Ticketing System Pain Points for Live Music Venues—Here’s How to Address Them

Photo Credit: VBO Tickets

Live event ticketing doesn’t have to be a headache to manage with the right point of sale system with a built-in box office. VBO Tickets took time during the live events downturn in 2020 to research and then address pain points for music festivals and other live event operators. If your venue is struggling with managing ticketing—maybe it’s time for a new system.The following was created in partnership with VBO Tickets.

Some of the most common pain points identified by VBO Tickets research include slow transaction times, costly hardware investment, limited customization options, inefficient membership processing, and inadequate inventory tracking. VBO Tickets stepped up to address these issues by creating a custom ticketing POS system for its advanced ticketing platform.

During the course of research with client partners in performing arts, festivals, museums, and other live event venues, VBO Tickets heard frequently that POS systems can be slow, expensive, inflexible, and are often unable to meet the specific needs of modern event management. Existing POS systems tend to offer a one-size-fits-all formulation with an expensive upfront or long-tail (paying a monthly fee forever) hardware buy-in that may price out smaller venues and limits the number of POS kiosks you can afford.

VBO Tickets focused on fixing these pain points and created a new, best of breed, live event ticketing POS with a streamlined, elegant interface. It’s crafted to be intuitive to use, reducing the steps required to complete transactions and minimizing errors. It can handle high transaction volumes quickly and efficiently, significantly enhancing the customer experience and boosting operational efficiency. Part of that efficiency is that the VBO Tickets POS is browser-based and mobile friendly—it can run on any device with a modern browser.

Competitor POS systems usually have a hardware component that can become outdated and hamper daily operations. Investing in a new POS kiosk usually means another upfront hardware investment that will be obsolete within a few years. It feels like a never-ending cycle of upgrades every few years—which wreaks havoc on the environment. VBO Tickets’ browser-based system operates seamlessly on nearly any mobile device, laptop, or tablet. It is also compatible with a wide range of printers and chip-and-pin readers.The hardware agnostic approach to building a ticketing system means maximum flexibility for live event operators, cost savings from not requiring specialized hardware, and fewer concerns about environmental sustainability. Re-using existing hardware means event operators can significantly extend the life of current devices already in operation.

VBO Tickets created its POS system to be highly customizable for different roles and scenarios. Front line staff may need a different set of options readily available, while other staff may focus on merchandise sales, membership benefits, or collecting donations. Each user can set up a favorites screen with selected items like merchandise, tickets, memberships, subscriptions, donations, or other goods—putting access to the venues’ sales add-ons at their fingertips.

The customization can be extended to terminal configurations, enabling different terminals to be set up for a specific printer and workflow. It also enables the streamlining of capturing and applying membership discounts for performing arts venues—leading to happier members and staff. The POS system allows for real-time verification and automated application of membership benefits, speeding up the checkout process and reducing the likelihood of errors occurring.While VBO Tickets POS system is hardware agnostic, the team is currently working on developing seamless integration with Clover hardware that will be available soon. The integration will support most Clover hardware models, allowing clients to continue using their preferred devices without any disruptions. The move will consolidate ticketing, sales, and inventory management into a single platform—reducing training time for staff and creating a familiar and trusted system for small to medium enterprise clients.

VBO Tickets also incorporated robust inventory management capabilities within the POS system. The feature helps venues avoid overstocking or running out of key items during events, without the need to pay for additional third-party software. The VBO Tickets POS system offers up-to-the-minute inventory levels, allowing staff to monitor stock levels in real time and make informed decisions about restocking.

Tired of dealing with laggy POS systems tied to specific hardware? VBO Tickets may have the answer for your live event venue—especially if inventory management and memberships and subscriptions are part of your offering. Creating membership discounts that are effortless to use means customers are more likely to buy a second annual membership. Friction reduces happiness and VBO Tickets put their noses to the grindstone to create a frictionless POS system to address common pain points experienced by event venues.