---
title: "Box office and front of house questions answered"
description: "Get straight answers to 23 questions box office and front of house teams ask, from what your buyers pay and when your ticket money reaches you to how your team runs the day."
canonical: "https://www.ticketfairy.com/solutions/box-office-and-front-of-house/questions"
---

1. [Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/)
2. [Solutions](https://www.ticketfairy.com/solutions)
3. [Box office & front of house](https://www.ticketfairy.com/solutions/box-office-and-front-of-house)
4. Box office and front of house: your questions answered

# Box office and front of house: your questions answered

  [Get started free](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome?utm_source=compare&utm_campaign=solutions-box-office-and-front-of-house-questions) [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo)

- **23** questions answered
- **20** pages that show you how

Here you can find out how your door team gets guests in fast on their own phones, hands each guest the right wristband and knows why a ticket was refused. You can also see how you sell to walk-ups, sort out a guest's missing tickets at the window, add a name to the list on the night and check people in at a registration desk or a kiosk.

1. [Can a Door Staff login see our sales?](#can-a-door-staff-login-see-our-sales)
2. [How do we test the door before it opens?](#how-do-we-test-the-door-before-it-opens)
3. [Does scanning work without a signal?](#does-scanning-work-without-a-signal)
4. [Does a once-a-day re-entry rule reset at midnight?](#does-a-once-a-day-re-entry-rule-reset-at-midnight)
5. [How does the door team know which wristband to give each guest?](#how-does-the-door-team-know-which-wristband-to-give-each-guest)
6. [Why was a ticket refused at the door?](#why-was-a-ticket-refused-at-the-door)
7. [Which phones can take card payments at the door?](#which-phones-can-take-card-payments-at-the-door)
8. [Where do we see the cash and card money we took at the door?](#where-do-we-see-the-cash-and-card-money-we-took-at-the-door)
9. [Can walk-ups buy on their own phones instead of queuing?](#can-walk-ups-buy-on-their-own-phones-instead-of-queuing)
10. [How do we find a guest's order at the window?](#how-do-we-find-a-guest-s-order-at-the-window)
11. [A guest's tickets never arrived. What do we do?](#a-guest-s-tickets-never-arrived-what-do-we-do)
12. [Can we move a guest to another ticket type or seat?](#can-we-move-a-guest-to-another-ticket-type-or-seat)
13. [Can we refund a guest at the window?](#can-we-refund-a-guest-at-the-window)
14. [A guest is told they are already inside. How do we check?](#a-guest-is-told-they-are-already-inside-how-do-we-check)
15. [Can we see how many people came through each gate?](#can-we-see-how-many-people-came-through-each-gate)
16. [How do we add a guest to the list on the night?](#how-do-we-add-a-guest-to-the-list-on-the-night)
17. [How do we collect the balance on a VIP table at the door?](#how-do-we-collect-the-balance-on-a-vip-table-at-the-door)
18. [How do we check ages at the door?](#how-do-we-check-ages-at-the-door)
19. [Can volunteers run a desk without a dashboard login?](#can-volunteers-run-a-desk-without-a-dashboard-login)
20. [How do we check in attendees and print name badges at registration?](#how-do-we-check-in-attendees-and-print-name-badges-at-registration)
21. [Can someone print a second badge at the kiosk?](#can-someone-print-a-second-badge-at-the-kiosk)
22. [A guest has lost their bag. How do we get it back to them?](#a-guest-has-lost-their-bag-how-do-we-get-it-back-to-them)
23. [Can I ask Fai how many people are in while the doors are open?](#can-i-ask-fai-how-many-people-are-in-while-the-doors-are-open)

## Can a Door Staff login see our sales?

No. Door Staff opens the scanning app and nothing in your dashboard, so you can give it to casual staff for one night.

Under Team on your brand, you select Add Team Member, enter the address of everyone who scans, choose Door Staff and select Send Invitation. Your regular door team joins on the brand, and their access carries across every event you run. A one-night crew joins from that event's own Team page instead, so their access covers only that event.

The invitation carries the app store links for the Entry Fairy app, and each person signs in with their own login once they accept. With one login for each person, every admission carries a name, so you can see later who let each guest in.

