests scan a QR code at the door and buy tickets on their own phone
or with cash at the table, and the winners are drawn in the App with notifications.
You do not need an account to read this page. If somebody has handed you a
link or a QR code for a raffle, open that instead - it takes you straight to
the event and tells you what you are joining as.
Everything below is the same help that appears on the screens themselves,
gathered in roughly the order you meet it. Each one says who it is for. A
guest never sees the organizer's screens, so skip anything that does not
sound like your evening.
Getting started
Joining a raffle you have been handed a link to, and finding it again afterwards.
Getting in
Anyone
One button to sign in, or a code at the door to join a raffle.
Tap “Continue with Google” and pick the account you want to use.
There is no password to invent and none to forget.
Given a link or a QR code for a raffle? Open that instead - it takes you straight to the event.
Once you are signed in, this page steps aside and shows your events.
Joining a raffle
Anyone
The link or code someone gave you: check the name, then tap to join.
Check the event name under “You've been invited to” - it should be the raffle you are standing at.
The box beneath says what you are joining as: a guest, a cashier or a co-organizer.
Tap the “Join …” button, which carries the event's name.
Not signed in yet? We ask you to sign in, then bring you back here. Tap “Join …” once more.
First time ever? After your details are saved you land on your events list instead. Open the link or scan the code again to finish joining.
“That link has stopped working” means the raffle has finished. Ask whoever gave it to you for a new one.
Signing in
Anyone
Google is the only way in, and there is no password to remember.
Tap “Continue with Google” and choose your account.
Google asks for the password, not us. We never see it.
First time here? We ask for four details next.
Otherwise you land back on whatever you were trying to open.
Your details
Anyone
Four boxes, so an organizer can reach you if you win.
Fill in “First name”, “Last name”, “Phone number” and “Email”. Google fills in what it can.
Type the phone number however you like. We tidy it up and show you what we will save.
The line above the button is worth reading: we only ever text to say you won, and replying STOP stops them.
Tap “Continue”. We take you on to wherever you were headed.
Your events
Anyone
Every raffle you have a part in, with the finished ones filed away.
Tap an event to open it.
Tap “New event” to start another one.
Organizers and co-organizers get an “Archive” link under each event. It tidies the event out of this list - nothing is deleted.
Tap “See archived events” at the foot of the list to look at them, and “Restore” to bring one back.
Tickets, draws and results in an archived event stay exactly as you left them.
Setting up your event
What an organizer does before the doors open.
Creating an event
Anyone
A name is all we ask for - everything else can wait.
Put the name your guests will recognize in “Event name”, up to 80 characters.
“Description” is optional: where and when it is, or what you are raising money for.
Tap “Create event”.
There is nowhere to put a date, a venue or a charity number, on purpose. You came here to get started.
The event arrives as a draft, with one prize tier and its invite QR codes already made.
The event
Everyone at the event
Where the event stands, and the way in to everything else.
The pill at the top says where things are up to: Draft, Selling tickets, Drawing winners or Closed.
Nobody can buy anything while it says Draft. An organizer or co-organizer taps “Open ticket sales” when the doors open.
The tiles below lead everywhere else. You only see the ones your role allows.
“50/50 pot” appears for everyone once there is money in it. “Money so far” is for organizers and co-organizers only.
If “Open ticket sales” answers “The hosting fee for this event hasn't been settled yet.”, the organizer settles it on the “Billing” tile, then this works.
Hosting
Organizers
One flat fee, paid once, before the event opens to guests.
Only the organizer who created the event can see this page.
Tap the “Pay …” button. Stripe takes the payment - we never see or store your card.
Until it is settled nothing can be sold, no tickets can go into baskets, and no basket can be drawn.
Once it is paid, go back to the event and tap “Open ticket sales”.
There is no subscription and nothing to cancel.
Prize tiers
Co-organizers and Organizers
The value bands of your raffle, and the only place a color is chosen.
A tier is a value band - a cheap one, a middle one, and something for the big prize. Most events run three or four.
