Whilst your organization will undoubtedly have a list of features you consider essential in a ticketing system depending on your specific requirements or the nature of your business, we have listed below the most common or essential features you may wish to consider when choosing a ticketing system for your organization.
We suggest you print this list, add any additional requirements you particularly require and use it as a check list to compare the various options/systems available.
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| Administration - venue and seating |
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| Supports multiple venues (number) |
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| Supports multiple events/performances for defined seasons (number) |
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| Number of seats possible per venue |
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| Supports multiple seating configurations (number) |
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Can generate own seating plan
- alternatively plan is supplied by software vendor (free or at additional cost) |
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Has graphical seating plan reflecting actual layout of venue
- alternatively has ability to only display seats in simple horizontal and vertical grid |
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| Graphical seating plan can show tables or other non linear seating arrangements |
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| Seats can be individually numbered by admin.- alpha and numerically |
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| Seats can be individually be assigned to a specific category/zone |
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| Seats can be marked as not available, deleted or special (e.g. disabled access) on seating plan |
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| System has multi user, multi station capability |
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| Administration - on screen information |
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| Has logical interface with tabbed selections for various options visible on one screen |
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| Admin. can select seats by clicking on venue map and can easily change, add or remove bookings |
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| Venue map shows at a glance price zones, booked seats, unbooked seats and "hold" seats for each performance, color coded |
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| Clicking on any booked seat shows the full information of customer who booked the seat |
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Brief details for each performance can be displayed on screen including:
- synopsis of performance
- duration of performance
- start time & end time
- information about the performer(s) – role, artist etc. |
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| Ticket control & ticket issuing |
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| Ability to sell both reserved and unreserved seating (number per venue) |
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| Can set up multiple price zones/sections (number) |
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| Can set up multiple price categories (adult, child etc) in each category/zone |
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| Can set up multiple price categories for different performances (previews, matinees etc.) |
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| Can offer both individual and season tickets in multiple types (number) |
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| Allows group bookings and package bookings |
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| Can lock or block seats or sections to make them unavailable for sale until unlocked by admin. |
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| Batched tickets can be sold at separate price schedule |
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| Subscriptions can be easily rolled over from one year to the next and seats "locked" until a new subscription/payment is confirmed |
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| Ticket purchasing |
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| Logical seating booking procedure (e.g. select venue>select event>select price category>select name from database if present>select seat>payment>print or issue ticket) |
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| Consecutive bookings can be made and cost totaled for single payment |
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| Capability to amend, cancel, exchange and refund bookings |
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| Can make provisional bookings to be confirmed later |
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| Ticket Printing |
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| Unique serial number assigned to each ticket printed for secure ticket validation and redemption |
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| Tickets can be printed at time of booking or batch printed at specified later time |
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| Tickets can be reprinted on demand |
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| Tickets can be printed on laser printer as well as thermal printers, dot matrix or inkjet printers |
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| Laser printed tickets can be printed with more than 1 ticket per page |
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| Tickets can be (optionally printed ) with a receipt |
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| Tickets can be (optionally) printed with customer name & address on ticket |
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| Tickets can be printed with address slip to be used with window faced envelope to post tickets |
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| Capability to print labels with addresses of customer to post tickets |
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| Can batch print unsold tickets for sale at door |
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| Can add extra lines of text on ticket (no. of lines) |
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| Logos or graphics (number) can be printed on ticket |
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| Ticket layout including font type & size can be customized |
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| Tickets can be printed with bar codes for scanning & verification with barcode reader at venue |
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| Supports ticket printing in Boca language or DataMax printers |
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| Payments |
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| Can accept part payment e.g. deposit and “lock” ticket issue until full payment is received |
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| Accepts multiple payment methods - cash, c.card etc. (number) |
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| Can customize payment methods |
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| Extra fees can be added at time of ticket payment (c.card fee , booking fee etc) |
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| Can customize extra fees and charges |
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| Sales tax/GST/VAT can be added to ticket price or transaction as either a flat fee, or a percentage of the sale |
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| Can add multiple tax surcharges as required |
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| Can add add non-ticket products/merchandise to any sale |
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| Ability to sell gift certificates for performances |
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| Can accept and record organization’s membership fees (which do not involve purchase of any tickets) in different types such as family, individual, corporate etc |
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| Donations can be solicited as part of the ticket buying transaction or a separate transaction |
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| Supports flexible payment plans for patrons and charging of credit cards at pre-defined intervals |
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| Supports conversion of tickets returned for resale to a contribution/donation |
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| Customer database and interface |
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| Database includes name, address, phone, email as minimum |
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| Includes extra non defined fields (number) |
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| Includes a "notes" box |
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| Customers can be searched by name, address, phone number as min. |
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| Date entry will (optionally) auto capitalize first letter of text input |
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| Data can be pasted from other programs (e.g. MS Word) |
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| Includes field showing when last booking was made by customer |
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| Includes field box to assign customers to specific categories e.g.. patron, subscriber etc (number) |
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| Can input a different mailing address than billing address |
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| Can send newsletters or emails from database to selected category of customer beg last purchase date. |
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| Customer records can be imported from an existing database in flat ascii, comma delimited text files |
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| Data can be exported to other applications as beg csv file |
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| Online event booking and ticket issue |
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| Has logical purchasing procedure |
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Customer can chose seats interactively by clicking on the actual seating plan to select
- alternatively, customers can choose pricing category or zone and seat numbers are selected by software.
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| Customer can (optionally) select single tickets or season tickets |
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| Customer has option of creating an account or making a one-off purchase without account creation |
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| Customer can make consecutive bookings with payment totalled at end |
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| Customer can print receipt or (optionally) have receipt emailed automatically after each booking |
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| Customers can log in, update personal info, view transaction history, reprint tickets at home, choose to receive special offers or newsletters by email |
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| Website integration and payment methods |
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Can be easily installed and integrated into an existing website retaining look & feel of the web site
-alternatively must be installed by software vendor (free or at additional cost) |
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| Payments accepted by major credit cards |
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| Accepts payments via PayPal WebPayment Pro |
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| Interfaces with all major payment gateways - Securepay etc. |
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| Reports |
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| Reports daily and cumulative ticket sales by event, date and type of ticket |
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| Reports receivals by type: c card, cash, check etc. on daily and cum. basis |
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| Sold/unsold/locked/hold tickets can be instantly seen on venue map |
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| Can view complete payment transaction history of patrons including donations made, order details, seating selected, payments made, c card history etc |
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| Fund Raising |
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| Can nominate and select a particular named campaign of fund-raising |
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| Shows the type of donation (e.g. the purpose, pledge etc) |
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| Automatically processes regular pledges or donations by credit card on a scheduled basis |
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| Issues preformatted emails to donors thanking them for donations, advising new fund raising campaigns etc |
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| Marketing |
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| Can send targeted emails with special offers to selected category of customers,
subscription reminders, notices of upcoming events, or survey customers and allow them to submit questions |
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| Customer Support |
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| Has telephone support line |
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Support offered on basis of:
- limited period
- unlimited period
- free
- at specified cost per incident
- by payment of annual support charge |
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| Updates provided as developed (free or additional charge) |
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| Fee structure |
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| Once only payment for software |
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| Ongoing licence fees payable |
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| Fee charged per ticket sold |
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| Set up fees charged for creation of seating plan or installation |
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