How to set up and configure your account in Award Force

This is a 6-part series detailing how to get started in Award Force.  Here, in part two, we look at account setup. Click through the series below:

• How to build your awards program in 10 minutes or less
• Account setup
• Theming
• The entry form
• Judging
• The pre-launch check

Setting up your awards software shouldn’t be stressful. Award Force provides a quick and straightforward getting started process so you can focus on the important things, like recognising excellence.

Let’s go over the steps of account configuration, which typically takes ten minutes or less!

Once you sign up for Award Force (yay! We’re so glad you’re here!), you’ll provision your account and log in. If you haven’t done so already, we recommend gathering all the information you need ahead of time (see our checklist!) so you can move quickly through the set-up process. 

Before you access your account, you’ll need to provide a few key details: 

• Awards program name
• Your preferred domain (read about our white-label domains and custom domains)
• Your preferred data storage location
• Language(s) you want to support

The first time you log in, you’ll land on the Guides and tours page, which includes a getting started checklist. This page also includes helpful how-to videos and articles to help you get started right away.

Right at the top of the getting started guide you’ll see a link to the general settings.

The first thing you can do is update any account settings. For example, your account name, your URL (custom domains available for Pro and higher plans), or your time zone. 

You can also add in your Google Analytics tracking ID, ideal for understanding how your participants engage with your program. 

Award Force provides default notifications that can be automatically sent when users register their account, submit an entry, judge an entry and more. You can personalise these communications with your own content, create your own notifications and add merge tags for highly personalised and effective communications directly from the platform. 

Lastly, you can theme your account by adding logos, background images, sponsor images and logos, branding colours and more. Read more about theming.

Looking for step-by-step instructions for account setup? See the general settings overview in our Help Centre.