Ticket Subscriptions enable you to create flexible passes or ticket bundles, through which your customers can 'pre-purchase' a set number of tickets across a range of events for a fixed price and redeem them against specific Instances either at the time of purchase or at a later date. In this article you will learn how to set up and configure Ticket Subscriptions.

Before you read this article make sure you’re familiar with:

• Introduction to Ticket Subscriptions

With this feature, you will be introduced to three concepts:

1. Ticket Vouchers: A Ticket Voucher is a 'pre-purchased' item that at some point gets redeemed for a Ticket to an eligible Event Instance.
2. Ticket Voucher Groups: Assigning Ticket Vouchers to a group of eligible Event Instances creates a Ticket Voucher Group.
3. Pricing Sets: The pricing levels at which a Ticket Subscription can be bought, which can define the ticket eligibility for the customer who owns the Ticket Subscription. Assigning a price per Ticket Voucher in each Ticket Voucher Group, with the option to further differentiate the price according to Ticket Types and Price Bands, creates a Pricing Set.
   

TIP: Ticket Subscriptions are flexible in that you will be able to set up a single Ticket Subscription with multiple Pricing Sets. For example, you can create a season pass that sells the same number of Ticket Vouchers for the same eligible Event Instances but at four price points - Adult Premium tickets, Senior Premium tickets, Adult Standard tickets, and Senior Standard tickets.

Creating a New Ticket Subscription

Navigate to Admin Interface > Subscriptions > Ticket Subscriptions. Click on Create New Ticket Subscription Structure.

Setting Up Ticket Subscription Basic Details

The details you need to set up a Ticket Subscription include:

1. Name (required): Give your Ticket Subscription a descriptive name, for example: “2022-2023 6-Ticket Season Pass,” “Date Night Package” or “Shakespeare Matinee Bundle.” The Name will be externally facing on both the Sales Interface and on the Web.
2. Expiration Date (required): Select an Expiration Date, which is the last day when Ticket Vouchers can be redeemed.
3. Description: Give your Ticket Subscription an optional description. This is externally facing and will appear in the Ticket Subscriptions iframe on the Web.
4. On sale periods (required): Set the Ticket Subscription to go on and off sale at a specific date and time. The Ticket Subscription can have a different on and off sale period in the Sales Interface and on the Web. At least one on sale date must be included. Any On-Sale Date left blank will exclude the Ticket Subscription from that sales channel.
5. Active: Check this box to make the Ticket Subscriptions live on the Sales Interface and online. The Ticket Subscription will go on sale at the start of the On-Sale period.
6. Web ID: Include an optional custom Web ID for integrating Spektrix on your website. This can be used to filter the Ticket Subscriptions iframe to a specific subscription or set of subscriptions using a WebID URL parameter. Some web integrations may also require you to share a unique ID between the Ticket Subscription on Spektrix and the website entry for the Ticket Subscription in your CMS. If you're not sure whether you need to set a Web ID, you can contact your web developer.
7. Account Code: Include an optional custom Account Code for tracking line items in accounting software. The code can be pulled through Spektrix reporting. If you're not sure whether you need to set an Account Code, you can contact your finance department.

REMINDER: When a Ticket Subscription is left with one or more incomplete sections, there will be a warning symbol in front of the name of the Ticket Subscription on the Ticket Subscriptions page. There will also be a warning symbol in front of the name of each section that is incomplete.

Creating Ticket Voucher Groups

The setup of Ticket Subscriptions begins with determining how many Ticket Vouchers can be redeemed for a number of eligible Event Instances.

Navigate to the next section, Ticket Voucher Groups and click on the button Create New Ticket Voucher Group.

The details you need to set up a Ticket Voucher Groups include:

1. Name (required): Give the Ticket Voucher Group a name that will be visible in the Sales Interface and on your website.
2. Number of Tickets (required): Give a total number of Ticket Vouchers in the Ticket Voucher Group.
3. Max # (Number) of Tickets per Event: Give the number of Ticket Vouchers that can be redeemed per Event. It can be as low as one ticket but cannot be more than the Number of Tickets. If left blank, the Maximum Number of Tickets Per Event will default to the same value in the Number of Tickets field above.
4. Active: Check this box to make the Ticket Voucher Group available for sale within the Ticket Subscription.