[Prepare your door team for event day](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/prepare-your-door-team)

## How do we test the door before it opens?

One guest ticket sent to yourself on a ticket type that admits once, and scanned on every phone, shows each phone is ready. The first phone admits it, and every other phone shows it as already checked in, with the time and who scanned it.

The app is best installed on each phone the day before, while every phone has a good connection. A phone that shows neither result is not signed in or has no connection, so fix it before the doors open. Venue wifi with a queue outside is a slow place to download an app.

You then open Individual Tickets on Check-In, find your test ticket and select Unscan ticket, so your check-in count starts from the first real guest. When you cancel the test order from the Guest tab on Orders, the test ticket stops working at the door.

[Test every door phone before your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/prepare-your-door-team)

## Does scanning work without a signal?

No. The Entry Fairy app needs an internet connection to scan tickets, so check the connection at each entrance before the doors open. The crew pass desk and the meal desk work without a connection and send what was done when it is back.

The day before, you can check the connection at each entrance, from the spot where your team will stand. All your door phones share their scans over that connection, which is how a ticket admitted at one entrance shows as already checked in at the others.

If a phone cannot scan on the night, your team can open the ticket inside its order and set its status to checked in by hand. A ticket admitted that way carries nobody's name, so keep it for when a phone cannot scan. A staff gate without a connection asks your stewards to check passes by eye and scan them when the connection is back.

[Scan tickets at every entrance](https://www.ticketfairy.com/features/check-in-and-box-office/door-scanning-and-entry)

## Does a once-a-day re-entry rule reset at midnight?

No. The app counts the scans in the 24 hours before each new scan, so the window moves with the ticket. An hourly rule works the same way over the previous hour.

On your event, you select Tickets and open the ticket type. Under Ticket Rules, you turn on Tickets can be scanned multiple times per event, then choose Day or Hour in Time Period and enter the Max Scans. For a weekend pass, Day with 1 does it. Add rule covers a ticket that needs both, such as one entry a day and no more than two in an hour.

Each rule belongs to one ticket type, so a weekend pass can come and go while a day ticket admits once. With the switch off, a ticket admits once per event, and a second scan is refused as already checked in. On a ticket type such as VIP or the guest list, This ticket type has different door times gives it its own Doors Open Time and Last Entry Time.

[Set ticket entry and repeat-scan rules](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/set-ticket-entry-and-repeat-scan-rules)

## How does the door team know which wristband to give each guest?

Each wristband matches the ticket types that get it under Credentials. As each ticket scans, the app shows your door team the band's name and artwork, so they fasten on the band they see.

On your event, you select Credentials, then Create Credential. You enter the band's Name, such as VIP or Day Ticket, choose a wristband or a badge in Type, and select every ticket type whose holders get it. You add the band's artwork under Credential Image and select Create Credential.

For a band that goes with an add-on, such as a campsite band for camping, select the add-ons too. With only the add-ons chosen, every camper gets the band whatever their ticket. A ticket that matches two credentials shows both bands, which suits a VIP who also bought camping. A refunded or canceled ticket is refused, so it shows no band.

[Assign wristbands to each ticket type](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/issue-wristbands-by-ticket-type)

## Why was a ticket refused at the door?

The app tells your door team the reason in plain words, such as a ticket already checked in, refunded, canceled or replaced, or scanned outside its door times. The Refused scans tab on Check-In counts every refusal by reason, entrance, ticket type and hour.

On the event, under Check-In, the Refused scans tab shows a day or Whole event. Shown again after check-in counts tickets scanned again when they were already in and their ticket type does not allow re-entry. Many of them at different entrances in a short time usually means a ticket was shared as a screenshot, so move an extra person there to check names.

Show each refused scan tells you when each one happened, the reason, the entrance and the holder, and Where and Reason narrow the list. When a buyer resells a ticket through Ticket Fairy or you replace it, the old code is refused and the new holder gets in.

[See why tickets and passes were refused at the door](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/see-why-tickets-and-passes-were-refused-at-the-door)

## Which phones can take card payments at the door?

Compatible Android phones. Taps work when your payment processing account is in a country where tap to pay works, your event's venue is in that same country, and your business address or the venue's address is complete. Box office staff can also take card payments with a card reader where your payment processing account allows it. Or they take cash.

