Argenta lets you sell tickets to an event through a public ticket sales form, take payment by credit card (through Stripe) or by mailed check, and track every sale, purchaser, and guest in your Event Workspace. This guide walks you through the whole process, from turning on ticket sales to what happens after someone buys.

Before you start

• You need an event created in Argenta, with its date, time, and location set.
• To take credit card payments, your organization needs Stripe connected. You can still sell tickets with a check-by-mail option if you prefer.
• Decide whether this event sells tickets (paid, with ticket types) or simply collects free registrations. This guide covers selling tickets.

Step 1: Turn on ticket sales

Open your event in the Event Workspace and turn on the "We're Selling Tickets!" toggle. This switches the event into ticket-sales mode and adds a Tickets & Sessions area to the workspace, where you set up your ticket types.

Step 2: Set up your ticket types

Go to the Ticket Settings page (under Tickets & Sessions in the workspace). You must have at least one ticket type to sell tickets. You can offer a single General Admission ticket, or add several types at different prices, such as General Admission, VIP, Student, or a Couples ticket.

Click Add A New Ticket Type and fill in the following for each one:

• Ticket Type Name. What the buyer sees on the form, for example "General Admission" or "VIP Table."
• Ticket Price. The price for this ticket.
• Tax Deductible Portion. The part of the price that is tax-deductible for the buyer, recorded as a donation. By law, a buyer can only deduct the amount above the fair market value of what they receive at the event, so enter only that tax-deductible amount here (enter 0 if none).
• Total Individuals Per Ticket. How many people one ticket admits. Enter 1 for a single admission, or a higher number for a couples ticket (2) or a table (for example, 8). This sets how many guest names the buyer is asked for.
• Start Sales Date and End Sales Date. The window this ticket type is on sale. The type only appears on the form during this range, and sales close at 11:59 PM on the end date. If every ticket type is outside its date range, the whole form closes.

You can also turn on optional limits for a ticket type:

• Lock QTY and limit to 1 per registration. Check this to remove the quantity selector for that type on the form and lock it at one, so a buyer can take only one of that ticket per order.
• Limit the amount available. Check "Limit The Amount of Tickets Available for This Ticket Type" and set Max. Tickets Available. Once that type sells out, buyers can no longer purchase it.
• Initial Deposit. Check this to make the ticket type an up-front deposit that secures a spot, charged immediately, with the balance paid later. Use only one deposit ticket per event.

Two more per-type fields help you organize:

• Ticket Description. For your own internal notes only. It is not shown on the public form.
• Display Order on Form. Number your types to control the order they appear to buyers.

Click Save All Changes (or the save icon on a single ticket) when you are done. As sales come in, each type shows its Current Total Sold so you can see how it is selling.

Two event-wide options live at the top of the Ticket Settings page:

• Max Number of Guests. An optional cap on total guests for the whole event. Leave it at 0 for no cap. If you set it, the public form automatically closes once sales reach that number.
• Allow Purchasers To Skip Payment and Mail In A Check. Turn this on to give buyers the option to pay by mailing a check instead of paying online. With it off, online card payment is required.

Step 3: Share your ticket sales form

When your ticket types are ready, share the form link with your guests. Anywhere in the event's workspace, just below the title bar, click Copy Ticket Sales Form Link to copy it, then paste it into an email, a social post, or your website. You can also click Open Public Ticket Sales Form to preview exactly what buyers will see.

What your buyers experience

Your public ticket sales form works like a simple cart. Every ticket type that is currently on sale appears together, each with its own quantity selector.

A buyer can:

• Choose a quantity for each ticket type with the plus and minus buttons, or by typing a number. Each type shows its own running line total.
• Buy more than one type in a single order. For example, two General Admission and one VIP, instead of placing a separate order for each type.
• See a combined total that updates as they change quantities.
• Pay once for the whole order, by credit card or by check (if you allow check payments).

If you locked a type to one per registration, the buyer sees "limit 1 per registration" and cannot go above one. If a type has limited availability and the buyer asks for more than you have left, the form tells them how many remain so they can adjust. Buyers can also choose to cover the processing fee as a small extra donation.

After choosing tickets, the buyer enters their information as the purchaser, then adds any additional guest names on the next step. The form asks for the right number of guest names automatically, based on how many tickets they bought and how many individuals each ticket covers. If you set up meal choices, each guest picks a meal here. The buyer then reviews the order and pays, and a confirmation and receipt are emailed to them.

What happens after a sale

Once a ticket is purchased, you will find the details in a few places in your Event Workspace:

• Participant/Guest List. The purchaser is added here and saved as a constituent in Argenta.
• Ticket Sales. Every sale is listed here. Click the green Open icon on a row to edit the sale, apply a payment (for example, when a check arrives), issue a refund, or attach files and notes.
• Additional Guests. The extra guests named on a multi-person ticket appear here. They are not constituents until you promote them, which you can do from this page.

For more on managing your guest list, see Event Additional Guests. To stop selling at any time, see How To Close an Event for Public Registration and Ticket Sales.