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Create Pass Rules For Ticket Orders
Create Pass Rules For Ticket Orders

Create pass rules that determine how customers can use their passes to order tickets to events.

Theo Patt avatar
Written by Theo Patt
Updated over 3 months ago

Use Pass Rules to set up the benefits for each pass bucket. Create pass rules for ticket orders to create an All Access Pass, or to provide free or discounted tickets to passholders.

Pass rules must be made for every pass bucket, otherwise the pass won't work! Read more about Pass Bucket Troubleshooting.

Add a Pass Rule

To create or edit pass rules, select Pass Rules from the blue bar at the top of the Pass Bucket settings page, then click Add new rule.

Create an unlimited number of pass rules and they will be combined, or "stacked." For example, a 50% off discount from one rule + a 25% off discount from another = 75% off total. Pass rules are applied in order, so you can control a cascade of benefits however you choose to design them.

If you discover that the order of your pass rules needs to be changed, so that the benefits and restrictions apply properly in sequence, you can change the order or your pass rules by clicking the arrow buttons that are located next to the save button at the bottom of each pass rule.

Pass Rule Type

Under "Type," you'll specify whether the pass rule will apply to Ticket orders - for free or discounted access to tickets (this is the most commonly used Pass Rule Type!), or Pass orders - if the pass entitles users to discounted or free access to buy other passes (much less common). For more information on Pass Order pass rules, please check out this article.

Pass Rule Target

Under "Target," you will specify to which events the rule should be applied.

You can select Apply to all ticket buckets, select whether you would like the rule to apply to physical events and/or virtual screenings and then choose to exclude specific events and/or Tags (if applicable): 

Or you can leave the "Apply to all ticket buckets" box unchecked and choose to target specific:

  • Ticket buckets (NOTE: when targeting a ticket bucket, the rule will apply to the default price on the ticket bucket, the pass rule will not target any price variants)

  • Venues (NOTE: Only applicable for physical, in-person events)

  • Tags (NOTE: Use tags to target tagged physical events and/or virtual screenings within a specific Display Section)

Pass Rule Result

You MUST specify a result or the pass rule will have no effect on the price of the event tickets! Select either:

  • Percent off (0 - 100) of the list ticket price for matched events

  • Dollars off of the list ticket price for matched events

Use Restrictions

  • Disallow concurrent uses: If checked, passholders will only be allowed to use their pass for one event per time slot. In other words, if they use their pass to order a ticket for an event that takes place from 3-4:30pm, they cannot use that same pass to order a ticket for a screening that starts at 4pm. NOTE: We do not recommend selecting this for virtual screenings with overlapping availability windows.

  • Only allow one ticket per event per pass: Use this option if you want a more lenient version of the "disallow concurrent uses" restriction. Passes can be used to reserve one ticket per event, even if the events occur at the same time.

  • Only allow one ticket per film per pass (across physical and virtual events): Use this option to restrict the passholder to ordering only one ticket for a particular film. If a film is associated with one or more physical events and/or has a virtual screening, the passholder must choose only one ticket to the film across all available events and screenings of that film, they wouldn’t be able to order the physical event(s) and virtual screening using this pass.

  • Total number of tickets per pass: Restrict the TOTAL number of tickets that can be ordered with this pass. For example, set up a pass that entitles customers to a total of 5 free tickets by writing the number 5 here.

  • Number of tickets per event per pass: Restrict the number of tickets to a single event that can be ordered with this pass. For example, restrict passholders to only reserve 2 tickets PER EVENT by writing the number 2 here.

    • With his restriction, if there are films that appear in multiple events and screenings, ie. a preroll asset that has been uploaded and added to your screenings as a film, you may need to create a target exclusion (ie. tags to exclude) by creating a tag and then tagging the film that you would like to exclude from this pass restriction. Without an exclusion for a film asset of this type, if this asset were on every screening, the audience would only be able to order one screening.

Other Restrictions

  • Only allow Rush Line ticket orders: Select this option to limit a pass rule to only allow scanning in Rush Line mode, with no advance reservations.

  • Only allow Box Office ticket orders: Select this option to only allow a ticket reservation to be made at the Box Office, with no online reservations.

  • Restrict based on the date/time of the event: Select this to only allow a pass to work on certain dates. Combined with the "Target" settings, you can make powerful venue and date-specific passes -- for example, a "Saturday at the ABC Theater" pass that only allows customers to order tickets to Saturday events at the ABC Theater venue. There's also the option to limit passholder reservations to a certain specified advance window using the "Event must begin within" option in this setting. 

  • Restrict based on the current time (when the pass is used to place the order): Select this to set the start and end time for which the pass rule is active and able to be applied to orders. This restriction is particularly handy for festivals that have tiered on-sales or put their ticket sales on in waves - by making some pass rules active before others can help automate sales in situations where certain passholders may have priority access to select events or screenings.

  • Restrict the number of advance reservations: Use this to limit the number of tickets that passholders can reserve online ahead of an event start time. This setting is designed for physical events. Since most virtual screenings have overlapping availability windows, passholders would likely not be able to use their passes with much flexibility if you enable this setting for a virtual event.

Virtual Screening Restrictions

Select "Bypass geographic restrictions" if you want this pass to unlock tickets for all virtual screenings, regardless of any geographic restrictions in place. Learn more here.

Global Rule

Checking this box allows you to apply this pass rule to event buckets other than the one in which it was created. This is especially useful for applying membership benefits added in membership event buckets to a specific year's festival or event.

Pass Rules Override

You can also create pass rules for specific events, which is useful if an event requires different rules from all other events in your event bucket. Event-specific pass rules are called Pass Rules Overrides, and they should be used carefully. Learn more about Pass Rules Override here.

Next Up

Create as many pass rules as you'd like, and make sure you Save each one. You can always modify/delete rules as desired.

If you've just finished creating a pass, you'll probably want to list it for sale on your public site! Learn how.

Looking to create a pass that gives free or discounted passes? Click here to read about creating pass rules for pass orders.

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