Setting up the Ticket Voucher Group details

You can choose to have one or multiple Ticket Voucher Groups:

• You can set up a single Ticket Voucher Group to include all available Ticket Vouchers in a Ticket Subscription. This is best used when all tickets are the same price. This is also a great option for “mix and match” subscriptions and fully flexible passes.

  1. Name: The Ticket Voucher Group can use a similar or same name as the Ticket Subscription. For example, you could create a Ticket Voucher Group called “6-Ticket Season Pass” for a Ticket Subscription called “2022-2023 6-Ticket Season Pass.”
  2. Number of Tickets: For a Ticket Subscription with a single Ticket Voucher Group, include all tickets, for example, six tickets for the “2022-2023 6-Ticket Season Pass.”
  3. Max # (Number) of Tickets per Event: This can be varied to limit the number of Ticket Vouchers allocated to an Event. By default, the Number of Tickets will also be the Maximum Number of Tickets that can be redeemed for a single Event Instance. This means that all ticket vouchers could be redeemable for the same Event. For example, with our “2022-2023 6-Ticket Season Pass,” it would be possible for a customer to redeem all six tickets to a single show. If instead you limit the maximum number of Tickets per Event to one ticket in a six-ticket group, then a customer must redeem one ticket to six different shows in order to redeem all tickets in the “2022-2023 6-Ticket Season Pass.” In this example below, a customer will not be able to redeem more than one ticket to any show.

  

• You can set up multiple Ticket Voucher Groups in a Ticket Subscription. This is best used when Ticket Voucher prices vary between Event Instances. This is also great for subscriptions that offer exactly one ticket voucher for each of the eligible Events, as it enables you to track against which events a Ticket Voucher has been redeemed and which haven't. This can be seen in either an order or a report.

  1. Name: For a Ticket Subscription with multiple Ticket Voucher Groups, each group should be given a distinct name such as the name of the show, e.g. “Hamlet” or “A Christmas Story.” Ticket Voucher Groups will be listed alphabetically.
  2. Number of Tickets: While typically a Ticket Subscription with multiple Ticket Voucher Groups will allocate one ticket per event, you can assign a number greater than one, for example, creating a “Date Night Package” and allocating two vouchers per group.
  3. Max # (Number) of Tickets per Event: If assigning one Ticket Voucher to the group, this field is not required. If assigning more than one voucher to the group, you may want to include the maximum number of tickets.

  

Selecting Eligible Event Instances

Click Add to create the Ticket Voucher Group. You will be taken to the Eligible Event Instances screen, where you can select for which Event Instances you would like the Ticket Vouchers to be redeemable.

• If Event Instances are not live or are not in draft yet, you are still able to create a Ticket Voucher Group and update the eligible Event Instances later. You can opt to not select any Event Instances on the Eligible Event Instances screen, essentially leaving eligible Event Instances blank. If the Ticket Voucher Group is Active, the Ticket Vouchers will still be part of the purchased Ticket Subscription. However, these Ticket Vouchers can only be redeemed once the eligible Event Instances are added to the Ticket Voucher Group.

  For example, while an arts organization knows they will host a production of “Hamlet” in the Spring, they may not have the exact dates of the production and have not yet created Event Instances for the Event in Spektrix. They are still able to create a Ticket Voucher Group and sell Ticket Vouchers for “Hamlet.” Once the Event Instances are created, they can edit the Ticket Voucher Group to include the Instances, and customers will be able to redeem their Ticket Vouchers for those Instances.

To select eligible Event Instances, click on the Instance to highlight it. To select consecutive Instances, click on the first Instance you want and then hold down the Shift key while selecting the last Instance; any Instances in between will also be selected. To select individual non-consecutive Instances, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting each Instance. Click on the > right pointing arrow to add the selected Instances to the list on the right. Click Save.

