Theatre Manager Online Help

Assistance using Theatre Manager comes in many flavours.

You can reference:

  • our main web site that talks about the many capabilities of Theatre Manager to assist you manage your arts and entertainment business; from ticket sales, web sales, media management, blasts, donations, reports, facility management and much much more.
  • the quick reference guides that provide video tutorials and cheat sheets on the more common tasks
  • the online help (below) which, in many cases, contain step by step instructions about how to accomplish various tasks
  • our frequently asked questions area that has suggestions:
    • how to implement various features on a more theoretical level with examples -or-
    • for troubleshooting various problems
  • and you can use the search feature to find topics of interest

Getting Started - Hardware Requirements

Theatre Manager is cross platform; you can have both Macintoshs and PCs access Theatre Manager's database on the same network, without worrying about any data integrity issues. As a general rule, if your computer is up to 4 years old, it will work with Theatre Manager. We target performance to match machines that average 2 years in age.

Note: Never use a slow mobile processor for a workstation or server. These low power CPU's are very slow and typically found in very cheap equipment.

There is an example configuration (updated Nov 2020) and a friendly reminder ... always do your backups faithfully each day.

TM Workstation Requirements

These workstation suggestions are current as of March 2023.

It is always best to use latest operating systems, a decent amount or ram, SSD's, better processors and any other specifications that would improve the performance of the Theatre Manager - point of sales system..

Theatre Manager is a 64 bit application.


OSX
  • Latest version of OSX (Mojave or later, i.e. Big Sur or Monterey or Ventura)
  • 16GB+ of RAM (more is better)
  • 256GB+ free disk space for TM (SSD's are nice)
  • Any decent widescreen LCD monitors with a vertical resolution of at least 800 (more is much better - like 1024)
  • Apple-compatible printer for reports
  • (Optional) FGL based thermal ticket printer
  • (Training Only) Zoom compatible webcam and microphone
  • Example Machines
    • Apple's new Mac Mini with the M1 chip and 16 gigs of ram as best.
    • Any core i7 Intel Mac, 2.0 GHz or better (core i7 preferred). 2018 Mac Mini's released with a core i7 or i9 processor are reasonable workstations

Windows
  • Any dual-core microprocessor machine at 2.0 Ghz or better, with core i7 preferred
  • a 64 bit version of Windows 11 Pro or Windows 10 Pro. Windows 11 Pro is required for VPN connections to a self-hosted database
  • Windows Home Edition is NOT supported for Theatre Manager
  • 16GB+ of RAM; more is better for running many applications simultaneously
  • 256 GB+ free disk space for Theatre Manager - we suggest on SSD
  • Any decent widescreen LCD monitors with a vertical resolution of at least 800 (more is much better - like 1024)
  • Windows-compatible printer
  • Mouse or other Windows pointing device
  • (Optional) FGL based thermal ticket printer
  • (Training Only) Zoom compatible webcam and microphone

TM Server Requirements

You can combine the postgres server and the TM server machines into one, or keep them separate. They are listed separate here. If you combine them, then set total ram at 32+ gigs and probably a two CPU machine or minimum single quad or 6 core.

AMS Cloud Server Option

Arts Management has a cloud offering for database and web services. If you elect to use that option, you will not need any of the servers below.

We also offer the ability to migrate a self hosted database to the cloud or a cloud hosted database to your own servers; whichever suits your needs better.

Self Hosted Option

Note: WINDOWS 10 SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR SERVERS.

Windows 10 forces auto-updates, restarts of servers, and cannot exclude the DB directories from virus checking easily -- without a series of registry hacks. We have even heard of Win 10 automatically updating lighting boards during a performance - taking out lights and sound. It is better to use Windows 2016 or later, all of which behave better when told by the user not to do something (via configuration).

Remember to use techsoup.org to acquire windows licences inexpensively.

Can we use a Virtual Machine? Absolutely!!!

The specifications below refer to the three server processes required for Theatre Manager. You can:

  • Put database and TM server on one machine and NGINX on second machines - specs shown below
  • Put all of them on one machine using VM technology - as long as the aggregate capabilities are about the same as the individual machine specs. For example, you'd want dual 4 core, 48GB+ of ram, and a fast raid array and run everything on at least two VM's. Apache/Nginx must go on a separate single core machine. The database and TM server can be on the other VM
  • combine TM Server and Postgres onto one physical machine, but you need to have at least a 4 core processor with hyperthreading (dual cpu is better), 48GB+ of ram, and a fast raid array to handle all processes
You can use Apple's M1 processor for servers or workstations. They are quite a bit faster than Intel Mac's.


PostgreSQL Database Server
Theatre Manager uses Postgres SQL for the database. Recommended specs are:
  • Operating system: Any 64 bit operating system supported by Postgres (OSX Mojave or later, Windows 2016, 2019, or 2022 server, most Linux distributions, FreeBSD). Windows 10 is not recommended for postgres.
  • Memory:32GB+ recommended
  • Disk: the faster the disk array, the better. It is the single most important factor in server performance. We recommend:
    • SSDs, like NVMe M.2 if you can. Any SSD is better than spinning disks -or-
    • Multiple spinning disks, striping (raid 0 or 1+0), hardware raid, fast spindles 6GB SATA or better.
    • Fast Disk I/O is imperative
  • CPU: minimum of a Quad-core processor (6 or 8 core are quite economical these days). Large sites may want dual processors, depending on expected load and if web services are on same machine
TM Server TM server is a multi threaded process which requires memory and cpu cores to provide its services. If using Mac or Windows for the postgres server, this can be placed on the postgres machine. Recommended specs are:
  • Operating system: OSX Mojave or later -or- Windows 2016, 2019, or 2022 server 64 bit version. Windows 10 is not recommended
  • Memory: 32GB+
  • Disk: Anything, an SSD is best
  • CPU: a 6 core (12-thread) machine will generally suffice unless you have a lot of web traffic, or large onsales, in which case you want more cores/ram.
Nginx Web Server Theatre Manager uses Nginx web servers. Recommended specs are:
  • Operating system: OSX Mojave and later. Windows 2016, 2019, or 2022 server 64 bit version. Windows 10 is not recommended
  • Memory:8GB+
  • Disk: Anything
  • CPU: most 2 core machine will generally suffice

TM Backup Requirements

Please refer to setting up backups to see how they are automated.

AMS Cloud customers are backed up automatically.

For venues self hosting the system, refer to Backup considerations for suggested strategies of how many backups to retain.

This generally only affects the size of the local backup database. Since a 1TB SSD is cheap these days, we suggest allowing at least that much space for backups.

Backups, Data Verification and Data Integrity

These are tips for the general care of any database, be it Theatre Manager, your accounting information, Word or Excel documents, contracts, or any other data on your computers. There are three sub topics:
  • Backups
  • Data verification and integrity within the database
  • Computer checkups

Backups

American Express estimates that the average value of 100 megabytes of company data is about $1,000,000 if you count the cost to acquire it, or damage to the company if you lost it all. They also state that 50% of companies that do not recover their data within 10 business days never fully recover financially. Backups are an important safeguard for a valuable corporate asset.

Media Use a commercial grade media to store the information. This can be a replication server, removable media, memory sticks, disk, or cloud-based backup
Backup Data Backup all data to one common place using one common process. If data is categorized and treated differently, it increases the possibility that data can slip through the cracks.
Backup Programs Too! Simply backing up data is not sufficient. Programs that were used to create the data also change over time and there is no guarantee that data from a few years ago can be read by the current version of a program. The best backup strategy includes backing up an image of all data and programs to one source so that both can be restored without a synchronization issue (i.e. now I've got the data, where is that program disk - they can be lost, the floppies go bad, or the serial number activation codes for some programs are lost - all of which mean that you would recover the data without the ability to use it).
The Other Computers The need for Theatre Manager database backup is obvious.

Including operating systems, programs and machines can also be important. The actual OS for each machine (Mac or PC) is different and optimized for the particular machine during installation. (For example, older machines often cannot run newer operating systems and vice versa).

There are serialized components within the operating system for network oriented multi-user applications (e.g. Theatre Manager, backup software, Quark Express, Word, Excel) that need to be restored at the same time as the program in order to work.

Fortunately, Apple includes a tool called Time Machine - which is worthwhile implementing for all data and all computers other than Theatre Manager's database server. On Windows 8, there is a feature called File History that mimics some portions of Time Machine. (There are also other third-party products for Windows).

Retention Strategies One backup is not good enough. Your backup scheme should include generations of backups going back a number of months or even years, depending on legislative requirements or corporate risk. Typically, you should have:
  • 2 to 4 weeks of daily backups. This is the most critical time period as files are usually lost or file corruption is noticed within this time frame.

  • There should be one or two years of 'month end' backups that occur on the first day of the month. This allows recovery of data to a specific point in time (e.g. what was the accounting data at the last grant application, or what were the house counts in Theatre Manager, or recovery of an important graphic from last year's brochure that should be used again).

  • Ultimately, we suggest you save 7 years of yearly backups to satisfy government requirements, should they come looking for data (don't forget that you need the program at the same time as the data).

This represents 30+12+7 = 49 distinct backups

Offsite Storage Backups need to be rotated off site - out of the office. This allows business recovery in the event of fire or theft from the principal site. Removable media or automated FTP of databases can be used.
Redundancy
Replication is a feature of postgres and is automatically set up for cloud venues. Self service venues may set this up if they wish - the support team is unable to help you.
Devices can break. You should have access to another similar device so that you can restore backup files and resume operation until the primary server device is repaired. For a moderate cost, you can have an immediate redundancy for the database server via hot streaming replication measures.

Example Backup Strategy and Devices

Volume of Data The size of most databases we see these days is under 500 MB, although some are 3 or 4 GB.

A rule of thumb is that many backups are far more valuable than the cost of the backup device. A 1Tb SSD backup disk is worth the investment - consider it insurance.

Performance A snapshot of the database should be done at least once a day, if not more often.

Alternatives

Streaming Replication This involves a second database server computer to have a live-hot backup of the database. This is highly recommended for active sites that need to minimize downtime or service outages.
Replication is a feature of postgres and is automatically set up for cloud venues. Self service venues may set this up if they wish - the support team is unable to help you.
Removable Media Examples are USB, FireWire, or Thunderbolt external drives which are useful for offsite rotation. Simply copy the database from the backup directory to the removable device and take it with you.
Automated Transfer

Examples are FTP, cloud-based backup, Dropbox, or other services. These can be set up to automate the process of saving an offsite copy of the database.

Testing Your Backups for Integrity

Data Integrity in your backup is important.

Just having backups is a very good start.

We also recommend doing tests on any important data according to a schedule. For example, with your accounting data, printing a balance sheet or income statement monthly and then testing the receivables balance is a generally accepted accounting principle. What you are doing is really testing the data integrity.

Theatre Manager has some built in safeguards. We recommend:

  1. Scheduling the backup process one or more times daily.
  2. Looking at the backup sizes daily to see that they are generally similar or growing in size as you use the system. TM will alert you if a backup is missed or is smaller in size than the previous one, indicating a possible problem - but do not rely on this as your only visual test of backups running properly.
  3. Using
    • AMS Offsite Backup storage to automate sending data securely offsite -or-
    • making copies on removable media and on thumb drives and taking some offsite manually
  4. Restoring your backup database periodically to ensure that it can be restored.

Do's and Don'ts of Backups

The do's of backups:

The don'ts of backups:

  1. Do backups daily
  2. Do backups before an upgrade to your operating system
  3. Do backups before doing a significant batch activity (like merging of patron records).  It is sometimes easier to back out a change by restoring an older database!
  4. Keep two weeks worth of daily backups
  5. Keep 2 months worth of monthly backups
  6. Keep a yearly backup of the database.  At the same time, back up the specific copy of Theatre manager used to access the database.  If you upgrade later in the year, it means that you can still access your old database using the old program without having to upgrade that database too.
  7. Test your backups once a month by trying to restore from the backup to make sure they are reliable.
    • See if you can read the data.  If not, your hardware may have problems that need fixed.
  8. Do take a copy of your latest backup home with you.  If your machines are stolen or wiped out in a fire, the backup at home will be your only friend!
  1. Do not do backups to the same drive over and over again unless you are also backing up offsite.  All it takes is for a bad copy to be made and the computer die to realize that you have nothing.
  2. Do not skip a day
  3. Do not ignore backup error messages from the computer that say backups didn't work!  Find out why and then get the hardware fixed if need be.
  4. Do not do backups unreliable media.

Ticket Printers

Theatre Manager works with Practical Automation, Boca, Boca Dual, Datamax Allegro, some Datamax S-Class, and Microcom FGL printers by default. This section will deal with steps for setting up a printer to work within your network.

High Performance Ticket Printers

All the ticket printers produce an image on a thermal ticket by means of direct heat transfer from printhead elements to thermal stock. The ticket stock is moved through the printer by a stepper motor, and ticket stock position is detected by two sensors which detect absorption/reflection of light on the back side of the stock. Registration marks located on the back side of the tickets will position the print area, and cut location accordingly.

As the ticket moves through the printer, control and print data received over the printer's interface are interpreted by the printer's controller. This controller activates the heat elements on the printhead. The activated heat elements cause a chemical reaction with the coating of the ticket stock, thereby producing black dot images on the ticket. Data is printed column by column. When all ticket data has been printed, the ticket is cut and stacked.

For more than 10-Years ArtsMan has distributed Practical Automation's robust product line of thermal ticket printers.

eITX-2002 High Speed Direct Thermal Printer with Internal Ticket Supply
This desktop printer is recommended for venues selling more than 20,000 tickets per year. This high speed/volume, direct feed thermal printer is designed to output between 2000 & 3000 tickets per hour.

Key features include:
• Network ready Ethernet IP data port
• 200 dpi printing (optional 300 dpi printheads are available)
• Ticket cutter with ejector
• Lockable internal ticket stock storage
• External power supply

Practical Automation Printer Setup

Before you print tickets, you need to set your ticket printer settings in employee preferences. Once set, those remain to the machine you are working on and user id logged in to the machine. If you go to another machine, you may have to set the printer preferences for that machine.

Depending on the ticket printer and the operating system there will be different confirmation windows before the tickets are printed.

NEVER INSTALL a practical automation printer driver on a computer even if suggested by the operating system. If a practical automation printer driver has been installed, remove it.

When using ticket printers with parallel ports, there should be no printer driver assigned to LPT1.

Finding out Practical Automation Ticket printer current IP address

  • Turn the ticket printer off.
  • Turn the ticket printer on holding down the [F0] button on the printer.
  • This prints a ticket with information about the printer and it's IP address. The factory default is usually 192.186.1.1

Changing IP Address on Practical Automation Printers

There are two methods for changing the ip address on a Practical Automation printer with an ethernet port:
  • Use a web browser to talk to the printer. This may not work with some browsers (Firefox is most reliable)
  • Use a special application to access the printer and change a number of settings. This method always works and is the preferred method.

We recommend that you provide a static IP address to the thermal ticket printer.

This ensures each time the ticket printer is turned on, the Theatre Manager's workstations will be able to communicate properly with it

It is a good idea to stick a label with the printer's IP address directly onto the printer.
If you change the printer's IP address, make sure to update its Device Record with the new ip address.
Finding out Practical Automation Ticket printer current IP address

  • Turn the ticket printer on holding down the [F0] button on the printer.
  • This prints a ticket with information about the printer and it's IP address. The factory default is usually 192.186.1.1

 

Option #1 - Using the Practical Automation Tool

  1. Download the installer for the Practical Automation Tool from http://www2.artsman.com/Software/PANetworkUtilityVB-1.1.zip.
  2. When the download is complete, extract the ZIP file into a new folder anywhere that is easily accessible.
  3. Open the folder.

    There will be a number of files.

  4. Open the folder labeled Package and find the file labeled setup.exe.

  5. Double click on the setup file to run it, and complete the installation.
  6. After the installation is complete, return the previous level in the folder that the Practical Automation Tool was extracted to.

    Do this by pressing the Back button or the Up button.

  7. Setup the Practical Automation Printer, power it up, and connect it to the network via a hub, switch or router.

    If a hub, switch, or router is not available, a crossover cable between another computer and the printer will be needed. A crossover cable is not a standard ethernet cable. It has a different pin configuration and is used to connect servers to servers or routers to routers - not machines or printers to routers. Macintosh computers can auto-negotiate standard ethernet cables into crossover cables, but Windows machines cannot. If at all possible, use a hub, switch or small router to create your own small network of computer to router / router to printer configuration.

    The default address of the printer is 192.168.1.1, (which is a commonly used IP address). Make sure that the printer will not conflict with something else on the network before powering it up. If another device is using the same IP address, it is recommended that you use a crossover cable to another computer rather than hooking the printer into the network.

  8. In the Practical Automation Tool folder, double click on the PANetwork program to start it.

  9. At the top of the screen, enter the IP address 192.168.1.1, and then click the Ping & Get Printer Info button.

    This will connect you to the printer.

  10. Near the bottom of the screen, click on the Change IP Address tab.
  11. Change the IP address and subnet mask as necessary.
  12. Click the Update IP Address using FGL Command button.

    Once the settings are saved, the IP address at the top of the program will need to be changed to reflect the new IP address, and to re-connect to the printer.

  13. To verify the settings, turn off the printer. Hold down the F0 button and turn the printer on.

    A ticket will print containing the IP address of the printer.

  14. Once everything is set, each user will need to be adjusted in Theatre Manager to connect to the new printer.

    Click here for more information on changing a user's ticket printer settings.

Option #2 - Using a Web Browser

  1. Change the IP address of the computer temporarily to 192.168.1.xx where xx is anything you want except 1 (for the ticket printer is using 192.168.1.1). You may want to take a screenshot or write down your existing settings so you can reset them after you are finished.

    Arts Management recommends that you provide a static IP address to the thermal ticket printer. This can be obtained from your IT Support. Having a static IP address ensures each time the ticket printer is turned off and back on again, the Theatre Manager's workstations will be able to communicate properly with it.


    a) On a Macintosh go to Apple >> System Prefs >> Network,
    b) On a PC go to Network Places >> Properties >> Local Area Connection >> Properties >> TCP/IP >> Properties
    c) Set your Built-In Ethernet to become Manually set at 192.168.1.2 (anything but 192.168.1.1) and subnet of 255.255.255.0
  2. d) Turn off your wireless connection
  3. Setup the Practical Automation Printer, power it up, and connect it to the network via a hub, switch or router.

    If a hub, switch, or router is not available, a crossover cable between another computer and the printer will be needed.

    The default address of the printer is 192.168.1.1, (which is a commonly used IP address). Make sure that the printer will not conflict with something else on the network before powering it up. If another device is using the same IP address, it is recommended that you use a crossover cable to another computer rather than hooking the printer into the network.

  4. Open the computer's web browser, typically either Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox or Chrome. Do not use Safari as it will not be effective.
  5. In the address bar of the web browser enter the following IP address: http://192.168.1.1 and press the Enter key.

    A prompt for user name and password should appear. Leave these fields blank and press the Enter key.

    A new page will open showing the Printer Configuration.

  6. Click on the link labeled 'Network' to adjust the IP configuration.
  7. Change the IP to the new static address, and adjust the subnet if necessary.
  8. Click the OK button at the bottom of the screen.

    The word 'Done' should appear to the right of the button confirming the settings are saved.

  9. Click the Apply Settings button to update the printer.

    The printer should reset once the settings have been updated.

  10. Turn the printer off and back on one time to ensure that the settings have correctly updated.
  11. To verify the settings, turn off the printer. Hold down the F0 button and turn the printer on.

    A ticket will print containing the IP address of the printer.

  12. Once everything is set, each user will need to be adjusted in Theatre Manager to connect to the new printer.

    Click here for more information on changing a user's ticket printer settings.

  13. Reset the IP settings for your computer to what they were before you started.

Reset the Printer to Factory Defaults

To reset the printer EEPROM settings to factory default, Press the following key sequence:

  1. On power up, press [F1] to enter Diagnostics.
  2. Press [F0] for Special Functions.
  3. Press and hold [F1] for 5 seconds until 5 rapid beeps are heard.
  4. Release the button and cycle the power.

Click the icon to download the ITX 3000/2000 Printer User Manual.

Disable SNMP on Practical Automation Ticket Printer

Disabling any unused service from the network, as per PCI DSS standard 2.2.2, may require you to disable the SNMP service from the ticket printer. This would only apply to 'Ethernet' ticket printers as parallel, serial, and USB cabled ticket printers do not offer the SNMP service.

If you are required to disable the SNMP service, there is an application/utility called the "Device Installer" that will allow you to make these changes. You can find this utility at http://www.lantronix.com under Support/Downloads. Download this application/utility to update the software within the ticket printer.

Please contact your local IT department for assistance making this change.

IP Ticket Printing Setup - Mac

Finding out Practical Automation Ticket printer current IP address

  • Turn the thermal ticket printer on holding down the [F0] button on the printer.
  • This prints a ticket with information about the printer and it's IP address. The factory default is usually 192.186.1.1

Mac OS

For the Mac OS, you perform the following steps:

  1. Connect the printer to the computer using a crossover cable or to the network by connecting through a hub.
  2. Temporarily change the computer's IP address to 192.168.1.xx where xx is anything other then 1 (the ticket printer default is 1).
    1. Go to Apple >> System Preferences.
    2. Select Network.
    3. Double click Built-in Ethernet.
    4. Change the IP Address to 192.168.1.2 (anything other then 192.168.1.1) and the Subnet to 255.255.255.0
    5. Close the window and save changes.
  3. Open a web browser and enter the address for the router (http://192.168.1.1).
  4. When prompted for a user name and password leave then blank and login.

    The configuration page opens.

  5. Click Network in the top left side of the window.

    The IP Address and Subnet Mask for the ticket printer will be displayed.

  6. Change the IP Address and Subnet Mask.
  7. Click the Ok button at the bottom of the screen.

    The work done will appear next to the OK button.

  8. Click Apply Settings in the lower left side of the window.

    Wait for the settings to take effect.

  9. Close the web browser.
  10. Turn the ticket printer off and on.
  11. Change the computer IP Address back to it's original setting.
  12. Turn the ticket printer off and on.
  13. Login to Theatre Manager.
  14. Go to Setup >> Users and Access >> Employee Preferences. Click the Ticket Printer tab.