Tap “Add another tier”. There is nothing to fill in; we name it and you rename it on the spot.
Tap “Edit” to set the “Name” and the “Color”, then “Save”. Baskets and ticket prices in that tier take the color on their own.
A ticket can only go in a basket of the same tier. That is the whole job a tier does.
What “Delete” actually does: it moves that tier's baskets and prices onto your first tier, so nothing is left stranded. Your last remaining tier cannot be deleted at all.
Baskets
Co-organizers and Organizers
The prizes themselves - name one, list what is in it, and file it under a tier.
Tap “Add a basket”. A name is all it needs; the value and the photo can come later.
Choose a “Tier”. That sets the basket's color and decides which tickets can be spent on it.
Tap “Add an item” to list what is inside. The box stays open so you can keep going; tap “Done” when the basket is full.
“Take a photo” goes straight to the camera. “Choose a photo” picks one already on the phone.
“Edit” changes the name, value or tier, and holds “Closed to new tickets” for a basket you want to stop.
A card warning that no ticket price sells that tier means nobody can enter it. Add a price for that tier on “Ticket prices”.
A basket cannot be deleted once somebody has put tickets in it.
Ticket prices
Co-organizers and Organizers
The ways someone can pay for a tier's tickets - the deals, not the tiers.
Two words that sound alike: a prize tier is a value band, and a price here is a deal that sells that band's tickets.
The page is split into a section per tier. Anything you add inside a section sells that tier's tickets, so the form never asks which tier.
Tap “1 for $1” or “6 for $5” for the two deals nearly every raffle runs.
“Add a deal to …” for anything else. Choose “A set number of tickets” or “An arm's length”, set the price, and leave the name blank if you like - we write one.
An arm's length is a length of tape, so it cannot be sold on a guest's own phone. A cashier sells it at the table and counts what came off the roll.
“Add a 50/50” at the bottom takes money into a cash pot instead of buying basket tickets. One per event.
“1 for $1” and “6 for $5” hand over the same thing. A guest ends up holding that tier's tickets whichever deal they took.
Invites & QR codes
Everyone at the event
One standing link for each job, ready to print or send.
Organizers and co-organizers see three cards: “Co-organizer”, “Cashier” and “Guest”. Everyone else sees the guest one, which is the one for the door.
“Print” puts one QR code on a sheet. Tape the guest one where people queue.
“Copy link” or “Share” sends it in a message instead.
The links never expire, and any number of people can use the same one.
Be careful with the co-organizer link. Anyone who opens it can edit baskets, prices and the draw.
They stop working when the event is closed, or once every basket has been drawn. There is no way to cancel one before that.
Selling tickets on the night
Taking the money by card or in cash, getting tickets into baskets, and checking who has joined.
Buying tickets
Everyone at the event
Pay by card on your own phone - organizers and cashiers buy here too.
Pick a deal under “What would you like?”. Tap it to add one, or tap “+10” for ten.
Check “Your order”, tap the “Pay …” button, and fill in the card form.
When the card goes through, wait a couple of seconds while the tickets land. Do not pay again.
Then tap “Choose your baskets” to go and spend them.
An arm's length is measured in person, so it is not sold here. Ask a cashier at the table.
Rather pay cash? A cashier can add the same tickets to your name.
Taking cash
Cashiers, Co-organizers and Organizers
Find the person, tap what they are buying, take the money, read the number back.
1 Who's buying? - type at least two letters of their name, phone or email, then tap them in the list.
Nobody matches? They have to scan the guest QR code and sign up before they can appear here.
2 What are they buying? - tap a tile for each deal, or “+10” for ten of it. Change the numbers in the rows underneath.
Selling an arm's length? Tear the tape, count the tickets, and type that number into “How many tickets came off the roll?”.
3 Take the money - the big button names whatever is still missing until it reads “Took … - record it”. Tap it with the cash in your hand.
Read the big number back to them out loud. That is their whole balance, and it is their receipt.
