What to check before choosing a competition platform

Before choosing a competition platform, ask the supplier to walk through a competition from setup to prize fulfilment. Follow the customer's journey, then ask to see the operator's side of the same work.

That gives you something concrete to assess. Can the person running the business find an entry, understand a payment problem and see which prizes still need attention? What can they handle themselves, and when do they need the supplier's help?

A useful demonstration should answer those questions in the context of how you intend to operate. The following checks will help you prepare for one, whether you're planning your first launch or reviewing your current setup.

Bring a competition you can talk through

Write down a realistic example before the call: the prize, entry price, entry limit, closing rule and what happens after someone wins. Use fictional customer details for the demonstration.

Include the less tidy parts. Suppose a customer says they paid but cannot find their entries. Or a winner has supplied delivery details, but their prize has not been sent. Ask the supplier to show how the operator would investigate and deal with each situation.

You don't need to know the technical implementation. You do need to see what information is available, what action someone takes and what record remains afterwards. If the answer involves a spreadsheet, a support request or a separate provider portal, include that in your assessment of the work involved.

Follow the customer journey on a phone

Start with finding a competition and reading its details. Check whether the entry price, closing conditions and available entry routes are easy to understand. Then follow the steps a customer would take to enter and find their entries afterwards.

If the platform uses Credits or promotional entries, ask for the distinction to be explained in the customer's terms. What does a purchase give them? Where can they see their balance? What happens when they have too little credit for the entry they want?

Ask to see the unsuccessful paths too. A declined payment and a payment awaiting confirmation need clear handling. Find out what the customer sees, what the operator can check and how the payment provider's record connects to the platform's record. Any payment exercise should use an agreed test environment and test details.

The aim is to understand whether you could answer a customer's question using the information available. A polished entry page is only part of that assessment.

Look at closing and prize handling

Ask the supplier to demonstrate the closing rule you expect to use. If the competition closes at a set time, which time zone applies? If it closes when entries sell out, what happens to an entry attempt at the limit?

Then follow the record through the draw and prize claim. Ask what gets recorded about the draw, who can view it and how the result reaches the customer. Check who follows up an incomplete claim and how an operator distinguishes a prize awaiting details from one awaiting dispatch.

If free postal entries form part of your arrangements, include the administrative process in the walkthrough. How is an entry recorded, checked and included in the relevant competition? Who handles the post and deals with mistakes?

These are operational questions. The legal position needs separate attention. For operations in Great Britain, the Gambling Commission's guidance on free draws and prize competitions explains that it does not approve these arrangements. If you're unsure about the legality of your proposed operation, seek legal advice before launching. A software feature for recording entries cannot settle that question for you.

Understand what the demo proves

Ask which parts of a demonstration use sample data, which run in a test environment and which have been enabled for the proposed service. A simulated payment screen cannot confirm that your merchant account is approved or ready to accept payments.

Our public customer demo uses sample competitions and illustrative entry states. There are no real prizes or payments. It lets you explore the presentation of the customer website; it is not a working operator backend or a live checkout. You can request a separate walkthrough of the management tools through the Livid Competitions page.

Use a customer demo to assess the parts it actually shows. For anything else, ask to see the relevant workflow and confirm what must be configured, approved or tested before your launch. Record any unanswered questions rather than treating a demonstration as acceptance of the whole service.

Define the work behind a managed service

Ask for a written explanation of what the supplier manages. Hosting, maintenance and technical support each leave practical questions: how do you report a problem, when is help available and what happens if the issue involves another provider?

Be equally clear about your own work. Someone needs to source and fund prizes, answer customers, fulfil wins and organise the business's marketing. Establish who owns each task and who can authorise changes. A platform feature does not assign that responsibility for you.

For example, if an affiliate programme is part of your plan, distinguish calculating a reward from paying it. In Livid Competitions, payout records track bank transfers the operator makes outside the application. That distinction matters when deciding who will run the programme and how payments will be checked.

Ask which routine changes you can make yourself, which need assistance and which would be separately quoted. Include staff access, training, backups and the process for requesting a restore. Have the supplier explain what they can demonstrate or document for each answer.

Compare costs against your actual plans

Request a worked quote using your expected activity, with the assumptions written down. Include setup, ongoing management, payment processing and any fees linked to sales or usage. Ask how refunds affect those calculations and which optional services would add to the bill.

Livid Competitions' published pricing structure includes setup, monthly management and a percentage fee on competition sales, with payment processing additional. The scope and amounts need to be established in your quote. When comparing proposals, use the same assumptions for each so the differences are visible.

Check the term, cancellation arrangements and what happens to your domain, content and records if the service ends. Ask which data can be exported, in what format and whether assistance carries a cost. These questions are worth asking before you commit, even when you have no plans to move.

Leave with a clear next step

After the walkthrough, write down what was demonstrated, what still needs an answer and what must happen before launch. Give each outstanding item an owner. If a requirement needs additional work, have its scope and cost agreed before relying on it.

If you're considering Livid Competitions, tell us how you plan to run your competitions. Bring the example you'd like to work through and the questions your current research hasn't answered.