  15. Change the ticket printer IP Address.
  16. Click the Save button.

    The ticket printer has now been set for this user and is ready to print. The Employee Preference window can be closed. Each user will need to see the ticket printer under Employee Preferences.

Practical Automation/BOCA Printer

The first time printing tickets since logging onto Theatre Manager for that session, a confirmation window will appear, otherwise the tickets will automatically print.

  1. Verify the printer is turned on and connected to the computer.
  2. Click the Yes button.

IP Ticket Printing Setup - Windows

Windows OS

To configure a printer for the Windows operating system, you perform the following steps:

  1. Connect the printer to the computer using a crossover cable or to the network by connecting through a hub.
  2. Turn the ticket printer on holding down the [F0] button on the printer.

    This prints a ticket with information about the printer and it's IP address. The factory default tends to be 192.168.1.1

  3. Download the installation file.

    The installation file can be found at http://www2.artsman.com/Software/PANetworkUtilityVB-1.1.zip

  4. If you are connecting through a hub (and not using a crossover cable), it may be necessary to use only the hub between the workstation and the printer - disconnecting the workstation from the primary network. Since the printer comes with a default IP of 192.168.1.1, this IP may already be in use by another router on your network. This will cause an IP conflict and you won't be able to affect the IP address of the printer. Be sure to download the PANetwork Utility prior to disconnecting from the network.

  5. Extract the file from the zip archive.

  6. Open the Package folder and run the Setup.exe file.

    Follow the prompts to complete the install.

  7. Temporarily change the computers IP address to 192.168.1.xx where xx is anything other then 1 (the ticket printer default is 1).
    1. Open Network Places.
    2. Right click and select Properties.
    3. Click Local Area Connection.
    4. Click Properties.
    5. Select TCP/IP.
    6. Click Properties.
    7. Change the IP Address to 192.168.1.2 (anything other than 192.168.1.1) and the Subnet to 255.255.255.0
    8. Click OK till the desktop is reached.
  8. Move back to the previous folder and run the PanNetwork file (Third from the left).

  9. Enter the ticket printer IP address at the top of the window.

  10. Click the Change IP Address tab.
  11. Change the Printer's New IP Address and the Printer's New Subnet Mask.
  12. Click the Update IP Address Using FGL Command button.
  13. Change the computer IP Address back to it's original setting.
  14. Turn the ticket printer off and on.

    If you disconnected this workstation from the primary network as noted above, reconnect it at this time.

  15. Login to Theatre Manager.
  16. Go to Setup->System Tables->Devices and search for a list of all devices you have.

  17. If this printer is in the list of devices, then edit it. If not, insert a new printer device. Refer to Device setup for more information.

    Change the IP address in the appropriate spot

  18. Any employee using that device in their hardware setup will now use the revised IP address - so it changes it for everybody.

Boca

To setup a Boca printer, you perform the following steps:
  1. Power up the printer and connect it to the network via a hub, switch or router.

    If a hub, switch, or router is not available, a crossover cable between another computer and the printer will be needed.

  2. Open the computer's web browser, typically either Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari.
  3. In the address bar of the web browser enter the IP address of a ticket printer.

    You'll need to know this but it might look like

    http://10.0.0.192 or http://192.168.1.1

    and press the Enter key.

    This should open the Boca Systems' Printer Configuration Page.

  4. Near the bottom of the first column of settings, use the drop down menu to change Ethernet from DHCP Enabled to Yes

  5. At the bottom of the second column of settings, set the IP address for the printer.

    Typically leading zeros are not necessary in an IP address, but they are for this setting.

  6. At the bottom of the third column of settings, adjust the Subnet Mask if necessary.
  7. At the bottom of the fourth column of settings, set the Default Gateway for the network.

    Again, it is necessary to include the leading zeros.

  8. Click the Save Changes button to finish the process.

    The printer should now be able to be pinged at the new IP address. Also, the new IP address will print on a test ticket if the information is needed to be stored somewhere.

    For information on connecting a user to the printer via Theatre Manager, click here.

Boca Lemur

To setup a Boca printer, you perform the following steps:
  1. Power up the printer and connect it to the network via a hub, switch or router.

    If a hub, switch, or router is not available, a crossover cable between another computer and the printer will be needed.

  2. Open the computer's web browser, typically either Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari.
  3. In the address bar of the web browser enter the following IP address: http://10.0.0.192 and press the Enter key.

    The Boca Systems' Printer Configuration Page opens.

  4. Near the bottom of the first column of settings, use the drop down menu to change Ethernet from DHCP Enabled to Yes

  5. At the bottom of the second column of settings, set the IP address for the printer.

    Typically leading zeros are not necessary in an IP address, but they are for this setting.

  6. At the bottom of the third column of settings, adjust the Subnet Mask if necessary.
  7. At the bottom of the fourth column of settings, set the Default Gateway for the network.

    Again, it is necessary to include the leading zeros.

  8. Click the Save Changes button to finish the process.

    The printer should now be able to be pinged at the new IP address. Also, the new IP address will print on a test ticket if the information is needed to be stored somewhere.

    For information on connecting a user to the printer via Theatre Manager, click here.

Datamax S-Class

Please refer to the instructions on the manufacturer's web site (Honeywell) for setup and operation instructions.

The Parallel version (for PC only) has been tested and confirmed to work with Theatre Manager. Ethernet connectivity has not been tested. USB is not supported.

Microcom Ticket Printers

Artsman's Exclusive Thermal Ticket Printer Provider - Microcom

Artsman is proud to partner with Microcom to provide thermal ticket printing solutions, which are optimized for the ticketing market. Their heavy duty metal design and reliable mechanics will provide years of continuous, low maintenance printing. For more information and current pricing, please contact Artsman Sales.

First Time Setup For Microcom Printers

Theatre Manager only connects to Microcom Thermal Ticket Printers via an Ethernet cable. This is designed so that all Theatre Manager users can connect to the ticket printer when on the same network.
Microcom printers support QR codes on ticket faces

Unbox and Setup Printer

Unbox and setup the printer as per the steps below. You should only need to:

  • Step 1
  • Step 2 - the placement of the port will differ depending on your printer model, see below.
  • Step 3
  • Step 5
Step 4 (adding drivers or USB FGL support) are not required.
Connect Ethernet Cable You will need to connect an ethernet cable to the back of your printer as per the diagram to the right.

The port should be labelled Ethernet - but it might be called Aux.

Using the other ports like Parallel and Serial shoaled work - and will require support for those ports in your computer. Ethernet is the recommended and supported option.

Find Ethernet Address from Test Ticket Use the instructions to print a test ticket and determine the printers current ethernet address. It will be required when setting up the device in Theatre Manager.
Enter Device Communication Settings Add the MicroCom printer to the device table using device setup so that is it similar to the image to the right.

You will need to enter the IP address of the printer into this field. If it is not on the same subnet, you might have to make up a mini network and manually assign your computer an address to match the printers subnet in order to continue this process.

If using serial or parallel printing, adjust the TM setup accordingly.

Connect to the Printer Status Page On the set-up page, if you enter an IP address, you can click the 'globe' icon to connect to the printer's status page. If you have the right ethernet address and are on the same subnet, you should see a page similar to the one on the right.

Of particular interest are:

  • Firmware Version - which should be at least version 01.00.22.2 or later. This firmware has compatible support for the Practical Automation status command which allows the printer to talk back to the computer sending tickets.
  • FGL Settings - to make sure the printer supports the Boca FGL language and settings are appropriate
  • Ethernet Settings - to ensure ethernet is set up and that you are communicating on the standard port for ticket printing.
  • Wifi Settings - if your printer supports wifi, you may wish to have it join to your network. If you do that, you could print over wifi, perhaps when at remote sites.
  • Other settings - come into play if using the machine via serial or parallel ports. USB is not supported
Configure Printer Click the Configuration Page button to change any settings you need for your network or FLG compatibility.

For ethernet setup:

  • Make sure it is enabled
  • Host Name - is a name you can give to the printer and is used for DHCP setup. You probably will not change this.
  • IP Address - provide a static IP address for the printer. Note that Theatre Manager could print to a DNS Address and if you set up your domain name servers with a record for the printer, you might choose DHCP setup. If you want that, please tal to your IT person.
  • Port - we suggest the default of 9100
  • Subnet - set it as per the image unless otherwise advised by your IT staff
  • Gateway - set it as advised by your IT staff
  • DHCP Enabled - seems to be ignored if a static address is provided.
Configure Printer (Wifi) Lower on the Configuration Page are settings for enabling wifi. We generally recommend against wifi on your ticket sales network as that could create an exploitable part within your network and should be documented as per PCI compliance requirements.

If you wish to use wifi for connecting to the ticket printer, you can. It takes two approaches:

  • You can join your printer to your hardwired network (the better approach). If you do this, you specify the IP address of the printer and the WPA encryption keys required to allow the printer to join the network. -or-
  • it looks like you can set the printer up as a wifi point and access it directly. Any passphrase support would come from the operating system. Talk to your IT people if you really need to implement this option as they would be the people to support you.
Diataxis: 

Microcom Printer Unboxing

A Microcom printer ships with a print tray and power cable. You will need to supply ticket stock and an ethernet cable or pre-ordered Panda Wi-Fi dongle from Artsman.

When opening the box you'll find a Quick Start Guide. Set this aside as these steps are not required.

Below the Quick Start Guild will be a yellow envelope containing the Key to open the printer. This envelope is taped to the plastic wrap encompassing the printer. The key will need to be used each time to unlock the side panel before the printer can be opened.

Open the side panel of the print (using the key) to access the Accessories box.

The Accessories box contains the print tray, a USB cable (this will not be used), and the power cable for the printer.

Updating Microcom Printer Firmware

The 485 series printer uses the USB HOST port found on the back of the printer to update the firmware in the printer. A USB flash drive that is greater than 1GB but less than 32GB formatted as a FAT32 file system is used during the update. Follow the instructions below for additional information.

 

Preparing the USB flash drive to update printer code

  1. The flash drive must be less than 32GB in size and formatted as a FAT32 file system.
  2. Connect the USB Flash Drive to a Windows-based PC.
  3. Open Explorer or type My Computer in the search bar of the task menu.
  4. Right-click on the flash drive and select Format from the menu that appears.

    CAUTION: Verify that you are selecting the flash drive as this will erase the contents of the drive. If you have any doubt, disconnect the flash drive and it should no longer show up under the Devices and Driver section.

  5. In the Format window displayed, select FAT32 for the file system. Type in a label for the flash drive and then click Start.
  6. Once complete, the flash drive is ready for the code update files to be copied to it.

 

Copying Files to the formatted USB Flash Drive

Once formatted for the FAT32 file system on the flash drive, copy the updated file to the flash drive by doing the following.

  1. Download the code files located at:

    Firmware Version 01.01.21 (Jan 2024)

  2. Unzip the files onto your PC.
  3. Copy the unzipped files onto the formatted flash drive.
  4. After the files are copied onto the flash drive, right-click on the drive, select Eject, and remove the drive from the PC.

 

485 Firmware Update Process

Follow these instructions using a flash drive that contains the code update files. Please make sure that ticket stock is installed in the printer before continuing.

  1. Turn the printer power OFF.
  2. Connect the flash drive to the USB HOST port on the back of the printer.
  3. Turn the printer ON.
  4. Observe the display on the front of the printer, it should look like this:

  5. Once the status light changes GREEN turn the printer off and remove the USB flash drive.
  6. Turn the printer ON and allow the update to complete. The Display code will now update. Once the light turns Green, the update is complete.
  7. Verify the code update by going to CONFIG\PRINTER INFO on the display.

    Under the Code Ver should report 01.01.21. Led should turn green in color once the update is successful.

 

Updating Microcom Cutter Settings

There is Windows-based application that allows for connecting to any Micromcom printer currently on the local network. This tool can be used to update the cutter settings that may have been impacted following the installation of Firmware version 01.01.12.

 

Updating Cutter Settings

  1. Download the Microcom Confirmation Application from here:

    https://www.microcomcorp.com/downloads/x85_configuration_application_for_windows.zip

  2. Unzip and install the application.
  3. Run the .exe file to start the configuration application.
  4. Connection the printer directly to the same PC.
  5. On the main screen towards the bottom, select the "CONNECT TO PRINTER" button and select the port of the printer that is being used (Enet or CDC USB).
  6. Select the port number of the connection.
  7. Select the "READ FROM PRINTER" button to load in the current printers configuration.
  8. Select the "BASIC CONFIG" on the side menu.

    You should now see a CUTTER TYPE, select MICROCOM CUTTER

  9. Select the "SAVE TO PRINTER" button towards the bottom to send the command to the printer.
  10. Select "RESTART" to restart the printer and you may now exit the configuration app
  11. Test the printer once it reboots to verify that it now cuts properly.

 

Microcom Printer - Cutter Offset

If you are having Microcom Printer issues, in that your Tickets are not cutting at the exact line they should be, you can adjust the Cutter Offset.

 

NOTE: Do not cut right on the perforation. It will dull the cutting blade faster, causing more frequent blade replacement costs. New blade cutters are supplied directly by Microcom and are not covered by warranty.

 

Setting Cutter Offset

  1. Press the Print Menu Button

    On the Printer itself, click the Print Menu button.

  2. Click the Next Button Twice

    Click the Next button twice to get to the Cutter Offset option.

  3. Select the Cutter Offset Option
  4. Select the Offset Measurement

    Use the plus + and minus - buttons to set your preferred offset measurement, which are calculated in pixels.

    We recommend '-20' as a good starting point.

  5. Click Save
  6. Print a Test Ticket

 

Replacing Latch for Microcom Printer

The latch sits inside the print head assembly. It holds the print head firmly in place ensuring it makes contact with the ticket stock at the time of printing. If the latch fails the head cannot burn content onto the ticket stock. It can look like one side of the printed ticket is "faded" or blank.

 

The latch has a smooth top with a nub that protrudes for easy movement. Below the flat surface, there are clasps on opposite sides of the latch. These are used to hold the latch in place. One side has a small pressure spring that allows for the clasps to be moved and makes for easy removal.

 

When the latch fails the nub disconnects from the top as seen below.

 

Removing the clasp

  1. Push in the spring-loaded side of the clasp with a flat head screwdriver.

  2. While pushing in the clasp, pry up on the flat part of the latch on the top of the print head assembly.
  3. One side of the latch should release allowing for the broken latch to be removed.

 

Inserting the clasp

  1. Gently slide the latch in non-spring loaded side first.
  2. Push the clasp on the spring loaded side in and down till it pops through the hole.

 

Microcom Printers and Wireless Printing

Microcom printers have the ability to print wirelessly using a Panda Wireless dongle. When the printer is unboxed the dongle can be inserted directly into the USB port and the printer configured to join the network using Wi-Fi.

For security, Wi-Fi printing should be set up on a private, secure network where only administrative staff have access. The speed of ticket printing will largely depend on the network speed. Wi-Fi printing may not be as effective for larger batch printing.

Connecting Microcom Printer to Wi-Fi

  1. Turn the printer Off using the rear panel power switch.
  2. Plug the Wi-Fi dongle into the USB port on the back of the printer.

    The Wi-Fi dongle will not light up.

  3. Turn the printer On.
  4. Press the CONFIG MENU button on the printer display.
  5. Press Next until you see the OPTIONAL PORTS setting and press.
  6. Press the OPTIONAL PORTS button, select the WIFI bullet and click SAVE.
  7. Press Next until you get to the WIFI menu option.
  8. Press the WIFI button.
  9. Press the WIFI JOIN button, choose the JOIN setting, and click Save.

    Use the Next button to continue navigating through the settings.

  10. Press WIFI SSID, enter the name of the wireless network to be joined, and click Save.
  11. Press WIFI PASSPHRASE, enter the wireless network password, and click Save.
  12. Press WIFI DHCP, select ENABLE, and click Save.
  13. Press WIFI PORT, enter 9100, and click Save.
  14. Press WIFI ENCRYPTION, select your Wi-Fi network encryption, and click Save.

The Wi-Fi dongle will light up once it's connected to the network. The printer will take approximately 30 seconds to retrieve a DHCP IP address from the network.

 

If the Microcom printer has previously been connected via an Ethernet cable or an Ethernet cable has been plugged into the printer you will not be able to simply plug the dongle in and configure the Wi-Fi settings. Follow the steps below to complete the wifi setup process.

 

Removing Ethernet Settings Before Using Wi-FI

  1. Turn the printer Off using the rear panel power switch.
  2. Unplug the Wi-Fi dongle and/or Ethernet cable from the printer.
  3. Turn the printer On.
  4. Press the CONFIG MENU button on the printer display.
  5. Press Next until you get to the ETHERNET menu option.
  6. Press the ETHERNET button.
  7. Press the DHCP button, select the DISABLE bullet, and press Save.
  8. Click the Next button to advance to the IP ADDRESS menu.
  9. Click the IP ADDRESS button, change each of the four numbers to 10, and press Save.

    This removes the previously configured IP address from the ethernet connection and moves the settings back to default.

  10. Press EXIT and REBOOT NOW.
  11. Wait until the printer comes back online and you see the PRINT button.
  12. Turn the printer Off.
  13. Plug the Wi-Fi dongle back into the printer.
  14. Turn the printer On.

The printer will take up to 30 seconds to pull an IP address from the network. Use the Print button on the front of the printer to generate a test ticket. The IP address of the printer will appear on the test ticket. Use the Command prompt (Windows) or Terminal (Mac) to Ping the IP address on the ticket. The printer should respond.

Add the printer as a Device to Theatre Manager and set your Hardware Preferences to use the new printer. You should now be able to print to the printer using the Wi-Fi connection.

Sharing Ticket Printers

If you wish to share a ticket printer amongst Windows and/or Mac OSX machines, the recommended solution is a printer with an ethernet card built into it.

Note: Arts Management Systems only supports sharing ticket printers if they are IP based. We do not support sharing parallel printers using the Net Use technique for Vista or earlier. If you cannot get the technique to work, please contact Microsoft.

Net Use for Parallel printers (not supported)

Net Use solution is NOT supported by Arts Management Systems.

Use IP based printers instead.

Note: this technique only works with NT, 2000, XP pro and Vista. It does not work with:
  • Windows 7 or later because Microsoft did not implement the 'net use' command the same.
  • non professional versions of XP
  • if you attempt to share printers and you are using Theatre Manager via Remote Desktop.
  • Again, please ask Microsoft why.

Historically, sharing can be done amongst Windows only computers with an LPT port using a feature called NET USE available in some versions of Windows older than Vista. Alternatively, you could print when two computers that are side by side in the box office using an electronic A/B switch (means it automatically switches LPT1 depending on who is printing).

If you opt for the software solution, it works like this:

  • Give the computer a name like BoxOffice1 (notice, no spaces). each computer must have a unique name, so the other ones can be called BoxOffice2, etc.
  • Set up a 'generic text/only' printer driver for LPT1 (or LPT2 or LPT3) on the machine with the ticket printer
  • Make this printer shared and give it a convenient name like TixPrnt1 (8 characters and no spaces works best)
  • On all other machines that are to print on this printer, start the 'DOS' command prompt and do a command that looks like:

    net use lptx: \\ComputerWithPrinter\PrinterName /Persistent:yes

    using the example above, the command would look like

    net use lpt2: \\BoxOffce1\TixPrnt1 /Persistent:yes

    This will redirect lpt2 on a computer to the machine with the ticket printer. The advantage of this is that is it easily configurable and you can use more than one of these commands on any machine to allow it to point to any ticket printer on the network.

  • Now, in the employee preferences for the user of the second computer, you need to indicate that they print to LPT2. When a ticket is printed, it will be routed through the network to the BoxOffice1 computer. It is generally about that easy in practice.

To remove the ticket printer connection on a workstation

Using the example above

net use lptx: /delete

For more information on how the net use command works use the Windows help/ Go to start >> help. And do a search for "net use"

Ticket Printer Error Codes

Occasionally, you may receive a Thermal Ticket Printer Error Code in Theatre Manager when attempting to print a ticket. This message is not generated by Theatre Manager, but rather by the ticket printer itself, and then passed through Theatre Manager for you to see.

Thermal Ticket Printer Error Codes as provided by Practical Automation:

CODE DESCRIPTION
1 Printer out of paper
2 Jammed ticket
3 Printer offline
4 Printer failure
5 Low paper (roll ticket printers only).

The following resources are also available from Practical Automation:

Ticket Printer Error Codes as provided by BOCA:

CODE DESCRIPTION
1 REJECT BIN WARNING
2 REJECT BIN ERROR
3 PAPER JAM PATH 1
4 PAPER JAM PATH 2
5 TEST BUTTON TICKET ACK
6 TICKET ACK
7 WRONG FILE IDENTIFIER DURING UPDATE
8 INVALID CHECKSUM
9 VALID CHECKSUM
10 OUT OF PAPER PATH 1
11 OUT OF PAPER PATH 2
12 PAPER LOADED PATH 1
13 PAPER LOADED PATH 2
14 ESCROW JAM
15 LOW PAPER
16 OUT OF PAPER
17 X-ON
18 POWER ON
19 X-OFF
20 BAD FLASH MEMORY
21 NAK (illegal print command)
22 RIBBON LOW
23 RIBBON OUT
24 PAPER JAM
25 ILLEGAL DATA
26 POWERUP PROBLEM
27 DOWNLOADING ERROR
28 DOWNLOADING ERROR
29 CUTTER JAM
30 STUCK TICKET or CUTJAM PATH1
31 CUTJAM PATH2

The BOCA Systems web site contains a variety of technical manuals for FGL programming and Owner's Manuals.

Picking machines - Example Setup

Theatre Manager will operate on virtually on any platform that it is installed on. From Theatre Manager's original conception, it has been designed on the Macintosh and the PC platforms (simultaneously), while still enabling a single version of the source code, resulting in a true cross-platform box office solution.

Workstations

When purchasing a new desktop system, budgeting $450-$800 for a box office workstation has been a standard price for the past 5 years. For that price, you will get a great price/performance value including the monitor and everything else you need.