Then “Next customer”, or “Same person, another sale”. A cashier cannot ring up their own tickets - buy those on “Buy tickets”.
Prizes
Everyone at the event
What is up for grabs, and the one place you put tickets into a basket.
The card at the top is your wallet: how many tickets you hold, and in which tiers.
Scroll to “The prizes” and find the basket you want.
Tap “Put tickets in this basket”, set the number with − and + or the “All …” shortcut, then tap “Put … in”.
Tickets only fit baskets of their own tier, and the colors match. If none of yours fit, buy one of the prices listed above and come back.
This is the guests' page. Organizers add prizes on “Baskets” and set prices on “Ticket prices”.
People
Cashiers, Co-organizers and Organizers
Everyone who has joined, grouped by what they are allowed to do.
Names are grouped as Organizer, Co-organizer, Cashier and Guest.
Each row shows how many tickets that person still has left to put in baskets.
Nothing can be changed here. Someone's role comes from the invite link they used.
To add somebody, share a link from “Invites & QR codes”.
A cashier sees the same list without the email addresses.
The draw
Picking a winner for each basket, and how everybody finds out.
Drawing winners
Co-organizers and Organizers
One row per basket, two taps to pick a winner, and it cannot be undone.
Each row says “App draw” or “Paper draw”. In practice every basket is an app draw.
App draw: tap “Draw winner”, then “Yes, draw it”. We pick from everyone who put tickets in that basket.
Paper draw: pull a stub, type its number into “Winning stub number”, then “Record winner” and “Yes, draw it”. The app is only writing down what you pulled.
The row turns green and names the winner. They get a text or an email if they have one on file and have left it switched on.
“Why you can trust this result” shows the fingerprint we published before the draw and the number revealed after it.
Nothing here can be undone, which is why every row asks twice.
The hosting fee has to be paid and the event has to be open, or a draw will not run. Drawing the last basket also switches the invite links off.
Your results
Everyone at the event
Whether you won, basket by basket - the real answer, message or no message.
One row for each basket you put tickets in, with how many of them were yours.
The badge reads “Won”, “Not this time” or “Not drawn yet”.
Nothing listed? You have not put tickets in a basket yet. Tap “See the prizes”.
50/50 entries go into the cash pot rather than a basket, so they never appear here.
Won something? Find an organizer to collect - they have your name on the list.
This page only ever shows your own results. Nobody else can see them, and you cannot see theirs.
Your account
Your details, how we reach you, and the small print.
Your name and number
Anyone
What organizers see, and where we reach you if you win.
Change “First name”, “Last name” or “Phone number”, then tap “Save changes”.
The number is rewritten into the form we text from. What you see after saving is what the message will go to.
Your email is shown but cannot be changed here: it is how you sign in. Ask an organizer if it needs moving.
How we reach you is a separate choice, on the notifications page.
“Sign out” is at the foot of this page. It ends the session on this device and leaves your tickets and results alone.
Settings
Anyone
How we tell you that you have won, and the instructions on each screen.
“Email”, “Text messages” and “Browser notifications”. Each one saves the moment you flip it, so there is no Save button.
We only ever message you about events you entered.
“Browser notifications” asks your browser for permission the first time. If you have already refused, this page cannot ask again - change it in your browser's settings for this site.
Replying STOP to one of our texts also turns texts off, whatever this page shows.
Turning everything off is allowed. Your tickets and results are always here in the app.
“Show the instructions again” brings back the help card that appears the first time you open each screen. This is the only place that puts them back.
Text messages
Anyone
How you agreed to texts, what SmoothRaffle sends, and how to stop.
You only get texts if you ticked the box on the signup form. Left unticked, you still sign up and hear by email instead.
Every text comes from one number, (567) 371-4681, and starts with the word SmoothRaffle.
Three kinds, all about your own activity: a notice when you win a basket, a reminder if your prize is still waiting, and a receipt if you switched text receipts on.
Never marketing, never promotions, never about other events.
