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Making the Most of Your Zoo Management Systems
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Running a zoo requires top-notch systems of organization. Caring for your animals, coordinating staff and volunteers, and providing a positive experience for your visitors are only a few moving parts that you will need to facilitate daily. Nonprofit consulting firms and other third parties can help you formulate a broad strategy for operating your zoo, while zoo software will help you streamline your operation immediately. Since there are various elements to the daily operation of your zoo, you will most likely need different tools to accomplish various tasks – including bookkeeping, animal record maintenance, and ticketing. Having the right software to manage each component helps your zoo thrive in a competitive market. A thorough assessment of your zoo management systems with a focus on ticketing and platform integration will enhance not only your organization’s day to day functionality, but also the experience of your visitors. Assess Your Zoo Management Systems Many organizations find that zoo software often must be supplemented with other programs for their public facing operations, like ticketing and marketing. To optimize your operation, you must assess your tools and see which areas need improvement. Whether you use dedicated zoo software or work with some combination of spreadsheets and other software, the ultimate goal of your zoo management systems is to keep your animals, staff, and visitors happy. Assessing your workflow will reveal which parts of the system benefit your organization and which parts hinder it. Your tools should be working for you, not making your routine more complicated. Software designed specifically for zoos often focuses solely on animals and their history and care. Features for veterinary records, breeding and pedigree data, and daily maintenance are typical for zoo software. While care of the animals is essential to your zoo, this neglects many equally important functions of a...
Save Thousands with This Eventbrite Alternative
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Are you researching event ticketing apps? Then you’ve likely noticed that, alongside Eventbrite, there are several Eventbrite alternatives. Each offers different features at different price points. But how do you know which will give you the most return for your investment? As an event specialist, you know that spending more doesn’t always lead to a better experience for you and your patrons. Smart investments provide both quality and cost effectiveness. On a strictly managed event budget, the money you save today may very well free up critical funds for the costs you’re presented with tomorrow and the next day. Essentially, managing an event’s finances means you need as much cash flow as possible—as quickly as possible. The digital ticketing app you choose should give you that flexibility, with savings up front and ticket revenue hitting your account instantly, so you can make more accurate financial forecasts and adapt quickly to evolving administrative needs. What if we told you that when you’re looking for event ticketing software, there’s an Eventbrite alternative that can save you thousands of dollars and provide more functionality at that lower price point? Here’s how you can spend less and get more from SimpleTix, a digital event management tool that puts your event first. Table of Contents: An Eventbrite Alternative that Offers Instant Payouts Pay Lower Per-Ticket Fees with No Hidden Costs Get Premium Treatment at a Non-Premium Price An Eventbrite Alternative that Offers Instant Payouts Event organizers have to cover many costs in a short amount of time: marketing materials, concessions, venue rentals, equipment, and staff and entertainment, to name a few. Often, you’re relying on revenue from ticket pre-sales to reinvest into your event’s other needs. You can’t plan your event effectively without a clear picture of your finances....
What to Look for in Online Festival and Event Management Software
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Every time you manage an event or festival is a unique experience. As you go through the different stages of planning, marketing, and managing an evolving set of logistics, your event may begin to feel like a living, breathing thing. After all, you’re juggling many moving parts that are specific to your event, such as venues, catering, equipment, staffing, third-party vendor contracts, marketing, planning and administration, and—perhaps most importantly—getting tickets into the hands of event goers. That’s why you need online festival and event management software that will bring your patrons a streamlined, efficient, customizable ticketing experience that drives attendance and maximizes revenue. The right digital ticketing software can provide tools to get the most out of ticketing and promotion for any event, from a small local food and drinks festival to a multi-day rock concert. Having access to intuitive, adaptable event software can help manage everything from ticket pre-sales to post-event tasks like reconciliation. With the ever-rising popularity of contactless purchasing options, online festival and event management software can also provide your patrons with the ticketing experience they prefer. That said, what should you look for when investing in event software? You may be tempted to go all-in for a digital ticketing app with a familiar name like Eventbrite. But alternatives may offer more premium functionality at a lower price point. Name recognition doesn’t always equal a better user experience. Before making this important decision, learn more about the software features that help create a superior event ticketing and management experience. Table of Contents: Pre-Event Features to Get the Most out of Ticket Sales Marketing and promotion play a critical role in your budget Instant payouts make a world of difference Day-Of Features You Need in Online Festival and Event Management...
