Anyone who’s ever run an event knows how much pressure is building as opening night approaches, especially when it comes to budgets. Every dollar you spend matters, as you prepare for unexpected last minute spending to get your event just right. Ticket revenue isn’t hypothetical, it’s how you’ll pay for costumes, licensing, staff, sets, and your future programming. But what happens when revenue doesn’t arrive on time, or worse – when a ticket system suddenly can’t release your funds? A delayed payout is beyond just inconvenient, it can be destabilizing.
Reliable payouts are foundational when choosing a system. When you can trust your payout system, you can plan confidently, budget responsibly, and protect your organization from stress. If you can’t rely on your ticket system to know your payment is coming, event a strong program is left vulnerable.
Why is a reliable payout essential to your stability?
When payments run late or are unpredictable or unclear, everything in your organization will feel the uncertainty. As a program director, you lose the ability to plan, treasurers lose the ability to budget and distribute, and overall, you lose trust in the company that’s supposed to be working with you, not against you. You’re left to guess at your budget needs instead of using your real numbers, and every purchase is now a risk. Reliable payouts provide consistency, helping you prepare for your upcoming expenses. They made the financial side of programming steady and predictable and chaotic, and help you know that no matter what comes up, you’ll have the cash in the bank when you need it.
ACTION STEP: Ask your ticketing system to explain how and when payments are delivered.
What happens when a ticket platform isn’t reliable in their payouts?
Sometimes, organizations encounter ticket platforms that delay payments, or experience shortages that have stopped payouts entirely. When this happens, your event revenue is inaccessible, and it’s beyond your control. In a worst case scenario, you never receive the payout and your organization is now stuck financially when you need your revenue the most. These situations don’t just disrupt your current event, but the ones to come. Delayed payouts can jeopardize licensing contracts, paying your vendors and staff, or deposits for your next big set pieces or costumes. You’ve done the work and raised the funds, but you are relying on another company for your payment, and it’s vital they don’t have a trend of being unreliable in dispensing payouts.
ACTION STEP: Read and research for user reviews on payout reliability.
When is a mailed check the best choice?
For schools and school districts, mailed checks that come straight to your main office are often the simplest option. The school’s business office is familiar with them and an auditor would easily understand them, so they’re easy for a bookkeeper to integrate into their established systems. Checks also create a “paper trail” of documentation, which is ideal for organizations that have strict oversight or multi-step financial processes. They may not always be the fastest, but they are straightforward and expected. For many academic institutions, that familiarity is an advantage.
ACTION STEP: If you’re a school, ask your business office whether they prefer check payouts or digital deposits.
How do ePayments streamline the payout process?
Digital payouts, like a ACH/ePayment, can make your life easier. Funds are directly sent to your bank account on a predictable schedule after your event has ended, and you won’t have to wait for the mail to arrive or worry that the check might’ve gotten lost. You won’t need to take it to the bank to deposit it, and it’ll be ready for use once it clears your bank. This saves you time and eliminates any logistical issues. EPayments are efficent, easy to reconcile, and minimize downtime between ticket sales and usable revenue.
ACTION STEP: Evaluate if your organization can support receiving ePayments as a payout option.
How can Stripe Connect payouts be received and be beneficial?
Stripe Connect is the fastest and most automated payout approach, as funds flow directly to your account on your specified time interval. In BookTix, you can opt for payouts like this to be daily, weekly, or monthly. You’ll have s Stripe dashboard with reporting and transaction statuses. For organizations that want the most amount of operational control, Stripe is the way to go. This route often serves organizations best when revenue needs to be available for the current event, events have short turn arounds or multiple events overlap, and where overall cash flow timing is critical. The more complex your organizations financial picture is, the more beneficial it is to you to directly connect your own payment gateway through Stripe Connect.
ACTION STEP: If your season is fast moving or your operating expenses run tight, evaluate if you can use Stripe Connect for your payment processing and payouts.
How do reliable payouts impact your long term growth?
Ultimately, reliable payouts create stability. Stability lets you be bolder. Being bolder lets your organization grow bigger. When you’re not worrying about if funds will arrive on time (or if they’ll arrive at all) you can focus on all the important pieces of running your organization – planning, marketing, expansion, and community outreach. You can create a plan for how to grow and where to spend your energy towards your expansion, knowing you have the finances to do so. Being able to rely on your ticket system to make payments quickly and efficiently removes another layer of stress from your shoulders, so at the end of the day you’re free to focus on running your organization.
ACTION STEP: Start formulating next year’s budgets based on this year’s expenses and revenue, so you’re prepared when the time comes
