---
title: "Trade show and exhibition ticketing questions answered"
description: "Get straight answers to 22 questions trade show and exhibition 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/trade-shows-and-exhibitions/questions"
---

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

# Trade show and exhibition ticketing: your questions answered

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

- **22** questions answered
- **18** pages that show you how

Here you can find out when your stand and ticket money reaches you, who pays the booking fee and how exhibitors pay a deposit online. You can also see how exhibitors name their own staff and send their insurance without your team chasing them, how you register and badge trade visitors, and how exhibitors leave with leads they can follow up and a reason to rebook.

1. [How does an exhibitor pay the rest of their stand price?](#how-does-an-exhibitor-pay-the-rest-of-their-stand-price)
2. [Can an exhibitor add more staff than their package includes?](#can-an-exhibitor-add-more-staff-than-their-package-includes)
3. [Can stand staff scan leads with their phone camera?](#can-stand-staff-scan-leads-with-their-phone-camera)
4. [Do exhibitors need a Ticket Fairy account?](#do-exhibitors-need-a-ticket-fairy-account)
5. [Can visitors book a time to arrive?](#can-visitors-book-a-time-to-arrive)
6. [Which badge printers can I use?](#which-badge-printers-can-i-use)
7. [Is anyone added to the attendee directory without asking?](#is-anyone-added-to-the-attendee-directory-without-asking)
8. [Does a trade visitor pay while I check their order?](#does-a-trade-visitor-pay-while-i-check-their-order)
9. [Does Fai change anything without asking?](#does-fai-change-anything-without-asking)
10. [Can visitors register for my expo online and get a badge at the door?](#can-visitors-register-for-my-expo-online-and-get-a-badge-at-the-door)
11. [Can I sell stands and visitor tickets for my exhibition from the same event?](#can-i-sell-stands-and-visitor-tickets-for-my-exhibition-from-the-same-event)
12. [Who pays the booking fee, us or the visitor?](#who-pays-the-booking-fee-us-or-the-visitor)
13. [When do we get our ticket and stand money?](#when-do-we-get-our-ticket-and-stand-money)
14. [Can I run a free trade day and a paid public day from the same event?](#can-i-run-a-free-trade-day-and-a-paid-public-day-from-the-same-event)
15. [Can a company buy passes for its whole team on one invoice?](#can-a-company-buy-passes-for-its-whole-team-on-one-invoice)
16. [Can I ask visitors for their company and job title at checkout?](#can-i-ask-visitors-for-their-company-and-job-title-at-checkout)
17. [How do I collect insurance and certificates from exhibitors and stand builders?](#how-do-i-collect-insurance-and-certificates-from-exhibitors-and-stand-builders)
18. [Can stand builders name their own people for build-up passes?](#can-stand-builders-name-their-own-people-for-build-up-passes)
19. [Can exhibitors book their build-up deliveries?](#can-exhibitors-book-their-build-up-deliveries)
20. [Can visitors check themselves in and print their own badge?](#can-visitors-check-themselves-in-and-print-their-own-badge)
21. [Can I ask visitors what they thought of the show?](#can-i-ask-visitors-what-they-thought-of-the-show)
22. [How do I set up next year's show without starting again?](#how-do-i-set-up-next-year-s-show-without-starting-again)

## How does an exhibitor pay the rest of their stand price?

You collect the rest yourself, directly or with a Vault invoice. You choose the share each exhibitor pays online when you set up each stand package, and a deposit below the full price is held on their card and charged once they pass the identity check. A deposit percentage of 100 takes the whole stand price online.

You build the show from the Convention template and turn on Add an exhibitor booth. Under Table Types, the Exhibitor booth holds the stand price, how many stands you have, the smallest and largest team one booking admits, and your deposit in Online Deposit Percentage. Each package, such as shell scheme, space only and corner stand, gets a separate table type.

When you save, the confirmation says how much you collect directly. For the balance, you raise a Vault invoice with line items and a due date, and the payment arrives in the same account as your stand and ticket sales. Our booking fee is charged on the amount paid online, not on the balance you collect yourself.

[Sell exhibitor stands for your trade show](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-exhibitor-stands-for-a-trade-show)

## Can an exhibitor add more staff than their package includes?

Not through their link, which stops at the number you set. When you agree to more staff, you raise the number on their allocation.

On the Tickets page, you create a free ticket type named Stand staff, turn on Hidden and choose Always hidden, so visitors never see it. Under Delegations, you then select Create Delegation for each exhibitor, with the Stand staff ticket type as a Guest Ticket and the number of staff their package includes.

