Seat maps where buyers choose their seats
Build the seat map of your hall once, with sections, rows, aisles and special seats. On each event, decide how each section is sold, and buyers pick their own seats on the map or take the best available.
PLANSFrom Growth
The problem it solves
- Seat numbers are written on passes by hand, and two families get row C, seat 14.
- Buyers phone the office to ask which seats are left.
- Wheelchair spaces and the sound desk are sold by mistake.
- The balcony is sold by count and the stalls by seat, and nobody can run both.
How it works
- An event manager opens Events > Configuration > Venues and Seat Maps, adds the hall and its sections from front to back.
- On each section, Generate Seats: how rows are named, how many rows and seats, numbering, aisles and gaps. Then mark wheelchair, restricted-view or not-for-sale seats.
- On the event, choose the Seat Map. Under How each Section is Sold, give each section or row range a ticket type, general admission with a capacity, or Closed.
- Block seats you keep back, such as the sound desk, with a reason, for every session or one.
- Buyers tap seats on the map or use Best available. The seats are held while they pay, and the Seat Map button shows who has each one.
Everything it does
The venue
- Name, address, note and In Front (Stage to start with), shown at the top of the map
- Sections from front to back, each with a colour
- Generator: rows A, B, C or 1, 2, 3. First Row 1. Rows 10 and Seats in a Row 12 to start with, or Seats Row by Row
- Numbering from the left or from the centre outwards; First Seat Number; Aisles after Seats; Gaps after Rows
- At most 200 rows of 200 seats in one section; generating again is refused once a seat is sold or held
- Single seats: Wheelchair Space, Restricted View, Not for Sale
On the event
- Numbered Seats with a ticket type: that type's price is the seat price
- General Admission with a ticket type and a capacity, sold by count
- Closed: not sold
- A ticket type is sold either by seat or by count in one event
- Blocked Seats with a reason, for every session or Only for Session
- No Single Empty Seat: on to start with
- Every section needs a line before publishing; the venue cannot change once a seat is sold or held
For buyers
- Tap a seat to pick it; the legend shows the colour and price of each type
- Best available: how many, a ticket type or Cheapest; seats together, nearest the front and the middle
- Larger and smaller seats and zoom in the app
- A seat is the buyer's once the order is placed; if someone was faster, the page says which seat
For the office
- Seat Map on the event and each session: sold, complimentary, held, blocked and free seats; point at a seat to see who has it
- Move to another Seat: same type, or Any Seat; the ticket keeps its number and QR and the price paid
- Counter and complimentary tickets: pick seats or take the best available
Who uses it
Event managerBuilds the venues and seat maps once for each hall.
Event organiserDecides how each section is sold, blocks seats and moves tickets.
BuyerPicks seats on the map or takes the best available.
Counter sellerPicks seats for the buyer at the counter.
Where you use it
- Web: Events > Configuration > Venues and Seat Maps; the Seats tab and the Seat Map button on the event
- The order form: the seat map with the legend and Best available
- The SmartMy Events app: Choose seats on the map, for buyers and at the counter (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Not built: a drawing tool; the map is drawn from rows and places
- Not on Starter
What you control
Settings
- In Front: Stage
- No Single Empty Seat: on
- Generator: 10 rows of 12 seats, numbered from the left
Questions
Can part of the hall be sold without seat numbers?
Yes. Set that section, or a range of its rows, to General Admission with a capacity.Can we keep seats for guests?
Yes. Block them with a reason. Or give complimentary tickets on chosen seats on Scale.Can a family sit together?
Best available gives seats together, nearest the front and the middle. Buyers can also pick neighbouring seats.Can a ticket be moved to another seat?
Yes. Move to another Seat keeps the ticket's number, QR and price.Do we draw the hall?
No. The map is built from sections, rows, aisles and gaps by the generator, then single seats are marked.Related features
SELLINGTickets held while the buyer pays, never oversoldWhen a buyer places an order, the tickets are taken from the session at once. They are kept for the buyer while they pay, 10 minutes to start with. Two buyers can never both get the last ticket, and unpaid tickets go back on sale by themselves.SELLINGCounter sales at the venue and the day's closingSell tickets at the venue or the school office, by cash, UPI or card, from the same count as the website. At the end of the day each seller declares what they took, any difference is explained, and a manager confirms.SELLINGComplimentary tickets with a VIP markGive tickets without payment to the chief guest, a sponsor or staff on duty, each with a reason and within a limit per event. Every complimentary ticket says VIP on the PDF, the phone and the gate, and nobody can take the mark off.FANS AND SEATINGCopy an event with its ticket types and pricesStart next year's annual day from this year's. The copy keeps the ticket types, prices, seat-map sections, terms, staff and more, with every date moved to the new first session.SELLINGEvents with ticket types, prices and sale datesSet up an event once, with its sessions and its ticket types: Student, Parent, Guest or VIP. Each type has a price, tax, a limit and its own sale dates. Publishing checks that nothing is missing, and free ticket types work as registrations.
See your next event on it.
Tell us what you are running, how many people come and how you sell today. We will set up the event with you on SmartMy Events.