Selling On-Site: Overview
Welcome. This is the starting point for everything related to selling tickets in person with Showpass, from the front gate of a festival to the front desk of a theatre. If you've never sold on-site with us before, start here. If you have, use this as the map and jump into the guide you need.
What "selling on-site" means
Selling on-site is any ticket sale that happens in person on the day of your event: a walk-up sale at the door, a point-of-sale (POS) transaction at a box office counter, a self-serve kiosk in the lobby, a mobile sale from a staff member walking the line. It's distinct from online sales, which happen through your Showpass event page before the event.
On-site selling at Showpass covers three connected things:
- Selling tickets in person through one of our POS methods.
- Accepting payment (card, tap, cash, or buy-now-pay-later).
- Printing tickets or receipts for the buyer, when needed.
Every guide in this doc set supports one or more of these.
POS methods
A POS method is the tool your staff uses to ring up a sale. Showpass offers four:
| POS method | Runs on | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop App | Mac or Windows laptop / desktop | Permanent box offices, high-volume events, staff who want a full keyboard and mouse setup. |
| iPad POS | iPad or tablet (Showpass app) | Most on-site setups. Supports in-app card payments, in-app printing, assigned seating, best available seating, and Kiosk Mode (self-serve). |
| Mobile POS | iPhone or Android phone (Showpass app) | Roaming staff, overflow lines, scanners who occasionally need to sell. De-emphasized for primary selling. |
| Web Box Office | Any browser (Chrome preferred) | Setups where you can't install an app. Lives inside the Showpass Dashboard. |
If you're not sure which to choose, the Choosing Your POS Method guide has a side-by-side comparison.
How taking payment fits in
Every on-site sale ends in a payment. Showpass processes card payments through a payment gateway, which is a behind-the-scenes connection to a card processor (primarily Stripe). You don't need to think about gateways for most of your selling; they're set up when your account is provisioned.
What you do need to know:
- Tap, chip, and swipe are supported on the iPad POS and Mobile POS via Square Terminal or Square Tap Reader (a small card reader that pairs with the app via Bluetooth or USB).
- The Desktop App supports tap and chip through the same Square Terminal hardware.
- Cash is supported across all POS methods.
- Buy-now-pay-later through Affirm is available for online checkouts only, not on-site.
For hardware pairing and whitelisting specifics, see Square Terminal and Payment Hardware Reference.
Printing
Most organizers don't print tickets on-site anymore, since attendees arrive with a QR code on their phone. Some events still need printed tickets or printed receipts (theatres, comedy clubs, anywhere with wristband swaps or reserved seating stubs). Showpass supports:
- Receipt printers (Star Micronics MC Print-3) for customer receipts on all apps that support printing.
- Thermal ticket printers (BOCA) for printed tickets, typically at large venues.
- In-app printing on the iPad POS and Desktop App, meaning no separate browser helper is needed.
Printer setup lives in the guide for the POS method you're using (Desktop App Guide or iPad & Tablet POS Guide).
Scanning and check-in
Scanning tickets as attendees arrive happens through the Showpass mobile app (same app as Mobile POS) on an iOS or Android phone, or through a handheld scanner paired to that phone.
See Mobile App Organizer Guide for how scanning works, how to read the door stats, and how to handle offline mode.
The full guide set
- Choosing Your POS Method
- Desktop App Guide
- iPad & Tablet POS Guide
- Mobile App Organizer Guide
- Web Browser Box Office Guide
- Square Terminal & Payment Hardware Reference
- Best Available Seating
- Showpass Mobile App Ticket Buyer Guide
Being retired
The Legacy Web Box Office UI is being phased out. If you or a client is still on it, see Legacy Box Office (Retiring) for what to expect and how to recognize it. New organizers should default to the new Web Box Office.
Which guide should I open first?
- I'm a new organizer setting up on-site selling for the first time. Start with Choosing Your POS Method, then read the guide for that method.
- I already know which POS method I'm using; I just need to set it up. Skip to the guide for that method.
- I'm scanning tickets at the door. Go to the Mobile App Organizer Guide.