Hello everyone,

 

April has been focused on improving speed, reliability, and overall platform performance.

Here are a few updates from this month.

Organizers hosting events in Kenya can accept payments through Safaricom M-PESA, making it easier for attendees to complete registrations using their mobile wallets. Once configured, attendees can choose M-PESA during checkout and securely complete their payment through the M-PESA app using their registered mobile number.

 

Setting up M-PESA involves generating credentials from the Safaricom Developer Portal Daraja 2.0 and configuring the gateway in your portal settings. Required details include the Consumer Key, Consumer Secret, Business Short Code, Receiving Party, Transaction Type, and Pass Key. After completing the Go Live process on Daraja, these credentials can be added under Payments and Tax in your portal.

 

Once enabled for your event, M-PESA will appear alongside other configured payment options during registration. Attendees selecting M-PESA will receive a payment prompt on their mobile device, where they can authorize the transaction using their M-PESA PIN. Upon successful payment, the order is confirmed automatically, ensuring a seamless checkout experience.

 

This integration supports commonly used transaction types such as Paybill and Buy Goods, allowing organizers to align with their existing M-PESA setup. It also ensures that local payment preferences are supported without introducing additional friction during checkout.

 

Transaction charges are applied based on M-PESA pricing, while Zoho Backstage doesn't charge any additional fee for using this gateway. This update helps you offer a familiar, reliable, and region-specific payment experience for your attendees.

Bring your AutoCAD (DXF) layouts directly into the floor planner and generate floor plans without recreating them manually. You can create a new floor or merge updates into an existing one, making it easier to keep layouts aligned as plans evolve. This is especially useful for large events where layouts are frequently updated and shared across teams.

 

DXF import follows a guided setup to ensure accuracy. After uploading your file, you can review and confirm drawing units, adjust visual preferences such as background, text, and line colors, and select the layers to include. Organizers can also configure booth layer mapping and define booth number formats so the system can correctly identify booth labels within the layout. Before completing the import, a summary of detected elements is shown for review.

 

Booths are identified based on shapes, mapped booth layers, and labels in the DXF file along with the selected formats, helping maintain consistency between your original design and the imported layout.

 

DXF import also supports flexible booth assignment workflows by allowing booth mapping independently during import while still keeping exhibitor categories mandatory for booth creation.

 

This feature reduces manual effort, improves accuracy, and helps you move from planning to a usable floor plan much faster. DXF import is available under Exhibitors > Floor Plan > DXF Import and currently supports in-person and hybrid events.

Floor plan items now use feet-based measurements instead of pixel values. This ensures consistent scaling across layouts and improves the accuracy of relative sizes between booths and spaces, whether you’re working with compact layouts or large-scale floor plans.

We’re working on a new generation of mobile app updates that will significantly transform how attendees, speakers, and exhibitors experience your events.

 

If you have any questions or need access to early access features, please contact support@zohobackstage.com.