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Manage Box Office

A complete solution for your entire box office.

Manage orders and events, support patrons, and run day-of operations all in one platform - without stitching together spreadsheets, paper lists, and other tools.

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THE PROBLEM

Systems should ease your burden, not add to it.

A box office manager's day doesn't run in a straight line: it's a will-call list, a refund request, a volunteer question, getting your next event ready to go on sale, and so much more. With that many jobs, it can be hard to keep everything straight - especially if information and workflows are managed in different places.

Disconnected Systems

When ticketing, patron records, and day-of tools live in different systems — or don't exist as systems at all — every question from a patron becomes a lookup across multiple places, for staff and volunteers alike.

Manual Workflows

Printing check-in lists, tracking will call by hand, or re-keying a refund into a spreadsheet all take time away from the moment that actually matters: getting the show up and supporting the people in the room.

Fragmented Insights

Without easy access to patron history, order details, and real-time sales and attendance numbers, box office staff are left guessing instead of managing.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

Flexible tools that make life easier.

OTS puts control over every ticket, seat, and performance in one place, and centralizes all the information your team needs to effectively run your box office at every stage. Communications with patrons happen automatically, day-of operations move quickly, and self-serve tools mean fewer 1:1 patron support requests ever reach your box office team.

  • A Single Solution

    Manage every aspect of your box office in one place, from before you go on sale until after the event is over.

  • Automated Workflows

    Replace time-consuming manual workflows with easy automations that save time and simplify how you manage your box office.

  • Data-driven Decisions

    Unified insights that are easy to access empower box office teams to make real-time decisions based on actual data, not guesswork.

events-on-sale-gallery-view-ots-symphony-orchestra-desktop

BEFORE THE SALE

Preparing to Go On Sale

Box office management starts before tickets go on sale. Set up pricing, holds, and reservations the way your team actually works.

Per-seat Controls

OTS gives you total control over every seat, even if they're part of a larger seating section, row, booth, table, or other setup. Apply custom holds, blocks, and members-only access to any mix of seats - for every event in your series, or only certain events.

  • Holds

    Mark seats as on hold using custom hold types that you define.

  • Seat Blocks

    Is your light board covering row F? Easily block those seats from being sold.

  • Members-only seats

    Earmark seats that are only available to your members.

  • Custom Fees

    Add your own fees at the ticket or order level, and decide whether patrons see them broken out or built into the price they pay.

  • Patron notes

    Add notes that are visible to the patron during seat selection to communicate important information, such as obstructed views.

  • Box office notes

    Add internal notes to assist your team.

The hold types list for a production in On The Stage

Comp Tickets & Seat Holds

Easily define and manage seat holds and comps, for every performance.

Comp Tickets

Define a maximum number of comp tickets for a series or event, and restrict comps to specific seats, sections, and events.

Custom Hold Types

Define custom hold types for different uses, such as house seats, press blocks, and VIPs, and apply them directly to your seating chart.

Hold Expirations

Set a date and time when unused held tickets are automatically released back into inventory.

Holds List

See a complete list of every hold across a production in a single list that is filterable by performance, ticket type, and hold type.

Bulk controls

Select one seat or multiple to bulk-edit blocks or sections to apply, adjust, or release holds in one click, instead of one seat at a time.

Box Office-only Offerings

Make certain seats, prices, and services only available via your box office.

  • Exclusive Seats

    Specify certain seats that can only be sold directly via your box office.

  • Unique Pricing

    Set different prices for tickets purchased via the box office and online.

  • Reservations

    Hold tickets under a patron's name, and send them a payment link to complete the purchase.

  • Subscriptions & Memberships

    Sell subscriptions, memberships, and add-ons directly via the box office.

A box office transaction in On The Stage with ticket types, add-ons, and the cart

MANAGE EVENTS

Managing Live Events

Make changes to your events after they go on sale, and keep ticket buyers informed when things change.

Performance Lists

See and manage everything that varies by date — capacity, sales status, seating, and check-in — from one place, without treating a multi-date run as a set of separate events.

Seating Charts

Make changes to a seating chart after tickets are already sold, with sold seats protected from being accidentally reassigned.

Ticket Buyer Outreach

Send updates to ticket buyers to communicate changes or share important information, like last minute street closures or cast changes.

Event Management

Put an event on hold, reschedule it, or cancel it, and OTS automatically handles downstream ticket changes.

