In recent years, box office software has become increasingly highly developed, with many more firms offering software systems, with more alternatives, more features and more cost plans. Consequently for an organisation considering adopting an internet ticketing solution, it has become a lot harder to decide which system to choose.

For the majority of organisations, some of the most important issues are cost of the system, ease of installation and setup, ease of use, any additional hardware requirements and the availability of excellent customer service. Of course every organisation will also have its particular set of explicit requirements on top of these prime considerations, therefore you might want to firstly draw up a list of requirements that you consider necessary, and then proceed to judge different box office ticketing systems on these criteria. But let’s take a look at a number of the most typical considerations.

Cost of the System
Generally speaking, there are two alternate options – either procure computer software outright, or else sign a licensing or usage contract with a company providing a completely hosted service. In the former you would purchase the computer software outright and install it on your system. If however you are desiring to sell tickets over the internet, you’d most likely be required to enroll in an extra service, since selling tickets on the web calls for a dedicated server to handle the ticket selection and payment to be available 24/7. On the other hand, with a completely hosted system, the ticketing software company maintains all of the software system so the ticket selection and payment processing is conducted on the software provider’s servers. The venue operator is normally given a password and log in to access the system, generally via a Web interface.
The benefit of buying software programs outright of course is that it is a once only charge, even though there could possibly be extra expenses for upgrades or maintenance contracts. But for sophisticated ticketing systems, the cost of buying software is often rather high, and for many medium to smaller sized organisations who nevertheless require a sophisticated system, the alternative model of a hosted system could possibly be a better option. In this instance, the ticketing software company will ordinarily charge for the service on a per ticket basis on the value of all tickets sold through the system.

Ease of setting up and implementation
Any new ticket sales software system will require a learning phase, so ideally the system should have an interface that’s consistent with a standard Windows or Mac interface or menu structure to make it simplier and easier for all operators. It also needs to be undemanding to install and configure. Many systems these days use a Web interface that enables an operator anywhere in the world to access the system and to sell tickets as necessary. Ideally, it should not be essential to have on-site training, however in that situation it needs to be possible to train users of the system via internet chat or instructional videos.

Features & options
Most modern ticketing software will include a host of different features, many of which may never be required by the typical venue operator. Ideally it is best if you have the ability to shut down unnecessary features, to be able to simplify the system for users. And it at a later stage you might have use for those features, then you should have the ability to turn the features back on.

Hardware requirements
Assuming you have a relatively up-to-the-minute computer and up-to-date operating system, ordinarily no equipment upgrades should be necessary to operate ticketing software. But if the system is Web-based, you will need a fast Internet connection. Really the only other essential hardware requisite is a means of printing tickets. Even though thermal ticket printers are undoubtedly the most expedient option since they can print single tickets on demand, they tend to be rather high-priced and may be outside the resources of small organisations who may possibly sell only a few thousand tickets per year or less. Fortunately though, some ticketing software systems will allow tickets to be printed by a standard inkjet or laser printer. Bar-code scanners may also be necessary for venue operators who are selling general admission tickets and have allowed PDF tickets to be printed from the internet, as this is the only practical solution to ensure the legitimacy of such tickets.

Reports
You must be able to access a wide range of financial, admission, transaction and customer related reports on demand which ought to be either viewable on screen or printed for later analysis. You should have the ability to quickly look up any ticket that is sold, to determine who purchased the ticket, the ticket seller, the date of the transaction and the price paid as a minimum requirement.

Customer Database
With a high-quality customer database, you should have the chance to categorise your customers, to record substitute addresses, to easily remove or merge duplicate entries, to check the transaction history of any patron and to send out e-mails or print address labels for your customers directly from the database.

Customer service and support
With any ticketing software system, you should insist on rapid and helpful support and customer service. Even though such type of support on a 24/7 basis may perhaps be impractical for many ticketing companies, any service shouldn’t be limited to e-mailed customer support tickets but you should be able to talk to qualified support personnel. You should also insist on comprehensive training manuals to be provided and ideally online support manuals with searchable capability.

Comparing ticketing systems
The best way to evaluate a ticketing system is to obtain a demonstration version of the software program. Ideally the software package ought to be a full functioning version with possibly only a few features disabled. You ought to be able to perform some test administrative functions to understand how the basic setting up and ticket selling process works. In case you are unable to get a demonstration version, then at the very minimum you ought to be able to see screen shots of the main features. You shouldn’t be required to sign up for any system on a long-term basis unless you’ve got a chance to cancel the contract if you discover that the system is just not meeting your requirements or does not live up to its advertised claims or your expectations. Additionally it is expedient to check out other organisations who are using the system that you’re considering by visiting Web sites that employ the system and proceeding as far as possible with the test ticket purchase without actually purchasing the ticket. Then you will get a good idea of the ticket purchasing procedure from the customer’s viewpoint.

Deciding on a new ticketing system can seem to be a rather overwhelming undertaking, but if you limit your evaluation to the basic requirements referred to above as well as any individual requirements, it will hopefully make the mission somewhat easier.

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