Examples that fall in this price range (as of Nov 2020):

  • PC: Intel® quad core i7; up to 16 GB RAM; Windows 10; gigabit ethernet; up to 2 TB SATA or 256 GB solid state drive
  • Apple: iMac Mini, fast dual i7; 16 GB RAM (more is better); 1TB hard drive; OSX 10.14 or later
  • Theatre Manager is best viewed at higher screen resolutions (>1280 x 1080 pixels or better). 24" or 27" widescreen LCD's are about $150-$200 and are perfect for the box office, allowing larger seating maps to be displayed making it easier for your patrons and staff to view the available seats during the sales process

If you are going to buy, check the consumer ratings for phone and web based computer vendors. In many instances, you can get some good deals on machines purchased this way.

Web Services

The second generation web services run best on machines with more CPUs, due to its multithreaded nature. Most organizations install it on the database server. Some make the web listener a standalone machine. A faster quad-core i7 machine with 16 GB of RAM is a good choice.

Note: the server starts up a number of listeners equal to about twice what the # of CPU's are, meaning a dual-core machine gets 3 listeners and a quad-core gets 7. This is why a quad-core or better should be used.

Ethernet

The best performance today is a gigabit switched Ethernet network using cat-5 or cat-6 cable

You can use 10T/100T/Gigabit networks if that is what is available.

Postgres Server

A decent database server can easily be purchased for between $2,000 and $3,000 (Nov 2020). For most venues, this could also be the web services computer.

Database server specifications (in order of importance) are:

Disk Performance

  • Striped disk array or RAID 1+0 using fast 6GB SATA or industrial strength SSD.
    • The goal is to reduce drive latency as much as possible, so more striping is better.
    • Even better is a computer that includes hardware RAID.
    • Notes about RAID 5:
      • if not implemented properly, it can impose significant performance penalties.
      • If high performance and 100% redundancy is required, it is far better to implement the Postgres hot standby server feature on a second server rather than RAID 5. The standby server receives far less I/O than the main server, so it does not have to be as fast.
  • If using linux or FreeBSD, use ZFS or EXT4 for parity/redundancy in the drives
A 500 GB to 1 TB hard drive is sufficient for most databases and a number of backups. This helps make SSD's a good choice.

Memory (RAM)

  • 32 GB of RAM at a minimum.
  • 48 GB or more recommended for larger installations.
  • More, if it's affordable since ram is cheap.

Number of CPUs

  • A server (Mac or PC) with multiple core processors or more.
  • More cores are slightly more important than speed of the CPU. A quad-core i7 will do better than a single-core Xeon
  • today, 4 or 6 core Xeons are quite affordable.

Operating System

  • 64 bit operating system.
  • OS-X 10.14 or later, Linux, Windows Server 2012 or 2016
  • Note: Do not use Windows 10 for any servers - you can't manage software updates
  • Note: Postgres is 10-15% faster on Unix flavours of the OS than Windows flavours.
  • Linux is generally slightly faster than OS X (you will need in-house Linux expertise)
  • gigabit ethernet port.

Ticket Printers

You may want a specialized thermal ticket printer to connect to the network. This allows you to print tickets at the time of sale. A thermal printer's performance is around 3600 tickets per hour (1 a second). These can be configured as ethernet, serial, or parallel devices. If you want to share ticket printers, we recommend only using ticket printers with an ethernet port.

For large volume box office operations, we suggest one ticket printer per Box Office wicket. More printers provide emergency backup. Depending on your requirements, subscription or group sales can elect to have their own printer or share with box office printers. Depending on print volume (and walkups), sharing a ticket printer between one or more box office wickets is supported through an ethernet-capable printer interface.

Report Printers

Theatre Manager will print to most Mac or Windows compatible printers that have drivers already installed. We suggest networked or shared printers.

Hardware Management Policies

To manage hardware requirements, often an organization will purchase one or two new machines each year. We suggest you buy mid-range computing power for the best price/performance ratio and install them in the box office. You can then migrate the box office machines around the organization. Doing this annually, you will have an effective hardware management policy, and users will be happy as the computers can keep up to the new features introduced to the software.

Login / Logoff

The data stored in Theatre Manager is very valuable, and you want to protect it from those not authorized to access it. You, as a business, also have a responsibility to your patrons to keep their data protected. Therefore, all Employees must log in to Theatre Manager in order to see any data or process any transactions by using not only their name, but a password as well. The password should be known only to the Employee in an effort to protect their electronic identity.

All transactions are linked to an Employee record. This means that for every sale, refund, exchange, form letter request... every process, Theatre Manager records the Employee initials for the Employee performing that task. If Employees 'share' an Employee record, then the audit trail of 'who did what' vanishes, and there will be no way to track which Employee performed a specific task. Sharing logins is not only poor business practice, but violates PCI Compliance.

There are a two options to set up log on to Theatre Manager, depending on the level of security you wish to invoke for the Employees. You can provide:

There are also special considerations for logging in using the Outlet Edition.

Diataxis: 

Login Options and Setup

In order to use Theatre Manager, each Employee must log in.

For PCI compliance, each employee must have their own individual Employee login and password. This means that no two users can 'share' a user account, such as 'Box Office Volunteer' or 'Marketing.' All transactions that take place within Theatre Manager are tagged to the Employee who processed the data. If generic employees are used, then tracking audit issues will be impossible.

There should be one (and only one) Master User in a database.

The Master User is not a specific person, but rather an 'Administrator' much like on Windows or Mac. This 'Administrator' does not do sales, run reports or mail lists or other daily operations. Instead, the Master User acts as a system technician who adjusts and edits how Theatre Manager operates. The Master User is a 'know all/see all' user, and therefore for PCI compliance, there is only ONE Master User. All other users are considered 'Normal Users' (some of whom have more privileges than others, but they all fall within the 'Normal' category).

The Master User password is generally known by only a few people within a venue.

These people will have their own login as employees, which is used for daily operation. The Master User is only used to make operational adjustments to the database such as adding new employees.

When providing Remote Assistance, AMS technicians will often require the Master User password as they will be making adjustments to the operation of Theatre Manager.

Login passwords should be set to expire every 90 days.

For PCI compliance, all passwords must be set to expire every 90 days, and will be required to be reset by the user. You will receive a warning several days in advance of your expiration date that your password will need to be changed. The expiration and other password parameters are controlled on the PCI Security tab of Setup >> System Preferences.

The Log In window provides valuable information about the database.

The log in window provides information such as:

  • Database Version (shown here as 9.15.06)
  • Database Name (shown here as 'TheatreManagerDemo')
  • The IP address or DNS name of the database server (shown here as 127.0.0.1)
  • The Port Theatre Manager is using to connect to the database (shown here as 5432)
  • The version of Postgres being used (shown here as (v9.1.2)

Theatre Manager will always revert to the last used database.

If you utilize a 'Training' database, take extra care to note which database you will be logging into by checking the Database Name at the bottom of the log in window. If the Training database was accessed last on this machine, then Theatre Manager will attempt to log on to the Training database. If you intend to log into the live, 'Production' database, you will need to change databases first.

The Web Listener may be set to automatically log in.

If you utilize a dedicated Web Listener (Arts Management Systems recommends one for venues just starting with web sales, and a minimum of two dedicated web listeners for venues with a higher online sales rate) the dedicated machine may be set to automatically log in to web sales.

List of Employees

To login to Theatre Manager from the list of employees, you perform the following steps:

  1. Select your user name from the log in window.

    There are some icons/colours that have meaning:
    • a complete grey line means never logged in.
    • a green dot means master user
    • a yellow dot means the person is an outlet administrator
    • checkmark means logged in once
    • a number like 2, 3, 4, 5 indicates the number of time people are logged in
    • a complete red line means logged in more than once and they will also have a number a head of their name
  2. Click the Logon button.
  3. Enter the password you created when your Employee record was set up.

    If the employee is able to log into multiple outlets, the outlet list will appear above the password. The employee will need to select the outlet and provide the password for that outlet.

  4. Click the Accept button.
    1. You are now logged into the last used Theatre Manager database.

Diataxis: 

Access ID/Password

For enhanced security, Employees can be required to login using their own Access ID and password. The benefit is, to log in, the Employee must know BOTH their Access ID and their password, rather than a potential hacker choosing a name from a list and having to guess only one login access.

To enable this setting, change the Login Window Setting parameter in Setup>>System Preferences>>PCI Security tab.

The Access ID is found on the Access tab of the Employee record in Setup>>Users & Access>>Employee List.


The Access ID can be changed from the Theatre Manager default so that it is more easily remembered by the user.


When providing Remote Assistance, AMS technicians will often require the Master User Access ID and password as they will be making adjustments to the operation of Theatre Manager.


To Login to Theatre Manager using the Access ID and Password method, you perform the following steps:

  1. Start Theatre Manager by clicking on the desktop icon.

    The Login window opens.

  2. Enter the Access ID and password you created when your Employee record was set up.
  3. Click the Logon button.
    1. You will be logged into the last used database.

Diataxis: 

Windows NT Login ID

This feature is no longer supported.

Employee Login

To login to the Theatre Manager system, you perform the following steps:

  1. Click/double-click the Theatre Manager icon on your desktop.

    The Login window opens.

  2. Find your name in the list and select it.
  3. Click the Log On button.
  4. The Enter Password window opens.

  5. Enter your password.
  6. Click the Accept button.
  7. The Theatre Manager application opens.

Logging in Twice

If you are already logged in to Theatre Manager at another workstation and try to log into another workstation, you will get a message like the one below.

All it is doing is telling you that you may be logged in elsewhere for informational purposes.

Click Continue to dismiss the message and continue logging in.

Password Help, Rules and Policies

Theatre Manager implements fully PCI DSS compliant AES256 encrypted passwords per PCI DSS standard 8.5 and this feature cannot be changed or overridden.

This means all login passwords must be:

  • reviewed and changed every 90 days. Theatre Manager will enforce password changes automatically. This must be manually done on those devices that do not force a change of passwords like routers and firewalls. (PCI DSS 8.5.9)
  • 7 characters or more (PCI DSS 8.5.10)
  • mixed case consisting of at least uppercase and one lowercase letter (PCI DSS 8.5.11)
  • contain at least one number and special character (PCI DSS 8.5.11)
  • cannot be the same as the previous 12 passwords (PCI DSS 8.5.12)
  • cannot have characters or numbers repeated together

Changed all passwords from any vendor default password that might be used for installation per PCI DSS 2.1. For example, you must:
  • Change the Theatre Manager 'Master User' password when the system is installed
  • Change the user and password on any router from anything printed in the manufacturer's documentation
  • Make sure that accessing each computer requires a password and does not 'auto-login'
  • ensure that screen savers are implemented that require passwords to be entered whenever the screen saver is activated. Screensavers (or some other mechanism for locking computers) must activate after 15 minutes of idle time or less (PCI DSS 8.5.15) on all workstations and servers.

Never use the Master User account for daily operations. It should only be used when creating other accounts or for other very specialized needs as directed by Arts Management Systems.

If your network has 'master' domain server (or open directory on OSX) available that could control password authentication for all machines, please ensure that the security policies on the domain/directory server is set to enforce PCI/DSS passwords and that all machines in the network log in using authentication from the server.

If a domain/open directory server is not available to enforce password settings, then each machine/user must use PCI/DSS compliant passwords.

If a user tries more than 6 times to gain access to the system, Theatre Manager automatically resigns the user - which means that they are locked out permanently until manually re-instated per PCI-DSS standard 8.5.13 and 8.5.14

Resetting an Employee Password

If an Employee forgets their password, or attempts to log in too many times and gets locked out of Theatre Manager, their password may need to be reset before they can log in again.

When an employee is locked out, Theatre Manager marks them as resigned. Any permissions that they used to have remain as they were. It is possible to reinstate the employee. This means that they will have same permissions from before they were locked out.

  1. Log into Theatre Manager as a Master User or Outlet Administrator.
  2. Open the Employee List window.

    Click here, for more information on the Employee List wondow.

  3. Search for the Employee to reset.
  4. Double click on the Employee record to open the Employee Data window.

    Click here for more information on the Empolyee Data window.

  5. Click the Password button in the Employee Data window toolbar / ribbon bar.

    The New Password window opens.

  6. Enter the password in the New Password field according to your password settings.
  7. Confirm the new password in the 'Retype Password' field.
  8. Click the Accept button.

    The new password is set for the Employee.

Reinstating an Employee Locked Out of the Database

If an Employee returns to work for your organization, you can reinstate their Employee account.

You will also need to do this when an Employee enters an incorrect password too many times, as Theatre Manager will lock the Employee out of the program. This is designed to prevent people from accessing the database who should not have access.

Theatre Manager applies a resignation date to the Employee recor, which then removes them from the login window.

This process is also used in cases when the Master User or Outlet User has been resigned/locked out. In this case, another Employee with Master User or Outlet User privileges can log in and complete the following process for the Master User account. We, also highly recommend setting a primary email for the Master User on its patron account so users can choose to have an email with the password sent to their email address in cases where the password is lost or forgotten.
The password parameters are defined on the PCI Security tab in Setup>>System Preferences.
  1. Login to Theatre Manager as a Master User or Outlet Administrator.
  2. Open the Employee List window.

    Click here, for more information on the Employee List window.

  3. Check the Resigned box in the upper left of the window.
  4. Search for the Employee.
  5. Single click on the resigned Employee to select them.
  6. Click the Open button.

    The Employee Access window for the selected employee opens.

  7. Clear the Resigned date field.
  8. Click the Password button in the Employee Access Data window toolbar / ribbon bar to set a one-time-use temporary password for the Employee.

    NOTE: The employee will be forced to change their password from the one you enter above when they first log in.

  9. Close the Employee Access Data window.

The Employee is now listed in the login window andt hey will be able to access Theatre Manager using the password you entered above.

In some very rare cases, there will be no other Employees with Master User access to complete the above steps. In those instances, please enable Remote Assistance on the database server machine and contact support@artsman.com with the login id/pw combination so we can reinstate access.

Change Your Password

To change your password to the Theatre Manager system, you perform the following steps:

  1. Click/double-click the Theatre Manager icon on your desktop.

    The Login window opens.

  2. Find your name in the list and select it.
  3. Click the Log On button.
  4. The Enter Password window opens.

  5. Click the Change button.
  6. Enter your password.
  7. Click the Accept button.

    The Change Password window opens.

  8. Enter your New Password.
  9. Enter the password again in the Retype Password field.
  10. Click the Accept button.

    The Theatre Manager Application opens

    If you change your mind, click the Cancel button. Theatre Manager will open.

Time on Computer Differs From Server

You log into Theatre Manager and you get the following message:

Your computer date/time (MMDDYYYY 00:00:00) differs from the date on the database server (MMDDYYYY 00:00:00) by more than 30 seconds.

This error is one generated by Theatre Manager. Theatre Manager checks the time between the application and the Postgres Database Server as time is important in journalizing accounting.

If only one workstation is affected, it is ok to proceed with work but you should address the time discrepancy as soon as possible. Check the workstation clock

If all workstations are getting the error, stop work, and resolve the issue as it may have a bigger impact on when transactions are posted. Check the time or timezone on the database server.

Why does the time deviate?

It is a well established fact that computers don't keep time very well. They do a darn good job, but the time is generally based on the oscillation of crystals which are based on the frequency in the line voltage. If line voltage frequency varies from the normal +/- 60 cycles per second, it means clocks don't run true and they will never match the accuracy of an atomic clock.

Computer time can change on a particular machine for a number of reasons:

  • sometimes it is the battery, or
  • in older machines, it is not calculating the daylight savings time changes properly.
  • Or your computer is in a different timezone than the database and needs an explicit offset

microsoft even states in this article that they expect the clock on the CPU to vary a minute a day up to an hour. yes, the article states that your computer clock may lose an hour a day.

Time differs by a few minutes

If the time is off by a few minutes, it is more likely to be the workstations. In that case:
  1. Update the workstation clock and timezone to match the Server.
  2. In Theatre Manager you can check time zone setting in Setup >> Company Prefs >> Reports/Misc tab
  3. Set up time synchronization on your computer and server.

Time differs by an hourly increment.

If the time on your computer differs from the server by what appears to be a relatively even multiple of an hour (eg +/-1, 2, 3 or so hours)
  1. Verify that the server time and timezone is correct
  2. Verify that the timezone setting in the postgresql.conf file is correct.
  3. Verify that the workstation clock time and timezone match the Server. If they do not, you have two options:
    • If the workstation should be in the same timezone, fix the timezone in the clock preferences
    • If the office is in a different timezone than the server, you can set the workstation timezone in the Theatre Manager Preferences file for that workstation
  4. If it still persists, check that the postgresql.conf has the correct 'Log_timezone' setting and "timezone" setting for the local area and match the timezone on the server. There are instructions for editing on an OSX or Windows Server
  5. Typical values are:
    • US/Eastern, US/Central, US/Mountain, US/Pacific, US/Alaska, US/Hawaii, US/Michigan, US/East-Indiana, US/Indiana-Starke
    • Canada/Newfoundland, Canada/Atlantic, Canada/Eastern, Canada/Eastern, Canada/Saskatchewan, Canada/East-Saskatchewan, Canada/Central, Canada/Mountain, Canada/Yukon or Canada/Pacific
    • The valid timezone list can be found in Setup >> Company Prefs >> Reports/Misc tab

Using Computer Time Synchronization

To set up time synchronization, please check your computer's built in help to help you determine how to do this as it varies from operating system to operating system. Generally:

Changing the active Database

If you have multiple databases - such as a live, 'Production' database and a 'Training' database that is used for either training new employees in a benign environment or as a test bed for new ideas, concepts or features - you can switch between the databases on a 'per machine' basis. This means that while most of the office is using the 'Production' database, you can set a new employee at an out-of-the-way workstation where they can learn Theatre Manager without affecting the real data.

In general, Arts Management Systems will set up a Training database for you when we are visiting you onsite. If you require one at some other time, then simply contact Support at support@artsman.com, and we can arrange to remote in to your server and update your Training database for you. Note: In some cases, there may be a nominal charge for building a new Training database.


A good time to rebuild your Training database is immediately after you have loaded all your events for the upcoming season.
Click to see how to log into your database if it is hosted on the AMS Cloud

To Change the Database:


  1. Double click on the icon on your desktop

  2. Either the List of Employees window or the Access ID window will appear.

  3. Click the button in the bottom left of the window.
  4. The Database Connection window will appear.


  5. Use the drop down for DB Name to choose a different database.
  6. You can also switch from a local database and log into the AMS Cloud Server and back, depending where your database is.

  7. Click the button.
  8. Either the List of Employees window or the Access ID window will reappear.


    When switching databases, it is important to make note if the database is for Demo or Training use.

    Often the Production and Training database are identical. However:

    • A Training database is clearly marked on the login window (where demo is shown below) and the title of every screen contains the word training
    • A Demo database is marked as below.

Login for Outlet Edition

The Login process for the Outlet Edition is the same as any other edition of Theatre Manager. Select your name from the list (or enter it directly), and enter your password to log in.

The Outlet Edition does have some extra considerations on the Login window. The Logon Level takes on new responsibilities based on your Cross Outlet Policies and Rules. For example:

  • There should only be one Master User account. The Master User account is indicated by a solid bullet next to the Master User Employee Name.
  • Each Outlet requires an Outlet Administrator account. The Outlet Administrator is indicated by an empty bullet on the Log in window.
  • If an employee works for multiple Outlets, then that employee should have an employee record (still only one patron account) created for each Outlet. That employee will be required to log into the proper Outlet's employee record to have their activity and transactions recorded correctly.

Diataxis: 

RM Log In for Outlet Edition RM

This page is under construction...

Logoff

Logging off Theatre Manager is an important part of using the software. Since each client is provided with a specific number of licenses based on their contract with Arts Management Systems, you have only a limited number of licenses to go around your office. If you do not properly log off Theatre Manager, you may preclude someone else in your office from logging on.


Theatre Manager site licenses are 'concurrent' licenses - meaning, if your venue has ten user licenses, then ten workstations can be logged on at any one time. Theatre Manager can be installed on every workstation in your office, but only ten can log in at the same time. This emphasizes the need to have users log off when they are not using Theatre Manager.


To Log Off of Theatre Manager, you perform the following steps:

There are two methods to log off of Theatre Manager.

  • On the PC - From the Theatre Manager main menu, select File >> Quit.
  • On the Mac - From the Theatre Manager main menu, select Quit Theatre Manager.

Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut of:

  • On the PC - Control+Q.
  • On the Mac - Command+Q.

Change User

Occasionally, you may need to switch the Employee profile you are using in order to log on as a different Employee (for example the Master User). Rather than quitting Theatre Manager and logging back on, you can simply 'Change User.' This option will log off the current user, and return you to the login window.

  • On both the PC and the Mac, choose File >> Change User

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Customizing Theatre Manager

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Changing Sort Order of a List

In any window in Theatre Manager that displays a list of records in a series of columns of information you can adjust the sort order by simply clicking on any one of the column headers. This feature allows you to sort any list window in the order of your preference then you can choose to print the list as shown or export the list. The list will print or export in the sort order that you choose.

Note that in this example the list is sorted by the patron number, denoted with a 1 to the right of the column title.

If you print the list as shown, the printout will appear sorted by the patron number.

In addition to sorting a list by a specific column, you can also create a multiple sort of two or more of the columns of data. This is done by first clicking the column header of the first sort column while holding down the [Command] key on a Mac keyboard or the [Alt] key on a PC Keyboard, then click the column header of the next column.

Note in this example the list is sorted first by Patron Last Name, then by Patron Number.

If you print the list as shown the printout will appear sorted first by Patron Last Name, then second by Patron Number.

This function applies to any and all windows in Theatre Manager containing lists of data.

Diataxis: 

Changing Column Order of a List

In any window in Theatre Manager that displays a list of records in a series of columns of information you can adjust the order in which the information is displayed. This allows you to customize the information in this window to your specific needs and will be retained as your user preference.

Click [and hold] on the header of the column you wish to relocate and with your mouse drag the column left or right to the desired position.

Below you will see that now the Company Name column has moved from the right of the Last Name to the Left of the First Name.

Now this change will remain as your users preference for this window. This will apply to all windows where a list columns of information is presented.

Diataxis: 

Changing Column Preferences

In any window in Theatre Manager that displays a list of records in a series of columns of information, you can change the information that is displayed to suit your needs.

The column preferences will only be saved for the user who is logged into Theatre Manager when the changes are made.

