Running a tennis tournament with StringBiz

# Tournament Mode: Your Complete Guide to Running a Stringing Desk at a Competition

Whether you are covering a local club tournament or a multi-day open event, StringBiz Tournament Mode gives you a dedicated workspace to manage every racket from drop-off to collection. This guide walks through setup, daily operation, the live board, and everything in between.

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## Who Gets Tournament Mode

Tournament Mode is available on the **Side Hustle** ($5/month) and **WeaveMaster** ($30/month) plans. It is not included on the free Basic plan.

| Feature | Basic (Free) | Side Hustle ($5/mo) | WeaveMaster ($30/mo) | |---|---|---|---| | Tournament management | No | Yes | Yes | | Live board display | No | No | Yes | | Player kiosk (self drop-off) | No | No | Yes | | Entrant roster + CSV import | No | Yes | Yes | | Per-tournament analytics | No | Yes | Yes | | Bulk billing after event | No | Yes | Yes | | Multi-location support | No | No | Yes | | Team access | No | No | Yes |

If you are covering a large multi-day event with several stringers and multiple machines, WeaveMaster is the better fit. Side Hustle covers smaller competitions comfortably within its 100-job monthly cap. If you need more jobs, please contact us

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## Part 1: Setting Up a Tournament

### 1.1 Create the Tournament Record

Navigate to **Tournaments** in the left sidebar. Hit **New Tournament** and fill in:

- **Name** -- the event name as it will appear on the board (e.g. "City Open 2026") - **Venue** -- optional, shown as a subtitle on the live board - **Start date / End date** -- StringBiz automatically derives the tournament status from these dates. You do not need to manually mark it as active or completed.

> [IMAGE: New tournament dialog showing name, venue, and date fields]

Status transitions happen automatically: - Before the start date: **Planned** - Between start and end date: **Active** - After the end date: **Completed**

### 1.2 Add Your Entrant Roster (Optional but Recommended)

Open the tournament card and click **Add entrants**. You can:

- Search your existing customer list and add players one by one - **Import a CSV** using the downloadable template for fast bulk entry

> [IMAGE: Entrant panel showing the search field and imported player list]

Having entrants loaded ahead of time speeds up drop-off because the kiosk and job creation can auto-populate player details.

### 1.3 Set Up the Player Kiosk

The kiosk is a public self-service page players use to drop off their rackets without needing a stringer present at the desk.

From the tournament card, enable the kiosk. You will get a unique URL and a downloadable QR code. Print the QR code and display it at your desk or on a sign near the stringing area.

> [IMAGE: Kiosk QR code panel and the printed QR code sign example]

When a player scans the code they can enter their name, racket details, string and tension preferences, court number, and match time. The job lands directly in your queue.

The kiosk link has an optional expiry time so it deactivates automatically when the event ends.

### 1.4 Configure Your Machines

Make sure your stringing machines are set up under **Settings > Machines** before the event. Each machine can be assigned to a stringer. On the live board, active jobs are grouped under machine columns so you can see at a glance who is working on what.

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## Part 2: Taking Jobs During the Event

### 2.1 Linking a Job to a Tournament

When creating or editing any job, there is a **Tournament** section in the form. Set:

- **Tournament** -- select the active event from the dropdown - **Court number** -- the court the player is scheduled on - **Match time** -- the time the player needs the racket back

Match time is the most important field. The live board uses it to calculate a countdown timer for every job in the queue.

> [IMAGE: Job creation form with the Tournament section expanded showing court and match time fields]

### 2.2 Countdown Timer Color Coding

The board colour-codes every job by how much time remains before the player's match:

- **Green** -- more than 2 hours remaining, you are ahead of schedule - **Amber** -- less than 2 hours remaining, worth paying attention to - **Red** -- less than 1 hour remaining, prioritise this job - **OVR (red badge)** -- match time has passed

> [IMAGE: Live board showing a column of jobs with green, amber, and red timer badges]

Jobs without a match time still show on the board but have no timer badge.

### 2.3 Job Statuses on the Board

The board tracks four stages:

| Board label | What it means | |---|---| | Queued | Job received, not yet started | | Stringing | Machine assigned, stringer working | | Ready | Stringing complete, awaiting player | | Collected | Player has picked up the racket |

Update a job's status from the Jobs page or by clicking a card on the board to open its detail sheet.

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## Part 3: The Live Board

The live board is a public, no-login-required display page. It is designed to run on a TV or monitor at your stringing desk so players can walk up and check their racket status at any time.

