How to Choose Ticket Sales Software that Best Suits Your Venue
Posted: Saturday, September 26, 2009
by Malkay
http://www.handytix.com
With the ever increasing accessibility and use of the Internet in our daily lives, it's becoming ever more important for both small and large performing arts, sporting or other music venues to maintain not only an up-to-date listing of your events, but also to offer the ability for your patrons to purchase tickets online, at a time that suits them best and not just your box office.
So let's take a look at some specific features which should be your priority in deciding the best system for you.
Online ticket sales
The primary reason why you would normally consider a new ticket sales software system is to give your patrons the ability to purchase tickets directly from your website at any time of day or night and to simplify your own box office operations, by combining both your online and offline ticket selling into a single integrated system. If your venue offers reserved seating, then your best choice would be a ticket software system that offers the ability to select seats from an interactive seating map, so that your patrons can select the exact seat that they want. This enhances your customer satisfaction and will encourage them to return to make additional bookings from your website.
Ticket sales outlets
You need to consider whether you will only be selling tickets through your own box office or you would like the ability to sell tickets via agents, additional outlets or even from your own home. In this case, a Web-based ticket sales software system is probably be better choice since it generally means that tickets can be sold from anywhere with an Internet connection.
Print at home tickets
Many of your customers will prefer the simplicity of printing their own tickets at home when they make a purchase online. However to avoid fraud, you will need some appropriate means of validating the tickets at the entrance to your venue. The most common way of achieving this is via barcoding tickets including the print at home tickets, but of course you then need to use a bar-code scanner at the entrance to your venue. Alternatively instead of issuing actual tickets, many systems will allow you the option of emailing the customer a voucher or code, which is presented at the box office and exchanged for the actual tickets.
Payments for tickets
All online ticket sales software will normally have the ability to take payments via credit cards. However two particular points you need to check are which particular payment gateways are supported, and whether the system will integrate with your own payment gateway/merchant account or whether you need to use the software provider's service. In the latter case, the company will typically charge a fee for processing the credit cards and will only forward the ticket revenue to you at defined intervals, typically on a monthly basis or only after the event has been held.
Customer database
A good customer database is an essential part of any ticket sales software. The database should have a sufficient number of fields to record as much information as possible about the customer for future marketing purposes and ideally should have the capability of sending out customised e-mails informing patrons of upcoming events or other information. It may also have the ability to send out customised letters. You may also wish to have the ability to separately track and manage donations and enable patrons to make donations online when they are purchasing tickets.
Reporting
Comprehensive and up-to-the-minute reports on both sales and other financial details are essential. Ideally you should also have the capability of clicking on any seat on your seating map to see full information about the particular seat including who purchased the seat, the price they paid, and the date that the ticket was purchased, at the very least.
Ticket printing
Whilst specialised thermal ticket printers such as those produced by Boca Systems are always the best choice for printing admission tickets, because of the high cost of these printers, you may wish to consider a ticket sales software system that has the ability to also to print tickets on a standard LaserJet or ink-jet printer. Ideally you should also have the ability to customise the ticket layout including adding logos, images and additional lines of text, at the very least.
Sales of season tickets
if you offer subscription packages or season tickets, you need to make sure that your ticket sales software can easily handle this type of ticket. The best systems will allow your patrons to choose their own subscription series from a list of events, and will also have the capability of rolling over all subscriptions from one year to the next as reservations which must be confirmed and paid for by a certain date, otherwise the tickets will be returned to the system for resale.
Gift vouchers, discount cards etc.
Many ticket sales software systems also offer the ability to sell gift vouchers, discount cards and FlexPasses. These stored value cards can normally be set with validity for a specified date range, or a specified number of events.
Ease of use
Ideally, the ticket sales software system you choose should be easy to operate by all users without needing days of training, and therefore should have a logical flow structure for all day to day operations. In some cases you may require the ability to switch between different languages. However the only real way to test the ease of use of any system is to obtain a demonstration version from the software vendor. You should also check that there are comprehensive operational manuals which ideally can also be accessed online.
Customer Support and Product Updates
Most ticket sales software is quite complex so it is therefore almost inevitable that you will require some degree of customer support from time to time. Ensure that your chosen ticket sales software provider is able to provide a high level of support by telephone, e-mail or chat service, and does not simply rely on operational manuals and FAQ sections of their website.
If possible, also check that the chosen software provider has a policy of constant improvement and updates so that your system will always be at the forefront of technology.
The above just gives a brief overview of some of the points that you should consider when selecting ticket sales software for your organisation. Undoubtedly you will have specific requirements that are particular to your organisation, which will also influence your choice of software.
About the author:
Malcolm Kay is the CEO of HandyTix, a provider of ticket sales software for both small and large organizations throughout the world.
For more help in choosing a ticket sales software system , download our free report here.
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