To change the column preferences for a list, you perform the following steps:

  1. Right-click anywhere on one of the column headers in the list you wish to change.

    A checkable sublist opens.

    What is checked in the list is the column that displays.

  2. Click to check the columns you want displayed.

    Clicking places a check next to the column name.

  3. Click to uncheck the columns to be dismissed.

    This removes a check next to the column name. Note that Primary Fax has now been unchecked.

Now the Primary Fax Column has been removed from the list.



This feature is useful to customize the window to suit your needs, but even more so for exporting the data from this list. Only the data fields that are shown will be included in the export.

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Changing Default Auto-Capitalization Settings

By default, Theatre Manager automatically changes the capitalization of some words typed into fields. For example, only the first letter of last names are capitalized, as are company names, regardless of how they are typed in. There may be times where you need to change the default setting for a field.

To change the default auto-capitalization setting for a field, you perform the following steps:

On a MAC:
  1. Type the word into the field with the capitalization you want to display.

    For example: MacDonald

  2. Press option+tab.

    The cursor moves to the next field and your capitalization remains. Or Press option and click to the next database field with your mouse.

    For example: MacDonald instead of Macdonald

On a PC:
  1. Type the word into the field with the capitalization you want to display.

    For example: MacDonald

  2. Press ctrl+Click into the next field.

    Your capitalization remains.

    For example: MacDonald instead of Macdonald

If necessary, you can change the default auto-capitalization settings for all fields.

It is strongly recommended users maintain the auto-capitalization default. This preserves the 'standardization' of name and address data. If the default setting is changed, all users - including employees and patrons using the online interface - will be able to enter information in an incorrect manner.(no capitalization for anything, all caps for everything, etc.)

To change the default setting for all fields:
  1. Choose Setup >> System Preferences >> Edits tab.

  2. Change the Auto-Capitalize drop down box to your desired setting.
  • Never Capitalize will never auto-capitalize words
  • First Time will auto capitalize words the first time they are typed in, but not when they are edited after the first time
  • Except for Option-Tab will auto capitalize words except when the methods described above are used
  • Always Capitalize will always auto capitalize words
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Customizing Date Preference

Using the Date Lookup icon lets you edit the format of how the dates will appear in Theatre Manager.

Using the corresponding letters from the lookup you can choose to change the date format.

Each letter is separated by a space.

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Multi-Level Sorting

There may be time where you would like to create a multi-level sort within your data. Some examples of when you might need this could be to find duplicate patrons; perform multi-season event searches; sort patrons within the subscription module; sort orders/tickets within a frequent buyer's record, etc.

Clicking on a column header, sorts any list:

Sort by Single Column

If you would like to further refine your sort, use Shift+Click on the columns in the order you would like them to sort:

Sort by Multiple Column

Performing a Shift-Click on the same column header again will change whether it is in ascending or descending order:

Sorting by Ascending or Descending Order

A single regular click will remove the additional sorts.

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Statistics

The Statistics window is accessed through the File>>Statistics menu.

This shows a quick glance at the record counts in the system. There is a more detailed report that can be printed. The statistics are up dated as the window is opened. If you want to refresh the statistics, you may click the button.



Overview of the Theatre Manager Workspace

The Theatre Manager uses a desktop for the standard interface. Think of the desktop as a workspace where you can access everything you need to operate Theatre Manager, such as Donation Management, Facility Management, Patron Management, Mail Lists, etc.

The desktop contains:

A Title Bar  The Name of the application, and within the workspace,  it also contains:
  • Close
  • Minimize
  • Maximize
B Menu Bar is located at the top and includes the titles of the drop down list functions.
C Toolbar / Ribbon contain Icons leading to the most commonly used functions
D Desktop work space
E Function open in the desktop work space
F Status Bar

Other functions available within the Theatre manager workspace are:

Tooltips

Move the mouse pointer around the screen and you'll see popup tooltips that identify what toolbar buttons do.

Right-Click Menus

Right-click menus are found in many of the function windows and bring up a context menu of functions. These can also contain fly-out menus.

Diataxis: 

Main Toolbar / Ribbon Bar

The main Toolbar (or Ribbon Bar) are the buttons above the Patron Window and below the Menu Bar. Each button has a specialized but generic function so that it is useable for the same function in many different areas. The toolbar / ribbon bar allows quick access to commands and other modules of Theatre Manager.

 

The main toolbar bar provides quick access to key data in Theatre Manager

The Buttons

The Main Toolbar/Ribbon Bar gives you quick access to the following functions:

Patron - Find a patron using the search list and sell tickets (and more).

Click here for more information on the Patron List window.

You can option+click on the patron icon to see a list of the most recent 20 patrons you have accessed and quickly open their patron window.

This is the same list as the recent patron list. Use it as a short cut, or as a reminder of the last patrons you interacted with.

Quick Find - Find a patron in the database using the patron number. Click here for more information on Quick Find.
Calendar - Show multiple Calendars with plays, tasks and other activities which can be used for facility management and scheduling. Click here for more information on Calendars.
Project - Facility Management projects, schedules tasks and activities. The Facility and Workflow Management module allows you to coordinate events, people, and resources across your organization's available venues. You can pull from and create information in your database to manage your venue, your staff and volunteers, your resources and your clients. With this module, the data coordination is presented in multiple visual ways allowing you to easily view and understand the relationships among all those variables. Click here for more information on Facility Management.
Report - List of reports. Click here for more information on Theatre manager Reporting.
Letter - List of form letters. Click here for more information on Form Letters.
Cart - List of shopping carts. Click here for more information on Shopping Carts.
Account - Chart of accounts. Click here for more information on the Chart of Accounts.
GL Entry - General Ledger entries. Click here for more information in GL Entries.
End of Day - End of day wizard. Click here for more information on the End of Day.
Map - List of theatres and their attached maps. Click here for more information on Theatre Maps.
Play - Play list. Click here for more information on Plays.
Subscription - Manage favorite seats for subscriptions. Click here for more information on Season Subscriptions.
Mail List - Mail lists and quick labels for patrons on a Mail List. Click here for more information on Mail Lists.
Preference - Employee preferences. Click here for more information on Employee Preferences.
Help - Access TheatreManagerHelp.com which contains the most recent documentation, procedures and FAQ's about Theatre Manager
Remote Assistance - Activates the remote assistance application to permit Arts Management Systems's support staff to access your machine remotely and assist you. To schedule remote assistance, please phone (888) 536-5244, ext. 1 or email support@artsman.com
Diataxis: 

Toolbar Options

Toolbar options allow you to customize:
  • Toolbars

    the way your toolbars appear both on the main window, specific window toolbars and on floating toolbars. By default, the toolbars all appear with large icons and text beneath them indicating what the icon does.

    • You can customize the main toolbar by right clicking on the Main Theatre Manager toolbar.
    • The toolbars on each window can be altered directly from the toolbar within each window.
  • Menu (windows only)

    On windows, you can also decide if you want the MENU bar to appear or not at the top of the window. To just toggle it on or off by 'checking' or 'unchecking' it.

To access the Toolbar Options on any window, simply Right-click on the toolbar. If you are presented with a menu of options (some windows take you directly to Toolbar Options), choose Preferences, then select your toolbar options.

To revert back to the System Default, you have two options:

  1. Go to Setup>>Users & Access>>Employee Preferences>>WINDOWS tab, and click on the button.
  2. This resets all window settings to the System Defaults, including any customized column placement.



  3. Right-click on the toolbar, select Preferences, and click the option.

The Toolbar Options Window

In the default mode, the Main Toolbar appears as indicated below.


By deselecting the "System Default" you have the following options:

  • Show Text
  • Large Icons
  • Variable Text Width

Each one of these options may be used separately, or in conjunction with each other and are customizable on a per user basis.

By deselecting the Show Text option, the text will disappear from below the icons.


By deselecting the Large Icons option, the icons will get about 50% smaller.


By deselecting the Variable Text Width option, the text will stay at a fixed width, cutting off longer text selections.


Quick Find

Quick Find is designed for finding some needles in a haystack within the theatre manager Database. The quick-find window does a live search of text across a number of database records.

For example, searching for 123 might bring up an order, an address, a company with that in the name, a shopping cart or other interesting things.

Quick-Find finds the top 5 (by default) records in specific categories which can be set in Employee Preferences

To open quick Find, you can:

  • Click the Quick Find button in the main Theatre manager tool bar / ribbon bar.

    Alternatively

    At any time press the [Ctrl] and [F] keys.

    The Quick Search window opens.

 

Quick find shows:

  • the most recently updated records found
  • that match the criteria you entered
  • in each category you have allowed to be search in your employee preferences.
Simply Double Click on the row to see the record.

 

The quick search window can be printed or exported.

Diataxis: 

Selecting a Date or Time

When looking up date and time fields, clicking on the icon will produce the Calendar/Date Search window. If the criteria you are using searches a date field only, the time will not appear.


Calendar Functions

The date search window allows you to select any date to use as a parameter. You can select any date by simply double-clicking on it.

There are also navigation tools available to help you move forward or backward on the calendar:

Click this button to move the calendar back one month.
Click this button to move the calendar back one year.
Click this button to move the calendar forward one month.
Click this button to move the calendar forward one year.
Click this button to directly select from any of the upcoming 12 months, or the same month from the next 5 years.

Time Functions

To change the hour, you can click on the top of the field to forward an hour. it rolls from 12 back to 1. Click on the bottom to go back an hour.

For minutes, if you click the 'left' side, it will go up/down by 10 minutes at a time. If you click on the right side of the minute, it will go up/down a minute at a time. This provides both a "fast" and a "slow" mode of changing the time.

If you right click on any part of the hour, you can pick 1 to 12.

If you right click on any part of the minutes, you can quick set the time to the quarter hour (00, 15, 30 or 45)

If you click on the am/pm, it toggles. If you right click, you get to pick am or pm directly.

Accounting

The Accounting section of Theatre Manager is used for the general ledger setup, general ledger transactions, deposits, receivables, end of day posting, and year end posting. There are many facets to the Accounting section. All of the Accounting functions can be reached through the main menu bar. For more general information and tips on Accounting, click here.

Parts of the Accounting Menu

General Ledger The General Ledger sub-menu contains access to the general ledger and general journal transactions. For more information about the General Ledger sub-menu, click here.
Receivables The Receivables sub-menu contains access to bank deposits and receivables within Theatre Manager. For more information on the Receivables sub-menu, click here.
Payables This function is planned for implementation at a later date.
End of Day Wizard The End of Day Wizard is used for posting all sales at the end of the business day to the general ledger. For more information about the End of Day Wizard, click here.
Confirm Attendance The Confirm Attendance function is used for verifying tickets that were actually used for a performance. It allows tracking of tickets once they have been given to the patron. For more information on the Confirm Attendance function, click here.
Transaction Monitor The Transaction Monitor is used to see transactions that are happening throughout the day in Theatre Manager. This is useful to see how sales are going throughout the day. For more information on the Transaction Monitor, click here.

Overview of the General Ledger

At the most basic level, the best way to think of Theatre Manager is as a replacement Accounts Receivable Sub-Ledger to your existing accounting system.

Sales and payments within Theatre Manager create daily G/L entries for your financial system, using the account numbers in your financial system.

There is a Powerpoint presentation on The Perfect Audit that contains most of the principles of Accounting in TM, especially the Golden Rule and the principle of Source Document Capture. We are happy to explain this for those that wish -and if followed - will give you a great audit.
The accounting module in Theatre Manager is designed to be used in conjunction with the organization's existing financial accounting system. Information generated from the Theatre Manager General Ledger provides:
  • Deposit and Sales Entries into your financial accounting system, including future liabilities for deferred revenues like gift certificates, events or donations.
  • A list of Accounts Receivables by patron.
  • Tax liability information.
  • Event / Play revenue breakdown reports, including order fees and exchange fees.

Sales are controlled and accounted for in the General Ledger module and display numerous variations of revenue breakdown. Implementing the General Ledger requires setting up a simplified chart of accounts, creating general journal entries, and posting the entries to the General Ledger. The General Ledger module provides information based on transactions which have been recorded. This differs from the ticket based reports as they show revenue at the moment of time that the report was created. The General Ledger provides detail and summary information.

The design of the General Ledger Chart of Accounts controls how information is maintained in the General Ledger. The number and type of accounts maintained determines the detail that is available from the General Ledger. This enables the ability to have all the detail information remain in Theatre Manager, while your financial package retains the summary information.

Data is entered into the General Ledger through General Journal Entries which record detail information on sales, exchanges and refund transactions for specific time periods. Summarizing the transactions is known as journalizing and the transaction detail created for each Deposit and Sales Entry records a chronological record of events / plays for the time period. The summarizing links together the debits and credits of each transaction and provides a complete record of each transaction.

There are five types of General Ledger entries:

  1. Deposit entries summarize payments by method of payment; Cash, Check, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Other.
  2. Sales entries summarize revenue for new sales, exchanges and refunds. The sales entry can then be broken down and displayed in virtually any format that is required.
  3. Automatic entries that indicate when to transfer deferred revenue to earned revenue
  4. Manual General Ledger Entries record periodic transactions such as the payment of tax liabilities, adjustments, and year end closings.
  5. G/L entries for inter company transfers when using outlet version of Theatre Manager. This will show ticket sales and commissions due/payable when the ticket sale occurs for your outlet at another outlet - perfect for reconciliation of activity between companies.

After the transactions are recorded in the General Journal, the debit and credit information about each transaction is posted to the General Ledger. Posting the General Journal Entries updates the General Ledger Accounts to reflect all transactions which have been journalized. The General Ledger account balances provide summary information on all General Ledger Entries that have been posted.

Accrual Basis Accounting

Accrual Based Accounting reflects the understanding that the economic effect of a revenue generally occurs when the event occurs (eg tickets bought), not when cash is received. This approach supports deferred accounting, management of receivables, post dated payments and other features. In the US, the IRS requires accrual accounting for 'C' organizations under most circumstances and GAAP/FASB requires it. Canada Revenue Agency rules are similar.

Theatre Manager is designed exclusively around Accrual Accounting principles.

Cash Basis Accounting

Under the cash basis, revenues are reported when cash is received. If the order is entered in December, but the cash from the patron is not received until January, the revenue is reported in January because revenues are recorded when cash is received. Most 503C organizations should follow GAAP and use Accrual accounting per IRS and Canadian requirements.

This manual is not a source of basic accounting knowledge. For detailed explanations of general ledgers, chart of accounts, debits, credits, journalizing, and posting, consult an accounting manual. Follow the accepted accounting practices when selecting the debit or credit setting for accounts and the chart of accounts created in Theatre Manager's General Ledger should reflect your business practices.

The General Ledger Submenu

In the General Ledger function you can post general ledger entries, set up general ledger accounts, look at transactions, and handle year end rollover. The General Ledger Sub-menu is accessed from the Accounting Menu >> General Ledger.

Parts of the General Ledger Sub-menu

G/L Entries The G/L Entries window allows the searching and posting of general ledger entries. For more information on the G/L Entries window, click here.
G/L Accounts In the G/L Accounts window you can create and edit the general ledger accounts in Theatre Manager. For more information on the G/L Accounts window, click here.
Transaction List In the Transaction List window you can search the transactions that have been created, including non-financial transactions. For more information on the Transaction List window, click here.
Year End Roll Over Yhe Year End Roll Over function is used at the end of the fiscal year for your organization to "roll over" financial transactions and accounts to the new fiscal year. For more information on the Year End Roll Over function, click here.

G/L Entries Window

The General Ledger entries window contains all journal entries created, both posted and unposted. You access it through the Accounting -> General Ledger -> G/L Entries menu.

The G/L Entries List Window opens. For more information on the G/L Entries Detail window, click here

G/L Accounts Window

The General Ledger Chart of Accounts contains all the accounts which have been setup in the G/L. The Chart of Accounts can be accessed through the Accounting >> General Ledger >> G/L Accounts menu.

The G/L Chart of Accounts Window opens.

Both the active and inactive accounts can be displayed using the check boxes. Click here, for a description of the General Ledger Accounts window.

Transaction List Window

You use the General Ledger Transaction History List window to access specific transactions based on your lookup. The General Ledger Transactions List Window is accessed through the Accounting >> General Ledger >> Transactions List menu.

The G/L transaction List Window opens.

For more information on the G/L Transaction History window, click here.

Transaction History List

You use the Transaction History window to review transactions that occurred within a certain date and time range. This can be useful when trying to discover an error that may have occurred during the day.

Parts of the Transaction History Window

This function is not available in this window.
Opens the Transaction Detail window for further detail about the transaction.
This function is not available in this window.
This function is not available in this window.
Prints a copy of the information in the window.
Exports the information in the window to a TXT document for the purpose of importing into another program.
Opens the Patron record of the patron associated with the transaction.
Attempts to unpost the transaction where applicable.
Creates a reverse debit or credit for the transaction. This function is not yet available.
Analyzes the TS transactions to verify that they are in balance.
A drop down menu of the available search functions.
Initiates a search based on the parameters in the To and From fields.
Include The items checked will be included in the search. Uncheck an item to remove it from the search.
Seq. # The sequence number of the transaction.
Trans. Date The date of the transaction.
Journal No The journal number of the transaction.
Code The transaction code associated with the transaction.
Transaction Desc A description of the transaction.
Order # The order number the transaction was part of.
Event / Play The event / play the transaction is associated with.
Performance The performance the transaction is associated with.
Description of Entry An entry description.
Debit The amount of the debit associated with the transaction.
Credit The amount of the credit associated with the transaction.
User The user who handled the transaction.
Qty The quantity of items in the transaction.
Total The total of the transaction
First Name The first name of the patron associated with the transaction.
Last Name The last name of the patron associated with the transaction.
Company The company associated with the transaction.
Patron # The patron number associated with the transaction.
Campaign The donation campaign associated with the transaction.
Description A description of the donation campaign.
Promotion The promotion that used with the transaction.
Group The report group of the promotion.
Merchant The merchant that was used to process the transaction.
Event / Play Title The event / play title associated with the transaction.
Event / Play Code The event / play code associated with the transaction.
GL # The general ledger number associated with the transaction.
Fee The fee associated with the transaction.

Transaction History - Detail

Displays the information about the transaction selected in the Transaction History window.

The parts of the window are:

Toolbar / Ribbon Bar

Help - Opens the online help.
Duplicate - Duplicates and Reverses the transaction to create an offsetting entry
Delete - Unavailable
Patron - show the patron this transaction belongs to. Opens the Patron record for the patron associated with the transaction.
GL Entry - Show the GL Entry  containing this transaction if it has been posted
Unpost - Clears the journal number on the transaction if it can be unposted so it can be posted again

General Information

Displays general information about the transaction, such as:

  • Type
  • Patron
  • Order Number
  • Date Created
  • GL Journal Number
  • Transaction ID Number
  • Dated
Diataxis: 

Transaction History - GL tab

The GL Entries tab displays:

  • for posted transactions - the accounts that the entry has posted to and contained in the G/L
  • for not-yet-posted transactions - the accounts that the entry is expected to post to during end of day using the current account setup in events, passes, donations, etc. If those setup accounts are changed, prior to posting, the transaction will post to those changed accounts. In other words, the accounts that the system posts to is determined during end of day posting.
  • in order to make change to transactionas the user MUST have a Master User status in Theatre Manager.
  • This transaction history list can be accessed from many places in Theatre Manager such as the End of Day wizard, Plays & Dates, GL Entry Window, etc. The contents of the transaction list varies depending on the route used to access it.

Transaction History - Notifications

If a transaction has any notifications associated with it, you will see the recipients in this list. You can:

  • View the contents of the notification sent to the employee
  • See whether it has been read (or not)
  • Resend the notification by changing its status to Not Done

Year End Rollover

Year End Rollover is the conversion of the general ledger from one fiscal accounting year to the next and occurs at the end of the fiscal year (not the calendar year). The following steps occur:
  • Current year monthly financial totals are moved into the previous year monthly totals.
  • Donations that were deferred for the next fiscal year are transferred from deferred revenue to earned revenue.
  • Passes and Gift Certificates that were deferred for the next fiscal year are transferred from deferred revenue to earned revenue
  • Hours attributed to volunteers/staff are rolled forward one year.
  • Marketing statistics are recalculated to reflect the new fiscal year
  • Optional Steps:
    • Ticket sales for the next fiscal year can all be transferred from deferred revenue to earned revenue based on accounting settings in Company Preferences
    • All events with dates in the past can be closed automatically to prevent any sales, exchanges or refunds from occurring.

The amount of time taken by the year end rollover is dependant only on the number of accounts and posting history. It should take only a couple of minutes to do the actual rollover once you have the reports you want.
Complete the final End Of Day for the current year before doing a Year End Rollover. This generates the final deposit, creates all sales entries, posts to the G/L and then you can run any G/L reports that are traditionally required for auditors.

Refer to timing to decide when to do the rollover.

Sales can continue on the web and at the box office while year end rollover is in progress. Just don't do your end of day until Rollover is complete.

Year End Backup

Making a year end backup of your database is important for audit purposes.

Almost all reports in Theatre Manager can be re-run with the exception of the receivables report. That changes when anything new is bought and/or paid for. Auditors like to see your receivables as of year end and reconcile it to your accounting program.

This audit backup generally coincides with when you run the year end rollover, especially if you do your rollover on the last day of the fiscal year or the first day of the next year. If you decide to delay the year end rollover, then you will have future G/L entries that are pending posting (after the rollover), which will affect receivable reports. In that case, you will also want to do a back up as at the end of the fiscal year.

Venues with databases on the AMS cloud should contact AMS support with message asking to make a special backup for year end.
You must manually create a backup at a time of your own choosing by following these instructions and saving the backup file.

Timing of Year End Rollover

Year End Rollover does not have to be done on the last day of the fiscal year (as determined in Accounting tab in Company Preferences). You can
  • wait until the first day of next fiscal year to run the rollover. This will capture internet sales through midnight and into the current year -or-
  • do it a day or so early. Any sales occurring after rollover will be allocated to the next fiscal year.
  • Generally speaking, a good accounting practice is that year end rollover should be run as soon as possible after the actual end of year

If you have not run a Year End Rollover and the last day of the fiscal year has now passed:

  • the user will receive a message when trying to post G/L entries at end of day. This message indicates that some sales or deposit postings were not done because they are in the next fiscal year. This still gives time to print the G/L reports for prior year and make adjustments.
  • any donations entered after the start of the new fiscal year default to the past fiscal year. If the intention of a donation is to be in the NEW fiscal year, then change the fiscal year on the donation entry window manually -or- do Year End Roll Over and the fiscal year default will change.