The exhibitor names their own staff through one link, without a login to your event, and every member of their team gets a ticket in their own name for the door. With a once-a-day scan rule on the Stand staff ticket, one ticket covers each day of the show.

[Give each exhibitor their stand staff allocation](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-exhibitor-stands-for-a-trade-show)

## Can stand staff scan leads with their phone camera?

No. Stand staff scan with a USB or Bluetooth barcode scanner connected to their phone or tablet. Or they enter the code printed on the badge or ticket.

Booth staff open their scanner link on a phone or tablet and scan a visitor's badge with a connected scanner, or enter its code in Scan a ticket or badge. They tap a Rating, add Notes and select Save. A visitor scanned twice stays one lead, and the scanner tells staff they met before.

If a visitor says they do not want contact, staff turn on Doesn't want to be contacted before they save, and the exhibitor no longer sees the email address or phone number. The scanner does not add a refunded or canceled ticket, or a code from another event.

[Give exhibitors a lead scanner for their stand](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/give-exhibitors-a-lead-scanner-for-their-booth)

## Do exhibitors need a Ticket Fairy account?

No. Exhibitors name their stand staff through one link, with no login to your event. Stand staff scan leads from a scanner link that works until the day after your show ends. Each exhibitor sees their leads, follow-ups and results on their own page.

On the event, you select Operations, then Exhibitors and Leads. On an exhibitor, you select Booth staff, add each person by name and email, then select Give a scanner link and send it to them. Each staff member can have their own link, so each lead shows who met the visitor, or one shared link serves the tablet on the stand.

Each exhibitor's page opens with no sign-in. On that page, they add booth staff and scanner links, approve the follow-up emails Fai drafts and download their leads. A scanner link works until the day after your show ends, unless you stop it first.

[Set up each exhibitor's booth staff and scanner links](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/give-exhibitors-a-lead-scanner-for-their-booth)

## Can visitors book a time to arrive?

Yes. With time slots on the visitor 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 show, and you then open the visitor ticket type and turn on This ticket type has time slots. With Generate time slots, you choose the dates, the first and last entry time, how long each slot lasts and how many visitors each slot takes.

Correct a single slot with Edit Time Slot where one time needs a different capacity, then save. Visitors pick their date and time from a calendar on your event page, and a full time shows greyed out so they choose another.

[Give visitors arrival times](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-timed-entry-tickets)

## Which badge printers can I use?

Any label or card printer your computer can print to. Badges print as A6 lanyard badges (105 × 148 mm) or CR80 cards (85.6 × 54 mm). You choose the printer and the paper size in your browser's print dialog.

On the event, you select Operations, then Desks and Registration, and select Badge and desk setup. You choose A6 badge or Card (CR80), choose the checkout questions that print as the Company line and Job title line, and turn Print the ticket type on or off.

At the desk, your team scans the visitor's ticket or finds them by name, email or order number, selects Check in and print badge, then selects Print and chooses the printer in the print dialog. Checking in at the desk also checks the ticket in at the door, so a second scan says it is already checked in.

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

## Is anyone added to the attendee directory without asking?

No. The directory is off until you switch it on, and visitors join it themselves from their order page. Each visitor chooses which details others see, and can change them or leave at any time. Nobody can download the directory.

Visitors who join find people with shared interests and ask to meet at one of your meeting times, with a table for each meeting. Exhibitors can switch on meeting bookings on their own page, so a visitor books time at the stand they came to see, and the exhibitor accepts or declines each request.

[Run registration, badges and meetings](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-operating-system/registration-and-badges)

## Does a trade visitor pay while I check their order?

Not if you turn on Hold payment until approved. A payment method that supports it reserves the amount at checkout, and the visitor is charged only when you approve. Other payment methods charge at checkout and refund the visitor if you decline. You approve before the hold expires, or the order is declined.

Under Tickets, Settings, you turn on Require order approval, or turn it on for one ticket type only, such as the trade ticket. You then turn on Hold payment until approved. Orders wait under Needs Approval on the Orders page, with the buyer, the tickets, the total and when the hold expires.

When you select Approve, Ticket Fairy collects any held payment and issues the tickets. Approval covers the whole order, so an order with a trade ticket and a public ticket waits for one decision. You approve each order after checkout. To keep the trade ticket out of sight before checkout, you can hide it and open it with an access code.

