🧭 Commissioner setup guide

Commissioner Basics — Every Pool's Shared Tools

The tools every ChooseASquare pool shares, whatever contest type you run: the organizer cut and Fundraising module, announcements, chat and private direct messages, polls, branding, custom page sections, sponsor ads, the activity log, winner emails, Payout Assist, and inviting people.

ChooseASquare commissioners running any contest type · 6 min read

Squares, Pick’Em, Survivor, Power Points, Draft Room, Bracket Master — every contest type on ChooseASquare runs its own picks and scoring, but they all share the same commissioner toolkit underneath: a way to raise money for your program, talk to your group, brand your page, get paid, and pay winners.

This guide covers that shared layer — the tools you’ll find on every pool’s console no matter which contest type you’re running. For type-specific settings (scoring rules, pick deadlines, etc.), see that type’s own setup guide.

Fundraising & the organizer cut

Two separate controls: the Fundraising module turns a pool into a fundraiser, and the organizer cut is a payout setting every entry-fee pool has.

Fundraiser toggle & goalPro: Mark the contest as a fundraiser, set a dollar goal and an end date, and give participants the option to donate their winnings back to your program.
Sellers & storefrontPro: Give each seller their own tracked link and run a lightweight storefront so you can see who sold what.
Organizer cut: Set on every pool’s Settings tab, not the Fundraising module: keep a percentage of the pool, a flat total, or a flat amount per entry. The prize pot shown to players is always net of your cut, and it works with or without the Fundraising add-on.

Talking to your group

Announcements: Post a highlighted note to the public contest page — pin important ones to the top, and flag a post as final results/winners to notify participants who opted in.
Chat: A per-contest group chat (default name “Smack Talk,” renamable) with reactions, @mentions, and commissioner moderation — pin/unpin messages, mute members, or switch to announcement-only.
Private direct messages: Participants can message you 1:1 from the same chat panel — handy for payment questions or a private heads-up — separate from the group feed.
Polls: Ask your group to vote on rules, dates, or entry fees — single-choice or ranked, with results shown live or only after the poll closes, and voter visibility you control.

Branding & your public page

Logo & colors: Upload your organization’s logo and set primary/accent/text colors — they carry through the public pages, the chat panel, and outbound emails.
Custom page sections: Add blocks to your public page from presets (About, Prizes & Payouts, Announcements, Sponsors) or write your own text — reorder, hide, or delete anytime.
Sponsor adsPro: Run a sponsor’s banner on a single pool’s play pages, or org-wide across every contest — image, headline, click-through link, and scheduling, with impressions and clicks tracked automatically.

Reports, payouts & winners

Activity logPro: A searchable, filterable log of everything that happens in your org — joins, picks, payments, payouts, settings changes — exportable to CSV.
Winner notification emailsPro: Pre-write the email each winner receives (merge tags fill in their name, amount, and pool), send it on demand or auto-send it once results are finalized.
Payout AssistPro: A guided one-tap carousel for paying winners: see who won and how much, open Venmo/PayPal with the amount pre-filled, and mark each one paid as you go. It never moves money for you — it just gets you there faster.

Inviting people

Shareable invite links: Generate a private link anyone can use to view and join a contest — even an invite-only one — and revoke it anytime.
Email invites: Send a branded invite email with your join link to typed or pasted addresses, your saved address book, or people from your other contests; track who’s accepted and resend or rescind individual invites.
Org-level invites: Today, invites happen per contest. Inviting people once at the organization level, so they’re offered every pool you run, is coming.

FAQ

Do all ChooseASquare contest types have these features?

Yes — announcements, chat, polls, page sections, the organizer cut, and invites work the same way underneath every contest type. A few (sponsor ads, the activity log, winner emails, Payout Assist) are Pro Commissioner features; everything else is available on the Free plan.

Do I need the Fundraising add-on to keep an organizer cut?

No. The organizer cut is set on every pool’s Settings tab and works on any entry-fee contest whether or not you’ve added the Fundraising module. The Fundraising module is a separate layer for a stated fundraising goal, donate-back, and the seller storefront.

What’s the difference between Announcements, Chat, and Polls?

Announcements are one-way posts you pin to the public page. Chat is an ongoing group conversation (plus private 1:1 messages to you). Polls collect a vote from your group on a specific question, like a rule change or an entry-fee bump.

Can participants message me privately instead of posting in the group chat?

Yes — the same chat panel has a Direct Messages mode for private 1:1 threads between a participant and the commissioner, separate from the public group feed.

Is Payout Assist free?

Payout Assist is a Pro Commissioner feature. It doesn’t move money itself — it opens your Venmo or PayPal app with each winner’s amount pre-filled so you can send it in one tap, then marks that winner as paid.

Can I invite people to every contest in my organization at once?

Not yet — invites (shareable links and email invites) are per contest today. Org-level invites that carry across every pool you run are planned.

Ready to run yours?

Set it up in a few minutes — every option here is right there in the wizard.

Start a contest →