Setting up an event
Use Freefund to reduce no-shows at free and RSVP events
Keep entry free for people who show up while refundable deposits give attendees a reason to attend.
- For
- Planning attendance, staffing, stock and sponsor expectations for a free event
- Takes
- 8 minutes
What you need before you start
- You have an owner or admin role for the event. Freefund is available on every plan.
- Your event has a start time and end time.
- Choose a deposit amount that is meaningful enough to discourage speculative RSVPs.
-
Start with the Freefund RSVP template or an existing event
When you create a new event, choose the Freefund RSVP template. It adds the setting for all admission tickets and a refundable-deposit ticket type. For an existing event, open Tickets and use the same settings below.
The template leaves the final confirmation to you beside the Freefund setting.
Create event, template gallery. -
Choose whether Freefund applies to all admission tickets
In Tickets, turn on Make every admission ticket free when the attendee checks in when all admission ticket prices should work as refundable deposits. For one admission ticket type, turn on Make this ticket free when the attendee checks in in that ticket editor instead.
The event-wide rule applies to all admission ticket types and takes priority over individual ticket settings. Table types keep their existing payment settings.
Tickets, Freefund. -
Set the refundable deposit
Enter the ticket price as the deposit amount. Explain it on the event page as free entry for attendees who check in, backed by a refundable deposit.
The deposit must be greater than zero. An order close enough to the event may use one card hold for all its Freefund deposits. Each ticket still keeps its own attendance outcome.
Tickets, ticket editor. -
Choose the check-in cutoff
Choose Throughout the event, a relative option such as 2 hours after the event starts, 4 hours before the event ends, or a specific time. New choices stay within the event start and end times.
A ticket scanned after the cutoff is admitted but does not earn its deposit back. If you shorten the event and the current cutoff no longer fits, it stays visible so you can choose a new one.
-
Confirm the charging behaviour and save
For the event-wide rule, turn on I confirm that tickets not scanned in time are charged, then save. The ticket editor shows the same confirmation for that ticket type.
Ticket Fairy records who confirmed the rule, when they confirmed it and the refund timing. A ticket-level rule also records its deposit. Ticket Fairy asks you to confirm again when you change where Freefund applies or change the cutoff.
-
Scan each attendee's own ticket
Door staff scan each ticket as its attendee arrives. Ticket Fairy immediately tells an eligible attendee that we are releasing the deposit back to their card. If three tickets from an order of five are scanned by the cutoff, those three deposits are returned and the other two are charged. If every ticket covered by a card hold is scanned in time, Ticket Fairy releases the full hold; otherwise, it charges only the deposits for tickets that were not scanned in time.
The card issuer can take several days to update a released hold or show an issued refund.
-
Check or change the Freefund rule later
Open Tickets again to check, change or turn off Freefund. Confirm the charging behaviour again after you change where Freefund applies or change the cutoff.
Each purchase keeps the Freefund terms agreed at checkout. Your saved change applies to later purchases and does not change existing orders.
Or have it done for you
Fai can turn Freefund on for all admission tickets or one admission ticket type, set a relative or specific cutoff and show the exact charging behaviour before asking you to approve it. The approval records your confirmation.
In your dashboard, with Fai
Set up Freefund for my event. Ask if it should cover all admission tickets or one admission ticket type, what deposit to use and when check-in stops earning it back
Questions you might have
- Does Ticket Fairy charge every deposit at checkout?
- When a card hold can stay in place until the event ends, Ticket Fairy holds one amount for the order and later charges only the deposit amounts for tickets not scanned by the cutoff. Otherwise, Ticket Fairy charges the card at checkout and issues each eligible ticket refund when staff scan it.
- What happens when every ticket in the order is scanned?
- Ticket Fairy releases the full card hold. If the card was charged at checkout, Ticket Fairy refunds every eligible scanned ticket in full.
- When is a deposit kept or collected?
- For an order with a card hold, Ticket Fairy charges only the deposit amounts for tickets not scanned by the cutoff after the event ends. When the card was charged at checkout, the payment stays charged and Ticket Fairy refunds each eligible scanned ticket.
Where to go from here
Do this on your own event
Create your account, build your event and follow the steps in your own dashboard. You do not need to book a sales call.