[Approve trade visitor orders before they get tickets](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/approve-orders-before-buyers-receive-tickets)

## Does Fai change anything without asking?

No. Fai can set up exhibitors and their lead scanners, draft exhibitor follow-ups, chase outside teams for names and documents, and take group bookings. She shows you each change or email and waits for your approval first.

Fai lists the outside teams who still owe a name or a document and drafts each reminder, and she asks before she sends it. She drafts each exhibitor's follow-up emails from the stand notes, and only the exhibitor approves them, on their own page.

For a company sending a team, Fai can record the group booking with its passes and price for you to check. Each time, she shows you what she means to do and waits for your yes.

[See what Fai does on your show](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-operating-system/fai-and-automation)

## Can visitors register for my expo online and get a badge at the door?

Yes. Trade visitors register for your expo online, you check their orders, and each visitor gets a badge at the door.

Each ticket can carry a name, and your own checkout questions ask each visitor for their company, job title and the products they came to see. Those answers print on the badge and go with each lead an exhibitor records.

At the door, each person scanning signs in with their own Door Staff login, so every admission carries a name. Check-In shows arrivals by hour on each day of the show, and the Ticket Type tab counts stand staff apart from visitors.

[Register and badge your trade visitors](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/check-in-attendees-and-print-badges-at-registration)

## Can I sell stands and visitor tickets for my exhibition from the same event?

Yes. Trade and public visitors register or buy tickets online, and you sell stand packages, badge each visitor and give exhibitors lead scanners from the same event.

Public day tickets sell on your event page, and the trade ticket stays hidden behind an access code or a personal invitation. Each stand package sells as its own booking with a deposit, and companies sending a team buy their visitor passes as a group booking with one invoice.

Badge each visitor at your registration desk or a self-service kiosk, and give each exhibitor a lead scanner link for their stand. You see every sale, stand and lead on the same show.

[Sell stands and visitor tickets from one show](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-exhibitor-stands-for-a-trade-show)

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

The visitor pays it, 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 you publish has to be the price at checkout, and the fee comes out of what you receive.

On your event, you select Tickets and choose a card under Booking Fees on the Inventory tab, or choose while you create the event. The choice comes before your first ticket type, because you cannot switch between Added and Absorbed once ticket types exist. A third choice, Added Later, shows the ticket price on your event page and the fee at checkout, in countries other than Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Free trade tickets carry no fee. For paid tickets, the fee depends on the price and your event's country, and your Ticket Types table shows the exact amount for every price you enter. There is no setup fee and no required monthly ticketing fee.

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

## When do we get our ticket and stand money?

You get paid daily as tickets and stands sell, once your own payment processing account is linked and 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 show finishes.

Daily payouts need a payment processing account of a kind and in a country where we support them, and your publish review shows which applies to your event. Any other account you link pays out on its own schedule. With your account linked before stands go on sale, you are paid as exhibitors book.

When you are paid after the show, the money goes to the account under Payout Details on your brand. It is worth checking before the show ends, because a payout already sent to an old account has to be recalled. Pending refund requests and chargebacks extend the wait.

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

## Can I run a free trade day and a paid public day from the same event?

Yes. The trade ticket can be free and hidden, and open with an access code or a personal invitation. The public ticket is on sale to everyone, and both days scan in the same app.

You choose Always hidden for the trade ticket, then attach it to a promotion with an access code that gives no discount. Trade buyers enter the code on your event page and see the trade ticket, while everyone else sees the public tickets. Each trade partner can have its own code, with the dates it works and how many times it can be used.

Order approval on the trade ticket only lets you check each trade visitor too. When the seminar program changes, you can email only the holders of the trade ticket.

[Open a hidden trade ticket with an access code](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/unlock-hidden-tickets-with-an-access-code)

## Can a company buy passes for its whole team on one invoice?

Yes, with a group booking. You record the passes, extras and price, and send the booking for sign-off if it needs it. Then you raise an invoice with the due date the company's terms give, and the company pays through the invoice's payment link.

On Group Bookings, you start a booking with the company's legal name and choose the purchaser, the person who receives the invoice and gives out the passes. You add each ticket type and quantity, and price the block per pass or as one agreed total. You enter the purchase order number and the company's payment terms.

The tickets are held from the moment you send the invoice until it is paid. The booking moves to invoiced, then to paid when the money arrives, and the purchaser gets an email to give the passes out.