The performance list for a production in On The Stage
A university's events on sale in On The Stage

FRONT OF HOUSE

Running Front of House

OTS streamlines day-of operations for box office to ensure a smooth and efficient experience for you and your patrons.

Simplified Day-of Operations

Hard Ticket Printing

Batch print all will call tickets ahead of time, and quickly print ad hoc tickets to support on-the-fly patron requests during check-in.

Pre-event Checklists

Prepare for your event in advance with a pre-event rundown of pre-ordered add-ons, ADA needs, and special requests.

Special Patrons List

Provide a higher level of patron service by knowing in advance who's coming, such as VIPs, board members, members, or major donors.

Seamless Check-ins

Ticket Scanning

Scan tickets from a phone, tablet, or laptop camera — no separate hardware to buy — with duplicate and invalid scans caught automatically.

Check-In Lists

Check patrons in by name, confirmation code, or text message — no QR code required — with a live count of who's scanned, who hasn't, and how many tickets are still available.

Offline Check-ins

Pre-loaded check-in sessions work while you're offline, meaning spotty wifi or a dropped signal won't impact the check-in flow.

Payment Types

Accept cash, check, tap-to-pay, keycard, or terminal payments — plus comps and reserves — all logged to a payment history that records who took each payment.

Donation Attribution

Accept donations via cash or credit/debit card at the door, and attribute those gifts to patrons and giving campaigns.

Support for Volunteers

Provide volunteers with provisional access to scan tickets and perform basic tasks during check-in, using any device.

AFTER THE EVENT

After the Event

Once your event is over, OTS makes it easy to assess results, reconcile finances, and continue to engage your audience over time.

Patron Management

Every order feeds a patron's record automatically — households, donation history, and audience segments included. Full detail on patron records lives on the Patron Management page.

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Automated Marketing

Automatically send thank-you emails and surveys, and add patrons to dynamic audience lists for future marketing campaigns.

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Reporting & Analytics

Access the sales, capacity, attendance, and payment reports needed for post-event reconciliation.

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CUSTOMER PROOF

On The Stage has made it easy to allow my students to set up our online Box Office and Ticket Sales for shows, while letting me keep control over the difficult and sensitive things like refunds. As a one person program this has allowed me to present a more professional program to the audience while freeing me up to see to all the other details of a production.

— Tara Hedberg, Musical Theater, Colorado Early Colleges Douglas County

Tara Hedberg at the box office window

OTS is easy to use! It has saved me so much time, and I love that I don't have to print paper tickets anymore... it saves the seating charts for each venue that we use.

— Jennifer Ammerman, Drama Teacher/Choir Director, Bridgman Public Schools

Bridgman Public Schools

OTS has been with us for more than 10 years... great platform and reporting to help track the daily activity of our organization.

— Clark Stewart, Head of Operations, KIDWORKS

The Theatre Factory

FAQ

Common questions about managing your box office.

Do I need to buy separate hardware to scan tickets?

No. Ticket scanning works from a phone, tablet, or laptop camera you already have — there's nothing extra to purchase.

Can I give a volunteer access to check patrons in without giving them access to financial data?

Yes. Point of Sale access covers check-in and box office sales only, with no visibility into payments, reports, or financial data — it's built for exactly this kind of role.

Can my box office staff issue refunds or exchange tickets without creating a new order?

Yes. Refunds, exchanges, and releases all happen from the existing order, with a record of what changed.

What happens to tickets that are already sold if I need to reschedule or cancel a show?

If you reschedule, sold tickets move to the new date automatically and only that date's ticket holders are notified. If you cancel, OTS walks you through stopping sales, notifying patrons, and issuing refunds or donations.

Can patrons split a payment across more than one method, or pay over time?

Yes. Patrons can split an order across a deposit and balance, or across multiple payment methods on the same order.

Can I sell subscriptions or memberships at the box office, not just single tickets?

Yes. Box office staff can sell subscriptions, memberships, and add-ons alongside a walk-up ticket in the same transaction.

Where do I see sales, attendance, and capacity numbers for a show?

Reporting & Analytics covers sales, capacity, attendance, and split-payment reports by show or date range.

Does OTS keep patron records — like who's donated before, or which households are connected — automatically?

Yes. Every order updates a patron's record, including household connections and donation history, without extra data entry from your team.