5 Ways an Eventbrite Alternative Achieves Australia’s Phase 5 Covid Checklist Compliance
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Organizing an event is already a huge task, but organizing around Covid-19 presents extra considerations to work with. While it may seem daunting to sell tickets for a large event and maintain public safety, ticketing software can help you achieve compliance with any state or local mandates. An Eventbrite alternative not only helps you sell tickets, it helps you create the best possible experience for patrons -- one that will keep them coming back time after time. As the Covid-19 pandemic continues around the globe, governments have adopted new restrictions to host large events in their cities, states, and countries safely. In Australia, capacity limits, physical distancing, and mask mandates vary from state to state. Brisbane’s home state of Queensland, for example, now allows 100% capacity for seated and ticketed events, while New South Wales, home to Sydney, has been in a near-total lockdown since June 2021. Somewhere in-between total freedom and lockdown, Western Australia now allows for public and private events with up to 2500 attendees, but organizers must adhere to the government’s phase 5 Covid checklist. The checklist lists eight rules to follow during organization and execution of the event. It must be submitted with any additional application documents in order to receive approval to host the event. The checklist is as follows: Manage shared space to ensure physical distancing. Provide trained COVID Safety Marshals. Ensure staff are trained in Covid safety measures. Maintain cleaning and hygiene standards. Maintain mandatory contact registers. Request that unwell people not attend. Provide adequate hand sanitizer and soap. Register event with the Department of Health at health.wa.gov.au/eventsregistration. Ticketing software can help your event staff meet these goals for the health and safety of your attendees. Eventbrite is often the first thought when considering ticketing software, but other options are cheaper and more...
4 Reasons to Accept Square Gift Cards on Your Ticket Page
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As an event manager, you know firsthand the toll the pandemic took on the entertainment industry. You work hard to bring a wonderful experience to life for your customers while still meeting business objectives. The world is working its way toward a new normal, and businesses are adapting as quickly as possible. One positive step event managers can take is to make sure their ticketing platform is compatible with Square. SimpleTix makes the solution so simple. Discover the top 4 reasons why accepting Square gift cards on your ticket page will keep you and your customers happy and bring them back again and again. 1. Keep Cash Flow Positive According to Forbes Magazine, “in 2020, the entire global theatrical and home/mobile entertainment market totaled $80.8 billion, the lowest figure since 2016 and a decline of 18% from 2019.” Forbes also reports that theatrical profits fell from $42.3 billion in 2019 to $12 billion in 2020. Dramatic decreases as a result of the pandemic make it difficult for people in the entertainment market to plan, launch, and report on the events they manage. No matter the size of your event, ticket revenue comprises most of the revenue you bring in. This is even more true for small venues forced to operate within the tight constraints of a limited budget. Issuing refunds adds more financial pressure because the money made on the ticket sale has already been spent on paying bills. Accepting Square gift cards helps keep your cash flow positive. Instead of having to issue a refund, a gift card offers a tangible sign of good faith that gives the purchaser confidence that they're going to get something in return for the money they’ve spent on an entertainment event. Like most people in the event management business, you’ve probably used a...
3 Key Features Eventbrite Doesn’t Offer
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For event organizers, it may seem like investing in a digital ticketing app that’s cheaper than Eventbrite will net you a shoddier service with fewer features. Sure, the idea that “you get what you pay for” does hold a certain logic when you’re on a streamlined budget and can’t afford anything going wrong with your ticketing or marketing efforts. You just need to go with a name that’s well known in the event industry and assume they’ll deliver value, so you can move on to other aspects of planning your event, right? But what about when that familiar name doesn’t deliver the full value you expect and deserve? What if you could give your patrons a superior ticketing experience at a lower price point—freeing more funding for other immediate needs like venue rentals, food and drinks, and staffing costs? Now you can, with apps that are cheaper than Eventbrite. Despite the heavyweight brand recognition Eventbrite boasts, alternative ticketing apps like SimpleTix offer more functionality for lower per-ticket fees. Eventbrite’s software has some surprising drawbacks when compared with apps like SimpleTix, and Eventbrite tends to clutter your event promotion pages with marketing for their own brand. You need an easy-to-use ticketing experience that puts your event first. You need an app that gets tickets to your patrons and money in your hands as quickly as possible. If you’re looking for a smoother, simpler approach to digital ticketing, with premium functionality at entry-level pricing, look no further than SimpleTix. SimpleTix is cheaper than Eventbrite without sacrificing the quality of your ticketing experience. You may be surprised by these 3 key features Eventbrite doesn’t offer—but SimpleTix does. Table of Contents: Eventbrite Doesn’t Give You Instant Payouts Need Square Integration? Eventbrite Doesn’t Offer It Ticket Holders Can’t Change Ticket Details with Eventbrite Eventbrite Doesn’t...
