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Help for the registration process...
Sometimes the best of us can get confuddled, and although we at iplug try our best to explain ourselves, we can still get it wrong!
If you're still having trouble registering, you can contact us here
Explanations and terminology
Sometimes the source of a problem lies simply in understanding the terminology of a new concept. For a full explanation of what iplug is about, watch the video on the right. Below is a quick list of iplug terminology;
iplug |
A website for businesses and their customers |
Plug |
A positive feedback offered on a business on iplug |
Slap |
A negative feedback offered on a business on iplug |
Plugger |
A registered User of iplug. Also someone who Plugs |
Registered User |
Same as a Plugger. Someone who is registered on iplug |
ALIAS |
The PUBLIC name of a Plugger. Can be anonymous or can be an identifiable name. Must be UNIQUE |
Lister |
A Business owner or manager who has listed their business on iplug. Must first be a Plugger |
Registration |
The process of becoming a Plugger |
Plug Points Recipient |
A school or charity that has registered with iplug for the purposes of receiving Plug Points from Pluggers |
Logged In |
Pluggers must be Logged In before they can view their personal page, make a Plug or List a business |
Orphan |
A business 'listed' by a Plugger for the purposes of receiving a Plug. The business owner may not even be aware that they are on iplug |
Things you can do without registering:
Search for a business
Contact the business (through email)
Read the Plugs received by a business
Read the Plugs posted by a Plugger
Things you can do once registered as a Plugger
(In addition to the above)
Plug businesses
List businesses
Collect Plug Points
The usual order of doing things when signing up to iplug is;
Register as a Plugger
Add your bank account number (if you wish to receive cash for your Plug Points)
List your business (if you have one)
Plug businesses and collect Plug Points
NOTE: You MUST be registered as a Plugger (User) before you can List a business
Registration
Each email address can only be registered once.
If you have ever registered with iplug before and attempt registration again using the same email address you will be given an error message and be asked to LOG IN.
You must be LOGGED IN to Plug a business, List a business or edit your Plugger or Business pages.
To Register, click any of the REGISTER links displayed on all iplug pages.
Page 1
FIRST: If you wish to register a SCHOOL or CHARITY, click the link shown below;
Otherwise ignore this panel. (Jump to schools and charities here)
Email Address
To register yourself as a Plugger (User), enter your email address in the space provided.
NOTE: Only one email address per Plugger. If you share your email address and it has already been used for another Plugger, you will receive an ERROR message. It's not that difficult to acquire a new email address, so we suggest that you do this. If you're not sure how to go about getting another email address, your ISP should be able to help you.
Password
Create a password of between 6 and 10 characters. You can use any letters of the alphabet, in either case, and the 10 numerals. Write your password down in a secure place so that you remember it, or choose something that is personal to you and which you will remember. A mix of all types of characters is best.
ReType the password.
Click NEXT
NOTE:
Once you have clicked NEXT on the first page, a VALIDATION email will be sent to the email address you have registered.
You MUST click on the link in the validation email before your registration will be complete. You can do this BEFORE, AFTER or CONCURRENT with completing the rest of the registration questions.
Page 2
Here is where you give us your contact details and set up your ALIAS.
NOTE: Only your ALIAS is visible to the public. Your contact details are confidential.
Unique ALIAS
As a Plugger you are entitled to Plug (or Slap) the businesses listed on iplug. If the business is not listed you can also list it yourself as an Orphan.
A Plugger's personal details are confidential and do not display on iplug. Therefore all Pluggers must have a unique ALIAS, that will display on the pages of the businesses that you Plug. This is a maximum of 30 alpha-numeric characters (01234... and ABCDEF..., not -+$%?) including spaces.
Your ALIAS will be checked against our database to ensure that it is unique. No profanity or controversial comments will be tolerated, even if only implied.
The ideal ALIAS is one that has significance to you, but is not easily identifiable as you (for example GIRL RACR, but not SUZY SUMMERS*). Choose carefully. Your ALIAS cannot be changed.
*apologies to any existing Suzy Summers who like racing cars!