[Sell a block of passes to a company and invoice them](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/take-a-group-booking-and-invoice-it)

## Can I ask visitors for their company and job title at checkout?

Yes. You can add your own checkout questions, such as company, job title or the products they came to see, and attach each one to the ticket so every visitor gives their own answer. A question can be required when your exhibitors need the answer.

Each answer can be text, or a fixed set of choices for something like product interest. Each answer stays with the visitor's ticket, and you choose whether it shows on their ticket, the PDF and the scan view at the door.

On the registration desk, you choose the checkout questions that print as the Company line and the Job title line on the badge.

[Add custom questions to your checkout](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/add-custom-checkout-questions)

## How do I collect insurance and certificates from exhibitors and stand builders?

You ask once for each document, from every team that owes it. Each exhibitor and contractor uploads the file from their own page with no sign-in, and you see who has sent what and whose cover runs out before the show.

On the event, you select Operations, then Licenses and certificates and Outside teams. With Ask for a document, you enter what you need or choose one under Common documents, choose who needs to send it and select Ask.

The team's contact selects Add file, chooses a PDF, a photo or a Word file of up to 25 MB and enters the expiry date if you asked for it. You open each file, then select Accept, or Ask for changes with what needs to change.

[Collect insurance and certificates from your exhibitors](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/collect-insurance-and-certificates-from-your-outside-teams)

## Can stand builders name their own people for build-up passes?

Yes. You add each exhibitor or contractor under Outside teams, give them a number of passes and a date to send names by, and email them their page link. Their contact names each person, and the names arrive in your accreditation list.

The contact opens the link on any phone or computer with no sign-in. They add each person, or paste a list or choose a spreadsheet of up to 200 people at a time, and see each pass move from waiting to sent. Their page adds people only while places are left.

Still needed on each row of Outside teams shows who still owes names. After that date, the page stops taking new names, and you can still add a person yourself in Accreditation.

[Let outside teams name their own people for passes](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/let-outside-teams-name-their-own-people-for-passes)

## Can exhibitors book their build-up deliveries?

Yes. You can set arrival times at each gate with the number of vehicles each one takes, and exhibitors and their contractors book a time from their own page. Each booking gets a reference code and a code the gate can scan.

On the event, you select Operations, then Arrivals and parking and Arrival times, and select Add an arrival time. You choose the day, when it starts and ends, how many vehicles can arrive, who can book it, and the gate and what drivers need to know.

On the day, your gate team opens Gate on a phone or tablet, enters the driver's code or number plate and selects Find, then Check in. With Check out selected when the vehicle leaves, you see who is on site at any moment.

[Book delivery times and check vehicles in at the gate](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/book-delivery-times-and-check-vehicles-in-at-the-gate)

## Can visitors check themselves in and print their own badge?

Yes. A tablet beside a badge printer works as a self-service kiosk. Visitors hold the QR code on their ticket under the scanner, are checked in and get their badge, while your registration desk looks after anyone who needs help.

In Desks, you select Registration, then Set up a kiosk. You name the kiosk after where it stands, select Make link and open the link on the tablet. The kiosk goes back to the start after each person, or after 60 seconds with nobody using it.

A visitor who left their ticket behind enters the email address their ticket was sent to and gets a six-digit code at that address that works for 10 minutes. Visitors with no ticket yet see a QR code to buy one on their phone.

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

## Can I ask visitors what they thought of the show?

Yes. Feedback on the show's Operations page gives you the standard survey, and you can change its questions. It goes only to the people who checked in, and you see your Net Promoter Score beside last year's.

With Schedule, you check the time it sends and choose the days people can answer. Each visitor gets one email in their own language with their own link and no sign-in. Crew and guest passes are left out, and the Sorry we missed you survey goes to ticket holders who did not check in.

Fai picks out what to fix next time from the comments, and you add the improvements as tasks on next year's show with an owner and a due date.

[Ask visitors for feedback after your show](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/ask-attendees-for-feedback-after-your-event)

## How do I set up next year's show without starting again?

Copy from last event brings your rooms, teams, shifts and zones into next year's show with the dates moved. Each part shows what it adds before anything is copied. People, bookings, answers and money spent stay with this year's show.

On the new show's Operations page, you select Set up, then Copy from last event, and choose the show to copy from. For the tickets and stand packages, you duplicate this year's event into a new draft and check the prices before you publish.

Next year's stands can open to this year's exhibitors first, with an access code or a personal invitation, and each one sees their results page with the visitors they met and the leads they rated.

[Copy the setup of this year's show into next year's](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/copy-the-setup-of-your-last-event-into-your-next-one)

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

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---

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