If the organization does a Year End Rollover and still needs to make manual adjustments to the G/L, they can be done to the prior year. Then print a G/L report for the prior year (because of the roll over, the current year moved to the prior year). This means the user can still get any financial information needed.

Year End Rollover and Extended Break Settlements

Fiscal Year End Roll Over
If your offices will be closed during the time of your Fiscal Year End (such as over December 31, for example), you may want to make Year End Roll Over (YERO) preparations before you close for the season that need to occur prior to transacting any business in the new fiscal year.

Why is this important?
The primary reason Theatre Manager needs a YERO performed is to appropriately move donation funds into the correct fiscal year. Typically, future campaign funds are kept in a separate General Ledger account (deferred) until the first day of the new fiscal year. The YERO process moves these funds from the deferred account to the earned account. New donations, intended for the upcoming fiscal year, will need to be appropriately allocated according to the ACCOUNTING tab of the campaign setup. The YERO also advances the default fiscal year setting when entering a donation. If the YERO has not been performed, the funds will not be allocated to the correct fiscal year. Season and event ticket income may also be affected depending on the settings in your database.

The complete YERO steps can be reviewed and followed at Year End Rollover as it provides you the step-by-step instructions to complete the process.

Special notes:

  • Be sure to make a backup of the database prior to running the YERO.
  • Be sure to read the section on the optional step carefully. Although most organizations do not use this option - review them with your accountant to see if they do apply to you.
  • Do not interrupt the YERO process. It may take from several minutes to several hours to complete and the computer may look "stalled" during that time. Do not stop the process or interrupt the computer at any time. If you are unsure, contact Arts Management Systems Support first. If you quit the process, you may need to restore to a backup copy of the database before you can continue.

End of Day over an Extended Break
In addition, you may need to take into consideration your End Of Day process over an extended break, such as the upcoming holidays. Ideally, you need to keep the Deposits and Sales Entries portion of the End Of Day going on a regular basis over the break - bearing in mind that even though there is no one in the office selling tickets, if you have web sales, it will continue to run. Please refer to strategies to keep your system running smoothly over an extended break.

Steps in the Year End Rollover Process

Only run the Year End Rollover routine when your venue is ready and/or if the user is prompted to by the End Of Day Wizard, which indicates that Theatre Manager is unable to post 'next' year's sales and deposit entries.
  • We suggest making a backup of your database before starting year end rollover. The purpose is in case the auditor wants you to go back to an old database for some reports.
  • Please find your most recent backup and save it in the monthly or annual backup folder.
  • For those venues on the AMS Cloud, please contact us and we will save a year end database for you.
Do not interrupt the year end rollover process once you start it and it should finish in a few minutes.

If you do interrupt it, please contact Arts Management Support and it may be possible for us to re-run it for you

  1. Use the Accounting >> General Ledger >>Year End Rollover menu.

  2. Check off all items in the 'check list' section to confirm that you completed them and/or have the data and that you are ready to continue the Year End Rollover.

      The check box in the 'Optional Steps' at the bottom of this window to transfer events from deferred to earned revenue can ONLY be checked if your company preferences are set to defer revenue only from one "season" to another "season". (Other settings should prevent use of this option).

      The check box to 'Close Past Events' will take all events that are completely in the past fiscal years and close them - so that ticket sales, exchanges and refunds can no longer occur. This can be reversed by editing the event and re-opening it.

  3. Click the Perform Year End Rollover button to continue.
  4. A window opens confirming you are ready to run the Year End Rollover.

  5. A confirmation window opens stating the Rollover is complete.

Changing Fiscal Year End

If you are changing your fiscal year end, you can run a year end rollover:
  • in the middle of the old fiscal year if making your fiscal year shorter
  • a few months after later if making your fiscal year longer
    • This is such a rare situation, that we suggest you contact the support team.

Making a shorter fiscal year

If, for example, your current fiscal year ends in October and you want to change the fiscal year end to be July of the same year, then you are making your fiscal year shorter. The current fiscal year will not be 12 months, it will only be 9 months and then the fiscal year will go from August to July moving forward.

At End of Day on July 31st of the shortened fiscal year

  • Stop all sales in Theatre Manager
  • Complete the final End Of Day for the shortened fiscal year on the day that you want to be the new year end.
  • Make a backup of the database. If you are using AMS cloud, ask support team to make one for you to file away
  • Alter the fiscal year end in Company Preferences to indicate the new end month of the fiscal year.. it will be 'JULY' in this example.
  • Do the year end rollover to set the new fiscal year. In the example above, you will be doing a year end rollover on July 31st (instead of Oct 31st)

In the accounting data in TM, you will see the following effects.

  • The prior year fields in accounting will show 9 months containing data and 3 months without data (since that represents August, September and October which have not happened yet.
  • The title on the month columns in history will not reflect correctly. This is because TM simply calls the accounting periods - period 1 to period 12. For convenience, TM displays the month based on the value in default data - which is now meaningless since you adjusted the year end period. . Think of months as period 1 to period 12.
  • The new year will start as expected, in the new month, starting in a new period 1 in the new fiscal year fields.

 

Making a longer fiscal year

For example, if you are changing your fiscal year from July 31 to October 30, (which means 15 months in the fiscal year), then you are trying to have more than 12 months in the current fiscal year. Theatre Manager only recognizes 12 motnhly periods, even if your accotning system recognizes more.

To make the change in TM, on July 31st of the current fiscal year:

  • Alter the current fiscal year end in Company Preferences to indicate the new end month of October
    • The effect you will see in the accounting data for TM is that:

      • TM puts the monthly totals into the last periods in reports and on screen. They will contain totals for multiple months. This means:
        • Month 10 (now named August, but formerly called May before you changed the fiscal year end month) will have accounting totals for both May and August.
        • Month 11 (now named September) will contain totals for June & September
        • Month 12 (now named October) will contain totals for July and October
      • You will defer the year end rollover to the month that it should now occur, which is Oct 31st.
      • The financial totals for the 15 months of the prior year will be correct -- and ther appear in the monthly columns adjusted by 3 months, with the last 3 months (Aug, Sept, Oct) each containing two months of financial data as described above.

Fixing EOD Imbalance created because of Year End Rollover

Please read carefully and fully understand the ramifications of this one time only feature before using it.

It will make a historical balancing entry and should only be used if your most recent Year End Rollover resulted in an End of Day imbalance.

DO NOT use this process to correct and EOD imbalance in the middle of the year. It is only to be used if the EOD imbalance occurred directly after running Year End Rollover

 

Why did I get an imbalance in the first place?

This issue should only arise if you:

  • just ran your year end rollover -and-
  • discovered that your first end of day after that was out of balance,
The likely cause of the issue is:
  • The year end rollover process was redesigned in Mid 2018 to make it a much faster process. It now rebuilds annual GL totals from all past GL entries. The added benefit is that year-end-rollover to be rerun (please contact the support team to if you need this).
  • Your venue has been using TM for a long time (most likely from version 6 era decades ago) -AND-
  • A consolidated GL entry might not have been created properly - so this will address this missing data in the database

 

When NOT to use this process

DO NOT use this process if you just discovered and EOD imbalance in the middle of the year. Instead use the Troubleshooting End of Day imbalance checklist to find your issue.

Otherwise, we suggest to contact the support team to get assistance and to verify that the process should be used.

 

Who can do this process?

Only a master user or outlet administrator can make this entry. It is not visible for any other user.

 

What is the process and rules surrounding this feature

If you discover an EOD imbalance after your first end of day after year end:

If, after involving the support team and the End of Day Imbalance is still present, then:

  • Force the EOD to balance by creating the adjusting entry under your normal user account.
  • Do not post this force balanced GL entry.

    If you posted it in TM, the next step you take depends on whether you passed this GL entry to your accounting system:

    • If you just posted in Theatre Manager and have not created your end of day G/L report to pass to your accounting staff, please unpost this GL entry immediately.
    • If you have already passed the Adjusting entry to your accounting staff, then:
      • reverse the GL entry in TM.
      • Create another force balance Adjusting Entry. The totals should be the same as the one you just reversed.
  • Log in as the Master User or Outlet Administrator for your outlet. The feature is not available to anybody else
  • Find the EOD adjustment GL entry you just created. It must not be posted and it must be of type 'GL'
  • Click the Convert to Historical Entry
  • Confirm that you want to convert this GL entry to historical by clicking the Convert button.

 

What does this process do

Converting a GL Entry to historical will:

  • Change the source of the GL entry from GL to CO, meaning that it is a historical consolidation accounting entry from years ago.
  • Add text to the notes indicating that that it was a force balance after year end rollover
  • Change the date on the GL entry to 10 years ago to the date
  • Mark the entry as posted so that it will not be posted again
  • It will back date the posting date to 10 years ago. This means it will not show up in today's end of day.
  • Mark the GL entry as exported - meaning it cannot be exported and passed to your accounting system if you have automated that process
  • Adds a flag to the GL entry to mark this a a special GL entry. Once you have created this one-time GL entry for a Year End Rollover problem, you will never be able to create another one.
  • Theatre Manager will then rebuild the account balances as if it were ding year end rollover to bring TM's A/R account into balance. Since this GL entry is now 10 years old, it make it appear as if the force balance never occurred.

Receivables Submenu

The General Ledger function allows the posting of general ledger entries, setting up general ledger accounts, looking at transactions, and handling year end rollover. The General Ledger Sub-menu is accessed from the Accounting Menu >> General Ledger.

Parts of the Receivables Submenu

Bank Deposits. If credit card payments are deposited into separate bank accounts, they may require a separate deposit number. For more information on Bank Deposits, click here.
The Receivables List window is used to review all patrons with balances in the Accounts Receivable ledger. For more information on the Receivables List window, click here.

Payment Request List

The payment request list shows
  • activity created by EMV pin pads (currently Moneris only) and
  • the status of the request.
The list is useful for analyzing any issues with credit card activity from using pin pads. If an error occurs, it might cause an end of day imbalance that might be identifiable in the list of EMV payment requests since all are tracked that, regardless of success or failure.

Bank Deposit Entry

For cash control, an employee’s cash receipts should be balanced to their sales on a daily basis.

If credit card payments are deposited into separate bank accounts, they may require a separate deposit number. A single type of payment method is used to identify each sales. Theatre Manager can quickly remove a particular payment method from the daily deposit using the delete button. To do this, you:

  • Highlight the payment method to be removed from the deposit.
  • Click the delete button. The deposit total is automatically recalculated.

Your accounting polices and practices will determine how to develop the deposit totals.

  1. Open the Bank Deposits window selecting Accounting >> Receivables >> Bank Deposits menu.

    The payment selection criteria window opens.

  2. Confirm the time period for the deposit.

    Set the ending date to select all payments which have not been deposited. The current date is automatically displayed in the date filed on the message window.

    When balancing is done for the day of the sales, the date used will be the current date. When balancing is done the day after the sales, the date used will be the previous day’s date. If correcting ticket orders caused new payments, then the date used will be the current date -- when this is performed, new payments that have been entered will be included in the payment selection and may have to be removed.

    It is recommended that if the balancing is performed the day after the ticket sales. You do not enter new payments until the previous days payment receipts are balanced. This prevents mixing payments for two separate time periods in the same deposit. If new payments have been entered, the new payments should be identified and removed from the deposit before it is created.

  3. Click the Deposit button.

    The Deposit Window is now accessible.

    For more information on the Deposit window, click here.

  4. Verify that the payments listed match the payment receipts in hand.

    Before continuing with the deposit process, remember to balance the actual receipts to the daily receipts shown in the deposit window. 

  5. Remove any payments from the list which are not to be deposited.
  6. Click the Step 2 button.

    The second step of the Deposit window will open.

  7. Verify that there are no warnings listed at the top of the window.

  8. Enter any shortages or overages for the Box Office and Concessions.

  9. Set the preferences for the reports to be printed.

  10. Click the Deposit button to finish.

The Receivables List Window

The Receivables List window is used to review all patrons with balances in the Accounts Receivable ledger. To find everybody, click the search button with empty entries in the search list.

Once you see your receivables listing, you may want to:

Parts of the Receivables List Window

Opens the online help.
This function is unavailable in this window.
Opens the Patron record for the selected patron.
This function is unavailable in this window.
This function is unavailable in this window.
Prints a list of the patrons in the Receivables List window.
Exports the list of patrons in the Receivables List window into a TXT document for use in another program.
Opens the Patron record for the selected patron.
Adds a Payment to the slected order.
Rebuilds the selected order to verify that it is in balance.
Runs the Order and Transaction reports to verify that all orders listed are in balance.
The different ways to search the window.
Begins a search based on the parameters in the From and To fields.
Patron # The patron number of the patron.
First Name The first name of the patron.
Last Name The last name of the patron.
Company The company of the patron.
Order # The order number associated with the listing.
Balance The total balance owed by the patron.
Credit The total credit amount owed to the patron.
Tix Balance The amount of the balance that is owed for tickets.
Donation Balance The amount of the balance that is owed for donations.
Age The length of time that order has been past due.
Notes Any notes associated with the order.
Deposit Date Due The original date that deposit was due.
Final Date Due The original date the final payment was due.
Inv Date The original invoice date.
Order PO # The PO number associated with the order.
Sold By The user that sold the order.

Post Dated Payment List

You can access a list of post dated payments directly from the Receivables menu.

This will show you a list of all post dated payments, including those for future dates. Any current or past due post dated payments will show up in the end-of-day deposit window to allow them to be deposited.

In addition, this list should be viewed just prior to year end rollover and printed for the auditors - who typically like to see the post dated payments.

Parts of the Post Dated Payment List Window

Opens the online help.
This function is unavailable in this window.
Opens the payment record.
This function is unavailable in this window.
yo can delete a post dated payment. This will alter the balance owing on the order.
Prints the list of the payments on the Post Dated Payment List window to produce the post dated payment report.
Exports the list of payments into a TXT document for use in another program.
Opens the Patron record for the selected payments.
The different ways to search the window.
Begins a search based on the parameters in the From and To fields.
Patron # The patron number of the patron.
First Name The first name of the patron.
Last Name The last name of the patron.
Company The company of the patron.
Notes Any notes associated with the order.
Sold By The user that sold the order.

End of Day Wizard and Daily Balancing

The End of Day wizard should be run at the end of each business day (or first thing the next morning) to create deposit and sales entries. To segregate daily business, the entries should be created prior to entering new sales and payments (corrections excepted). Creating the journal entries prior to entering new sales and recording payments, prevents combining deposits and sales for two periods in the same general ledger entry.

All ticketing and payment corrections and errors should be completed prior to creating a deposit or a sales entry.

To simplify analysis of the sales and deposit entries, create the minimum number of as sales and deposit entries as necessary in any given day. If you create more than one, you must remember to combine everything for that day in your search criteria before analyzing them.

The End of Day Wizard is accessed through the Accounting >> End of Day Wizard menu.

This will open the End of Day Wizard Window allowing you to clear up the business transactions for the day all in one location.

For more information on using the End of Day Wizard, click here.

Timing for Creating Deposit and Sales Entries

Deposit and sales entries can be created at any time. You can create them any number of times per day. If you want to balance the A/R in Theatre Manager, both the deposits and sales should be created at the same time period and at the same time. The End of Day Wizard takes you through the process and identifies if you are out of balance. If you wish, you can also do it manually using the various menu items under the accounting menu. To simplify revenue analysis, the sales entry should be created immediately after the deposit entry.

Normally:

  • The deposit and sales entry should be created daily.
  • only one sales entry is created for the same time period covering the deposit.

However, a sales entry is automatically created for each revenue date since the last sales entry was created. Should you decide not to create sales entries for a week, running the process will create a Sales Posting for each day that sales occurred in that week period.

Time Stamps on Transactions

Reviewing transactions for any time period is made possible by the date and time stamps that are placed on each transaction when it is created.

Time stamps are attached to transactions -- ticket sales, refunds, exchanges, and payments -- and are created at the time the transaction was entered into Theatre Manager. Time stamps identify the date and time that the transaction occurred and enable reports to summarize transactions for specific time periods.

Transactions created to "correct errors" are dated for the time they occurred. Orders, payments, refunds, or exchanges created today to correct yesterday’s errors are date and time stamped today. Any amounts included in the transaction are included in the deposit and sales entries created today. Any transactions required to correct yesterdays transactions should be journalized in a sales and deposit entry prior to new sales being created. These transactions should be included in yesterdays "Deposit and Sales Analysis". Refer to the section Date & Time Stamps for more information.

Employee Till Balancing

The Till Balance feature allows you to have all employees balance their own tills at the end of each shift. This speeds up the End of Day and removes the room for error when employees may have already left for the day.

  1. Open the Till Balance window.

  2. If this employee has had one or more shifts since the payments have been deposited, the following window will appear (if not, proceed to step 4).

    When a shift's till is created, it is assigned a unique number. If the employee has entered one or more payments since the last time they balanced a till, and the payments have not been posted in the end of day process, the employee has the option to:

    • Assign the payments to the same till as they previously balanced. This means that all money taken across a number of days is simply being lumped together into one till #.
    • Create a new shift till for the unbalanced payments. This means you are putting new money into a new till #.
    • A combination of the above by putting some money into an existing till and the rest into a new till. You can do this by
      • selecting the existing till
      • removing all but the 'new' payments you want to add to that existing till
      • indicate that the till now balances with the selected payments.
      • Anything not balanced in one till will be left to the balance in another till.
      • Anything marked as not balanced in an existing till will be taken out of that till. It can then be put into another till (new or otherwise), effectively providing at way to move money between employee till numbers.
    Regardless of the option taken, it is the same amount of money to the end of day process. Use Till #'s for your internal processing if you wish as it means nothing to Theatre Manager end of day balancing - other than it lets you segregate money by shift if you want.
  3. Select the Shift # and click the OK button.

    The Till Balance window opens. For more information on the Till Balance window, click here.

  4. Once all payments are marked as being in the till a number should appear under the Till # column. The Imbalance column at bottom left will also have $0.00 for each item.
  5. Click the Balance button.
  6. Mark which report to print and click the Reports button.

    The Till Summary is suggested.

  7. Bundle the Till Report with the monies that were received by the employee until the time that the deposit is run.

Till Balance Window

Only physical payment methods where this is a chance of discrepancy appear in till balance. This includes Cash, Check, Pass/GC, and other payment methods. The reason is that a manual tally of these payments may point out instances where the value on the check and the value entered into Theatre Manager may be different. It gives a chance of correction at source.

Credit Card payments processed through your merchant account will NEVER show in the till balance window because they can never be for the wrong amount. (The system created the amount and sent to the bank, so there is no possible discrepancy in amount in the system).

Post dated credit cards may appear as a convenience to allow the user to authorize them (although this is usually done in end of day). It may be useful if emergency mode was enabled for part of the day.

Parts of the Till Balance Window

Opens the online Help for this window.
Opens the selected Patron
If enabled, marks the selected payments as missing.
If available, authorizes the selected credit card.
If available, allows you to change the card that a post dated payment is being changed to.
Displays the summary table by patron.
Displays the summary by the type of payment
Patron # The patron number for that patron that this payment is assigned to
First Name First name of the patron this payment is assigned to
Last Name Last name of the patron this payment is assigned to
Company Company name of the patron this payment is assigned to
Total Paid Amount paid by the patron, using this payment method
Till # Has this payment been marked as being in the till? The default is blank, which will change to the till number once the payments are marked manually as being in the till
Card Number The card number/ check number of this payment
Payment types Where you mark (using the check boxes) the payments as being physically in the till. Any payments that are not in the till should be marked as such. You can batch mark payments of a certain type as being in the till, then double click specific payments to remove them

End of Day What to Expect

It is important to close out the daily transactions and balance Theatre Manager on a frequent basis. If this occurs 365 days each year and the GL entry created by Theatre Manager is posted to the organization's accounting system, there should be no problems with the annual audit. This is based on making the GL entries in the accounting software exactly the same as TM creates them.

Theatre Manager is an accrual accounting system!

The Accounts Receivable account (A/R) is a revolving account to manage sales and payments. Each sale (ticket, donation or pass) increases the sales account for that item AND increases the A/R account. When the payment is received, the asset account for that payment is increased while A/R is decreased. If everything is paid for, then the net change to A/R on a daily basis will be zero. If an item is not paid for (i.e. pledge, group ticket sale, or reservation), there will be an increase in A/R on that day. At some subsequent day, once the order is paid for, there will be a decrease in A/R.

Typical GL Entries Seen at End of Day

Posting Type Debit Credit GL Entry Type
Sales of Items
Ticket Sale A/R Deferred Revenue for Event Sales Posting (SP-xxxxxx)
Donation A/R Earned Income for Donation Campaign Sales Posting (SP-xxxxxx)
Pass or Gift Certificate Sale A/R Liability for unused Passes Sales Posting (SP-xxxxxx)
Membership Sale A/R Earned Income for Membership Sales Posting (SP-xxxxxx)
Payments
Credit Card, Check or Cash Payment Visa, MCard or Bank account A/R Deposit (DP-xxxxxx)
Redemption of Pass Liability for unused Passes

A/R

Deposit (DP-xxxxxx)
Transfer to Restricted Account Asset Account for restricted donation campaigns Main Bank Account Deposit (DP-xxxxxx)
Automatically Generated Postings
On day after event, transfer from deferred to earned revenue Deferred Revenue for Event Earned Income for Event Sales Posting (SP-xxxxxx)
On year end Rollover Deferred income for donations dated in a future fiscal year Earned Income for the campaign Sales Posting (SP-xxxxxx)
Manual GL Adjustments
Adjustments to GL Any Account, usually not A/R Any Account, usually not A/R GL-xxxxxx

End of Day Wizard Window

Since Theatre Manager treats sales and payments as separate items, the user needs to do four steps each day to balance. We recommend completing all steps by the end of the day -or- next morning prior to the day's sales.