You will return to the Ticket Voucher Groups screen, where each active Ticket Voucher Group for this Ticket Subscription will be listed in a table. The screen will display:

1. Name of Ticket Voucher Group
2. # (Number) of Tickets total in the Ticket Voucher Group
3. Max # (Number) of Tickets redeemable per Event
4. Checkbox if the Ticket Voucher Group is Active
5. Checkbox to View Inactive Ticket Voucher Groups

• You can uncheck the Active checkbox to make specific Ticket Voucher Groups unavailable after a Ticket Subscription goes on sale. For example, if you sell a season pass with a Ticket Voucher Group for each show, you can make inactive the Ticket Voucher Groups that contain shows that have already passed. The number of available vouchers will automatically adjust and the price of the Ticket Subscription will also be recalculated. This allows customers to buy a season pass at a pro-rated price during the middle of a season and which only contains the remaining shows. To view inactive Ticket Voucher Groups, check the View Inactive? checkbox in the upper right corner.

When you return to the basic details screen of the Ticket Subscription, you will now see that there is a field called Ticket Vouchers included in Subscription. As noted, this number is totalled from Ticket Voucher Groups and only includes all active Ticket Voucher Groups.

Creating Pricing Sets

The overall price of a Ticket Subscription is set up through Pricing Sets. After assigning a price per Ticket Voucher Group, the price will be calculated according to the sum of the price of all tickets in the Ticket Subscription.

Navigate to the next section, Pricing Sets and click on the button Create New Pricing Set.

You can choose to have one or multiple Pricing Sets. With multiple Pricing Sets, you have the opportunity to create different price points for a Ticket Subscription based on Ticket Types and Price Bands. For example a “2022-2023 6-Ticket Season Pass” may have a different price for those who purchase Adult tickets in a Premium price band than those who purchase Senior tickets in a Standard price band.

The details you need to set up a Pricing Set include:

1. Name: Give the Pricing Set a descriptive name. If you are setting a single Pricing Set for the Ticket Subscription, you can use a similar or same name as the Ticket Subscription, for example “2022-2023 6-Ticket Season Pass.” If using multiple Pricing Sets, we recommend using the name of the Ticket Type and/or Pricing Band, for example “Adult Premium,” “Adult Standard,” “Senior Premium,” and “Senior Standard.”
2. Ticket Type: Choose an eligible Ticket Type. You can select Include All for all Ticket Types or select Include the following to select one or more Ticket Types. To select consecutive Ticket Types, click on the first Ticket Type you want and then hold down the Shift key while selecting the last Ticket Type; any Ticket Types in between will also be selected. To select individual non-consecutive Ticket Types, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting each Ticket Types. 
3. Active: Check this box to make the Pricing Set live on the Sales Interface and online.
4. Hidden on Web: Check this box to exclude this Pricing Set for sale online. For example, you may have a Ticket Subscription for Comp Ticket Types that you don’t want to appear online and only sell via the box office.
5. Ticket Voucher Group matrix: Indicate the per-ticket Price and Commission for each Ticket Voucher within the Ticket Voucher Group.

REMINDER: The Ticket Voucher Group matrix will include all Ticket Voucher Groups including inactive groups. While it is possible to include prices for inactive groups, the Total Subscription Value will only include active groups. If prices are not inputted for active groups, the screen will show a warning sign.

Click Add to create the new Pricing Set. You will be redirected to the details page of the Pricing Set, where a column for Price Bands is added. Here you can click on the button Edit Price Bands to choose which Price Bands to include in the eligibility for ticket redemption.

You can select Include All for all Price Bands or select Include the following to select one or more Price Bands. To select consecutive Price Bands, click on the first Price Band you want and then hold down the Shift key while selecting the last Price Band; any Price Bands in between will also be selected. To select individual non-consecutive Price Bands, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting each Price Bands. Click Save to select the Price Bands and return to the Pricing Set details screen.

The Pricing Set details screen will now have the Total Subscription Value for the Pricing Set. As mentioned above, the Total Subscription Value will only include the pricing for active Ticket Subscription Groups.

When you click Back, you will return to the Pricing Sets screen, where each active Pricing Set for this Ticket Subscription will be listed in a table. The screen will display: you will see all Pricing Sets in a table, displaying Total Value and Ticket Type and indicating if the Pricing Set is active or inactive.

