---
title: "Fair and show ticketing questions answered"
description: "Get straight answers to 20 questions fair organizers 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/fairs-and-shows/questions"
---

1. [Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/)
2. [Solutions](https://www.ticketfairy.com/solutions)
3. [Fairs & shows](https://www.ticketfairy.com/solutions/fairs-and-shows)
4. Fair and show ticketing: your questions answered

# Fair and show ticketing: your questions answered

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

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

Here you can find out how you get every family through the gate fast, sell rides, parking and grandstand seats in the same order, and get exhibitors, clubs and traders in without typing up their lists. You can also see what happens when the weather turns, who pays the booking fee and when your ticket money reaches you.

1. [How does a family ticket work at the entrance?](#how-does-a-family-ticket-work-at-the-entrance)
2. [Does a once-a-day season pass reset at midnight?](#does-a-once-a-day-season-pass-reset-at-midnight)
3. [Can visitors leave the grounds and come back on the same day?](#can-visitors-leave-the-grounds-and-come-back-on-the-same-day)
4. [Is a grandstand show a separate event or an add-on?](#is-a-grandstand-show-a-separate-event-or-an-add-on)
5. [How do I get hundreds of exhibitors in without a ticket each?](#how-do-i-get-hundreds-of-exhibitors-in-without-a-ticket-each)
6. [Can visitors book an arrival time?](#can-visitors-book-an-arrival-time)
7. [Which phones can take card payments at the gate?](#which-phones-can-take-card-payments-at-the-gate)
8. [Can a club leader see our ticket sales?](#can-a-club-leader-see-our-ticket-sales)
9. [Can a sponsor or a local business hand out free admission?](#can-a-sponsor-or-a-local-business-hand-out-free-admission)
10. [Does scanning work without a signal?](#does-scanning-work-without-a-signal)
11. [Does Ticket Fairy suit state and county fairs?](#does-ticket-fairy-suit-state-and-county-fairs)
12. [Can a farm sell tickets for farm days, pick-your-own and pumpkin patches?](#can-a-farm-sell-tickets-for-farm-days-pick-your-own-and-pumpkin-patches)
13. [Who pays the booking fee, us or the visitor?](#who-pays-the-booking-fee-us-or-the-visitor)
14. [When do we get our ticket money?](#when-do-we-get-our-ticket-money)
15. [How does my gate team know which wristband to put on each visitor?](#how-does-my-gate-team-know-which-wristband-to-put-on-each-visitor)
16. [Can families who buy early earn money back for bringing friends?](#can-families-who-buy-early-earn-money-back-for-bringing-friends)
17. [Can we charge concession stands a share of their takings?](#can-we-charge-concession-stands-a-share-of-their-takings)
18. [What happens to tickets if bad weather forces us to move the fair?](#what-happens-to-tickets-if-bad-weather-forces-us-to-move-the-fair)
19. [Can we keep a risk register for our license and insurers?](#can-we-keep-a-risk-register-for-our-licence-and-insurers)
20. [How do we set up next year's fair without starting again?](#how-do-we-set-up-next-year-s-fair-without-starting-again)

## How does a family ticket work at the entrance?

A family ticket is one ticket priced for a group, so it carries one barcode and is scanned once. Say in its description how many adults and children it admits, so buyers and your entrance team see the same rule.

You select Create Event, choose Exhibition and turn on Add a family ticket. You get Adult, Concession and Family admission, with no ID or date of birth asked at checkout. You rename Concession to the rate you offer, such as Child or Senior, and add a second concession rate when children and seniors pay different prices.

In the family ticket's description, you enter who it admits, such as two adults and up to three children. Buyers read it before they choose, and your entrance team admits the group on the one scan.

[Run ticketing for your county, state or renaissance fair](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/run-a-fair)

## Does a once-a-day season pass reset at midnight?

No. The app counts the scans in the 24 hours before each new scan, so the window moves with the pass.

On the Season pass ticket type, you turn on Tickets can be scanned multiple times per event, choose Day in Time Period and enter 1 in Max Scans. The pass then admits its holder once in any 24 hours, on every day the fair is open.

Because the window moves with each scan, a holder who came in at 11:00 on Saturday gets in again from 11:00 on Sunday. When your entrance team knows, a refused early scan on the second morning is no surprise.

