Selecting a Ticketing System: A Practical Guide for Venues, Attractions, and Immersive Experiences

Choosing a platform can feel overwhelming — too many suppliers, too much jargon, and a nagging fear of locking yourself into the wrong contract. With that in mind, Kenton Ward — author of this post and a veteran with more than thirteen years in ticketing — spoke to Helen Dunnett, a respected CRM and ticketing consultant with two decades of experience advising clients in the arts, heritage, and visitor economy. ticketing system

Expert View – Helen Dunnett, Helen Dunnett Consulting

I believe that the first thing to consider when selecting a ticketing platform is the organisation’s business strategy and defining a clear set of objectives for building relationships with audiences/customers and achieving business growth. After that, making sure that teams across the organisation are included and consulted when deciding what the system is required to do and, as important, not do is key. Defining these key requirements is helpful in identifying some potential platforms to approach.

It also means thinking about the wider IT eco-system and if or how the ticketing platform needs to link to other solutions (including the website). Additionally, it’s worth thinking about the ways in which the platform might improve business processes and the way in which you do business with customers. For example, that might be reducing the level of manual work you have to do to set up
an event or produce a report or it might be reducing the number of steps in a transaction for customers.

Finally talk to or arrange a ‘mini’ demo with potential ticketing platform suppliers about what you are looking for before you issue a tender to get an idea of whether they are likely to be a good fit.

 ticjHelen’s advice shapes the checklist below and reflects the considerations that have guided many UK and international operators in selecting LIVE IT. ticketing system

1. Seamless for Visitors, Effortless for Staff

A booking path should feel friction-free to the public while furnishing staff with clear seating plans and live dashboards. LIVE IT’s white-label platform delivers both. Check out the user journey for the system, both on a demo set up specifically for you and on some reference clients where it has been deployed. 

From the administration side, ask to be shown how to use the system for some basic functionality and then try it for yourself. 

2. Features That Exist—Not Ones “Coming Soon”

Demand live demonstrations. If any of the features cannot be demonstrated with your set-up, assume they do not yet exist. If you are promised features, make sure that there is a delivery timeline with financial penalties if they are not delivered on time.

3. Built-In Flexibility

A ticketing system is also for Christmas! Plan ahead with your ticketing system. Can it be used strategically to help grow revenues with one off or seasonal events? Timed entry today, multi-day festival tomorrow! The right ticketing system should support what you want to do rather than restrict your ambitions because it lacks flexibility.

4. Vendor Support That Answers the Phone

In a perfect world, you should be able to manage everything for your system yourself and it just works. In reality there are going to be times that you need some help or want to ask for advice. This raises two issues that you need to be aware of. Firstly, ensure that you will be able to run your ticketing platform without requiring the vendor to do everything for you under the guise of paid ‘support’ – check with an existing client what the support is like and how much it costs . Secondly, quality of support –  do they come back quickly, do they know who you are, do you have a dedicated  account manager, are there regular meetings with your ticketing vendor to ensure that all is running smoothly? 

5. True Cost of Ownership

Your ticketing system will come with cost attached and charging models vary. There are two main models:

(i) On Premise Software: “On premise” systems (systems where you are responsible for the hosting) will often come with a per user license and can include modules (always check the modules you are being shown in a demo, match the modules you are planning on buying), you may have ongoing costs for upgrades and support. On top of the license fees you may need to pay for hosting, and system administration, as this will be your responsibility.

(ii) Software as a Service or Cloud Based Solutions: This model means that the system is delivered over the internet and usually you are paying an all in cost for use of the system, hosting, updates and support. SaaS systems tend to scale better due to the nature of their delivery. 

As well as the cost of the system itself, you should try to establish how much time needs to be spent administering the system and how much help and support is included by your ticketing vendor. It is important to try to work out your total cost of ownership, which should include, as a minimum, system, hosting, support, training, internal administration time and the cost of payment processing. ticketing system

6. Contracts Without Shackles

Flexible terms foster retention by performance, not penalty clauses. Your agreement should have a trial period during which you can walk away. A service level agreement which ensures the system either works or is fixed by the supplier, or there is some form of penalty clause. Contracts should not be used as a way to lock in a buyer and make them put up with sub-standard service.

7. Marketing That Integrates, Not Isolates

Increasingly, online purchase is taking over from walk-up purchase. Make sure that your ticketing platform can handle marketing tracking, discounts, bundles, social selling and tour groups. In difficult markets, it is vital that you are not operating with one hand tied behind your back. ticketing system

8. Memberships, Season Tickets, and Planes de pago

Memberships, “Friends of” schemes, season tickets, annual tickets, multi-visit tickets etc. should all be standard functionality in your system and should allow you to sell tickets at a different rate to those that have them, whether they be free or discounted as a member perk. Additionally, payment plans, and recurring billing (for the aforementioned memberships schemes) should all be options available to you.

9. Compatibility by Design

At LIVE IT we are firm believers that you should do one thing well, and that means that your ticketing system should be best of breed but should not be trying to be something else, like a CRM or a POS for the gift shop. What it should do though is work seamlessly through integrations and APIs with your other systems. This includes, email, POS, CRM, accounts packages, schemes such as Tesco Clubcard and even other ticketing systems, if you sell tickets through multiple channels. 

10. Sustainability in Practice

Digital tickets and real-time reporting reduce paper waste and shrink queues. Make sure that your system is able to send digital tickets and also makes use of Google and Apple wallet. This saves the ticket buyer printing out paper versions of their tickets before arrival. Google and Apple wallet also reminds the ticket buyer on the day of their visit and makes it easy for the customer to find their ticket on arrival. The membership passes should ideally also operate in the same way. 

It is important to note that even if digital passes are available, there must be an alternative for people that do not own a smartphone.

11. Data Ownership and Reporting

Data ownership is fairly straight-forward, your customers should be yours and not ploughed into someone else’s marketing database. There is no ‘additional customer’ argument that should have you not owning your own customer list. If approached by a business that offers to get you more customers but wants the data for your ticket buyers, offer them an allocation of tickets but don’t make them your main supplier. 

Reporting should give you what you need when you need it. Both as dashboards and reports that are easy and quick to generate. Custom reports should be available to you and ideally you should be able to create them yourself and import  data from other systems if you want to.

12. Training That Sticks

Tailored sessions give box-office, CRM, and finance teams confidence from day one. Training should be structured and planned to work with your culture and organisation. No one needs or wants a cliff event where everything changes on one day. You should have a tailored guide that you can rely on and on site support for big changes to make sure everything goes smoothly.

The Bottom Line

Selecting a ticketing system is less about software and more about partnership. Take Helen Dunnett’s counsel: Start with strategy, involve every team, and test suppliers before you commit. When you do, you’ll find LIVE IT ready to support your goals—minus the drama. ticketing system

Questions? Drop a line to hello@liveit.io

If you feel like your current ticketing and visitor management system isn’t quite delivering, we can help. As part of our consultation services, we’re happy to carry out a no-obligation audit of your existing setup. We’ll look for ways to improve your processes, fix any pain points, and help you get more out of what you already have. There’s no commitment required — just an opportunity to explore how you might enhance your guest experience, boost efficiency, and unlock new opportunities for growth.