How to Throw a Small One Day Music Festival
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Music festivals claim ancient roots but have evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry catering to nearly all subsets of culture. And while festival software is a relatively recent technological advancement to assist with their execution, the focus remains the same – to get people to come together for good music and revelry. There are more than 2000 different music festivals in the US alone each year spanning different cities, genres, and causes. Why not add your own unique festival to the mix? Not all festivals are on the scale of Coachella or Lollapalooza, and it’s easier to start your own festival than you think. Below we have listed the basics on how to throw a small one-day music festival. This is only a starting point – you’ll learn so much more as you develop your own unique festival and learn the ropes. You never know – your festival could become as iconic as Woodstock. Table of Contents: 1. Develop Your Festival’s Vision 2. Secure Your Date and Location 3. Create the Atmosphere with your Venue and Vendors 4. Hype Up Your Festival 5. Enjoy Your Hard Work 6. Bask in the Afterglow of Your Success Develop Your Festival’s Vision You’ve got the idea for your festival; now you want to let your imagination run wild brainstorming specifics. Questions to consider include: What is your festival’s unique premise? What type of atmosphere do you want your festival to create? What kind of crowd do you want to attract? And most importantly – why are you throwing this festival? You’ll want to be able to confidently answer these questions to potential festival goers so that you really know the purpose of your festival and its place in the scene. The more specific you can be as you develop the aura of your festival,...
Festival Software That Can Help You Run a Great Event
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Orchestrating any event can be a major undertaking. Pulling off a great festival presents unique challenges, especially since some festivals take place over multiple days. Whether your festival is something as laid back as an outdoor harvest festival, as intense as a big-stage rock concert, or you happen to be hosting one of the world’s biggest food fights, the backend logistics can be overwhelming to say the least. One thing that shouldn’t be overwhelming is selling your tickets. A seamless ticketing experience is crucial to your event’s success. The right festival software gives you all the tools you need to sell your tickets digitally, drive revenue, and make sure your festival will be an awesome experience for everyone. The fact is that festivals are a crucial part of the culture in many cities across the country, and venues have once again begun to fill with festival goers. Event ticketing software helps you meet their expectations with easy, contactless ticket sales for multiple days’ events, the ability to offer unlimited ticket types, upselling with addons like concessions and special parking, event reminders and personalized email campaigns, and many other features to optimize the festival experience. Here’s everything you need to know about how SimpleTix’s festival software can help you run a great event. Table of Contents: 1. Festival Software That Streamlines Ticketing 2. Promoting Your Festival with Mailchimp 3. Post-Event Reconciliation with Quickbooks Festival Software That Streamlines Ticketing There are many software platforms on the market for digital event ticket sales, but few offer the user-friendly customizability festival coordinators and their attendees need. SimpleTix is an event ticketing app built for you to maximize festival ticket pre-sales and customize your entire ticketing process easily. Several key features of SimpleTix make this possible. Festival Mode Most apps treat festivals as an afterthought,...
Pay with Square Gift Card… is now here!
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The #1 Request we've had in 2021 - When will you support Square Gift Cards? Square Gift Cards give venues so much flexibility. Want to buy your best friend tickets to the zoo? You’re just not sure what date and time would be best for them.Get ’em a Gift Card! They can later use it online to buy the tickets and pick the best time slot of their schedule. Next time you need to refund an order, make it an opportunity! Imagine the next time you need to refund an order, you can instead ask the patron if they would be interested in supporting your organization and take their refund as a gift card. Thus they can use it for a future event. After enabling Square Gift Cards as a checkout option, the next time you do a refund you’ll have the option to create a Square Gift Card for the order’s amount. This helps keep your cash flow positive. Canceling an event is devastating. Turn it into an opportunity! This August 2021, the COVID-19 Delta variant is starting to spread and jurisdictions are requiring event organizers to postpone or cancel their events. If you have to cancel an event with over 25 orders SimpleTix can offer a special type of bulk refund option for you. Want to simply give all of the attendees a full refund – we can still do that. However, we can offer you a better option now. We can send an email to all ticket buyers and offer them a quick link where they can click and get a full refund. Below this, we’ll include a message, written by you where you explain the reason for the event’s cancellation and how taking a Square Gift Card instead of a refund help your organization stay afloat. The ticket buyer can then click a button to create their Square Gift Card. They can use this...
