How to issue complimentary (free) tickets via Bulk Import

Introduction

This help article will guide you through issuing complimentary (free) tickets through the bulk ticket import feature which allows you to upload large quantities of free tickets directly into the system in a single process, streamlining bulk ticket management. Common reasons for issuing free tickets include, but are not limited to:

Providing Sponsors with free tickets to an event
Providing Companion Card holders with free tickets to an event
Providing Staff or Volunteers with free tickets to an event

Only free tickets can be issued through the tickets module or via the bulk upload function.

The free tickets module gives customers the opportunity to get access to your events for free and without any payment process. The tickets are generated in the dashboard and can be sent directly to the customer with one click.

Note: Creating free tickets does not generate a checkout, deposit a cash flow or create a transaction. This means that you will not be able to access specific functions such as extra fields for transactions or the generation of an order confirmation page. If you are expecting an incoming payment or you have already received money, it is recommended to create an internal transaction. No Customer charges or system charges are incurred when issuing free tickets.

Important: Before starting any bulk ticket imports, you may wish to consult with your account manager. There are a few key considerations to review before proceeding. This may include firstly creating the new ticket types and enabling a Secret Shop (recomended) for distribution to ensure accurate reporting. Your account manager will also assist with confiming the correct fields required for your import: eventId / underShopId / ticketTypeId

Summary

The recomended process is straightforward and broken down into the following simple steps:

Create your free ticket types in the main event, ensuring they are not visible to the public.
Create and configure a Secret Shop
Download & complete the bulk upload ticket template
Issue tickets via a bulk upload function

Each free ticket has its own name, ticket ID, and price, allowing for better tracking and reporting.

You can refer to our help guide to create new ticket types and enable them via a Secret Shop. A link to the related article is also provided at the bottom of this page.

How to create complimentary (free) ticket types and enable via a Secret Shop

Bulk Ticket Import Template

Please find the link below to download the Bulk Ticket Import Template. This template contains all required fields needed to successfully upload your complimentary tickets into the system.

Help Guide

This help guide assumes you have already set up your ticket types and configured the Secret Shop as explained in the summary section above.

Step 1. Completing the Bulk Ticket Import Template Correctly

Download the template Bulk Ticket Import Template
Columns highlighted in green are optional and can be deleted if not required.
Columns highlighted in red are mandatory and must not be deleted, if these are unknown, we suggest using the event details and completing each line accordingly.
One line must correspond to a single ticket. If several tickets are to be sent to the same customer, the tickets must still be stored in individual lines, including all mandatory data.
Download / save file as .csv

How do I locate my eventId, underShopId and ticketTypeId?

Refer to the instructions provided further down in this article.

Important: Country column must be completed with the correct country code

AU = Australia, US = United States of America

Each field that is stored in the file must be filled in. For example, if the Company is missing for some tickets, the field must be filled in with a placeholder (**)

Example: Company name is not relevant for Peter Smith (line 3), so I used the placeholder ** to complete this field for a successful import.

Example: Street, City, and Postal information were unknown, so I used the event details and made these the same for each ticket holder.

Step 2. Completing the bulk import process

Before you begin, double-check that your data is correctly completed and saved as a .csv file.

Via the Tickets module, click the Import button to open a new window
Name your import to identify the import job later (optional but strongly recommended)
Next to 'please choose a file first' click select and choose your import file (reminder: must be .csv)
CSV Separator (update only if required)
From the two options provided click customer data
Toggle Send out tickets via E-mail on. (Optionally, if you don’t want tickets emailed, you can leave this off.)
Optionally, toggle Import to CRM and Require personalisation and data fields on or off. (Generally, we suggest leaving these off.)
Optionally, click the Message field to enable a dropdown box, where you can customise a message
Connect the mandatory fields of your CSV file with the mandaory internal fields. If the fields of your CSV have already been named with the same wording, the mapping will be done automatically.
Grouping can aggregate rows, we suggest using email
Check all settings, especially the Send out tickets via E-mail option.
Click Import to complete

Note: to locate these Jobs later, open your user account settings (click your name in the bottom-left corner of the dashboard) then select Jobs.

How do I locate my eventId, underShopId and ticketTypeId?

Open your event and complete the following;

EventID: click Overview, your event ID is displayed here and can be copied by simply clicking on it.

TickettypeID: click Ticket Categories, the ticket ID is displayed next to each ticket type and can be copied by simply clicking on it.

UnderShopID: click Secret Shops, open the associated Secret Shop containing the ticket types. The undershop ID is displayed here under the Information & Sales tab and can be copied by simply clicking on it.

Above image: Locating your Tickettype ID