Your door team sells walk-up tickets in the same Entry Fairy app they scan with. Buyers pay cash, or tap their card, phone or watch on the back of the phone. A second door, a roaming seller and the box office can all take payments at the same time, and no phone needs setting up on its own.

If a phone does not offer card taps, the app names what to fix, such as an event with no venue or a business address that is not complete. Fix it and save, and the option appears within a minute. Each walk-up sale is an order on your event, so its ticket scans the moment it is bought.

[Sell to walk-ups at your box office and door](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-operating-system/front-of-house/box-office-and-door)

## Where do we see the cash and card money we took at the door?

On your event's Performance page, where box office sales have their own card beside your net revenue. The net revenue card shows the combined figure when you point at it, including cash taken at the door.

Your event's Performance page shows it. Box office sales have a card of their own beside Net revenue, and the line under the net revenue figure says when box office sales are included. Holding the pointer over the card shows the total including the cash collected at the door.

Box Office Sales on the same page lists each sale by seller or by date, with cash and card apart. At the end of the night, it lets you settle up with each person who sold.

[See what your event earned and when you get paid](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/see-what-your-event-earned)

## Can walk-ups buy on their own phones instead of queuing?

Yes. A quick-buy QR code at the entrance does it. A walk-up scans it with their phone camera, picks how many tickets and pays, and their ticket arrives by email ready to scan.

A quick-buy link can cover the whole event, one ticket type or one add-on, and its QR code downloads for your printer. Nobody creates an account or a password, and Apple Pay and Google Pay fill in the billing details. Buyers who would rather pay your team still buy from the box office in the app.

A link that points at an add-on or a ticket type you keep off your public event page, such as a VIP upgrade, lets only people who scan the code buy it. The link can expire on a date for a one-night offer, and you switch it off when the offer ends.

[Let walk-ups buy from a quick-buy QR code](https://www.ticketfairy.com/features/check-in-and-box-office/mobile-tickets-and-quick-buy)

## How do we find a guest's order at the window?

On Orders, you search by the buyer's name, email address, phone number or order number. The order opens with its tickets, the buyer's details and your team's notes.

Search looks only in the tab you have open, so use All Orders when you are not sure what happened to the order. When nothing comes up, the buyer has usually booked under a second email address. The number beside the buyer's name is how many of your brand's events they have held tickets for.

Under Order Notes, Add Note records what you promised, so the next person at the window knows. The buyer never sees your notes, and an order with a note carries a mark beside its number in the list.

[Find and manage the orders for your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/find-and-manage-your-event-orders)

## A guest's tickets never arrived. What do we do?

You find their order, correct the name or email address on the ticket if it is wrong, and select Resend. The same tickets go out again, so a copy already saved to a phone still scans.

On the order, you select Edit Ticket on the ticket that is wrong, correct the First name, Last name or Email address and select Save. Saving sends nothing, so select Resend in the order's menu, check the Email Address and select Resend. Successfully Sent tells you the email is on its way.

The address in the resend dialog is for that one send. Correct the ticket first when the buyer should keep the new address. It is worth asking the buyer which address they want rather than guessing, because the resend goes only to the address you type.

[Resend a buyer's tickets and fix their details](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/resend-tickets-and-fix-a-buyers-details)

## Can we move a guest to another ticket type or seat?

Yes. Change Ticket Type on their order moves every valid ticket on the order while the guest keeps their barcodes. On a seated event, Change Seat gives one ticket holder a different seat.

You choose the new type in Ticket Type and select Save. If it has sold out, Override stock lets the move through. Moving tickets charges and refunds nothing, so settle any difference in price with the guest before you move them. Nothing is emailed to the guest, and the tickets they already have still scan.

For a seat, you open the menu beside the ticket's code, select Change Seat, choose a free seat on your seat map and select Save. The old seat goes back on sale. To fix a misspelt name on the same order, you select Edit Ticket and resend the tickets.

[Move a buyer to a different ticket type or seat](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/move-a-buyer-to-a-different-ticket-type-or-seat)

## Can we refund a guest at the window?

Yes, when the order was paid by card through your own connected payment processing account and the event's funds are not yet paid out. The event owner refunds the whole order from the Orders page. Ticket Fairy support refunds anything else for you.

