What to ask before you pick raffle software

Raffle software demos are good at showing a pretty ticket. They are worse at showing whether a $5 sale from a player’s link lands on that player, whether you can block a state you cannot serve, and whether Monday’s settlement includes the winner payout. Ask the questions that expose those gaps. Then price a real night, not a vendor’s 10,000-ticket slide.

TazFund’s public answers live on product, pricing, and compare. This list is what to ask anyone, including us. The resources hub is the evergreen version of the same idea: questions vendors would rather you skip.

1. Where does a sale from a participant link go?

Buy a test ticket from a test participant. Watch the participant page, the team, and settlement. Refund it. If the vendor cannot stamp the order, you do not have peer-to-peer. You have a shared cart. See attribution.

2. Can families buy on a phone without creating a consumer account?

Parents will not install an app to buy a $5 raffle ticket. Apple Pay and Google Pay matter in a pickup line. Checkout should not add unnamed fees after they thought they were done. You can absorb fees or pass them through; write the choice on the page.

3. How do you handle states you cannot serve?

Raffle rules vary. Ask how eligibility blocks work and who is responsible for registration. If the answer is “we are a sweepstakes so it is fine,” keep a lawyer in the conversation. Software cannot replace that.

4. What does settlement include?

Tickets, donations, fees, refunds, voids, winner payouts, and a CSV of donors. No export fee. If the only report is a list of order IDs, you will rebuild a spreadsheet. Payouts is the bar.

5. What do you pay in a month with zero events?

Seasonal groups should not fund a vendor’s idle months. Usage-based pricing is usually clearer for PTOs and youth sports. Get the all-in cost of a $5 ticket and a $20 bundle in writing.

6. Can a raffle and a donation live in one campaign?

Boards hate two settlements for one season. If you need both, they should share attribution and one net. That is a TazFund default. Ask others to show it, not describe it.

7. Who owns the data when you leave?

Export donors and transactions without a fee. The next treasurer should not retype a year of names. If the contract holds the list hostage, you are not done asking.

• Participant-stamped orders, including refunds.
• Phone checkout without a consumer ticket app.
• State eligibility you can actually configure.
• Settlement a non-accountant can email.
• No monthly bill in dark months unless you chose it.
• One campaign for raffle plus donation if you need both.
• Data export you do not have to buy back.

If you want industry-shaped examples, use who it’s for. If you already picked a raffle, the runbook is how to run a 50/50 that sells.

Ask the seven questions on the next demo, then start a site if the answers are boring. Start free on TazFund or review how pricing works.