How sales open and close
Checkout sells while at least one ticket is in its sales window and not sold out, the event isn't paused or full, and Free's attendee cap isn't reached. The button names whatever stopped it.
On this page
Several things can stop a sale, and Ovante checks them in a fixed order. When checkout closes, the event page's button says why: Sales paused, Sales not open, Sales closed or Sold out.
What Ovante checks, in order
| Check | Set where | The button says |
|---|---|---|
| Sales are paused | Settings → Pause ticket sales, or Sales in Edit event | Sales paused |
| Your payment processor can't take a charge yet, on an event that takes money | Your org's Payments settings | Sales not open |
| The event is marked sold out | Sales → Sold out in Edit event | Sold out |
| The event reached its capacity | Settings → Maximum attendees | Sold out |
| An event on Free reached 50 attendees, without Gala | Your plan | Sold out |
| No ticket has opened yet | Each ticket's Sales start | Sales not open |
| Every ticket and bundle is sold out | Each ticket's Tickets for sale | Sold out |
| Every ticket's window has ended | Each ticket's Sales end | Sales closed |
The first one that applies decides the button. The ticket checks look at the whole page: while any one ticket or bundle can still be bought, checkout stays open.
Per ticket, not per event
Sales windows belong to each ticket type. An early-bird ticket closing doesn't close the event if another ticket is still on sale. A ticket with no Sales end keeps selling after the event starts and after it ends; the page says "This event has started" or "has ended" beside the button.
What's not checked against the button
- A ticket turned off with Available for purchase is hidden from the page, as if it didn't exist.
- A request for approval holds no seat until you approve it, so requests don't fill capacity.
- Scheduled price increases change the price, not whether it sells.
- Journal ads on a Gala event keep selling after ticket sales close or sell out. Only a pause stops them.
- You can add attendees by hand while sales are closed. Capacity and Free's cap still hold.
The rules behind this page
- When
- You pause ticket sales
- Then
- Checkout closes for every ticket whatever its dates, requests and journal ads included, and the button says Sales paused. Each tab of the event shows "Ticket sales are paused." with Resume sales until you resume.
- When
- An event takes money and your payment processor can't take a charge yet
- Then
- The button says Sales not open and checkout stays closed. An event with only free tickets and no donations isn't affected.
- When
- A ticket's Sales start is still ahead
- Then
- Checkout doesn't sell that ticket yet. When nothing on the page can be bought, the button says Sales not open and a note by it says when sales open.
- When
- A ticket's Sales end has passed
- Then
- Checkout stops selling that ticket. When nothing on the page can be bought and no other ticket opens later, the button says Sales closed.
- When
- A ticket has no Sales end
- Then
- It keeps selling during the event and after it ends, until it sells out or you stop it. The page says "This event has started" or "This event has ended" by the button.
- When
- Every ticket and bundle on the page is sold out, or you set Sales to Sold out
- Then
- The button says Sold out and checkout sells no tickets, whatever is left.
- When
- The event reaches its Maximum attendees
- Then
- Checkout refuses more tickets and the button says Sold out. A bundle counts every seat it holds, and a request holds no seat until you approve it.
- When
- An event on Free reaches 50 attendees
- Then
- Checkout stops selling and the button says Sold out; buyers read that the event is at capacity. Events on Pro and events with Gala have no such cap.
- When
- Ticket sales close on an event whose Gala is open
- Then
- Journal ads keep selling after every ticket's sales end, a sell-out or a full house. Only pausing sales stops them.
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Related
Set when a ticket is on saleEach ticket has its own sales window. Turn on Sales start, Sales end or both in the ticket's Sales window card; a ticket with no end keeps selling after the event starts.Pause ticket salesPausing closes checkout for every ticket at once, paid and free, until you resume. Orders already placed aren't affected, and Paused is not the same as Sold out.Set capacityCapacity is the most people the whole event can hold. Each ticket type can also have its own quantity, and checkout stops at whichever runs out first.Checkout says Sales closedEvery ticket on your page is past the end of its sales window. Move one ticket's Sales end later, or turn it off.