1. Name of Pricing Set
2. Total Value of the Ticket Subscription at this Pricing Set
3. Eligible Ticket Types in this Pricing Set
4. Checkbox if the Pricing Set is Active
5. Checkbox to View Inactive Ticket Voucher Groups

TIP: If you wish to give any complimentary Ticket Subscriptions, we recommend creating a Complimentary Pricing Set with specific complimentary Ticket Types at a zero value. The Total Value of a Ticket Subscription cannot be overridden as it is based on the sum of the Price and Ticket Commissions of the Ticket Voucher Groups.

Checking your Ticket Subscriptions setup is complete

• Make sure that your Ticket Subscriptions setup is complete. A yellow warning sign will indicate if any section is missing required information.
• Remember that you can create Ticket Voucher Groups without selecting eligible Event Instances; a yellow warning sign will not indicate that a Ticket Voucher Group has no eligible Event Instances selected.
• Check the “Show Ticket Subscriptions tab in Sales Interface” on the Ticket Subscriptions listing page to include Active and On Sale Ticket Subscriptions in the Sales Interface.

How to Edit a Ticket Subscription

If you need to edit a Ticket Subscription, you can do so by clicking the name of the Ticket Subscription.

Editing Ticket Subscription Basic Details

Click on the button with the pencil Edit to open a Ticket Subscription’s Basic Details screen where you can change all basic details except for Ticket Vouchers included in Subscription. Click Save to save changes.

• Editing the Name or Expiration date after a Ticket Subscription has been on sale will update those details for all existing purchases.

Editing Ticket Voucher Groups

Click on the name of the Ticket Voucher Group you would like to edit.

You can choose to edit the basic details of the Ticket Voucher Group by clicking the button with the pencil Edit Ticket Voucher Group. Click Save to save changes.

• Editing the Number of Tickets or Max # (Number) of Tickets Per Event will not affect existing purchases.
• Making a Ticket Voucher Group inactive will not allow customers to redeem any unredeemed Ticket Vouchers in that group.

You can also edit the eligible Event Instances by clicking the pencil button next to the 'Eligible Event Instances' field. The 'Eligible Event Instances' picker will pop up and you will be able to move any available Instances to the selected Event Instances list and vice versa. Click Save to save changes.

• Adding eligible Event Instances will allow customers to redeem Ticket Vouchers for those Instances.
• Removing eligible Event Instances will not affect already redeemed Ticket Vouchers for those Instances.

From a Ticket Voucher Group’s details page, you can click Back to return to the Ticket Voucher Group listing page.

Editing Pricing Sets

Click on the name of the Pricing Set you would like to edit.

You can choose to edit the basic details of the Pricing Set by clicking the button with the pencil Edit Pricing Set. You can change all basic details except for Total Subscription Value. Click Save to save changes.

• Editing the Ticket Type will affect only unredeemed Ticket Vouchers.
• Editing the Ticket Price and Commission will not affect existing purchases.

You can edit the eligible Price Bands for each Ticket Voucher Group by clicking the button with the pencil Edit Price Bands. Click Save to save changes.

• Editing the eligible Price Bands will affect only unredeemed Ticket Vouchers.

From a Pricing Set’s details page, you can click Back to return to the Pricing Set listing page.

Copying a Ticket Subscription

TIP: Copying a Ticket Subscription allows you to quickly create and edit multiple similar Ticket Subscriptions. For example, you can create a 7-ticket flex pass by copying a 6-ticket flex pass and adding a Ticket Voucher Group or you can create an upcoming season pass by copying a previous season's pass.

You can create a copy of a Ticket Subscription by clicking Copy. A Ticket Subscription will be created using the same name with “- Copy (#)”. The # indicates the number of the copy, for example “2022-2023 6-Ticket Season Pass - Copy (1)” will be the name of the first copy of “2022-2023 6-Ticket Season Pass.” All details including Basic Details, Ticket Voucher Groups details, and Pricing Sets details will be copied exactly.

Further Reading

To continue learning about Ticket Subscriptions or Reports in Spektrix, take a look at the following articles:

• Introduction to Ticket Subscriptions
• How to Sell Ticket Subscriptions and Redeem Ticket Vouchers
• Reporting for Ticket Subscriptions

For more training on Ticket Subscriptions, please see our Ticket Subscriptions training page.