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

## Can visitors leave the grounds and come back on the same day?

Yes, if you allow it. A higher number of scans for each day on the ticket type lets them in again. A visitor can then go out to their car and back in up to that number.

On Tickets, the ticket type has Ticket Rules. You turn on Tickets can be scanned multiple times per event, choose Day and enter the number of entries in Max Scans, such as 3 for a visitor who goes back to their car twice.

Add rule sets a second limit, such as 2 scans an hour, and the app admits the holder only while both limits have room. A day ticket with the switch off admits its holder once, and a second scan is refused as already checked in.

[Let visitors leave the grounds and come back](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/set-ticket-entry-and-repeat-scan-rules)

## Is a grandstand show a separate event or an add-on?

An add-on works when the show is part of a day at the fair. Visitors buy their seat in the same checkout as admission, and the seats go off sale when they are gone. A show you sell to people who do not visit the fair suits an event of its own.

Under Add-Ons on the Tickets page, you select Create Add-On for the grandstand show, enter its name and price, and set its Stock to the seats you have. Visitors add a seat in the same checkout as admission, and when the last seat goes, the show shows as sold out while admission stays on sale.

Limit to Certain Ticket Types Only offers the seat only with the admission tickets it belongs to. When more seats open, you raise the Stock and the show goes straight back on sale.

A headline concert that people travel to on its own suits an event of its own, with its own page, its own on-sale and its own buyers.

[Sell grandstand seats, rides and parking with admission](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-add-ons-with-your-tickets)

## How do I get hundreds of exhibitors in without a ticket each?

A CSV of first name, last name and email address uploads under Upload Recipients, and each one receives a multi-entry pass. The most uses on a pass cover the whole fair, so set it high enough for each trip in and out.

Under Multi-Entry Passes on your brand, you create a pass type for exhibitors, another for vendors and another for crew. Maximum number of uses per event needs to be high enough for every trip in and out across the whole fair.

Under Create New Pass, you switch to Upload Recipients and select Add from CSV. The file takes first name, last name and email address, in that order, with no header row. The rows appear in the dashboard so you can correct one before you select Send All.

Passes take no tickets from your allocation, and your entrance team scans them in the same app as tickets. Ticket Fairy turns passes on for a brand, so ask us if the page is not in your menu.

[Issue multi-entry passes to exhibitors and crew](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/issue-entry-passes-to-your-crew)

## Can visitors book an arrival time?

Yes. With time slots on the admission ticket type, visitors choose from a calendar of dates and arrival times, each with its own capacity.

Ticket Fairy can turn on time slots for your fair. You then open the admission ticket type, turn on This ticket type has time slots and select Generate time slots. You choose your dates, the weekdays you open, the first and last arrival time and the length of a slot, and set Max sales per slot to the visitors each slot takes.

Visitors pick a date from the calendar on your fair page, then a time. A full time stays on the list greyed out, so they pick the next one, and the other slots stay on sale. On the day, the Ticket Type tab of Check-In groups arrivals by date, then by time.

[Sell arrival times for your fair](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-timed-entry-tickets)

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

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. Cash sales work on any phone that runs the scanning app.

Your entrance team sells walk-up admission in the Entry Fairy app they scan with, from the same ticket types as your fair page. A buyer taps their card, phone or watch on the back of the phone, so you need no card reader. As many phones as you like can take cards at once, and none needs setting up.

If a phone does not offer card taps, the app names the reason, such as an event with no venue or a business address that is not complete. Fix what it names, and the option appears within a minute.

Box Office Sales shows each sale by seller or by date, with cash and card apart, so you can settle up with each gate at the end of the day.

[See how gate sales and check-in work](https://www.ticketfairy.com/features/check-in-and-box-office)

## Can a club leader see our ticket sales?

No. A club leader can only hand out the exhibitor tickets you gave them, up to the number you set. You can raise or lower that number at any time.

The club leader opens their delegation link and adds each exhibitor by name and email, and each exhibitor gets a ticket of their own. The link never shows your sales, your buyers or the rest of your fair.

To change their number, you open Delegations on the event, change the quantity on the club's Exhibitor tickets and confirm the new limit. Exhibitor tickets they already gave out stay valid.