Message frequency varies - typically one or two texts per basket you win. Message and data rates may apply.
Reply STOP to any text to stop them, HELP for help, or switch texts off on the notifications page. A person answers at support@smoothraffle.com.
The page shows the exact checkbox and wording from the signup form, with an example of each text.
Privacy policy
Anyone
What we collect, what we text you, and how to stop it.
There is nothing to fill in - the page is here to be read.
It covers what we collect, text messages, who we share information with, how long we keep it, your choices, children, and security.
The short version: we ask for your name, phone and email so an organizer can reach you about the event you joined.
We never sell, rent or share your mobile number for marketing.
Change how we reach you on the notifications page, or write to support@smoothraffle.com.
Terms of service
Anyone
The rules for using SmoothRaffle, in plain sections.
There is nothing to fill in - the page is here to be read.
It covers what SmoothRaffle is, who may use it, your account, tickets and payment, draws and prizes, notifications, acceptable use, availability and liability.
Questions go to support@smoothraffle.com, at the foot of the page.
Anything else
Screens added since this page was last put in order.
Giving tickets away
Everyone at the event
Hand spare tickets to somebody at your table - they show you a code first.
Ask them to open this page and tap “Show my code - for receiving tickets”.
Point your camera at their square, or type their code into “Their code” and tap “Find them”.
Pick which tickets under “Which tickets?”, set how many, then tap the “Give … tickets to …” button.
There is no way to search for somebody by name here, on purpose. The code has to come from them.
Only tickets you have not put in a basket can move. Anything already entered stays where it is.
A ticket keeps its tier. Tier 1 tickets stay Tier 1 tickets in their hands.
There is no undo. Once given, they belong to the other person - ask them if you need any back.
If the raffle refunds the order those tickets came from, they are taken back from whoever is holding them.
The paper backup
Co-organizers and Organizers
Print the draw and the totals while you have signal, so a dead connection cannot stop the evening.
Print it before the doors open, and again just before the draw if a lot has sold since.
“Draw sheet” lists every basket with who holds tickets in it and how many, plus a box to write the winner in.
“Totals only” has the baskets and the money but names nobody, so it is the one that is safe to leave on a table.
To draw by hand: pick a number between 1 and that basket's “Draw from 1 to” figure, then find the row whose ticket numbers contain it.
A ticket number printed on one sheet belongs to the same entry on every later sheet. New sales only ever add numbers after the last one.
A voided entry keeps its numbers and prints as a row marked “VOID, do not draw”. If you draw one of those numbers, draw again.
Each basket says how many entries it was printed from and when the last one was added, so you can tell which of two sheets is newer at a glance.
The sheet says when it was printed, from that device's clock. Anything sold after that time is not on it.
A basket marked “Check against the app” doesn't match what the app counts - look at it in the app before you draw it.
Over 10,000 entries in one basket, the sheet refuses that basket rather than printing part of it. Draw it from the app.
A basket set to “App draw” cannot have a hand-drawn winner typed in later. Agree beforehand which result counts.
Guest names are on the draw sheet. Take it home and shred it rather than leaving it in the hall.
What the event raised
Co-organizers and Organizers
The figure to report, with every part of it explained in a sentence.
“This event has raised” is the one to report. It is everything taken, less the half of the 50/50 pot that goes to the winner.
“Cash taken” is what should be in the cash box. “Card payments” goes to your bank through Stripe instead, so the two are counted against different things.
The 50/50 pot is part of “Total taken”, not on top of it. Only the winner's half is taken off what you raised - the other half is yours.
Refunds have already been taken off every figure here. Do not subtract them a second time.
A cash refund only counts if it was recorded on “Refunds”. The app cannot see notes handed back across a table.
Card money reaches your bank less Stripe's fee. The page estimates that fee and says so; the exact amount is on your Stripe payout.
When the 50/50 stub is pulled, tap “Record the 50/50 result” and confirm. It writes down the pot and the winner's half as they stand at that moment.