NOTE: you can choose to be identified through your ALIAS (eg. SUZY SUMMERS). That's your decision. For more about the pros and cons of anonymity, click here.
Contact Details
These are the details specific to you that allow us to identify you and contact you if required. Most of these fields must be completed, and falsifying the information you enter here is a breach of our Terms and Conditions.
These details are confidential and will never be disclosed to third parties. You can read our Privacy Policy here.
Terms and Conditions
You must agree to abide by iplug's Terms and Conditions if you wish to be a Plugger. By ticking the box you undertake that you have read and agree with the Terms and Conditions.
Click NEXT
Page 3
All of these fields are optional. You can finish here if you like.
But by giving a business your demographic (the type of customer that you are) you can help them improve their service to people like you. For example if a shop only received complaints from elderly male beneficiaries, they might be able to investigate what it is about their business that brings about these complaints.
Other
This could be an important issue for you. For example if you have twins and the aisles are not wide enough for your double-wide buggy, or you're a recent immigrant from Sri Lanka and essential information is spoken too quickly, entering your personal situation here might make a difference.
If you are experiencing the same difficulties across a wide range of businesses because of your situation or an impairment, list it here and you might at least offer a small advance for the cause.
Newsletter
From time to time iplug will send information to its users regarding the concept and status of iplug. If you check this box, you will NOT receive the newsletter.
DONE! Once you confirm your email address, you are registered as a Plugger and will receive a confirmation email from us.
Listing a business
You must be Registered and LOGGED IN before you can List a business.
Page 1
Enter your primary business details.
Most of these fields are compulsory. Once your Subscription has been paid (on the next page), these details will instantly be registered against your business and will go online.
Trading Name
This is the name that your customers know your business by. This will appear at the top of your listing page. For example if your company is Bright Star Shining In The Northern Sky Limited, but your business is the Hunterville franchise of McBurgers, enter McBurgers, Hunterville here.
Business Name (if different from above)
This is where Bright Star...etc goes. It will appear on your Tax invoice/receipt in addition to your Trading Name. This will NOT SHOW on your public iplug page. If you wish your full company name to show, use the Business Story field.
Contact Name and Contact Number
As a Plugger (User) we already have your personal contact details. The details you enter here are for the specific business you are listing. Some Pluggers who own several businesses may wish this information to be the contact details of a specific manager or partner in each business.
These contact details are for the purpose of iplug contacting the business owner/manager and do not appear on the public page. If you want your name and contact number (or that of the business manager) to show on the site, use the Business Story field.
Email Address
This address is for the business. If you want iplug searchers to email you, this is the address they will use. It does not physically display on the site, but a link will allow people to email you from iplug.
This does not have to be the same address as the one you registered as a Plugger.
Terms and Conditions
You must agree to abide by iplug's Terms and Conditions if you wish to list your business with iplug. By ticking the box you undertake that you have read and agree with the Terms and Conditions.
Click NEXT
Page 2
This is where you pay for your annual subscription to iplug.co.nz. Credit card is currently the only payment method we accept. Your details will be kept on secure server and your subscription will be renewed on the calendar anniversary of the date of your sign-up. You will receive an email warning you prior to the renewal.
Upon acceptance of your payment, your business details will be written to our server. If your computer crashes or your connection drops (or our system fails...!) after this step and before you get the chance to finalise your details, first try logging in to see if your business details are accessible.
If they are not, contact us here, or on our contact link.
Click NEXT. This will process the payment before taking you to the next page. Do not click the BACK button or interrupt this process before it is complete. If you have any problems, contact us.
Page 3
These are the optional and additional details that you can add to your business page.
Some of these details may require a little thought before actioning (Keywords, POD and Business Story), so if you wish you can finish the sign-up process here and come back later.
When you view your page while LOGGED IN, you will see EDIT BUSINESS DETAILS on the right hand panel. That is where you can add or edit any field on your page, including adding a BANNER or LOGO, and writing your Business Story.
We strongly suggest that you don't neglect the information on this page.
Most of these fields are self-explanatory. For HELP on the POD, Keywords and Business Story fields, click here
All the details on this page can be added or altered from the EDIT LISTER PAGE link that is only available to you when you are LOGGED IN.