Parts of the End of Day Wizard Window

Toolbar/Ribbon Bar

Help - Opens the online help.
Deposit Funds - Selects all undeposited payments by payment date and creates a bank deposit
Sales Entries - Creates G/L entries based on all new sales transaction in Venue Manager
Post to G/L - Posts the G/L Entries that comprise the 'end of day' totals to the ledger
Tabs
The calculator located in the upper right hand corner of the window is used to track where the balance stands as the user progresses through the End of Day process.
The Deposits tab is used for creating deposits to send to the bank. For more information on the Deposits tab, click here.
The Sales Entries tab is used to journalize all sales entries to the General Ledger. For more information on the the Sales Entries tab, click here.
The A/R Balance tab is used to journalize all outstanding A/R to the General Ledger. For more information on the A/R Balance tab, click here.
The Reports tab is used for printing reports when the End of Day process is complete. For more information on the Reports tab, click here.

Deposit Tab

Parts of the Deposit Tab

The Sales Entries tab is used to journalize all sales entries to the General Ledger. For more information on the the Sales Entries tab, click here.
The A/R Balance tab is used to journalize all outstanding A/R to the General Ledger. For more information on the A/R Balance tab, click here.
The Reports tab is used for printing reports when the End of Day process is complete. For more information on the Reports tab, click here.
Date The date the journal was created.
Journal # The journal to which the payment(s) was posted.
Account # The unique account number for the payment type.
Description A description of the account.
Memo A detailed description of the journal.
Debit Deposits will debit their corresponding account number for the payment type.
Credit All deposits will credit Accounts Receivable in the General Ledger.
Deposits outstanding funds. For more information on using the Deposits tab, click here.
Opens the Transaction History window with information on the payments received.

Step 1: Deposit Detail Window

The Deposit window has many functions. It:
  • is used to identify payments made since the last deposit that can be taken to the bank or settled in a credit card batch
  • Remove any post dated credit card payments that cannot be authorized or checks that cannot be found.
  • Replace the credit card number or expiry date on a post dated credit card payment to allow it to be authorized
  • aggregate them into a 'batch' to take to the bank and create a deposit posting/GL entry (DP-xxxxxxxx) that can be used by the end of day process.

The deposit window is designed to match exactly the money put into your bank account -- so that it make it easy to reconcile your bank statement with your accounting program.

If you cannot authorize (or find) a post dated payment, or do not want to take specific payment to the bank, REMOVE it from the deposit so that the deposit list matches exactly what will be put into the bank in a single deposit.

Parts of the Deposit Window

Opens the online Help.
Opens the Patron record for the associated payment. Only valid on Summary by Patron tab.
Removes the selected payments from the deposit. This only removes (not delete) a post dated credit card payment from a deposit. Once a payment is removed, the deposit total will be smaller. The removed payment will re-appear the next time you run the deposit window. Hopefully in that time frame, you will have a replacement credit card or the customer will have topped up the balance on the card so it can be authorized.

While valid on all tabs, the effect is a little different, depending on the tab you are on:

  • Summary By Payment Type - removes all payments represented by the selected line. You could. for example, Remove all checks if you do not intend on taking the checks to the bank that day. It means the checks will reappear the next time. This is useful for managing the number of times you physically want to take money to the bank. You could use it to remove all curretnly unauthorized cards.
  • Summary by Patron - removes a single specific selected payment from the deposit. Most often used if there is a credit card that was declined -- so that it will come back the next time .. or to pick that declined card and use the 'Edit Card' button to change the card number. See below further down the web page
  • Summary by employee - removes all payments taken by an employee out of this deposit. It might be used if that employee has not delivered their checks/cash to finance as of yet.
  • Summary by Till - remove all payments within a till balance from this deposit
Authorizes the selected payments through the credit card server if necessary. Valid on all tabs for credit cards
Allows you to change the card that a post dated payment was being charged to - in case of a decline and the patron provides a replacement credit card for the purchase.

This option is only valid on the Summary by Patron tab where you can select the individual payment that you want to change.

Prints a list of the payment in the Deposit window.
Summarizes the payments in the deposit by payment type.
Summarizes the payments in the deposit by patron.
Summarizes the payments in the deposit by the employee who received them.
Summarizes the payments in the deposit by the till they were associated with.
Description A description of the payment.
Quantity The number of payments.
Patron # The patron number of the patron the payment is associated with.
First Name The first name of the patron associated with the payment.
Last Name The last name of the patron associated with the payment.
Company The company associated with the payment.
Received By The employee who received the payment.
Total Paid The total amount of the payment.
Till # The till number the payment is associated with.
Payment Desc A description of the payment.
Date Received The date the payment was received.
Merchant The merchant used to process the payment.
Date Updated The last date the payment was updated.
Troutid
Auth. # The authorization number of the payment if it was a credit card.
Credit Card The credit card number used to make the payment.
Payment # The payment number.
Cash The amount of cash received with the payment.
The breakdown of all the deposits received and the total deposit amount.
Force Duplicates? If there are similar transactions that seem like duplicates and need to be authorized, this will force the transactions through on the credit card server. Duplicate transactions are rejected by default.
Cancels the Deposit window.
Moves to Step Two of the deposit process.

Change Post Dated Credit Card

If a credit card has not yet been authorized because You can change the credit card information prior to authorization on the:
  1. 'Summary by Patron' tab of the Deposit window
  2. 'Summary by Patron' tab on the Till balance List
  3. Payment list on the patron window
  4. Prior payment list on the Order window -or-
  5. If the card is used for recurring donations:
    • you need to change it on the recurring donation window in the payment section PRIOR to the next recurring donation being created.
    • If the recurring donation was created and the card wont authorize, change the card number in the Deposit window (item #1 above)

Simply:

  • select one or more unauthorized credit cards in the list of payments
  • make sure that they are for the same patron
  • Right click to edit it using a context menu. (The deposit and till balance windows also have an icon at the top of the window).
  • You will see a window that lets you put in the credit card details similar to the one above right.
    • Type in (or swipe) a new credit card, expiry, and name on card.
    • Alternatively, use the lookup to select a prior existing card from the patron's list of credit cards
    • When you update the payment, it will replace the new card on all the existing, selected, not-yet-authorized payments.

When you next to end of day and need to authorize the payments, they will authorize using the replacement credit card.
Diataxis: 

Step 2: Confirming the Deposit

End of Day Balance Warnings

Step 2 of the deposit process shows possible issues

  • balancing credit cards through web sales
  • balancing credit cards accepted through an EMV Devices
  • with outstanding/unprocessed post dated payments that may need to be found and
    • Authorized if they are credit cards (or removed if they will not authorize)
    • found in your safe if they are checks and confirmed for value and date so you can take them to the bank
  • where debit/credit offsets for credit cards that could be cancelled and save credit card fees
  • in authorize.net end if somebody forced a prior end of day
  • etc.
After addressing the errors and finding imbalances, you should, in general, have only informational messages (and not warking or errors noted).

Cash Over Under

If you find cash in emplioyee tills to be over/under, you can enter the amounts here and a GL entry will be created for your over/under balancing account. This is used to bring A/R into line.

Deposit Reports

Click to indicate which deposit reports you want printed. Normally, the pertinent one is the check listing. All of them can be recreated at any time in the future

Sales Entry Tab

Parts of the Sales Entries Tab

The Deposits tab is used for creating deposits to send to the bank. For more information on the Deposits tab, click here.
The A/R Balance tab is used to journalize all outstanding A/R to the General Ledger. For more information on the A/R Balance tab, click here.
The Reports tab is used for printing reports when the End of Day process is complete. For more information on the Reports tab, click here.
Date The date the journal was created.
Journal # The journal to which the payment(s) were posted.
Account # The unique account number for the payment type.
Description A description of the account.
Memo A detailed description of the journal.
Debit Debits will be created for there corresponding account number in the G/L.
Credit Credits will be created for there corresponding account number in the G/L.
Play Code Event the sales entry is associated with.
Enable the checkbox to summarize the data by account number.
Begins the process of journalizing the sales entries to the General Ledger. For more information on the Sales Entry Creation process, click here.
Opens the G/L entry associated with the selected items.
Opens a window to view any orders currently in the process of being sold which may affect the End of Day balance.

A/R Balance Tab

Parts of the A/R Balance Tab

The Deposits tab is used for creating deposits to send to the bank. For more information on the Deposits tab, click here.
The Sales Entries tab is used to journalize all sales entries to the General Ledger. For more information on the the Sales Entries tab, click here.
The Reports tab is used for printing reports when the End of Day process is complete. For more information on the Reports tab, click here.
Patron # The number of the patron who made the order.
Last Name The patron's last name.
First Name The patron's first name.
Company The patron's company if applicable.
Order The order number.
Balance Outstanding balance on the order.
Debit The patron account is debited for purchase of tickets, memberships, etc..
Credit The patron account is credited for refunds and returns.
Tix Balance The amount of the total which is due for tickets.
Donation Balance The amount of the total which is due for donations.
Post the accounts receivable to the General Ledger. For more information on the Post to G/L process, click here.
Rebuilds the balances of the orders.
Creates a balancing entry in the GL for a Box Office write-off.

End of Day Wizard Reports Tab

Parts of the Reports Tab

The Deposits tab is used for creating deposits to send to the bank. For more information on the Deposits tab, click here.
The Sales Entries tab is used to journalize all sales entries to the General Ledger. For more information on the the Sales Entries tab, click here.
The A/R Balance tab is used to journalize all outstanding A/R to the General Ledger. For more information on the A/R Balance tab, click here.
Prints the selected report to the screen.
Exports all not-yet-exported general ledger entries to disk for use in another program. If you do not export one day, this button ensures the files are created the next time it is used for all past (not-yet-exported) GL entries. If you:
  • wish to export only selected G/L entries (or want to see what can be exported), refer to the list of G/L Entries
  • If you want to select an export format for your GL entries, refer to Accounting Tab on company preferences.
Create EFT File If you are using EFT within your organization and have set the EFT Merchant Account, you can export your EFT data, ready to upload to your bank.
Printed Denotes whether the report has been printed. A 'Yes' will appear when it has.
Report Description A description of the report.
Report Parameters The parameters that are used for the report.
Report Help A lengthier description of the report.

Multiple End of Days/Reports on the Same Day

You can run the Deposits and Sales Entries at any point during the day (or multiple times during the day), however you should generally only post to the General Ledger and run your reports once a day.

The reason for only producing the reports once per day (after the LAST posting for the day) is that the default criteria in the reports at end of day default the criteria to be everything for that day out of convenience to you. Meaning, if you post three times in one day, the end of day reports produce an aggregate of the 3 postings.

If you wish to separate the postings into parts of a day, you can:

  • access the same reports under Theatre Managers Reporting system (General Ledger section) and put criteria into separate the day into parts. For example, use criteria in the reports for GL DATE POSTED between midnight and noon. Or from Noon to 4 pm.
  • or when looking at a finished report in the end of day, click the criteria button and change the criteria to reflect only the part of the day you are interested in

Using the End of Day Wizard

The End of Day wizard is simple to use. It allows you to process all necessary accounting transactions from one location. There are three steps in using the End of Day wizard:

Once the above steps are run the Reports tab can be used to generate the desired reports for entering details in the accounting software. The most commonly generated reports are indicated with stars next to them.

Deposit In The End Of Day

You can run the Deposit process as many times as is needed in a day. You can also run it independently of the additional steps in the End of Day. You do this most often when you want to get the money to the bank, the remaining steps in the End of Day are not required.
Recurring donations are created during end of day deposit automatically on the date that they are next due.
  1. Open the End of Day Wizard window.

    For more information on the End of Day Wizard window, click here.

  2. Start with the Deposits tab (which will be blank). Click the Deposit Funds button.

    The Bank Deposits window opens.

  3. Enter the date up to including the date you want to make the deposit.
  4. Click the Deposit button.

    The Deposit window opens.

    For more information about the Deposits window, click here.

  5. Click the Step 2 button to continue with the deposit.

    The Confirm Deposit window opens.

    If the Box Office or Concession tills have an overage or shortage, fill the fields with the correct amount to show it as over or short.

  6. Click the Deposit button to continue with the transaction.

    The Deposit Confirmation opens.

  7. Click the Deposit button to continue.

    Any reports selected are generated to the screen for printing. You are returned to the End of Day Wizard window with the deposits displayed.

    To continue the End of Day process with adding Sales Entries, click here.

Using the End of Day Wizard with Paymentech Orbital

For complete instructions on the setup of your Orbital Merchant account within Theatre Manager click Orbital Setup.
    Completing the End of Day when setup using Paymentech Orbital is exactly the same as completing the standard End of Day as outline in the previous page. There is however one new step which requires logging into the Orbital Account, retrieving the credit card batch summary and entering the values into Theatre Manager. Access to your Orbital Account is defined in Step #5 below.
    1. Open the End of Day Wizard window. Click button from the main Theatre Manager Toolbar / Ribbon Bar.

      For more information on accessing the End of Day wizard, click here.

    2. Start at the Deposits tab which will be blank. Click the Deposit Funds button.

      The Bank Deposits window opens.

    3. Enter the date up to which the user would like to make the deposits.

      Traditionally, accept the current default date to deposit all payments up to the moment.

    4. Click the Deposit button.

      The Deposit window with the Orbital feature window opens.

    5. Click the Orbital button to access your Orbital Virtual Server account, obtain your transaction count and total. Enter the number of Transactions in Batch and the value for the Batch Total obtained from your Virtual Server Account.

      For more information about the Orbital Virtual Server window, click here.

    6. Click the Matches button to continue.
    7. Click the Step 2 button to continue with the deposit.

      The Confirm Deposit window opens.

      If the Box Office or Concession tills have an overage or shortage, fill the fields with the correct amount to show it as over or short.

    8. Click Deposit to continue with the transaction.

      The Deposit Confirmation window opens.

    9. Click the Deposit button to continue.

      Any reports selected will be generated to the screen for printing. The user will be returned to the End of Day Wizard window with the deposits displayed.

      To continue the End of Day process with adding Sales Entries, click here.

Finding the Paymentech Orbital Balance

If the credit card authorization software you are using is Paymentech Orbital, you will need to access your merchant account via the web to obtain transaction totals and transaction counts while doing the end of data process.

Theatre Manager assumes you have turned off auto-settle in the admin settings and that Theatre Manager will do the settlement. Do not settle the batch using the Orbital interface.

To find the batch total, you will need to:

  • log into the Orbital Virtual Server for your merchant account with your user id and password.
  • Click on the 'Open Batch' link at the top of the web page and you will see the page below

  • On the 'Open Batch - Search' window, change the following search parameters. Others should be blank.
    • Remove the check next to Date Range.
    • Set the Query Type to be Summary Query
    • Click the Search button
  • When the screen below is shown, look for the values in the middle of the screen called
    • Total Count in the 2nd last column of the second table. In this example it is 1 and represents the number of transactions
    • Net Amount in the last column of the second table. In this example it is 2.00 and represents the total value of the current batch that has not yet been settled. You will want these total which include any refunds that may have been purchased

  • When you have both those values, place them into the dialog window of the Theatre Manager Deposit process in the window show below and click Matches.

    These values may be zero if there are no credit cards waiting to be settled.

    If you do not know the balances or have already forced settled a batch, click No Match (this is not the normal practice).

Authorize.Net End Of Day Process

For complete instructions on the setup of your Authorize.net account within Theatre Manager click Authorize.net Setup.

End of day in Authorize.net is similar to any other merchant provider. You follow the basic end of day process outlined previously. However, Authorize.Net operates with one little (but important to know) difference compared to the other credit card service providers.

Most providers allow you to authorize cards, get a batch total, and then settle the batch. Each 'settlement' results in a batch being flushed to your bank. If you settle twice a day, you will likely have two entries in your bank account.

Authorize.net allows one batch per day. You can settle in Theatre Manager as many times as you want and all of them will be aggregated into one single batch that appears on your bank statement. That single batch is 'swept' into your bank account at a time of your choosing (set by each merchant in the online interface in authorize.net and can be changed at any time). We recommend that you set the batch sweep to be approximately 12 hours after the time you regularly do your end of day processing. For instructions on setting the sweep time, click here. For example:

  • If you do your end of day in at 8 in the morning, then setting the automatic sweep to between evening and midnight would allow sufficient time for correction.
  • If you typically do your end of day before going home for the evening, then a sweep of all settled cards at 4 am would be a good idea.

The following describes how Authorize.net differs (slightly) as it may be important to understand the effects if you need to create more than 1000 transactions between each end of day. (This is a very large number of transactions and is rarely exceeded - even by large venues and onsale dates).

Authorize.net also has an online Merchant Login where you can view your current charges at any time -and- review current unsettled transactions and past batches.

Your Authorize.net account must have permission to call the Transaction Details API in order to settle. It is a permission your service provider must give you.

Authorize.net Authorization

To enable the level of End-of-Day reconciliation that Theatre Manager users have come to expect, the authorization in Authorize.net is done a little differently.

  • Each authorization is sent using a mode called 'auth only'. This gives you an authorization number and a guaranteed hold on the patrons credit card - just like a full authorization - for up to 30 days, or until released. The situation where you would personally experience 'auth only' is when checking into a hotel where a hold is put on your card for the duration of your stay.
  • In Theatre Manager, the amount 'held' is the exact amount of the sale (it is never more, nor less). Refer to the top part of the diagram above - Theatre Manager simply asks Authorize.net to guarantee a hold on the right amount of funds.

Authorize.net Settlement

There is a quick additional setup step inside the Authorize.net online interface to allow settlement from within Theatre Manager. Click here for instructions. The Authorize.net settlement process is also a little different because of the authorization process, yet provides some interesting benefits. In general, when you decide to settle your batch:

  1. Theatre Manager retrieves all the unsettled 'auth only' transactions from Authorize.net. However, Authorize.net will only send the most recent 1000 transactions back to Theatre Manager. This should be perfectly fine for almost every venue almost every day.
  2. Theatre Manager compares those transactions on a one-by-one basis to the payments that have not yet been deposited. In theory, they should match exactly. If they do, Theatre Manager goes on to the next step. If the transactions do not match exactly, then a short list of discrepancies is shown that can only be:

    Very important - please read the error message column to see if:
    • The transaction is in Authorize.net and not in Theatre Manager -OR-
    • The transaction is in Theatre Manager and not authorize.net
    and then take action according to the two options below.
    • Payments in Authorize.net that are not in Theatre Manager.

      This might happen if

      1. You settled the match in Authorize.net manually the previous day and did not settle TM. If this is the case, you will see multiple lines in the list .. and the total should match prior days deposit plus today's business
      2. a user logs in to the Authorize.net online interface using their web browser and authorizes a card independently of Theatre Manager (this in itself is a no-no). In other words, something that should never happen.
      3. there is a communication error after Theatre Manager sends the authorization - and before Authorize.net can send on back. If these happen, then you will probably already know about it and need only void the card in Authorize.net to make both balance.
      4. There is some sort of communication error during end of day and TM settles the batch, but they payments were not marked as 'capture' in Authorize.net. If that happens, you will have a continuing out of balance that is constant day-after-day. To fix it:
        • find the payments in Authorize.net that were part of the batch that had the problem. Conveniently, the eod of day will provide an audit list for you (it things they are missing in TM, but they are not).
        • mark them captured manually in Authorize.net so that the same payments are both captured in auth.net and already previously deposited in TM.
      5. there is a chargeback from visa - in which case it might show up as a discrepancy. The advantage is that you will know about these when they happen and can correct it in Theatre Manager immediately.
    • Payments in Theatre Manager that are not in Authorize.net.

      The only reasons where this would occur is:

      1. refunds processed after end of day and before the daily sweep. (Which you should avoid).
      2. If you have turned on auto-settle in the online authorize.net interface -- which would never be set up that way during the install and you should change Authorize.net to self settle.
  3. Once you are satisfied that the payment matches the Authorize.Net batch, you settle Theatre Manager by clicking on the final deposit button on the end of day deposit window. Theatre Manager has to do the EOD a little differently than simply settle:
    1. Theatre Manager will go through each of the payments that match from the step above and tell Authorize.net to 'capture' the card. Capturing the card means that the hold is removed and instantly replaced with a binding authorization
    2. These 'captured' cards sit in the batch at Authorize.net and are 'swept' once a day to move them all into the bank, just like other authorization software.

Balancing audit Messages in Authorize.net end of day

During end of Day, you may occasionally see a window like the one below containing a list of discrepancies detected by Theatre Manager while it is attempting to balance Authorize.net. It only appears if you need to do something about some failed transactions, refunds, or voids. If you do not see this window, there is nothing wrong and your end of day and nothing to do.

When you see this window:

  • Make the error column wider as it may give you enough information to help you diagnose the issues
  • Click 'Print Error List' to see actions that you might take to solve the problem which is included with the message description. See a sample report below.
  • Contact support if you need further explanation of the message and what to do.

 

Special Note on Authorize.net refund processing

Refunds are processed immediately by Authorize.net.

If you do a lot of refunds before the sweep time and settle end of day after the sweep time, you may be told that you are out of balance by what seems to be the total amount of your refunds.

See explanation why Authorize.net processes refunds right away.

Implications of the Authorize.net EOD approach

Refunds are processed immediately by Authorize.net. YOU CANNOT VOID A REFUND.

If you fail to settle a batch containing a refund before the authorize.net sweep time, you will receive a warning during the end of day that the batch may be out of balance (even if it is not).

Your balance will appear be out by the total amount of refunds you processed before the sweep time.

You will see this every time you:

  • do a refund on a specific day and
  • do not do the end of day process on that same calendar day (before the sweep time)
Set your sweep time (in authorze.net settings on their web page) to be about an hour after you normally do your end of day to minimize the messages about refunds.