### 3.1 Opening the Board

From the tournament card, copy the **board link** and open it in a browser. Point that browser tab at your display screen.

> [IMAGE: Tournament card showing the "Copy board link" button]

The board auto-refreshes, so you do not need to reload it manually.

### 3.2 What the Board Shows

At the top you will see:

- Tournament name and venue - Day number and total tournament days (e.g. "Day 2 of 3") - Total jobs queued and number in the red zone - Active stringer count

Below that, jobs are displayed in a column layout. Each job card shows:

- Player name - Racket brand and model - String and tension - Court number - Countdown timer (colour coded as described above) - Machine assignment and stringer initials (shown as a coloured left border on in-progress jobs)

Clicking a job card opens a detail sheet with the full job information.

> [IMAGE: Full live board on a TV showing multiple columns of job cards]

### 3.3 Dark and Light Mode

The board has its own light/dark toggle in the top-right corner. It defaults to whatever theme your StringBiz app is currently using. For daytime events with bright lighting, light mode is easier to read from a distance. For evening events or darker venues, dark mode is more comfortable.

### 3.4 Full-Screen Mode

There is a full-screen button in the top-right corner of the board. Use it to remove browser chrome and fill the display with just the board.

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## Part 4: Per-Tournament Analytics

Once jobs start flowing, the tournament card shows a live stats panel:

- **Jobs completed / total** -- how many rackets have been strung out of all received - **Average stringing time** -- calculated from jobs that have a start and completion timestamp - **Total revenue** -- sum of all completed job totals for this tournament - **Red zone count** -- number of active jobs where match time is under an hour

> [IMAGE: Tournament card stats panel showing the four metrics]

These numbers update in real time as you complete jobs. They give you an at-a-glance picture of throughput and urgency throughout the day.

### Revenue Tracking Note

Revenue figures include all jobs linked to the tournament regardless of payment status. If you collect payment at drop-off via the kiosk, those jobs are already marked paid. If you collect at pick-up, you will see the pending amount separately.

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## Part 5: Bulk Billing After the Event

When a tournament completes, the tournament card surfaces a **Bill all** option for any jobs that still have an outstanding balance. This lets you process remaining payments in one pass rather than opening each job individually.

> [IMAGE: Completed tournament card showing the "Bill all" button with outstanding jobs listed]

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## Part 6: Multi-Day Events

For tournaments that span several days, StringBiz keeps everything in one tournament record. The live board automatically shows the correct day number each morning based on the start date you entered.

You do not need to create a new tournament for each day. All jobs accumulate under the same record and all analytics roll up together.

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## Part 7: Tips for a Smooth Event

**Before the event**

- Import your entrant roster via CSV the night before - Assign machines to stringers under Settings > Machines - Print the kiosk QR code and laminate it - Open the live board on your display screen and test the link

**During the event**

- Always set a match time when creating jobs -- it is the most valuable piece of information for prioritising the queue - Update job status promptly so the board stays accurate for players checking their rackets - Use the red zone count at the top of the board as your daily urgency indicator

**After the event**

- Use Bulk Bill to clear any outstanding payments - Mark the tournament as completed if the dates have not passed yet - Export or review analytics from the tournament card before archiving

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## Frequently Asked Questions

**Does the live board require players to log in?** No. The board URL is public. Anyone with the link can view it without a StringBiz account.

**Can I use the kiosk without pre-loading entrants?** Yes. Players can enter their own details at drop-off. Pre-loading entrants just makes the process faster and reduces typos.

**Can multiple stringers use the same tournament?** On WeaveMaster, yes -- your whole team accesses the same tournament and job queue simultaneously. On Side Hustle, tournament access is single-user.

**What happens if a player misses their match time?** The timer badge changes to OVR (overdue). The job stays in the queue until you update its status or the player collects.

**Can I run two tournaments at the same time?** Yes. StringBiz supports multiple concurrent active tournaments. Each one has its own board link, kiosk link, entrant list, and analytics.

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## Summary

Tournament Mode turns StringBiz into a purpose-built competition desk. The kiosk handles drop-off, the live board keeps players informed without them needing to interrupt you, the countdown timers keep priority clear throughout the day, and the per-tournament analytics give you a clean record of the event when it wraps up.

It is available on Side Hustle and WeaveMaster plans. If you are stringing regular club tournaments, Side Hustle at $5 a month covers the full feature set. If you are running large events with a team of stringers across multiple locations, WeaveMaster gives you the multi-user access and unlimited jobs to match.

Ready to set up your first tournament? Head to the Tournaments page and hit New Tournament.