You find the order on the Paid tab, open its row menu and select Refund, then select Get authorization code. You enter the six digits Ticket Fairy emails to the owner and select Confirm Refund. Refunds work from a laptop, because a phone opens the order itself, where there is no refund option. Ticket Fairy needs to turn on dashboard refunds for your event first.

The refund returns the order's face value to the card the buyer paid with, and service fees are not returned. The barcodes stop working at once, and the tickets go back on sale or to your waiting list. One ticket already checked in, resold or transferred removes the option for the whole order.

[Refund an order on your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/refund-an-order)

## A guest is told they are already inside. How do we check?

Individual Tickets on Check-In finds them by their name or email address. Checked In At and Checked In By show when their ticket went in and who scanned it.

If the ticket went in at another entrance a few minutes ago, someone else is probably inside on a shared screenshot. If a scan was made by mistake, Unscan ticket makes the ticket ready to scan again.

Fai can tell you whether a guest has arrived and when, and she finds their ticket while you stand at the entrance.

[Scan tickets at the door](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/scan-tickets-at-the-door)

## Can we see how many people came through each gate?

Not in your dashboard. The check-in report breaks arrivals down by hour, day, ticket type, add-on and the person scanning, and each phone shows its own running count.

Check-In's Hourly view shows it. It shows how many tickets your door team scanned each hour against the tickets you sold, with a tab for each day of a multi-day event. It counts each ticket once, in the hour it first came in, so a guest who leaves and comes back is not counted twice. Refused scans are not counted either, so a flat hour means a quiet door rather than a queue being turned away.

Break arrivals down by ticket type, add-on and the person scanning, and the Refused scans tab splits refusals by entrance or scanner. A rising line an hour before the headliner tells you to open another lane, and after the event the same report shows you how many people to put on each door next time.

[Follow arrivals at your doors hour by hour](https://www.ticketfairy.com/features/check-in-and-box-office/door-scanning-and-entry)

## How do we add a guest to the list on the night?

On Guest Tickets, you select Send Guest Tickets, choose the ticket type and enter the guest's name and email address. They get a ticket with its own barcode, and your door team scans it like any other.

You enter the Quantity, up to 40 for one person, and a First Name and Last Name on each ticket holder card. The names are what the door sees, and every ticket in the batch goes to the one email address. Notes (optional) stays with you and comes out in your exports.

When you select Send, the issued list shows the name, the ticket type, who sent it and when. A guest ticket comes out of that ticket type's stock like a sold one, so many teams make a Guest list ticket type to count the comps later. You need an owner, admin or curator login to send guest tickets.

[Send free tickets to your guest list](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/issue-guest-tickets)

## How do we collect the balance on a VIP table at the door?

Your guest pays the table's deposit online at checkout, and the booking shows the rest as Pay on Check-in. When the booking scans, your door team sees the balance, takes it and marks it paid.

Each table type sets its Online Deposit Percentage, from 1 to 100, so you choose how much is paid online and how much at the venue. The booking fee applies only to the amount paid online. Every table booking asks the buyer for an identity check, and the online share is charged once they pass it.

Bookings still waiting for the check are on the Needs Verification tab on Orders. Each table in your VIP area can have a host, who gets an alert when their guest arrives, with what each ticket type includes.

[Sell VIP tables and bottle service](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-vip-tables-and-bottle-service)

## How do we check ages at the door?

Checkout can ask buyers for a date of birth, and each ticket shows its age status as it scans. When a guest shows their ID, your door team marks ID checked on their wristband or pass, and the bar serves them without asking again.

Your checkout turns away buyers under your minimum age. At the door, the age status tells your team who must show ID before they reach the front, so the queue keeps moving.

Your bar team logs each refusal, and each bar keeps its own log, so you have a record for your licensing debrief. When you need to know who is buying before the night, checkout can ask buyers for an ID check, and their card is held until they pass.

[Check ages once at the door](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-operating-system/front-of-house/box-office-and-door)

## Can volunteers run a desk without a dashboard login?

Yes. Each desk link opens one desk on a phone or tablet and works until the date you set. You can stop it at any time.