There are a few subtle implications of the way Authorize.net works that you may encounter in your reconciliation. Most venues should not see them, but in case you do, these are:

  • Multiple Ends-Of-Day: If you do an end of day more than once per day, you will still only see one deposit to your bank because the batch is never closed. Authorize.net 'sweeps' all 'captured' cards once per day and moves them into your bank. This may be useful as Theatre Manager can aggregate EOD into one posting if desired.
  • Running End-Of-Day during the Sweep: The Authorize.net bank sweep should be set to run 6 hours after typical end of day. We recommend avoiding doing an end of day in Theatre Manager when the 'sweep' normally occurs otherwise part of a TM batch might be 'swept' to the bank on one day and the rest on the net day - resulting in a split batch. All a 'split batch' does is require you to use a calculator two add two numbers on a bank statement together to compare to your accounting system.
  • Setting the Sweep Time: is dependant on when you typically do end of day because of how REFUNDS in a batch are dealt with (see below). We suggest setting the sweep time to 6 hours after the time that you normally do end of day to give the best chance of a refund falling into the current day business. For example, if you do end of day:
    • each night, then 2:00 am is a good choice for the sweep time.
    • each morning, then we suggest 2:00pm for the sweep time.
  • Refunds in the batch. There is a difference between a VOID and a refund. A void cancels out an existing charge and there will be no issues during EOD because of voids. However, if a credit card charge is DEPOSITED in theatre manager and you want to refund that money some days or months later, the only way to do so with the independent refund feature in Authorize.net. You must explicitly enable this feature and if you do so:
    • you SHOULD limit who can provide refunds -and-
    • you MUST DO END OF DAY TO SETTLE YOUR TM BATCH in the same day that you did the REFUND in order to see it in the end of day BEFORE THE SWEEP TIME HAS OCCURRED.
      Authorize.net automatically 'captures' refunds immediately (we wish it didn't) so if you don't settle before the sweep, it will appear like you are out of balance and have an additional refund transaction in TM that does not seem to be in Authorize.net.

      In reality, you are most likely in balance because the refund just got placed in the previous day's batch. You will need to look in the previous day's batch for the refund to make sure you don't refund twice.

      Addressing Auth.net refund process if it gets deposited before you get a chance to do end of day:

      • Start the end of day deposit.
      • You will get a discrepancy doing end of day. TM will say the batch doesn't match and provide the edit log.
      • Read the description in each line of log to see if it gives additional info.
      • If the errors in the log are all refunds from the prior day and they are in the settled batch on auth.net's online portal, then they are already in auth.net -- so just settle the batch
      • If the errors are new authorizations, contact support. it means you'll need to check yesterdays settlement to see if somebody forced it.
  • Voids in Batch are when you authorize a charge and then void it before settlement. Authorize.net will leave a transaction on their size for ZERO dollars. This may result in TM showing the 'void' in the audit list at the end of the day. Please verify that the amount is zero. It is also for your protection to ensure that somebody did not authorize then void without anybody in finance knowing about it.
  • More that 1000 authorizations between End Of Day: It is very rare that ay venue will have 1000 distinct transactions in any one day - and likely only on a heavy on-sale day. 1000 authorizations might reflect well over $0.5M per day. On the rare day that you may have more than 1000 authorizations, you may wish to plan your day and:
    • Run an end of day when you are nearing 1000 transactions. This is because Authorize.net will retrieve only the most recent 1000 transactions and doing an end of day approximately every 1000 transactions means that the standard settlement process will run normally, providing a good edit list if possible mistakes.
    • On a really busy day, you can simply use the methodology for large batches and settle everything after all goes quiet for the day. If Theatre Manager cannot do the normal settlement process for Authorize.net, you will get a message similar to the one at right informing you. At that point you will need to get a batch total from the online interface -- and compare it manually to the Theatre Manager total. When both agree, simply close the batch and settle as normal. TM will avoid the payment balancing step (due to the Authorize.net 1000 transaction download limitation) and set all cards to 'capture'. The bank sweep will get them the next day and move them to your bank as normal.

Totals for Large Authorize.net Batches

If the credit card authorization software you are using is Authorize.net, you may need to access your merchant account via the web to obtain transaction totals and transaction counts while doing the end of data process.

This should only be required when there are more than 1000 transactions in a batch. This is due to a limitation on the Authorize.net servers which only returns the 1000 most recent transactions (suitable for most days business). If you are in a day with more than 1000 transactions, use the batch total and transaction count to compare to the totals in theatre manager and then force settle. TM will then change all cards to 'capture' them.

If there are less than 1000 transactions in the batch, Theatre Manager should identify discrepancies automatically.

Please note that a batch may appear out of balance if there are refunds in a batch, which is affected by your choice of sweep time. Check for voided payments in the Theatre Manager edit list -> error message column and make sure that they are expected.

Theatre Manager assumes you have turned off auto-settle in the admin settings and that Theatre Manager will do the settlement. Do not settle the batch using the Authorize.net interface.

To find the batch total, you will need to:

  • log into the Authorize.net Merchant Login window and enter your user id and password for your merchant account.
  • Click on the 'Reports' link at the top of the web page and you will see the page below

  • Click on the 'Transaction Statistics' on the left side.
    • Set the Transaction Type to Unsettled.
    • Click the Run Report button
  • When the screen below is shown, look for the values in the right side of the screen near the bottom:
    • Total Count in the last column. In this example it is 11 and represents the number of transactions
    • Net Amount in the last column. In this example it is 1,053.27 and represents the total value of the current batch that has not yet been settled.

  • When you have both those values, compare them to the credit card total for that batch in Theatre Manager and continue if in balance. If not in balance, then you will need to compare the payment list in TM with the transaction audit list on the server.

Elavon End of Day

For complete instructions on the setup of your Elavon Merchant account within Theatre Manager click Elavon Setup.
    Completing the End of Day when setup using Elavon is exactly the same as completing the standard End of Day as outline in the previous page. There is however one new step which requires logging into the Elavon Account, retrieving the credit card batch summary and entering the values into Theatre Manager. Access to your Orbital Account is defined in Step #5 below.
    1. Open the End of Day Wizard window. Click button from the main Theatre Manager Toolbar / Ribbon Bar.

      For more information on accessing the End of Day wizard, click here.

    2. Start at the Deposits tab which will be blank. Click the Deposit Funds button.

      The Bank Deposits window opens.

    3. Enter the date up to which the user would like to make the deposits.

      Traditionally, accept the current default date to deposit all payments up to the moment.

    4. Click the Deposit button.

      The Deposit window with the Elavon feature window opens.

    5. Click the Orbital button to access your Elavon VirtualMerchant account, obtain your transaction count and total. Enter the number of Transactions in Batch and the value for the Batch Total obtained from your VirtualMerchant Account.

      For more information about the Elavon VirtualMerchant window, click here.

    6. Click the Matches button to continue.
    7. Click the Step 2 button to continue with the deposit.

      The Confirm Deposit window opens.

      If the Box Office or Concession tills have an overage or shortage, fill the fields with the correct amount to show it as over or short.

    8. Click Deposit to continue with the transaction.

      The Deposit Confirmation window opens.

    9. Click the Deposit button to continue.

      Any reports selected will be generated to the screen for printing. The user will be returned to the End of Day Wizard window with the deposits displayed.

      To continue the End of Day process with adding Sales Entries, click here.

Finding the Elavon Balance

If you are using Elavon for credit card authorization, you will need to access your merchant account via the web to obtain transaction totals and transaction counts while doing the end of data process.

Theatre Manager assumes you have turned off auto-settle in the admin settings and that Theatre Manager will do the settlement. Do not settle the batch using the Elavon interface.

To find the batch total, you will need to:

  • log into the Elavon VirtualMerchant for your merchant account with your user id and password.
  • Click on the Current Batches link at the left of the web page
  • Click on the Main link (you may see info here, but if there are returns, they do not appear until you click 'Credit Card')
  • Click on the Credit Card link and you will see a page like below showing the 'Current Batches: Credit Card' page

Elavon may have some items in the list above marked as pending or set to review in the 'Tran Status' column, especially for returns.

You should:

  • Click on the checkbox at the beginning of the row for all items marked as pending in the 'Tran Status' column
  • Click on the Unpend button at the bottom of the page to remove the pending status.
  • Click on the checkbox at the beginning of the row for all items marked as set to review in the 'Tran Status' column
  • Click on the Release button at the bottom of the page to remove the set to review status.
  • If you don't do this, your batch in Theatre Manager will be out of balance with the batch that is deposited to the bank and reconciling your bank statement may be more difficult.
  • Look at the bottom of the screen. You may (or may not) wish to alter the number of lines to display at the bottom right.

    At the bottom centre, look for the following information:

    • Transaction count - in the example it says 6. However, there is one VOID in the list that Theatre Manager will no longer know about. Subtract the voids from the total and enter that as the transactions count.

      Example 6 (total) - 1 (voids) = 5 (net transactions)

    • Net Amount - in the example, it is $38.00
  • When you have both those values, place them into the dialog window of the Theatre Manager Deposit process in the window show below and click Matches.

    These values may be zero if there are no credit cards waiting to be settled.

    If you do not know the balances or have already forced settled a batch, click No Match (this is not the normal practice).

Past Elavon Batches

Elavon keeps past batches available on line. You can see a list of the batches and you can also view the details of the batch.

To do so, you will need to:

  • log into the Elavon VirtualMerchant for your merchant account with your user id and password.
  • Click on the Settled Batches link at the left of the web page
  • Click on the Main link and you will see a page like below showing the 'Settled Activity' page

  • you can double click on a 'blue' batch number under the 'settled date' column to see the detail in it
  • you can also use the search functions.
  • For more information or assistance, please refer to the virtual merchant user manual or call Elavon

Moneris Pinpad End of Day

End of day pin pad settlement

If you are using Moneris Pin Pads for authorizing credit cards at the box office, Theatre Manager will:

  • set the proper amount on the device for each authorization or refund
  • Capture the partial credit card and token to create the payment record in Theatre Manager
  • Interrogate the machine totals during end of day to make sure they match - and-
  • Settle each pin pad that has a balance on it when you do the end of day that includes cards processed on it
Normally, there should be no imbalances. However, if you do get one, it may look like the message below that tells you
  • Which merchant account is affected - in case you are using more than one
  • which pin pad is out of balance - if you are using more than one

 

Out Of Balance Correction

If you receive an imbalance it will tell you whether the discrepancy is in the totals and/or the number of transactions. You may have to go to the device batch totals and find out which credit card charges should not be there and remove them from Theatre Manager and/or the device to make things balance.

The message will identify what Theatre Manager thinks is out of balance (money, and/or # transactions, and pin pad)

 

Who to contact first depends depends on who thinks they have more transactions

Use the following to determine who to contact:

  • Please look at the Batch Total on the device setup identified as being out of balance (see image for the button)
  • COMPARE that to the Payment Request List for the pin pad for the appropriate time span (since last pin pad settlement)
  • if TM thinks there are:
    • fewer transactions than Moneris - see if there are some request(s) that was not processed by TM. This can likely be addressed by contacting Artsman support.
    • more transactions than Moneris then contact Moneris, using the Payment Request List as your audit log. They should be able to see everything you see and they can explain the discrepancy.

      You will need Moneris's assistance removing them from the device if that is needed to balance to Theatre Manager.

Creating Sales Entries

Once the deposits for the day have been completed, the next step in the End of Day process is to create Sales Entries in the general ledger.

The purpose of creating sales entries is to:

  • Create sales transactions for sales that occurred on the web
  • Take all sales transactions (tickets, donations, gift certificates, etc) and create G/L entries that aggregate the sales since the last time this process was run.
  • Find all ticketed events eligible for rolling over revenues from deferred to earned and make G/L entries for those sales
  • Run some daily clean up activities such as:
    • removing patrons from double opt-in mail lists if they have not responded within the limit in company preferences.
    • Deleting old shopping carts per the retention periods in company preferences
    • Deleting old eblasts and letter correspendance per the retention periods in company preferences

  1. Click the Sales Entries tab.

  2. Click the Create Sales Entries button.

    This will open the Create Sales Entry Window allowing the user to journalize the Accounts Receivable. Depending on settings in company preferences->accounting tab, you may also want to select conversion of some orders from reservation only to earned income, especially if the performance has just occurred.

  3. Enter the date up to which Theatre Manager should journalize the A/R.
  4. Click the Create Sales Entries button.

    A window displays the progress.

  5. Click the Done button.

    The Sales Entry process is completed and you return to the Sales Entry tab.

    All the Sales Entries will be displayed under the Sales Entries tab.

    In the upper right hand corner of the End of Day wizard, the amount should be zero to show that the Deposits and Sales Entries are in balance. If they are not, then research will need to be done to determine where the problem is. For more information on finding the imbalance, click here.

    The unposted sales and deposits must now be posted to the GL. For more information on posting to the General Ledger, click here.

Posting To The GL

When payment has not been received for goods or services, the balance is recorded under Accounts Receivable.

  1. Click the A/R Balance Tab on the End of Day wizard.

  2. Click the Post to GL button.

    The confirmation window opens.

  3. Answer both questions by checking the box, then click the Post to GL button.

    The unposted sales are added to the A/R Balance in the General Ledger and balance with the Patron A/R.

    The upper right hand corner of the End of Day wizard should still be zero. If it is not, click here for more information on finding the problem.

    A variety of reports can be printed based on the new General Ledger entries by using the Reports Tab. For more information on printing reports, click here.

Force A/R Balance

Rarely, you can end up with a non-zero balance in the A/R tab on the end of day wizard that you cannot find. When this occurs, you can elect to write off the A/R balance by clicking the 'Force A/R Balance' button.

You are presented with a message, similar to the one below, indicates the amount of the imbalance and asks if you want to create a balancing entry against the cash over/under account.

Before continuing, please make sure you have done all steps to determine the source of a possible imbalance BEFORE using the 'Force A/R Balance' function. If you cannot "find" your error, please contact the support team prior to completing this action. Forcing an EOD imbalance and writing it off is a last resort activity and you should have at least tried redoing the end of day and checking order/transaction balances.

The End of Day Balance Reports

Reports are the best way to find an imbalance in the GL. The reports section, provided in the End of Day Wizard, are the most commonly used accounting reports. To view all Accounting Reports click here.

The recommended end of day reports for transferring data to your accounting system are highlighted in red. Both the highlighted reports provide a G/L listing with Debits and credits for easy entry to your accounting package. Most people use the first one and the purposes are::
  • Use the first one: if you simply want totals by account to transfer to the G/L
  • Use the second one: if you are using an accounting package that has job or class reporting and you want Theatre Manager to provide revenues by event and account and print the TM show code which can be used as the job/category code in accounting.
We highly recommend using the Export GL button to create a file that you can import into your accounting system.

Please refer to Supported Formats which is selected in company setup accounting tab.

  1. Click the Reports tab in the End of Day wizard.

  2. Double click on the report(s) to be printed.

    If you are printing a report to transfer to the accounting system, you should probably use one of the two highlighted because they help you comply with the general intent of:

    • the law Sarbanes–Oxley Act to make sure you are less likely to be doing off the balance sheet transactions
    • very helpful in fulfilling IRS requirements and rules of reporting (examples reasons are)
      • generally revenue is reported at time of sale, even if you are only taking taking deposits for tickets such as group sales
      • also applied to donations where you have not yet received any cash or payment al all - because if you have anything that resembles a contract ... it needs to go into the books.
    • GAAP/FASB requirements
    • CCRA financial tracking

    The reports selected are generated on the screen.

  3. Click the Print button on any reports you want paper copies of.

    Once all reports have been printed, and there is no imbalance, the End of Day process is complete. Congratulations!

Troubleshooting End of Day Wizard Problems

This page describes what to do if trying to solve end of day problems that prevent posting to the General Ledger. If any one of the steps in this section below does not fix the out-of-balance problem, try the next step or the other sections

Also, note the 'Create Sales Entries' process in the End of Day wizard actually takes two passes at checking for an imbalance. If your venue is not busy, this will handle most end of day issues automatically. However, if it does not -AND- you are having an extra busy day, then re-running the 'Create Sales Entries' can catch any sales that straggle in and counts them.

Problem

Action

You received a deposit in process message when attempting to use the End of Day:
  • Refer to resetting end of day in Company Preferences to reset all end of day settings (Normal approach), or
  • You can reset the 'deposit status' for the specific merchant account in merchant setup (This avoids resetting all merchant accounts and the overall EOD in progress setting).
Matching a deposit to your Merchant Account: Please refer to the following to make sure you've looked at your batch totals and/or settled the batches If your merchant batch total is different than Theatre Manager, it means one of two things:
  • There is more at the Bank batch than Theatre Manager.
    • If its a small amount or one or two cards AND ALL FOR ONE DAY, then
      • compare your entire batch, card for card to what theatre manager thinks.
      • Void any authorization at the bank that is not in theatre manager until you balance
    • If it is a larger amount, its likely that somebody forced closed theatre manager deposits:
      • look back at past deposits/transactions in Theatre Manager
      • see if those cards are in the open batch at the bank
      • If so, figure oiut which cards match the deposits in theatre Manager
      • Add them up and if you can see which bathes were force closed and the totals match, then settle the batch using theatre manger and make sure the batch is closed online
  • There is more in Theatre Manager than the Bank
    • Generally means that somebody settled the bank batch online instead of through theatre manager
    • Start at the last day that balanced and look at all Closed batches at the bank to get a total by day
    • Look at the open batch to see how much it is
    • Add them up
    • If that matches Theatre Manager, then settle the batch
Making the end of day balance go to zero so you can post: Please refer to correcting an imbalance to resolve the problem.
You receive a message indicating that there are orders currently being sold: Some orders may currently be in the process of having tickets sold to them or taking payments. You might need to
  • clear orders currently being sold for older orders to get End of Day to balance.
  • New orders - you may have to wait till the box office finishes with the customer.
  • At the very least, look at the BALANCE on each order as you will likely be out of balance by that amount in end of day -- at least till the order is completed or cancelled.
The inability to post to the general ledger after balancing: Please refer to cannot post to the General Ledger
If the payments can not be seen in the deposit process window:
  • The merchant account has been de-actived, or
  • The workstation does not have internet access, or
  • When the workstation started Theatre Manager, it didn't get a valid 'internet available' response. In this case, you will need to quit Theatre Manager and start it back up again to have the 'internet available' flag reset within that workstation's session.
You just ran the first End of Day after Year End Rollover and found an issue Please refer to End of Day Imbalance after Year End Rollover

Correcting an Imbalance in the End of Day Wizard

Occasionally, when performing the End Of Day, there will be an imbalance which prevents you from posting to the General Ledger. An "imbalance" simply means that Deposits do not match Sales. When this happens, Theatre Manager will not allow you to post an unbalanced entry to the General Ledger without fixing it first.

An imbalance can be caused by a variety of things such as:

  • A power outage in the middle of a transaction
  • A power outage in the middle of the the End Of Day
  • A misapplied fee or refund during the sales process
  • A manual GL Entry that was incorrectly applied
  • A GL entry with no detail lines
  • An EMV (pinpad) authorization initiated by Theatre Manager in which there was a time out or failure
  • Other reasons

There are several steps you can take to correct an imbalance in the End Of Day prior to contacting Support.

The first step is easy: don't panic.

There are two important things to remember about an imbalance in the End Of Day:
  1. Not completing your End Of Day does not mean you can't do any more business. If you can't complete the End Of Day, leave it until you can contact Support to assist you.
  2. Never - ever - Force Balance the End Of Day unless you have been advised by Support to do so.


1 First, verify no users are in the middle of selling tickets, donations, or passes. The End of Day wizard excludes any order in the process of being modified (i.e. tickets being sold) and does not journalize them.
  • When you start the end-of-day wizard, if there any orders in the state of account being modified (i.e in process of being sold), you will see a list of the orders, the patron and the user who is editing the order. A message is displayed indicating the probable resolution.
  • If an order is being sold and it contains a balance, then your end-of-day will be out by that amount.
    • If orders are older than 3 hours, you may want to talk to the sales representative and/or clear the order being sold flag by highlighting it on the list and clearing it.
    • You can also access this window from Setup ->Batch Functions -> Orders Currently Being Sold.
2 Re-run the End of Day process again to see if any new sales show up.
  • Do the sales entries again to look for new sales that came in while the last 'create sales entries' was running and compiling the G/L.
    • This may be needed if it was a very busy day and sales are still occurring while the a prior 'create sales entries' was being processed.
    • Also, note TM is designed to allow sales to occur while end of day is being done, so this is normal.
  • Optionally, redo the deposit to look for new payments.
    • You should never do this step unless you plan on taking the extra money to the bank.
    • Any money highlighted in this step would also have been displayed in the 'Pending Deposits' value on the upper right of the end of day wizard.
    • This means doing a second deposit will never fix an end of day issue.
  • Optionally: verify if there any issues with EMV PinPads by looking at their totals, if they have settled and for any issues in the payment requests sent by them to the bank.
3 Run the report called Utility Functions and Database Analysis Reports >> Check Order and Transaction Balances.
  • Set the criteria as:

    order date updated >= (last date in balance)
    AND order flag-reservation only = NO

  • Fix the orders and transactions that appear in the report to make them balance.
  • Re-run the End of Day wizard.
4 Run a Transaction History >> Transaction History List report.
  • Set the criteria as:

    trans date revenue >= (current date and time)

    to see if any user has their computer clock set into the future.  If an order has a date set in the future, Theatre Manager will not post that order until that date/time has passed.

    Theatre Manager uses the server date for all transactions, so this could only occur if the server date was set wrong (and in the future), and somebody or automatic time sync process discovered the server time error and reset it. You will rarely ever find this to be the problem.

  • However, If this is the case:
    • Stop all sales (including pausing the web listener) and set the clock forward on both the server and the computer handling the End of Day process and redo the deposit/sales postings.
    • Re-run the End of Day process to get these payments and sales entries. IGNORE any post dated payments.
    • Then change the date on the deposit and sales entries to today.
    • Change the date and time on the server and computer clock back to the proper time. After the future transactions have been posted, you can resume normal sales.
5 Run Setup >> Batch Functions >> Order Balances
  • As criteria, use:

    dates between (last date balanced) and (today).

  • Re-run the End of Day wizard.
6 Go into Accounting -> General Ledger -> G/L Entries.  Are there any manual G/L entries since last time balanced?
  • If so, check to see why it was created, and see if that is what is causing the imbalance.
  • Double click on the entry, and look at the A/R line.
  • If the A/R line matches the out of balance amount, it is the problem.
  • Re code the manual GL entry so that it does not adjust the A/R account.
  • Re-run the End of Day wizard. 
7 Did the system crash in the middle of creating sales entry?  If so make sure G/L entries are not out of balance.
  • Go back into Accounting -> General Ledger -> G/L entries, and make sure debits equal credits.
  • Run a Transaction History by Play (Totals only) report for the sales posting that is out of balance with the criteria:

    trans g/l reference # = (the SP journal entry that is out of balance).