[Let a club or school hand out its own tickets](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/let-a-partner-hand-out-their-own-tickets)

## Can a sponsor or a local business hand out free admission?

Yes. With their own allocation, they hand out tickets from one link with no login to your event. A partner hands out only the ticket types you already sell, up to the number you set for each.

On the event, you open Delegations and select Create Delegation. You name it after the sponsor, select Add Ticket for each ticket type they can hand out with its Quantity, then select Add User for the person who holds it. Manage Access, then Copy access link, gives you their link to send yourself.

A guest ticket is free and comes out of your stock. An invitation lets the person buy the ticket themselves, which suits a competition run by a local radio station. You can create a delegation with an owner, admin or curator login on the event.

[Give a sponsor tickets to hand out](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/let-a-partner-hand-out-their-own-tickets)

## 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 gates open.

The app is best installed on every phone the day before, while every phone has a good connection. One guest ticket sent to yourself on a ticket type that admits once, and scanned on each phone, confirms 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.

A phone that shows neither result is not signed in or has no connection, so fix it before the gates open. You undo the test scan from Individual Tickets on Check-In, so your count starts with the first visitor.

[Prepare your entrance team for the first morning](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/prepare-your-door-team)

## Does Ticket Fairy suit state and county fairs?

Yes. State fair and county fair organizers sell family admission, once-a-day season passes, rides, parking and grandstand seats in one order, and get exhibitors, clubs and schools in each morning without a ticket each.

The Exhibition template covers adult, concession and family admission, a season pass with a once-a-day rule joins it, and rides, parking and grandstand seats sell as add-ons. Clubs and schools hand out their own exhibitor tickets through a delegation, and crew and long-standing exhibitors get multi-entry passes.

Concession stands and craft sellers apply on your own trader page, pay their invoice and book a load-in time. On the day, your entrance team scans and sells on their own phones, and Check-In shows arrivals by hour on each day of the fair.

[Run ticketing for your state or county fair](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/run-a-fair)

## Can a farm sell tickets for farm days, pick-your-own and pumpkin patches?

Yes. Farm days, open farm weekends, pick-your-own fields and pumpkin patches use the same event ticketing features as a fair. Admission can have arrival times so each hour takes only the visitors your fields hold, family tickets and a season pass sell beside it, and extras such as parking sell as add-ons. The weather card shows the forecast for your farm before each weekend.

One event can cover the season, such as your pumpkin patch weekends, with admission time slots so each hour takes only the visitors your fields hold. A family ticket and a season pass sell beside it, with parking or a hayride as add-ons with their own stock.

On Performance for the event, you find Weather intelligence under your sales figures. Once your first day is a week away, it shows the forecast for your farm with your event days marked. Before that, Historical shows what the date is usually like, with the record high and low and the typical rain.

[Check the weather for your farm days](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/check-your-event-weather)

## Who pays the booking fee, us or the visitor?

The visitor, unless you choose otherwise. With Added, the default, the visitor pays the booking fee on top and you receive the full ticket price. Absorbed suits you when the price on your gate sign has to be the price at checkout, and the fee comes out of what you receive.

You choose once for each event, on the Tickets page or while you create the event, and every ticket type and add-on follows it, including rides and parking. The choice comes before your first ticket type, because you cannot switch between Added and Absorbed once ticket types exist.

The booking fee depends on the ticket price and your event's country. It falls as a percentage as prices rise, with a small minimum on low prices, and your Ticket Types table shows the exact amount for every price you enter. Free tickets, such as exhibitor tickets, carry no fee.

[Choose who pays the booking fee on your fair](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/set-who-pays-the-fees)

## When do we get our ticket money?

You get it as tickets sell, once you link your own payment processing account and it is active. If you choose to be paid out after your event instead, Ticket Fairy processes the payments and pays you 10 to 15 business days after the event finishes.

With your account linked before your on-sale, you are paid as tickets sell. Your publish review shows when the money for your fair arrives. Paid out after your event needs nothing set up, so you can publish straight away.

When you are paid after the event, the money goes to the account under Payout Details on your brand, and one event can use a different account. It is worth checking before the last day of the fair, because a payout already sent to an old account has to be recalled. Pending refund requests or chargebacks extend the wait.