A refund landing after that changes the live pot, and the page says by how much - but the recorded payout never moves. It cannot be undone, so read the amount before you confirm.
The hosting fee is what you paid us, on your own card, before the doors opened. It is never taken out of the totals - the second figure is there if your board counts it as a cost.
Anything not counted is listed under “Read this before you report a figure”, with the amount. Read it before you say a number out loud.
The figures are from the moment you opened the page. Reload after your last sale, and count the cash box against the cash figure before reporting it.
Giving money back
Co-organizers and Organizers
Refund a sale from here - the money goes back and the unused tickets come off.
Cashiers cannot open this page. Refunding is for the organizer and co-organizers.
Find the sale in the list - newest first, with the buyer's name, what they paid and how.
Only the newest hundred are shown. Type a name under “Find a buyer by name” to find an older one.
“Partly refunded” means some of the money already went back from Stripe. Tap “Refund” to send back the rest and take the tickets off.
Tap “Refund”, read what it says, then tap “Yes, refund …”. There is no undo.
Tickets already put in a basket stay in the draw. The page tells you how many before you agree, and again afterwards.
A card sale goes back to the card and can take a few days to show on their statement.
A cash sale only records the refund - you still hand the notes back yourself.
Already refunded it in Stripe? Do it here too, or their tickets stay spendable.
Calling the event off
Organizers
The event isn't happening - stop all sales and send every card payment back.
Only the organizer who created the event can open this page. Co-organizers and cashiers cannot.
Read the list first. It says how many card payments go back automatically, how much cash you owe in person, and that the $69 hosting fee is not refunded.
Type the event's name exactly to turn the button on, then tap “Cancel this event and refund everyone”.
The event closes the moment you tap it - no more ticket sales, no more entries, no draws - and it cannot be reopened.
Refunds go out in batches, so keep the page open until it says it is done. Card refunds take 3-10 business days to reach a card.
Closed the tab part way? Open this page again and tap “Keep refunding”. Nobody gets refunded twice.
If you cannot stay, that is fine too - we retry anything outstanding every hour on our own.
“Stripe balance is empty” means the daily payout already moved the money out. Add funds or wait for more sales, then tap “Keep refunding” - the Dashboard hits the same balance.
Cash sales are not refunded by us - nothing here can move cash. Hand the notes back, then mark each one refunded on “Refunds”.
Anything under “These need you” is a card Stripe refused. Refund those in your Stripe Dashboard, then mark them refunded on “Refunds” so the tickets come off.
Everyone who paid by card gets an email saying the event was canceled and their money is on its way. Nobody is texted.
Where the money goes
Organizers
Point this event's ticket money at your own bank account.
Only the organizer who created the event can open this page.
Tap “Set up my bank account”. Stripe asks for your bank details on its own page - we never see them and store none of them.
Coming back to finish? The button reads “Finish setting up”. It makes a fresh link every time, because the last one expires within minutes.
Once it is connected, this event's ticket money is paid into your account. The only thing we charge is the one-time hosting fee on “Billing”.
Refunding a sale is done in the app now, on the “Refunds” tile - do it there rather than in Stripe, so the buyer's tickets come off at the same time.
“Nearly there” means Stripe still wants something from you. Tap the button and Stripe asks for whatever is missing.
“Your payouts are on hold” is between you and Stripe - we can't lift it. Tap “Sort this out with Stripe”.
Until Stripe finishes its checks this event cannot take card payments at all - there is nowhere for the money to go. Cash at the table is unaffected.
What it costs
Anyone
One flat $69 per event, and where the ticket money actually goes.
There is nothing to fill in - the page is here to be read.
SmoothRaffle charges one flat $69 per event, paid before the first ticket is sold. It never changes with how many tickets you sell.
Ticket money never passes through SmoothRaffle. It is charged straight onto the organizer's own Stripe account and pays out to their bank.
The page also lists what the fee covers, and who may run an event here - fundraising, charity and benefit events only.