Quickstart: Launch Your First Award Program

Create your account

Go to awardkit.io and click Get Started. You can sign up with your email or with Google.

Create a program

After signing up, click Create program. You will see a step-by-step wizard.

Fill in the basics:

• Program name: The name entrants will see (for example, "Marketing Excellence Awards 2026" or "40 Under 40")
• Workspace name: Your organization's home on AwardKit, where all your programs live. Name it after your organization (for example, "Acme Awards" or "City Chamber"). This only appears the first time you create a program.
• Entries open and close dates: When the entry window starts and ends
• Timezone: Used for the deadline countdown

Set up categories, awards, and entry fees

After filling in your program details, click Next to move to step 2: Categories & pricing. This is where you define what entrants are competing for and what they pay to enter.

In AwardKit:

• Categories are the buckets entrants choose when submitting. For example, an industry awards program might have "Best Innovation", "Leadership Excellence", and "Community Impact" as categories. Each entry is submitted to exactly one category.
• Awards are what you give out. Each category typically has its own award (for example, a "Winner" within "Best Innovation"). You can also add overall awards like a "Grand Prize" or a sponsor-funded "Best Use of AI" that any entry can win regardless of which category they picked. Award names are free-form, so you can label your placements whatever fits your program.
• Entry fees, pricing tiers, and discount codes all live on this same tab once your program is created. See Categories and awards and Entry fees for the full guide.

You can add prize money or item prizes to each award. Prize money is shown publicly on your program page, which helps attract serious entrants. Click Add Category to add more, and Add Award within each one to add additional placements.

When you are ready, click Create Program. Your program is created and you land on the program management page where you can preview the public page and continue setting up.

Configure the entry form

Click the Entries tab to set up your entry form and review entries as they come in.

Every program comes with sensible defaults: name and email of the lead entrant, entry title, description, category, and team members. Add your own custom questions using Add Question:

• Short answer for one-line responses (Year founded, Project URL handle)
• Paragraph for narrative responses (Describe your impact)
• URL for demos, websites, or supporting links. URLs to YouTube, Loom, and Twitter/X auto-render as in-line previews.
• Email, Number, and Date for structured single-value answers
• Dropdown, Single choice, and Multiple choice for picklists (industry, company size, capabilities)

In the same setup card you can also set a Deadline for the entry window. After the deadline, the entry form locks and the public entry gallery becomes available.

Configure judging criteria

Click the Voting tab to define how entries are scored and to invite your judging panel. Two decisions shape the setup: voting mode (who votes) and voting method (how they vote).

Voting mode controls who can cast votes:

• Judge only: A curated panel of judges scores every entry. Best for industry awards and professional juries where the result needs editorial weight behind it.
• Judges + audience: Your judging panel scores entries and a public people's choice sidecar runs alongside on a separate shared link. Use this when you want expert judgment for the main awards and a parallel popular vote.
• Audience only: Open voting via a shared link with no judging panel. Best for community awards, fan favorites, or any program where the crowd decides.

Voting method controls how scores are entered. AwardKit supports two:

Score Criteria

The default method, well-suited to most professional award programs. Judges score each entry on criteria you define (for example, Impact, Innovation, Execution). Every program starts with a single Overall Score criterion. You can keep it simple or click Add Criterion to break scoring into multiple dimensions. Each criterion has a name, a description (guidelines for judges), and a weight. Weights are percentages and must total 100%.

A common setup for award programs:

By default, criteria apply to every entry. If you have categories with very different evaluation goals, you can scope a criterion to a specific category.

Top Picks

A simpler alternative where judges pick and rank their favorite entries instead of scoring criteria. You configure how many picks each judge gets (default is 3). Top Picks works well for shorter shortlist rounds, "best of" awards, or any time you want judges to choose with their gut rather than calibrate detailed scores.

Add judges and audience voting

Scroll down on the Voting tab. Depending on the voting mode you picked, you will see one or both of these sections: Judge Voting and Audience Voting.

Judge voting

Shown when the voting mode is Judge only or Judges + audience. Click Add Judge and enter each judge's name and email. AwardKit creates a unique voting link for every judge. You can:

• Copy links to share them manually
• Invite all to send email invitations in one click
• Invite individually from each judge's card

Judges don't need an AwardKit account. They click their link, see the entries assigned to them, and start scoring.

You can also control how entries are distributed to judges using assignment modes:

• All judges: every judge reviews every entry. Best for small programs (fewer than 30 entries) where you want maximum calibration.
• Per judge: assign specific entries to each judge. Best for programs where conflicts of interest matter or judges have category specialties.
• Rooms: organize judges and entries into parallel judging rooms. Best for large programs where you want each entry seen by, say, 3 of 9 judges.

Audience voting

Shown when the voting mode is Judges + audience or Audience only. Share the Audience Voting Link with your audience: anyone with the link can vote, no account required. This is great for "People's Choice" awards, fan-vote categories, or running a popular-vote sidecar alongside the main judging panel.

Share your program

Your program is ready. Click Program Links in the top-right corner to find the URLs you need:

• Program Page: Your program's central hub with the entry deadline, categories, awards, sponsors, and rules. Share this with potential entrants and on your marketing channels.
• Entry Form: A direct link to the entry form. Share this when entries open. Entrants must sign in to AwardKit before submitting.

After judging is complete, you can publish results on the program page and issue certificates to winners and finalists.