What is an event ticketing system?
An event ticketing system lets an organizer set ticket types and prices, take registrations on an event page, issue each attendee a ticket (usually a QR code), and check that ticket at the door. A fuller event system goes on to print ID badges, record attendance and send certificates after the event.
What it does, from first ticket to last certificate
Before the event. Your event page takes registrations. You set the ticket types (member, non-member, early rate) and any promo codes. Each confirmed attendee gets a ticket with a QR code by email.
On the day. Door staff scan the QR code with a phone or a handheld scanner. The attendee is checked in, the time is recorded, and a copied or reused ticket is refused.
After the event. You have a list of who came and when they arrived. If the system issues certificates, each attendee who was scanned in gets one.
Seven things to check before you choose one
- Can you set your own ticket types and promo codes?
- Member and non-member prices, an early rate and a code for sponsors are the usual needs. The attendee should see the new total before paying.
- Is each ticket accepted only once?
- A screenshot of a QR code is easy to share. The system should accept one scan per ticket and tell door staff when a code was already used.
- What does the door need?
- The fewer devices and installs, the fewer things fail at 7 AM. A scanner that runs in a phone’s browser is enough for most events.
- Does it print ID badges at the door?
- Badges printed as attendees walk in save a night of sorting envelopes. Ask whether printing is part of the system or a separate staffed service.
- Can you prove attendance?
- Seminars and trainings often owe attendees proof that they came. Look for arrival times you can export and certificates that carry a serial number anyone can verify.
- How do attendees pay?
- Ask which payment methods your attendees can use, and whether a bank transfer with a photo of the proof can be confirmed by you.
- Who sees what?
- Door staff should see the door and nothing else. Payments, attendee details and settings belong to the roles that need them.
A door checklist for the day
- Two charged phones or scanners per entrance, and one spare.
- A test scan of a real ticket the day before, on the venue’s own signal.
- A way to find an attendee by name when a phone battery is dead.
- One named person who can settle a payment or a refused ticket.
- Badge paper and a second roll, if you print at the door.
Which events need more than a ticket
A concert needs a ticket and a scan. A convention, seminar, training or recognition day usually needs more: a badge with the attendee’s name, proof of who attended, and a certificate afterwards. If your event is one of these, choose a system that covers the whole day, so the attendee list is typed once.
See how QuadScale Events runs registration, the door, badges and certificates, or try a sample event.
Questions organizers ask
- What is the difference between a ticketing system and a registration system?
- A registration system collects who is coming. A ticketing system also sets prices, issues a ticket to each attendee and checks it at the door. Many organizers need both, plus badges and certificates.
- Do attendees need an app to hold their ticket?
- They should not. A QR code sent by email works on any phone and can be printed.
- Does QuadScale Events do all of this?
- QuadScale Events covers the event page, ticket types, promo codes, QR check-in, ID badges at the door, live attendance and certificates. You can try a sample event before you talk to anyone.