Issuing Comp and Cash Tickets

Issue tickets yourself when they don't go through your event page: a sponsor's table, a speaker's guest, a volunteer, or someone who paid you in cash or by check. The recipient gets the same ticket email and QR code as an online buyer and checks in the same way.

Owners and admins can issue tickets. Event managers and check-in staff can't.

Issuing tickets

1. Open your event in the dashboard and go to the Orders tab.
2. Click Issue tickets.
3. Choose the Ticket type. Every ticket type is listed, including hidden ones, so you can issue staff-only tickets that buyers never see.
4. Enter the Buyer name and Buyer email. The tickets are emailed to this address.
5. Set the Quantity (up to 20 at a time). You can add a guest name for each ticket; it shows at check-in. Leave it blank to use the buyer's name.
6. For a paid ticket type, Cash received is filled in with the price of the tickets. Change it to what you actually received, or set it to 0 to issue the tickets as complimentary.
7. Click the issue button, which shows the count (for example Issue 2 tickets).

The event must be published or paused, and your subscription must be active (not paused). Issuing ignores sale dates, per-order limits and access codes, because those are rules for buyers. It does respect your ticket quantities and event capacity, so you can't issue more tickets than you have.

What the recipient gets

A ticket email with their QR code, exactly like an online purchase. They don't get a payment receipt, because they didn't pay through Equaticket.

How issued tickets show in your reports

• Orders: issued orders show Comp or Cash and the amount instead of a card total. The CSV export has Payment and Cash recorded columns.
• Analytics: your event shows a Cash recorded figure and an Issued tickets count. Cash is shown next to your revenue, never inside it, because it isn't part of your Stripe payouts.
• Ticket limits: cash tickets count toward your plan's ticket limit, the same as tickets sold online. Complimentary tickets don't.

Staff-only ticket types

To create a ticket type that only you can hand out, tick Hidden in the ticket type's Advanced settings and leave the access code blank. It never appears on your event page and buyers can't buy it, but you can still issue it from Orders. See Access-Code Gated Tickets for hidden tickets that buyers unlock with a code.

Cancelling an issued ticket

Open the order and click Cancel ticket next to the ticket, then Confirm. The ticket stops working at check-in, the ticket goes back into your inventory, and the recipient gets an email saying their ticket was cancelled. No money moves through Equaticket. For a cash order, the email asks them to contact you about a refund, so settle that with them directly.

Cash recorded keeps the amount you entered when you issued the tickets, even after a cancellation, because Equaticket doesn't know how much cash you handed back.

Frequently asked questions

Can I take a card payment this way?

No. Issuing is for tickets you give away or are paid for outside Equaticket. For card payments at the event, use Door QR.

What if I type the wrong email?

Contact support and we can correct the email address and resend the tickets.

Can I issue tickets for a time-slot series?

Not yet. Issuing works for single events and for individual dates in a recurring event series.

Still need help? Contact support.