Common questions
Questions, answered plainly
What clubs ask before trying ShowKeeper, grouped by when you’d ask it.
Before the show
Do I need to install anything?
No. ShowKeeper runs in Chrome or Edge on laptops, tablets and Chromebooks. If you like, the browser can also install it like an app, with its own icon.
Does it do dog shows and cat shows?
Both. When you start, you choose Dog Show or Cat Show. Dog shows use AKC or UKC entry rules, and cat shows CFA or TICA.
Can I bring in the entries I already have?
Yes, from a CSV file with a header row. ShowKeeper reads common column names such as Call Name, Breed, Class and Owner, and skips any column it doesn’t recognise.
On the day
Does ShowKeeper need the internet at the show?
No. It runs with no internet on the show laptop or tablet, and every change saves on that device as you make it. The internet is used for signing in and buying a pass.
Can the judge read the book outside in bright sun?
Yes. The judge’s book has an Outdoor Mode: black on white, with large armband numbers. It’s one button in the book. It isn’t remembered, so switch it on each time you open the book.
How does the judge sign the book?
On screen. The judge marks placements, absent and excused in the book, then signs it, and the class results are stamped with a SHA‑256 fingerprint.
What if my laptop dies mid-show?
Your show lives on the laptop it runs on, and every change is saved there as you make it. What ShowKeeper can’t do yet is keep a copy on a second machine for you. Until it can, run the day from one laptop, keep it plugged in, and keep the paper entry forms to hand.
Money
What does it cost?
It’s free to try: set up a show, import a roster and see the dashboard. When you need the Entry Portal and the Judge’s Book, a Weekend Pass is $59.99, one payment, for 72 hours from purchase. Nothing renews, and ShowKeeper takes no share of your entry fees.
Is there a fee per entry?
No. ShowKeeper takes no share of your entry fees. It doesn’t handle card payments either: any card fees are between your club and whoever takes the payment.
How do I buy a Weekend Pass?
In the app, when you need it: sign in, then Settings, Cloud. Payment is handled by Stripe, and ShowKeeper never sees your card number.
When do the 72 hours start?
The moment you buy the Weekend Pass. It unlocks the Entry Portal and the Judge’s Book for the next 72 hours, so buy it when you’re ready to start taking entries, not the week before.
Does anything renew?
No. The Weekend Pass is one payment of $59.99. Nothing renews and nothing is charged again.
What happens when the pass ends?
The Entry Portal and the Judge’s Book lock again. Your show’s entries stay on your computer, where they always were.
Can I get a refund?
A Weekend Pass ends on its own 72 hours after purchase, so there is nothing to cancel. Refund requests can be sent to [email protected] and are handled case by case.
Your data
Where are my show’s entries kept?
On your device. The internet is used for signing in and buying a pass.
What happens to exhibitors’ contact details after the show?
They stay on your laptop. After the show, one control in Settings wipes exhibitor names, emails and phone numbers from the laptop.
Does ShowKeeper track what I do?
The web version of the app may use Google Analytics for Firebase to see which screens and features are used. This website doesn’t use analytics and sets no cookies of its own. The privacy policy has the details.
Registries
Which registries does it work with?
AKC, UKC, CFA and TICA. ShowKeeper checks each entry’s age and class against that registry’s rules as you key it in. It’s software for your club, working alongside the registries’ own systems: it isn’t a licensed superintendent service, and it doesn’t send results to the registry for you.
What exactly does it check?
Age against class, worked out on the show date; AKC Bred-by-Exhibitor and UKC Breeder/Handler owners against the breeder of record; registration numbers for CFA and TICA titling classes; and CFA provisional breeds.
Does it work out championship points?
Not yet. ShowKeeper doesn’t work out championship points or majors yet: its point schedules aren’t finished, so use your registry’s own figures.
What kind of show is it for?
It fits matches and fun matches, specialties, independent shows, UKC clubs and small cat clubs. It isn’t built to run a licensed all-breed AKC show.
Didn’t find it?