If you want to penalize people for registering past a specific date, you'll need to set up the event with an early bird discount or add-on. In addition, you could set up a nonrefundable deposit with a minimum partial payment.
Set Up Early Bird Discounts
When you use early bird discounts, you don't need to charge a late fee. The standard price becomes the highest price that someone will pay, which has the effect of rewarding early registrants, rather than punishing late registrants.
So, when someone registers before the first date, they'll see the standard fee price marked out with the date of the next price bump.
Create an Add-On Late Fee
If you need to manually charge a late fee, and it's clearly communicated on the event's page, you can create a late fee as an add-on.
Once a person registers, add the late fee like an add-on, and then send a balance due reminder email.
The late fee will show up on the balance.