[Check the payout for your fair](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/check-your-payout)

## How does my gate team know which wristband to put on each visitor?

Yes. When each wristband matches the tickets and add-ons that get it under Credentials, the scanning app shows your team which band to fasten on as each ticket scans.

On your event, you select Credentials and then Create Credential. You enter the band's name, such as Unlimited rides, choose Wristband, and select the ticket types that get it. For a band that follows an extra, you select the add-on instead, such as the ride wristband, and leave Ticket Types empty.

A ticket that matches two credentials shows both bands. Before the gates open, one ticket of each type sent to yourself from Guest Tickets and scanned shows you the band your team will see. Then undo the scans and cancel the test orders.

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

## Can families who buy early earn money back for bringing friends?

Yes. Every buyer of a paid ticket gets a personal referral link, and earns back part of what they paid as friends buy through it. A new event starts at 10% back after 2 referred sales, 30% after 5 and 100% after 8.

On your fair, under Tickets, then Settings, Disable Rewards System stays turned off. You set each tier's target from 1 to 10 referred sales and the share of the ticket price the buyer earns back, and the targets are best set before the first sale, because the terms buyers saw when they bought stay fixed.

With Show referral rewards upsell on, your fair page explains the rewards before visitors check out, and you then select Save Ticket Settings. Influencers shows each buyer's clicks, referred sales and earned reward, so you can see which families brought their friends.

[Reward visitors who bring their friends](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/reward-buyers-for-referrals)

## Can we charge concession stands a share of their takings?

Yes. The pitch fee can carry a share of sales, with a minimum and a maximum if you want. After the fair, each vendor enters their takings with their till reports on their own page, and you raise the invoice for your share.

On the event, you select Operations, then Traders, and select Takings. Each vendor shows whether Fai found that their reports match the figure they entered. Fai only reads the reports, and you decide.

When a figure does not add up, you select Ask about it and the vendor enters it again. When it is right, you select Accept, then Raise the share-of-sales invoice. The vendor gets the invoice by email with a link to pay, and Invoices shows who has paid.

[Check vendor takings and invoice your share](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/check-trader-takings-and-invoice-a-share-of-sales)

## What happens to tickets if bad weather forces us to move the fair?

Postpone the event, and Ticket Fairy emails every ticket holder when you confirm. You choose whether everyone, only people who bought before the postponement, or nobody can ask for a refund, and you can reveal the new date later.

Event Details is where you postpone. Postponement is the better choice whenever a later date is possible: you can change the date or lift the postponement later, while only Ticket Fairy support can reverse a cancellation. Neither is available once the money for the event has been paid out, so contact support then.

A postponed event keeps every time you set separately, such as door times, last entry and scheduled emails, so move each one to the new date. Your fair page and your own message can tell visitors the same day what happened.

[Change the date or call off your fair](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/change-or-call-off-an-event)

## Can we keep a risk register for our license and insurers?

Yes. Fai drafts the risks for your fair from its type, size and dates, and you keep the ones that apply. Each risk carries a score, an owner, the actions you are taking and a review date.

On the event, you select Operations, then Risks, and select Let Fai draft your risks. You check the number of people at the busiest time and whether the fair is indoors or outdoors, untick anything that does not apply, then add the rest. Add a risk records one of your own.

Ticket Fairy works out the score for you, as how likely times how bad, from 1 to 25. You enter what you are doing about each risk, one action per line, with who owns it and when to review it. You can mark a risk controlled, accepted or closed, and every change stays in its history.

[Keep a risk register for your fair](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/keep-a-risk-register-for-your-event)

## How do we set up next year's fair without starting again?

This year's fair duplicates into a new draft with next year's dates, and your site map, pass types and forms copy into it with the dates moved. Nothing goes on sale until you publish.

On Events, you open the menu on this year's fair and choose Duplicate Event. You enter the new name, dates and web address, and tick the extra parts to bring, such as credentials, promotions and ticket delegations. The ticket types and settings always come with it, and the original keeps its orders.

On the new event, you then select Operations, then Set up, and choose Copy from last event. The preview shows what each part adds, such as shifts with nobody on them and a site map with no trader on a pitch. People, bookings and money never copy.

[Duplicate last year's fair](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/duplicate-an-event)

[Ticket Fairy for fairs & shows](https://www.ticketfairy.com/solutions/fairs-and-shows)

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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)