Event ticketing glossary

Definitions connect the language of fee tables, contracts and settlement sheets to the decisions organizers make.

Content reviewed 7 November 2026Eventrise reference. Editorial relationship

Fees & pricing

Platform fee

What the ticketing company charges per ticket or per order, as a percentage, a flat amount or both. Separate from card processing. Read more

Card processing fee

What the payment processor charges to take the card payment, commonly a percentage plus a fixed amount per transaction. Read more

All-in pricing

Showing the buyer the full price, fees included, from the first screen rather than adding fees on the last step of checkout.

Passing fees to the buyer

Adding the platform and processing fees on top of the ticket price, so the organizer keeps the full face value. The alternative is absorbing them.

Flat per-ticket fee

A fixed amount per ticket whatever its price. Cheaper than a percentage on expensive tickets, dearer on cheap ones. Read more

Facility fee

A named fee a venue adds to each ticket and keeps, often outside the artist split. Also called a venue fee or restoration fee.

Money & settlement

Payout

The transfer of ticket revenue from the ticketing platform or processor to the organizer’s bank account. Read more

Payout timing

When ticket money reaches the organizer: as tickets sell, on a weekly schedule, or a number of business days after the event. Read more

Reserve (holdback)

A share of ticket revenue a platform keeps back until after the event to cover refunds and chargebacks. Read more

Chargeback

A card payment reversed by the buyer’s bank, usually after a dispute. The amount and a dispute fee are taken back from the seller.

Settlement

The accounting after a show between venue, promoter and artist: gross sales, fees, expenses and each party’s share.

NBOR (net box office receipts)

Gross ticket sales less taxes and agreed deductions such as facility fees. Artist percentage deals are often calculated on it.

Event P&L

Profit and loss for one event: ticket and add-on income against artist, staff, production and marketing costs.

Seating & doors

General admission (GA)

Tickets with no assigned seat or spot. Capacity is the only limit.

Reserved seating

Tickets for a specific seat, table or spot, chosen by the buyer on a seat map or assigned by the box office. Read more

Seat map

A drawn plan of a room’s seats, tables and sections, priced by section, row or seat and shown to buyers at checkout. Read more

Hold

A seat or block of seats kept off sale for press, artists, sponsors or accessibility, released later or issued as comps.

Comp

A complimentary ticket issued at no charge, tracked separately from paid tickets in reports.

Will-call

Tickets collected at the venue on the night, checked against a name and ID.

Box office

Selling tickets in person, at a window or at the door, on the same event and inventory as online sales.

Offline check-in

Scanning tickets at the door without a network connection, syncing the scans when the signal returns.

Selling

Ticket type (tier)

A priced category of ticket with its own quantity and sale window, such as early bird, VIP or student.

Presale

A sale window before the public on-sale, unlocked for a group such as a fan club or mailing list, often with an access code.

Promo code

A code that changes the price at checkout, by a percentage or an amount, often with a usage limit and an end date.

Add-on

An extra sold in the same order as the ticket: parking, merch, a drink package or an upgrade.

Embedded checkout

A ticketing checkout placed on the organizer’s own website, so buyers do not leave it to buy.

Ticket transfer

Moving a ticket to another person’s name, done by the buyer before the event.

Ticket marketplace

A consumer site or app where buyers browse events from many organizers. It can bring new buyers but owns the relationship with them.