Zoho Backstage now has Abstract Management built in

Abstract Management is now available with all paid Zoho Backstage plans, giving organizers a way to manage their abstract workflow from submission and review to approval and session creation, all within Zoho Backstage.

Whether you’re organizing a conference, symposium, or academic summit, you can use Abstract Management to collect submissions, coordinate reviews, manage authors and reviewers, and turn approved abstracts into sessions.

Here’s how you can manage your abstract workflow with Zoho Backstage.

Organize abstract collection with ease

You can create abstract topics that automatically sync with your event website, giving potential authors a clear view of what you're looking for and helping attendees get a preview of what’s coming.

Once your topics are live, managing submissions becomes easy. Zoho Backstage provides a user-friendly dashboard where all abstracts are neatly organized in one place. You can customize submission forms to gather the exact information you need, and authors can track and manage their submissions up until the editing deadline you define, so you're always in control of the timeline.

Simplify the review process

Allocating reviews and managing submissions can become time-consuming. With Zoho Backstage, event organizers can assign submissions to reviewers. The assignment pane highlights reviewers with the relevant topic expertise, making it easier to match each abstract with the right reviewer. The blind review feature ensures that evaluations are fair and unbiased, keeping the focus on quality.

Reviewers can rate, comment, and track their progress through an intuitive dashboard. This helps them stay organized and ensures they can focus on providing valuable feedback.

Approve and convert abstracts into sessions

Once abstracts are approved, Zoho Backstage makes it easy to convert them into sessions without any extra steps. Authors can be added as speakers, and the information is automatically updated in the agenda. Submitters receive automatic notifications about their submission status, keeping them informed at every step.

Your abstract workflow stays organized with a clear, intuitive dashboard, helping you keep track of each stage of the process.

Offer flexibility for all stakeholders

Zoho Backstage offers flexibility for all your event participants, whether they’re authors, reviewers, or organizers.

• Empower authors: Authors can edit their submissions, add co-authors, resubmit revised versions, or withdraw entries anytime until the document moves to "reviewed", while organizers retain full control over when these actions are allowed.
• Ensure fairness with reviewers: Reviewers can declare conflicts of interest to maintain transparency and fairness in the evaluation process.
• Manage submissions effectively: If an author abandons a submission, Zoho Backstage lets you trigger reminder emails manually to encourage completion. This helps improve submission rates and ensures a smoother review process.
• Prioritize privacy and compliance: If your event is in the healthcare or research sector, Zoho Backstage is HIPAA-compliant, ensuring all data is handled securely.

Export your abstract submissions

Organizers can now export abstract submissions to work with their data offline or retain a copy for their records. The export includes co-author details, reviewer details, and reviewer comments, while also respecting the filters applied to the submissions page.

This gives organizers more flexibility when preparing their event agenda or retaining abstract data for future use.

Configure reviewer access

Organizers can now control abstract reviewers’ access to Networking, OnAir Lounges for virtual and hybrid events, and Webpages. This gives organizers greater control over the reviewer experience while ensuring they have access to the areas they need.

Keep everything in one place

With Zoho Backstage, you don’t need to juggle between multiple tools. Everything you need to manage your abstracts, from collection to session creation, is integrated into a single platform. This means no more switching between systems to manage your abstract workflow or handling disconnected data, just a clear, organized view of everything you need to track.

Abstract Management is now available with paid plans

Abstract Management is available with all paid Zoho Backstage plans, with 15 abstract credits included as part of every paid plan.

If you need additional credits, you can purchase Abstract add-on credits for US$2.99 per submission.

From Early Access to a complete workflow

Abstract Management was introduced through Early Access, where organizers and early access users shared feedback on the feature and helped shape its development. We’ve continued to improve the experience based on this feedback and bring additional capabilities to help organizers manage their abstract workflows.

Ready to take control of your abstract process?

With customizable forms, blind reviews, the ability to convert approved abstracts into sessions, submission exports, and configurable reviewer access, Zoho Backstage’s Abstract Management feature is designed to simplify your workflow and save you time. Whether you're managing a handful of abstracts or hundreds, Zoho Backstage helps you stay organized from start to finish.

Explore the Abstract Management help documentation to learn more.