How to run a meeting, grant cycle or committee process on Plenary.
1.Set up a society and its first event
1Plenary admins create the society under All organizations and add its first admin by email.
2A new society page shows a Get started checklist with links for each step. Hide it once you are done; Branding can bring it back.
3Branding: upload the logo (PNG, JPG or WebP), pick the main color and the name emails come from.
4Payments: connect the society’s own Stripe account to take card payments. Money goes straight to the society. Skip this if you only take invoices or checks.
5Event defaults lets you pick the features new events usually need, so every event starts the same way.
6Click New event, choose what kind of event it is (or tick features yourself), add the dates and create it.
7Everything starts as a draft that only admins can see. Publish it in Event settings when it is ready.
2.Collect abstracts or grant applications
1Forms: each event starts with a ready-made form. Edit the questions, word limits, categories and deadline, then publish it.
2Questions marked “Hide from reviewers” (such as authors and institutions) are never shown to reviewers.
3All submissions lists everything that comes in. Click a title to read it, edit it, add notes or withdraw it.
4Import brings in submissions collected elsewhere (for example a Gravity Forms or Cvent spreadsheet).
3.Run peer review
1Reviewers: paste names and emails, tag each person’s expertise and send the invitations.
2Assignments: after the deadline, Auto-assign gives every submission its reviewers, matching expertise and spreading the work. You can add or remove reviewers by hand.
3Reviewers create an account with the email you invited, see only what is assigned to them, and never see who wrote it.
4Reviewers can list their conflicts (their own institution or co-authors). Auto-assign never gives them those submissions.
5Analytics shows progress, score spread and reviewers who score much harder or softer than others.
4.Decide and tell authors
1Results and decisions ranks submissions by average score. Large disagreements are flagged and can go to a tie-breaker reviewer.
2Choose oral, poster, waitlist or decline for each submission.
3Emails > Send sends the decision letters. Accepted presenters get a link to confirm or decline.
4Presenters shows who has confirmed, and reminds anyone who has not answered.
5.Build the program
1Session planner: add sessions, then drag accepted submissions into them. Auto-suggest can fill empty slots by score.
2Agenda adds keynotes, breaks and panels inside sessions; times are worked out for you.
3The public program, a printable PDF and a Word version update automatically.
4Abstract book: every accepted abstract in program order, with a cover, contents and an author index. Print it or save it as a PDF.
6.Disclosures and credits
1Turn on Disclosures and Credits and evaluations in Event settings (or when creating the event).
2Disclosures: click Add people from accepted abstracts, add faculty or moderators by hand, then email everyone who has not filed. Each person files through a private link in about two minutes, without an account.
3Tick Show filed disclosures on the event site to publish the list attendees must see. Download the spreadsheet for your accreditation file.
4Credits: set the credit type, the accreditation statement and the maximum, enter the hours for each session, and open claiming.
5Attendees who checked in see My credits on the event site: they evaluate each session they attended, claim its hours and print a credit certificate.
6Evaluation results (ratings, objectives met, free of bias, comments) and a claims spreadsheet are on the Credits page.
7.Registration and check-in
1Registration > Tickets: add ticket types with prices, seat limits and sale dates (for example an early-bird rate).
2Discount codes take money off or unlock a member-only ticket.
3Settings: choose how people pay (invoice or check, and card once Stripe is connected), then open registration.
4People shows everyone who registered. Mark invoices paid, cancel, or add speakers and guests by hand.
5Import brings in a spreadsheet of people registered elsewhere. You check a preview before anything is saved.
6Badges prints name badges on regular letter paper, each with a QR code for check-in.
7Check-in desk works on a phone or tablet: scan a badge or the QR code on someone’s confirmation with the camera, or search a name or code.
8Attendance: choose a session and scan badges at the door to record who attended. Credits can be limited to sessions people actually attended.
9Waitlist: when a ticket with a seat limit sells out, people can join a waitlist. A freed seat is held for the next person for 48 hours and they are emailed.
10Groups: one person can register several people with one invoice or card payment. Each person still gets their own confirmation and check-in code.
11Refunds: turn Offer refunds on or off in Settings and add your refund policy. When on, Cancel and refund returns a card payment in one step and emails the attendee.
12Certificates prints attendance certificates for everyone checked in. Attendees can add the meeting or their saved talks to their calendar.
8.Speakers and sponsors
1Speaker center: add presenters from accepted abstracts (or anyone by hand) and email them. Each gets a private page to upload slides and give audio-visual and travel details, without an account.
2Download the speaker spreadsheet for your audio-visual team and hotel block; slides download from the same page.
3Sponsors and exhibitors: set levels with prices, benefits, booths and limits, then open applications on the event site.
4Approve an application to email the company its private page, where it can pay by card or invoice. Assign booth numbers and mark check payments received.
5Approved sponsors appear on the Sponsors page and in a thank-you band on the event home page, grouped by level. Companies can upload their own logo from their private page.
6Posters: presenters upload their poster file in the speaker center. Set the poster gallery to hidden, registered attendees only, or everyone.
9.Event website and live app
1Website: pick a template (Modern, Classic or Congress), add the tagline, dates, welcome, logistics, organizers and speakers, then publish.
2Your logo and colors apply to every template. Switching templates never loses content.
3Live app is a phone-friendly page for the meeting itself: what is on now, the schedule, saved talks and your announcements.
4Survey: open the after-meeting survey and attendees rate the meeting and leave comments. Results and a spreadsheet are on the Survey page.
5Reports shows registrations over time, income by ticket, submissions, decisions, sponsorship and credits in one place.
10.Emails and reminders
1Emails > Send: decision letters and messages to any group (all accepted, all reviewers and so on), with optional CC.
2Automatic reminders go out once a day to reviewers with open reviews, people whose payment is due and presenters who have not confirmed.
3Email wording: change the text of any email. Sent shows everything that went out.
11.Committee placement
1Members: paste the roster. Subcommittees: set names and seats.
2Invitations emails each member a private link to rank their choices; no account needed.
3Run the match places everyone fairly using the published rules, and you can adjust by hand before downloading the roster.
12.Paying for Plenary
1Plenary billing on the society page lists invoices from Plenary for using it.
2Pay by card from that page, or by check or bank transfer using the instructions on the invoice. Paid invoices stay there as receipts.
13.Security and your data
1Everyone signs in with their email and a password. New accounts confirm their email with a code, and "Forgot password?" works the same way. Turn on two-step login under Account and security for extra protection.
2Each society sees only its own events. This is enforced by the database itself, not just the screens.
3Society admins can download all of their data at any time (Data download). Everyone can download their own data from their account.