Schools and Charities
Page 1
This is where you register your school or charity and set up a core contact.
NOTE: you – the person registering the school or charity – must remain separate from the entity that you are registering. It's possible (advisable) that you could already be a Plugger. But that registration has nothing to do with this one.
Email Address
To register your School or Charity as a Points Recipient, enter your official email address in the space provided. It is recommended that you do not use a PERSONAL address here, as it will precent you (the person) from registering yourself as a Plugger.
This is the address that will carry all correspondance between the School or Charity and iplug.
NOTE: Only one email address per School or Charity. The official address for the institution is generally acceptable (e.g. info@XYXSchool.co.nz).
If you are registering several Schools or branches (such as for a netball team, a trip fundraiser and the library rebuild fund) you will need a separate address for each registration.
If you try to register the same address twice, you will receive an ERROR message. We suggest that in the case of multiple registrations for the same institution, you acquire a new email address for each one. Alternatively you can use a spare address of the organiser.
We suggest that the organiser DOES NOT use their singular personal address, as that prevents them from becoming a Plugger – and we encourage ALL New Zealanders to become Pluggers.
Password
Create a password of between 6 and 10 characters. You can use any letters of the alphabet, in either case, and the 10 numerals. Write your password down in a secure place so that you remember it, or choose something that is personal to you and which you will remember. A mix of all types of characters is best.
ReType the password.
School or charity
Choose one or the other. There is no real difference between the two, except for the database that you display on, and a few details that you give us on a later page.
Click NEXT
NOTE:
Once you have clicked NEXT on the first page, a VALIDATION email will be sent to the email address you have registered.
You MUST click on the link in the validation email before your registration will be complete. You can do this BEFORE, AFTER or CONCURRENT with completing the rest of the registration questions.
Page 2
Contact Details and Organisation
These are the confidential details of your school or charity that iplug needs for its records. They do not display pn the site and will not be disclosed to a third party. To see our Privacy Policy, click here.
Payment Details
No, you don't have to pay us anything. Registration is free.
This is where you give us the bank account into which you want iplug to deposit the funds you earn when you redeem your Plug Points.
NOTE: You DO NOT have to give us your bank account number immediately. This can be added at a later date – by fax or mail if you're unwilling to disclose this information online.
While your Plug Points Recipient status will be live as soon as you complete the registration process, you will not be able to receive funds (redeem Plug Points) until the bank account is set up.
We will require verification of your bank account number before we you can redeem Plug Points for cash. This will be in the form of a deposit slip or similar, either mailed to us or scanned and emailed. We will be in contact with you within 10 business days of your registration.
Terms and Conditions
You must agree to abide by iplug's Terms and Conditions if you wish to receive funds from iplug. By ticking the box you undertake that you have read and agree with the Terms and Conditions.
Click NEXT
Page 3
The fields on this page are OPTIONAL and can be filled in at a later date or missed altogether. The function they perform is to give a little more information to the public regarding your institution.
This information will be visible on your personal page. This is the page that Pluggers are able to view before choosing whether or not to Gift you their Plug Points.
School or Charity
If you selected SCHOOL on Page One, the questions here relate to your school. If you selected CHARITY, then the questions are about your charity.
Newsletter
From time to time iplug will send information to its users regarding the concept and status of iplug. If you check this box, you will NOT receive the newsletter.
ERROR Messages
If you receive an error message filling out a registration form, your first line of defence is the 'BACK' button on your browser.
A common cause for error messages is when a field contains TOO MANY characters or INAPPROPRIATE characters.
The biggest offender is the humble apostrophe, which takes up four characters in code. If your name is O'donachy O'toole O'reilly, and you have received an error message containing the term 'truncated', lose one of the names or... sorry about this... lose the apostrophe and try again.
If you have any difficulties filling out these forms that cannot be remedied by de-apostrophe-ing, contact us.
For information on Finding businesses, Plugging businesses, the benefits of Listing Your Business, Getting Rewards or Fundraising with iplug, click on one of the following links...
