Event ticketing software helps you get more people to the gate with digital ticket pre-sales. But once attendees purchase tickets, you still must find effective ways to manage crowds the day of your event.

The right event ticketing software helps you streamline and optimize gate entry, minimizing lines and easing the burden on your staff.

Different venues and events will have attendees flowing through different entry points from different parking lots at different times, and it’s essential to be prepared for any entry management scenario.

Managing gate entry with event software has many benefits, including:

•       Keep attendees happy with a positive, smoother entry experience.
•       Enable staff to scan pre-sale tickets and do their jobs more efficiently.
•       Protect the health of staff and attendees with no-contact QR code entry.
•       Facilitate fast and easy Square-enabled day-of ticket sales.
•       With digital pre-sales, know who’s coming and help staff prepare better.
•       Use timed entry to decide who arrives when and reduce crowds at the gate.

Entry to an event is usually the first point of contact attendees have with you and your staff. Minimizing lines by streamlining ticket scanning and day-of sales makes for a good impression. Happy attendees are more likely to buy tickets from you for future events, and giving staff the right tools helps them do their job more effectively.

Event ticketing software helps you achieve these goals and minimize lines at the gate. Here’s how.

Table of Contents:

1.     Prepare Better with Digital Ticket Pre-Sales
2.     Timed Ticket Entry Reduces Lines
3.     Use Mobile Ticket Scanning to Avoid Entry Bottlenecks
4.     Square Partnership for Fast, Easy Day-Of Sales

Prepare Better with Digital Ticket Pre-Sales

In today’s digital economy, customers expect to be able to pre-buy their tickets using remote, mobile purchasing channels.

Digital ticket pre-sales offers your attendees more control over their purchasing experience and lets them buy their tickets from anywhere at any time, with the options they want.

For instance, with SimpleTix you can offer highly customized ticket packages and upsell add-ons like concessions and merchandise, all from a simple-to-use, single checkout page.

If they need to make changes to their ticket details, using a ticketing app lets them do it themselves instantly.

Whatever purchasing choices your attendees make, ticketing software’s sales data gives you critical insights that help your staff plan better when it comes to entry and general event management strategies.

For instance, if you know you have a certain number of ticket presales for those who will arrive at specific dates and times, you can plan your entry points, where to assign certain staff members, security considerations, and any additional resources you may need for day-of ticket sales and customer service.

Instant payouts with SimpleTix mean you have access to up-to-the-minute details about pre-sales revenue.

Timed Ticket Entry Reduces Lines

When you have hundreds or even thousands of eventgoers arriving at the same time, it can create long lines, increase wait times, and place more of a burden on your staff.

Even with the most rigorous planning, you may find yourself facing a restless crowd that you can’t get through the gate fast enough.

SimpleTix’s timed ticket entry option lets you better manage the flow of attendees through the gate by having them arrive in smaller groups at pre-determined time slots.

Here’s how it works:

• Build a ticketing portal with customized time slots, group sizes, and caps on the capacity for each time slot, whether you’re managing a zoo, museum, or one-off events.
• Set a buffer between time slots to allow your staff to better prepare to handle crowds and manage your venue and event.
• Streamlined digital guest communication lets you send vital information and updates before and after an event.
• Ensuring health and safety guidelines for guests and staff is easy with SimpleTix; if someone gets sick and you need to implement contact tracing for COVID-19, you can easily export your list of attendees to identify and notify the right people.

Use Mobile Ticket Scanning to Avoid Entry Bottlenecks

Scanning tickets by hand can be time-consuming and lead to longer waits. To avoid entry bottlenecks, your staff needs to scan in guests as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Mobile ticket scanning lets your staff easily scan pre-purchased tickets using a QR code on a mobile device or a printed ticket.

SimpleTix provides digital kiosks so guests can simply point their printed ticket or smart device at your device’s camera to enter quickly and keep the lines moving.

If a ticket scanning is invalid, the devices will alert your staff so they can step in to help when needed. This level of automation keeps the lines moving quickly while also letting staff focus on helping in situations where they’re most needed.

Digital check-ins also provide you a record of how many attended the event, providing data-driven insights on whether you met your performance goals and how to improve outcomes for future events.

Square Partnership for Fast, Easy Day-Of Sales

Though many eventgoers prefer pre-purchasing their tickets digitally, you may still need to offer fast and convenient day-of ticket sales for your event.

Selling tickets on-site should be fast and easy for customers and staff, to keep your entry management strategy running smoothly. Handling large volumes of cash and counting out exact change for every customer slows your sales staff down significantly, versus using a cashless digital sales system like Square.

SimpleTix’s partnership with Square offers you the versatility to offer both mobile and on-site contactless payments and chip card payments, as well as Apple Pay and Android Pay, using a Square-enabled device like a smartphone or tablet.

Square integration also gives you the flexibility of instant payouts and analytics and reporting tools to build better business outcomes.

SimpleTix integrates with many other popular event management tools including Stripe, Zapier, SalesForce, MailChimp, Zoom, and Boca printers.

The ideal event maximizes your ticket sales without leaving your attendees standing in long lines when they get there. SimpleTix gives you the tools to manage entry at your event to get as many people as possible through the gate as quickly and smoothly as possible.

SimpleTix has offered an affordable, premium event ticketing platform that outperforms Eventbrite and similar apps for over 12 years. Compared to the competition, SimpleTix offers better options at a better price point. To learn more, call us at +1 (855) 550-3670 or email us here.