Choosing a Box Office Ticketing System – Comparing Features

These days, most people who are purchasing tickets expect that even the smaller performing arts, sporting or other live music venues, will not only provide a detailed and up-to-the-minute listing of all events, but also offer the ability to choose seats and purchase tickets online, at any time of day or night.

But many small organisations including schools and colleges and non-profit or community organisations possibly believe that the cost of box office ticket software will be beyond their reach. But in actual fact, these days there is an ever increasing number of companies supplying very affordable and easy-to-use box office software, which incorporate an array of features which would suit most organisations.  Generally speaking, the most difficult task faced by venue operators seeking to upgrade their ticketing systems is deciding which box office software system would best suit their needs.

So let's take a look at some features of box office ticketing systems which are probably essential when selecting the most ideal system.

Online ticket sales capability

Probably one of the main reasons for upgrading to a new ticketing system is to give your customers the ability to select and pay for their tickets directly off your website, plus also to simplify your existing box office operations.  Ideally you want both your online and offline ticket sales to be tightly integrated into a single system.  With online ticketing, the ideal system is one which offers your customers the ability to choose their own seats from an interactive seating rather than selecting seats only on a “best available” basis.

Ticket sales outlets

If you plan to sell tickets not only through your own box office but also through other agents, ticket outlets or even from your own home, then a Web-based software system is likely to be a better choice than a software system installed on your PC.  With Web-based systems, you can generally sell tickets from anywhere in the world with Internet access.

Print at home tickets

Most customers these days prefer the ease and convenience of being able to print their own tickets at home.  But one of the main problems from the venue operator’s point of view is the danger of fraud. So to overcome this, PDF tickets should be printed with unique bar codes. Of course this requires a bar-code scanner at the entrance of the auditorium/stadium and connection to a computer where the bar codes have either been downloaded or linked online to the main ticket database.
Another alternative is to issue customers a voucher via e-mail which they present at the box office prior to the event in exchange for the actual tickets.

Payment processing

Ideally, all ticket income will be directly deposited to your account via your own payment gateway and merchant account.  However not all software systems offer this facility and in many cases, you will need to use the software provider’s own gateway and merchant account.  In this case, all payments are deposited into their account and only released at specified time intervals, generally after the event has been held.

Customer database

A good customer database is the heart of any quality ticket sales software system.  The database should contain sufficient fields to record as much information as possible about the customer for marketing purposes and maintaining good customer relationships.  Ideally the database should have the ability to send e-mails directly to patrons with information about upcoming events, and send out newsletters or other information as required.  It should also have the ability to print address labels and maybe include a module with a word processor.  Many systems may also offer the ability to track and manage donations and pledges.

Transaction, attendance and financial report

Up-to-the-minute detailed reports on transactions, attendance and other financial details are an essential component of any box office system.  Of course such reports should be easy to access by all relevant personnel and you should have the ability to filter results by events, transactions, customers etc. You should also be able to easily check details of any sold ticket, directly from the main seating chart.

Ticket printing

Unfortunately specialist ticket printers such as those from Boca Systems or Data Automation can be quite expensive and beyond the reach of small organisations, but they are the most ideal printing option to use if possible.  Fortunately, many box office ticketing systems will allow the user to also print tickets using a standard laser or ink jet printer on standard letter or A4 sized sheets of paper.
The best systems will allow you to completely customise the layout of the ticket, including adding graphics, logos, additional lines of text etc.

Season or subscription tickets

Many organisations offer subscription packages or season tickets so it is essential in this case to look for a software system specifically designed to handle this type of ticket.  Whilst many systems allow your patrons to choose their own subscription series from a list of events, better systems will allow subscribers to choose their season package from a range of different pre-set packagest.  The best systems will offer the capability of rolling over subscriptions from one season to the next where the rolled over tickets are recorded as reservations to be confirmed and paid for by a specified date or the tickets will be automatically returned to the system for resale.

Gift vouchers and FlexPasses

If your organisation wishes to sell stored value cards or passes to events, you should ensure that the box office system includes this capability.  You should be able to set the validity date or a specified date range of events for the vouchers and you may also be able to customise them to some extent.

Ease of use

With any system, you’ll want to avoid any steep learning curve, with software as simple and logical to understand and operate as possible.  And in some cases you may want the ability to switch between different languages for administrators using the system.  Of course you will also require comprehensive operational manuals and ideally be able to access help online.
Unfortunately though, the only effective way to check if any system is as easy to use as you want, is to get your hands on a demonstration or trial version of the software.

Customer support

Since modern ticket sales software is quite complex, it's likely that you will require customer support from time to time.  Check to ensure that your chosen software provider can guarantee a high level of customer support by telephone or e-mail, ideally on 24/7 basis. The better companies will also be consistently working on upgrades and improvement to the software to ensure that your system will always be at the forefront of current technology.

Undoubtedly there are other features that you regard as important as well.  So the best idea is to list all these features on a sheet of paper and then contact box office ticket vendors with your list of ideal specifications and check which vendors can best meet your required specifications.