On the event, you select Operations, then Desks, and select Make a desk link. You choose the desk, enter a Name for who uses it or where, such as Backstage gate phone, and choose when it stops under Works until. Left empty, the link stops the day after the event ends. You select Make link, then scan the QR code with the desk's phone or select Copy link.

Staff open the link without signing in, and it does only that desk's work. Ticket Fairy records everything done through it under its name. Staff at the hand-out desk and meal desks carry on serving with no connection, and the phone sends their work once the connection is back. Desks and links shows each link as Working, with how many times it was used.

[Let event staff work a desk from their phone](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/let-event-staff-work-a-desk-from-their-phone)

## How do we check in attendees and print name badges at registration?

Under Operations, Desks and Registration does it. Scan the ticket's QR code or enter a name, email or order number, select Check in and print badge, and the badge prints with the attendee's name, company and job title.

Badge and desk setup comes first. You choose A6 badge or Card (CR80) in Badge size, choose the checkout questions for the Company line and Job title line, and turn Print the ticket type on or off. The logo and color come from your brand kit, so badges match your emails.

The desk checks each ticket the same way the door does. A refunded, resold or replaced ticket shows Cannot get in with the reason and gets no badge. Someone already checked in shows when and by whom, and the ticket counts as checked in everywhere.

[Check in attendees and print name badges at registration](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/check-in-attendees-and-print-badges-at-registration)

## Can someone print a second badge at the kiosk?

No. The kiosk prints each ticket's badge once, and nobody can search for another person there. Your staff print another badge at the registration desk with a reason.

In Desks, you select Registration, then Set up a kiosk. You name the kiosk by where it stands, such as Kiosk by the main entrance, select Make link and open the link on the tablet. Attendees hold the QR code on their ticket under the scanner, and the kiosk checks them in and prints their badge.

Someone who left their ticket behind enters the email address their ticket was sent to and gets a six-digit code there. The kiosk says the same thing whether or not the email has a ticket, so nobody at the kiosk can see who is coming. Attendees with no ticket yet see a QR code to buy one on their phone.

[Set up a self-service check-in kiosk for your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/set-up-a-self-service-check-in-kiosk-for-your-event)

## A guest has lost their bag. How do we get it back to them?

Your team takes the guest's lost report at the window, and logs each found item with what it is, where it was found and where it is kept. Fai suggests which report each found item matches, and you record who collected it.

On the event, you select Operations, then Lost property. With Log a found item, you add a photo so the owner recognizes it, and select Log it. The item gets a reference such as F-12 for its label. Take a lost report records a guest at the window and gives them their reference to quote when they collect.

Under Possible matches, you select It's a match or Not a match on each of Fai's suggestions. To hand an item back, you select Hand back, enter who is collecting it and how you checked it is theirs, such as the reference and photo ID. With the public report page on in Settings, guests report what they lost without signing in.

[Handle lost property at your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/handle-lost-property-at-your-event)

## Can I ask Fai how many people are in while the doors are open?

Yes. Fai can tell you how many people have checked in against the tickets sold, or whether one guest has arrived and when. Fai can also invite your door team as Door Staff, send the guest list their tickets and set a ticket's re-entry rules. She shows you each change before she makes it.

You can ask Fai from your phone while the doors are open, such as how many people are in or whether a guest has arrived. Before the night, she can invite your door team, send the guest list their tickets or set how often a ticket may be scanned.

Fai shows you each invitation and change first, and nothing is sent or saved until you approve it.

[Ask Fai about your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/ask-fai-about-your-event)

[Ticket Fairy for box office & front of house](https://www.ticketfairy.com/solutions/box-office-and-front-of-house)

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This page is on Ticket Fairy, a ticketing, marketing and operations platform for live events and the venues that host them: festivals, club nights, concerts, conferences and tours, and night clubs, beach clubs and concert venues. It grows revenue with fan rewards that turn an audience into a sales channel, and runs the money side with payments and payouts, Vault business banking, and working capital advanced against ticket sales. [How Ticket Fairy ticketing works](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing) · [Ticket Fairy for AI assistants](https://www.ticketfairy.com/llms.txt)