5 Ways Zoo Software Can Simplify Ticketing
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Purchasing a ticket will most likely be a visitor’s first interaction with your zoo, and a smooth and simple ticket purchasing experience will have you off to a good start. Zoo software facilitates a more positive overall experience for both visitors and staff during your ticketing process. Why is it important to create a good customer experience? Because good experiences make your customers more valuable. They are more likely to spend more in the gift shop, return for another visit, and spread the word about how stellar your zoo is. Every good experience makes the case for your zoo's cause, and when visitors see the value of your cause and believe in it, they are more likely to become members. Most people believe memberships are superior to a donation in supporting a nonprofit's mission. Members are more likely to donate more on top of their membership fees, and they may even champion your cause in their corporate and personal lives. This is a broad view, but it's true. Your most loyal members start out as satisfied visitors. And every visit begins with a ticket. Table of Contents 1. Purchasing Tickets Online Enhances the Process for your Visitors 2. Zoo Software Integrated with Square Boosts On-Site Ticketing 3. Your Staff and Visitors Save Time with Zoo Software 4. Zoo Software Offers Flexible Ticketing 5. Streamline Entry with Zoo Software Purchasing Tickets Online Enhances the Process for your Visitors With zoo software, your guests’ zoo visits start at home. They can conveniently purchase their tickets at home any time of the day, any day of the week. When visitors arrive for their much-anticipated zoo day with their tickets already purchased, they can skip the line at the ticket booth and head straight to the entrance, tickets in hand. These advance tickets will...
The Event App Similar to Eventbrite – but Simpler
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As an event manager or organizer, you have tickets to sell, social distancing guidelines to follow, and an event to run. Keeping everything organized from start to finish helps you create a memorable event. However, certain event management apps, such as Eventbrite, aren’t as streamlined as they need to be and cost a lot of money. Using an app similar to Eventbrite is the solution you didn’t know you needed. SimpleTix offers a streamlined alternative to Eventbrite. It’s the less complicated solution for running your event. You get improved: Event organization Ticketing functionality Social distancing ticketing Payments for better budgeting Communication with event attendees Integration with 20 payment gateways Effortless Event Organization Alternative to Eventbrite Event management requires a huge investment of time. To get it right, you have to see the big picture as well as the details. Going back and forth with a complicated event platform takes the event specialist’s attention away from creating a memorable, well-organized event. If you’re an event specialist, you have almost certainly heard of, and possibly used, the Eventbrite platform. Similar to Eventbrite, many ticketing apps let you create a website for your event, but few of them give you much control over branding and other elements. You may have noticed the clunky aspects of Eventbrite’s user interface, and that your main page is covered in their branding. It’s pretty hard amid all that visual noise for your potential event participants to find the one thing they came for—tickets. Using a fully integrated platform similar to Eventbrite, like SimpleTix, takes the chaos out of event organization, giving you more control and flexibility over ticket prices, capacity limits, discounts, and more. With SimpleTix, you get access to a straightforward event website designed to help you sell tickets to your event. What’s even better is...
Apps Like Eventbrite Offer Cheaper, Smoother, Simpler Ticketing
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Sometimes, the headliner at the music festival isn’t the one who gives you the best show for your money. Similarly, Eventbrite may have major name recognition as an electronic ticketing platform—but are they the best ticketing option for you? When looking for apps like Eventbrite, SimpleTix offers an alternative ticketing tool that’s cheaper, smoother, and simpler to use. Here’s why that’s important. While COVID-19 has led to an increase in customers and businesses preferring contactless sales due to social distancing, the truth is that contactless transactions were already on the rise in popularity and will continue to grow more popular in the future. That’s as true if not more so for event ticketing as any other industry. Here are some quick facts about online ticket sales growth in recent years: It’s estimated that online ticket sales will grow by 8.7% from 2020 to 2021, with sales in the U.S. reaching $14.3 billion this year, according to an IBISWorld report. The market for online event ticket sales in the U.S. has grown an average of 10.8% per year since 2016, the same report states. Over the past five years, the market size for online event ticket sales has increased faster than the U.S. economy overall, according to the report. With online ticket sales growing ever more popular in the United States and around the globe, having the perfect platform at your disposal can make all the difference in driving revenue to your events and giving attendees the experience they want. SimpleTix: An App Like Eventbrite that Saves You Time and Money Eventbrite’s pricing model can be less than ideal for those looking to get the most for their money and receive a timely payout. While Eventbrite is a mainstay in the event ticketing industry, they have several downsides when it comes to affordability and...