There are 2 ways you can package tickets for your patrons, offering them a discount for buying a package: subscriptions and passes.
Subscriptions vs Passes Overview
Subscriptions are:
- the more traditional way to package tickets.
- a package of shows built in which tickets are priced at a discount if the patrons buys all the shows together. This is typically done all in one order.
Passes are:
- a way of selling packages of tickets to patrons with more flexibility than a traditional subscription.
- sold like a retail item purchased at a flat rate. A pass entitles the buyer to X amount of tickets as defined by you to be redeemed later using the pass code.
- purchased and redeemed either online or via your box office.
For more information on both subscriptions and passes, continue reading below:
Subscriptions
1. Compiling a Subscription Order - The package can be achieved by adding each show, one at a time, to an order. The performance and seats to each show are selected one at a time. When the package is completed in the order, the system automatically applies the discount.
2. Selling a Subscription by Series - Subscriptions can be sold as a series. This uses our subscription public page for sales to your online patrons or the subscription screens in the Box Office if you're selling subscriptions to your patrons over the phone, by mail-order, or in-person.
The screenshots below are taken from the Box Office subscription screens.
The subscription screens (box office and public) give guided step-by-step sales of an entire season package at once, based on selection of package then selection of performance series - such as 1st Friday, 1st Saturday, 2nd Friday, 2nd Saturday, etc.
The series must be defined with each performance being part of only one series. This offers simplified purchase option for subscription, but not individual selection of performances.
When the patron selects their series, they select seats from a composite seating chart. This is like an overlay of all the seating charts for all the performances in the series. So they select their seats for the entire season.
When to sell subscriptions
Selling by series is usually done ahead of single ticket sales, since as single tickets are sold the composite view of the seating chart (above) will fill up very quickly as single tickets take up positions on the chart.
Traditional subscriptions then will give the patron all their tickets ahead of the season, so they are ready to come to each show. They can always exchange tickets after the purchase, per your business rules.
Subscriber seats
Selling subscriptions via the subscription by path in this method will enable the system to store the patron's "Subscriber seats", and saving that record despite any exchanges that happen on individual performances later. This can enable season order rollover from one season to the next.
Accounting/Reporting: $ paid for subscription tickets is immediately credited to show income of the specific shows purchased. During pricing setup, the subscription ticket cost can be configured to a specific amount for each show ticket if needed, such as musicals getting more of the subscription income than plays within the package.
Passes
Pass options
Passes can be restricted to person type, to days of the week, to specific shows, etc.
One pass could be valid for 6 tickets to use in any combination for any shows your patron chooses, or it might be valid for 7 tickets, for seniors only, to be used 1 per show on a Friday or Saturday night, etc.
Ways to redeem
The patron doesn't have any tickets assigned at the time of their purchase of a pass. Instead they redeem for tickets later.
This means that you must have your shows for sale on your main ticketing page for passholders to redeem their tickets.
Typically passholders are selecting their actual performances and seats at the same time as single ticket buyers. However, you can direct pass buyers to the pre-season public page, or to individual show links to select ahead of the general public. These are less common options, but please reach out to your rep. by submitting a request to explore the possibilities.
The screenshot below displays a pass being selected for a patron via the Box Office Retail page.
Fees
Ticketing fees such as per-order or per-ticket fees that you have set up to charge your patrons do not apply to Passes, which are sold as retail items.
You can set up a retail order fee on the "items for sale" screen which will then apply per order to any retail purchase including items for sale, passes and gift certificates. Otherwise you can add a fee into the price of a pass and notate it in the pass description/announcement as included.
Accounting/Reporting
Passes are sold at a set cost for the pass. The pass income is credited to a "pass income" account.
When tickets are redeemed, the system looks to the total # of tickets available on the pass and divides the pass income equally by the # of tickets. It debits that portion of the income from the "pass income" account, and credits that portion to show income for the show it was redeemed on.
This process is repeated with each ticket redeemed until the pass tickets are all redeemed. If some tickets on the pass are never redeemed, that portion of the income remains as "pass income".
The show income distribution from pass income cannot vary by show since a pass may be redeemed in different ways toward different shows, and passes sometimes have options of which shows the patron is able to spread their pass over.
Related reading
Box Office - Pass Transactions
Setup - Passes - Types and Instructions