    • Most likely, if this occurred, there are missing sales, donations, memberships, ticket fees, order fees, exchange fee and taxes in the A/R line.
    • A manual correction of the GL Entry is required (or simply a reposting of the missing transactions) to add missing detail lines or adjust the debit/credit amount of the existing lines to match to the transactions that were journalized to the G/L Entry.
  • Run a Utility Functions and Database Analysis >> Check Transaction and G/L Entry Balances report with the criteria:

    trans date revenue >= (the last time the EOD was in balance).

  • This report will ensure that all transactions journalized to the GL Entry actually match the detail lines in the GL Entry
    • If not, a manual correction of the GL Entry is required (or simply a reposting of the missing transactions) to add missing detail lines or adjust the debit/credit amount of the existing lines to match to the transactions that were journalized to the G/L Entry.
  • Re-run the End of Day wizard.
8 Did the system crash in the middle of a deposit?  The deposit entries will need to be fixed in order to balance.
  • Go to ,Accounting >> General Ledger >> G/L Entries, and check to see if there are two deposits for one day.
  • Run a Bank Deposit report for both deposit numbers.
    • One deposit will appear to be in balance, but will be lower than expected.
    • The other one will be unbalanced.
  • Edit the deposit to match the amount that the other deposit is off. For example:
    • The deposit total is $2000, half cash and half check.
    • The deposit that balances totals $600 cash and $500 check, with $1100 A/R.
    • The other Deposit totals $2000, but does not have A/R.
    • Change the deposit that does not balance to show $400 cash, $500 check and $900 A/R, so that the two deposits will total $1000 cash and $1000 check.
  • Run a Utility Functions and Database Analysis >> Check Transaction and G/L Entry Balances report with the criteria:
    • trans date revenue >= (the last time the EOD was in balance).
  • This report will ensure that all transactions journalized to the GL Entry actually match the detail lines in the GL Entry.
    • If not, a manual correction of the GL Entry is required (or simply a reposting of the missing transactions) to add missing detail lines or adjust the debit/credit amount of the existing lines to match to the transactions that were journalized to the G/L Entry.
  • Re-run the End of Day wizard.
9 Has anybody gone into a Patron's transactions and either duplicated or reversed debits and credits in an attempt to fix something? If so:
  • Contact AMS with the patron account, the order and the transactions that have been changed.
  • If possible, AMS can assist with finding the transactions and creating new ones to balance the End of Day. 
10 Run a Utility Functions and Database Analysis Reports >> Check Order and Transaction Balances report again.
  • Broaden the criteria to look for more data:

    order date updated >= (a much longer time in the past)
    AND order flag-reservation only = NO

  • Fix the orders for any patrons orders and transactions who appear in the report.
  • Re-run the End of Day wizard.
11 Have TM Support run a query to find any transactions that are posted but are not connected to a a GL entry

The general form of the query is below and will need modified depending on what is found.

select * from f_transaction where T_GL_SEQ not in (select GL_SEQ from F_GL_HEADER)
and T_TRAN_CODE not iLike 'A%' AND T_TRAN_CODE not in ('TU','DU','TTT','TTF','OTT','OTF','DTT','DTF','MTT','MTF')
and T_GL_D_DEPT_SEQ = xx

12 Look to see if there are any gift cards or passes that were sold/refunded/adjusted and are not in GL entries.
13 Did you just complete the first year end rollover since Jan 1 2018 and are users TM for a long time? The new rollover process recalculates all account balances from inception of the database and this could be a leftover imbalance from before version 6. Please contact AMS support if this is the case. In the end, a one-time-only manual adjustment will be necessary by forcing the end of day balance that should be noted and ignored in the accounting program.

AMS team will need to:

  • Manually create a GL entry against the A/R account over 6 years ago
  • Mark it posted
  • Re-run the year end rollover after adjusting the current year to bring into balance
14 Force the A/R Balance. If you have:
  • done all the previous steps -and-
  • simply cannot find the source of the out of balance -and-
  • have contacted AMS Support for their assistance - THEN -
  • You may have to force the end of day balance. We do not recommend doing this step unless an imbalance simply cannot be found.

Cannot Post to the General Ledger

Follow these steps if the user is unable to post to the general ledger in the End of Day wizard.  If a step does not fix the posting problem, proceed to the next step.

Problem

Action

Has the End of Day been completed? If not, complete an End of Day.
Is it in balance? If not, review the instructions above on finding and fixing an imbalance.
Are account numbers missing? Check to make sure that all account numbers are entered in deposit and sales entry windows in End of Day.
>Are any GL entries unbalanced? Go into Accounting >> General Ledger >> G/L Entries, and make sure that all debits and credits are equal for each entry.
Is it a new fiscal year? If the organization is at or past year end, a Year End Roll Over needs to be completed. If the organization has not done a year end rollover, it will not be able possible to post GL entries in the new fiscal year. For more information on handling a Year End Roll Over, click here.
Are there any posting dates in the future? Check sales posting dates - are any in the future? Future dates cannot be posted.
Does the user have permission? Does the user have authorization/permission in the user ID permissions in the system to post? If not, the user will need to obtain permission.
Is your Merchant Provider different than TM? It is possible that Theatre Manager got a timeout sending a credit card, and if it was sent again with a force duplciate, you would expect this. Compare TM edit list with the authorization detail online at your merchant account and then void the extra in your online merchant account. If the deposit doesn't match, them please refer to solving merchant account Imbalance

Deposit In Progress Flag

If you experience an interruption of power or connection to the database server during the End Of Day, when you attempt the End Of Day again, Theatre Manager may respond with a message that a 'Deposit is In Progress,' indicating that it believes the End Of Day Wizard is still active and is currently depositing credit card funds through your merchant processor.

The resolution for this is simple, and you can get back to running your End of Day in seconds by unchecking the 'Deposit In Progress' box in the Merchant Account setup. You cannot check this box, you can only uncheck it. Only do so if you are 100% sure there is no settlement occurring for this merchant account (i.e. nobody has End Of Day open). Unchecking it, resets the End Of Day and allows a settlement to happen.

To reset the Deposit in Progress Flag, you perform the following steps:

  1. Ensure that no one is currently doing the End Of Day.
  2. Log on as the Master User.
  3. Select the Setup>>System Tables>>Merchant Account menu.

  4. Select your Merchant account from the list.

    Double click on the Merchant account to open it.

  5. Click the tab.

  6. Uncheck the 'Deposit Status' box.

  7. logon using your Employee account.
  8. Restart and proceed with the End Of Day.

Balancing Outlet Sales

The outlet version of Theatre Manager automatically tracks receivables and payables to other outlets so that all you should really need to do is:
  • Daily Basis - run the end of day wizard and post to your G/L
  • Periodically - reconcile the 4 receivables and payable accounts with each outlet and pay each other.

Periodically Balancing Outlets

Balancing outlets and what you owe to each other assumes you have set up the outlet accounts (in each outlet) as per the instructions in setting up outlet posting accounts

The general process is that on a daily, weekly, biweekly or monthly period, as agreed to by each outlet, you should reconcile the special accounts for posting outlet receivables and payables. This is done as follows:

  1. Each outlet completes their end of day and posts to the GL on the anointed date
  2. Each outlet runs the G/L Journal Detail by Account report with criteria that specifies the three accounts for their outlet that represent and a date range. EG:
    • A/R Ticket sales other outlets owe you
    • A/R Commissions owed from other outlets
    • A/P Tickets sales owed to other outlets
    • And the same transaction date range - eg if you are doing for a month, then specify the month in the criteria
    Refer to the sample below:
  3. The text in the journal description indicates which outlet owes whom for commissions and sales and receivables. Add them up so that:
    • Your receivables (from each outlet) or ticket sales and commissions
    • LESS your payables to each outlet
    • -----------------------
    • Result in WHAT YOU OWE EACH OTHER
    • Write and checks to each other as required
    • Repeat after the next period is over

     

    Optionally - Make a Clearing entry in TheatreManager

    Once you know what each outlet owes you and you owe them, we highly recommend making a manual GL clearing entry for the above 3 accounts indicating that things have been paid (i.e. create GL entries to set the balances to zero and offset the bank account with the income received or check paid). That way you will see the manual GL entry with the appropriate date on it and can see the settlement dates.

     

    Other places with financial data

    While the above is the sole process for dealing with outlet reconciliation, you can also look at events to see who's been selling them for you.

    On the Sales tab, you can see the current state of affairs. Note: tickets can be refunded from other outlets so there may be days with negative numbers. And since this data can be reported on, you could use a daily sales report to see across events.

    On the Revenue Tab:

    Daily Change in A/R and the End Of Day

    There are two reports you can be compared while performing the End Of Day to determine which event / play(s) and/or payments caused an A/R Balance to show in the End-Of-Day process,however, you need to take special care when comparing the reports and you need an understanding of their meaning.

    1. The first is the GL Journal Entry Summary By Account. We recommend all venues run this report on a daily basis to inform the Accounting department of the GL Transactions made by Theatre Manager. It is a complete account of all sales and payment activity entered into Theatre Manager for a period of time. An example of a GL Journal Entry Summary By Account report appears below:

    2. The other report you can use is the Payment Summary - Sales Transaction Allocation report. The AR amount on the Sales Transaction report fluctuates as the days progress, as tickets are sold and payments are received. Tickets sold, but not paid for, payments taken for tickets sold previously, ticket exchanges/upgrades/downgrades, or ticket refunds affect the Daily Change in AR. Therefore the Sales Transaction Allocation report cannot be used as an accurate measuring stick for allocating sales revenue to an event / play based on the payments received. An example of the Sales Transaction Allocation report appears below:

    3. The critical piece to compare is the date - and time - range of the two reports. To do this, you need to look at the General Ledger postings to find when the last posting in the previous End of Day occurred.

    1. Go to the Accounting>>General Ledger>>GL Entries menu.

    2. Search for the Journal entries for a week or so prior to the last End Of Day.

    3. Sort the report by the Date Posted column.

      Sorting will group the transactions in the order they were posted (matching each End-Of-Day process).

      The listing shows the last posting of the previous End Of Day was on May 2, 2011 at 2:15 PM. The Sales Transaction report will need to start at least one minute after the last posting (2:16 PM).

    4. Open the Sales Transaction Allocation report.

      Enter criteria to obtain transactions from 2:16 PM (one minute AFTER the previous End Of Day).

    5. Run the Sales Transaction Allocation report.

      The Sales Transaction Allocation report will now match the GL Journal Entry Summary by Account report.

    The Transaction Monitor

    The Transaction Monitor displays the transactions which have taken place on the current day. Theatre Manager automatically updates the monitor every thirty seconds.

    Parts of the Transaction Monitor Window

    This function is not available in this window.
    This function is not available in this window.
    This function is not available in this window.
    This function is not available in this window.
    Prints a copy of the information in the window.
    This function is not available in this window.
    Opens the Transaction window. For more information on the Transaction window, click here.
    Forces an update of the data in the window immediately.
    First Name The first name of the employee who performed the transaction.
    Last Name The last name of the employee who performed the transaction.
    Event / Play Code The event / play code of the event that was affected.
    Event / Play Title The title of the event / play affected.
    Performance The performance the transaction occurred for.
    Hour The hour in which the transaction occurred.
    Quantity The quantity of tickets in the transaction.
    Gross The amount of sales of the transaction.
    Exchange The exchange amount of the transaction
    Refunds The refund amount of the transaction.
    Donation The donation amount of the transaction.
    Membership The membership amount of the transaction.
    Total The total of the transaction.
    Date The date of the transaction.
    Time The time of the transaction.
    Fee The fee associated with the transaction.
    Campaign The donation campaign associated with the transaction.
    Description A description of the transaction.
    Seq # The sequence number of the transaction.
    Code
    Trans. Date The transaction date.
    Total The total of the transaction.
    Event / Play # The event number associated with the transaction.
    Performance # The performance number associated with the transaction.
    Selection to show the transactions for the current day, current hour or by the last two hours.
    The preferred view of the transactions to be displayed in the monitor window.

    Creating G/L Entries

    Theatre Manager is designed to automatically facilitate a number of the processes involved with creating and tracking postings to the General Ledger. To review these postings, the G/L Entries window can be used. For more information on the G/L Entries window, click here.

    How Theatre Manager Works with the G/L

    There are three types of General Ledger entries created by Theatre Manager:

    • Deposit entries that summarize payments by the method of payment such as cash, check, credit card, other and custom payment types.
    • Sales entries that summarize the revenue received for ticket sales (and refunds, exchanges), donations and passes, gift certificates and memberships.
    • Manual entries that record periodic transactions, such as the payment of tax liabilities, corrections to reallocate revenue, year end activities and any adjustments needed to balance the A/R.

    Timing for Creating Deposit and Sales Entries

    Deposits and sales entries can be created at any time. The organization can create them any number of times per day. In order to balance the A/R in Theatre Manager, the two entries should be created for the same time period and at the same time.

    The End of Day Wizard takes the user through this process and identifies any transactions that are out of balance. For more information on the End of Day wizard, click here. It can also be done manually using the various menu items under the accounting menu.

    To simplify revenue analysis, the sales entry should be created immediately after the deposit entry.

    Normally:

    • The deposit and sales entry should be created daily.
    • Only one sales entry is created for the same time period as the deposit.

    However, a sales entry is automatically created for each revenue date since the last sales entry was created. Should the user decide not to create sales entries for a week, running the process will create a Sales Posting for each day that sales occurred in that week period.

    Recommended Daily Practice

    The End of Day wizard should be run at the end of each business day (or first thing the next morning) to create deposit and sales entries. To segregate daily business, the entries should be created prior to entering new sales and payments (corrections excepted). Creating the journal entries prior to entering new sales and recording payments, prevents combining deposits and sales for two periods in the same general ledger entry.

    All ticketing and payment corrections and errors should be completed prior to creating a deposit or a sales entry.

    To simplify analysis of the sales and deposit entries, create the minimum number of sales and deposit entries as necessary in any given day. If more than one is created, the user must remember to combine everything for that day in your search criteria before analyzing them.

    Time Stamps on Transactions

    Reviewing transactions for any time period is made possible by the date and time stamps that are placed on each transaction when it is created.

    Time stamps are attached to transactions -- ticket sales, refunds, exchanges, and payments -- and are created at the time the transaction was entered into Theatre Manager. Time stamps identify the date and time that the transaction occurred and enable reports to summarize transactions for specific time periods.

    Transactions created to "correct errors" are dated for the time they occurred. Orders, payments, refunds, or exchanges created today to correct yesterday's errors are date and time stamped today. Any amounts included in the transaction are included in the deposit and sales entries created today. Any transactions required to correct yesterdays transactions should be journalized in a sales and deposit entry prior to new sales being created. These transactions should be included in yesterdays "Deposit and Sales Analysis".

    The General Ledger Entries Window

    This window is accessed through the Accounting >> General Ledger >> G/L Entries menu. The window displays the transactions which have been posted to the G/L during the times defined in the search criteria.

    Parts of the G/L Entry Window

    Begins the creation of a new general ledger entry. For more information on creating manual entries, click here.
    Opens the selected entry in the G/L Entry Detail window. For more information on the G/L Entry Detail window, click here.
    This function is unavailable in this window.
    This function is unavailable in this window.
    Prints a copy of the currently selected entry.
    Exports a copy of the currently selected entry. This only exports the selected lines to a text file. For an export of the GL entry in a special accounting format, use the Export G/L button.
    Exports the detail of the selected entry. For more information on using the Export G/L function, click here.
    Clear Export GL Resets the Exported Flag on the GL entry so that it can be exported again in the GL Accounting Export Format that is specified in Company Preferences.
    For the selected G/L entry, this button can be used to
    • Reverse the G/L entry, which will make a duplicate of the entry with the debits and credits reversed. You generally use this to reverse the effects of a long ago/prior GL entry that has been put into your books. -or-
    • Unpost the G/L entry. If its the same day and you have not put this G/L entry into your accounting system, you can unpost it and reprint your end of day reports. They will now exclude these G/L entries. Then you can make an adjustment if necessary and repost. The idea is that you only ever do this to a GL entry that is NOT in your accounting system and needs a manual adjustment prior to getting it there.
    Opens the selected entry in the Transaction History window to allow the user to see all transactions incorporated into the entry. For more information on the Transaction History window, click here.
    The search criteria options available for the window.
    From To The search criteria to be used for the search.
    Begins the search process.
    Include: The types of accounts to be included in the search. Check the box next to the ones to be included.
    Date When the entry was added to the General Ledger.
    Journal # The journal number assigned to the entry.
    Description A brief description of the entry.
    Debit The amount which was debited.
    Credit The amount which was credited.
    Date Posted The date which the entry was posted.
    # Trans The number of transactions which the entry is composed of.
    Exported Notes whether the entry has been exported or not.

    Reviewing the Transactions for a General Ledger Entry

    1. Open the G/L Entries window.

      For more information on the G/L Entries window, click here.

    2. Select the entry to be viewed.

      For more information on finding a G/L entry, click here.

    Creating Manual GL Entries

    Manual G/L entries are most commonly used to correct an entry when an incorrect G/L account is selected. They can also be used to account for expense transactions that take place outside of Theatre Manager.

     

    Steps to Create A Manual GL Entry

    In the Main Menu, selecting Accounting -> General Ledger -> G/L Entries

    1. Inside of the Journal Entry Type Window, Click the New button
    2. This opens up the GL Entry Detail Window. To start, enter the date you are creating the entry.
    3. Enter a Description for the entry.
    4. Enter a detailed note indicating the reason for the entry.
    5. Click the Save button at the top of the window. After clicking Save, the G/L Entry Detail Window will update to allow input of the actual G/L entry.
    6. Click the New button in the lower left corner of the G/L Entry Detail window.
    7. Click the account icon to the right of the Account field.
    8. Select the CREDIT G/L account.
    9. Click the Select button in the lower right corner to select the account number.
    10. If this GL Entry is for a specific event, use the lookup to locate the event code.
    11. Enter the Amount of the CREDIT.
    12. Click the OK button.
    13. Click the New button in the lower left corner of the G/L Entry Detail window.
    14. Click the account icon to the right of the Account field.
    15. Select the DEBIT G/L account.
    16. Click the Select button in the lower right corner to select the account number.
    17. If this GL Entry is for a specific event, use the lookup to locate the event code.
    18. Enter the amount of the DEBIT.
    19. Click the OK button.

     

    Depending on the date, the entry will be posted the next time the End of Day Wizard is run and the Post to G/L step is taken.

    Inserting/Editing A G/L Entry

    When you double click on a GL entry, you can see information about the posting such as:
    • The account code it will post to
    • A memo code that describes the purpose of the G/L entry
    • The amount
    • Whether it is a debit or credit to the GL entry

    There is also a tab that lets you specifically associate the G/L entry with some items in theatre manager.

    For example, if the G/L entry is related to a

    • ticket sale - it should have an event code and venue as part of the GL entry for tracking profit/loss by event. This helps in reconciliation of events in the GL tab. No other GL entries should have event or venue
    • pass/gift certificate sale or redemption - it should have an entry under the Membership tab, which will be called whatever you names passes or gift certificates. This helps reconciliation on the G/L tab in the setup of the pass/Gift certificate. No other GL entries should have a pass number.
    • anything else - should not have anything filled in either of the above fields

    General Ledger Entry Detail Window

    The General Ledger Entry Detail window is used for creating new G/L entries and examining posted entries.

    Parts of the G/L Entry Detail Window

    Begins the creation of a new general ledger entry. For more information on creating manual entries, click here.
    Saves the general ledger entry.
    Duplicates the general ledger entry.
    Reverts to the last saved version of the general ledger entry.
    Deletes the general ledger entry.
    Prints a copy of the general ledger entry.
    Checks the spelling of all text entry fields.
    Reverses or unposts the currently selected entry. For more information on using the Unpost function, click here.
    Exports the detail of the selected entry. For more information on using the Export G/L function, click here.
    Convert to Historical Entry May be used one time only if the Year End Rollover created and End Of Day imbalance
    G/L Entry Date The date the entry was created.
    A mini-calendar for the purpose of date lookup.
    Journal # The journal entry number for the general ledger entry.
    Description A short description of the entry.
    Note A more detailed description of the entry.
    Date Posted The date the entry was posted to the general ledger.
    # Transactions The number of transactions included in the entry.
    Source The source of the entry.
    The G/L Detail tab is used for adding the debits and credits to the different general ledger accounts. For more information on the G/L Detail tab, click here.
    The Transactions tab is used to see all transactions that are incorporated into the entry. For more information on the Transactions tab, click here.

    G/L Entry Tab

    You use the General Ledger Entry Detail window for creating new G/L entries and examining posted entries.

    Parts of the G/L Entry Detail Window's G/L Detail Tab

    The Transactions tab is used to see all transactions that are incorporated into the entry. For more information on the Transactions tab, click here.
    Account # The account number used in the transaction.
    Description A description of the transaction.
    Memo The memo associated with the transaction.
    Debit The debit amount of the transaction.
    Credit The credit amount of the transaction.
    Event / Play Code The event / play code associated with the transaction.
    Creates a new G/L transaction.
    Opens the selected G/L transaction.
    Deletes the selected G/L transaction.

    Entry Detail - Transactions Tab

    The General Ledger Entry Detail window is used for examining posted entries.

    Parts of the G/L Entry Detail Transaction Tab

    The G/L Detail tab is used for adding the debits and credits to the different general ledger accounts. For more information on the G/L Detail tab, click here.
    Begins a search of the transactions.
    Include The types of transactions to include. To remove a type from the search, uncheck the box next to the item.
    Seq # The sequence number of the transaction.
    Trans Date The date of the transaction.
    Journal No The journal number of the transaction.
    Code The transaction code associated with the transaction.
    Transaction Desc A description of the transaction.
    Order # The order number associated with the transaction.
    Event / Play The event / play associated with the transaction.
    Performance The performance associated with the transaction.
    Type The type of transaction.
    Description of Entry A description associated with the entry of the transaction.
    This function is not available in this window.
    Opens the Transaction Detail window.
    This function is not available in this window.

    Creating a General Ledger Sales Entry

    The Revenue Date Ending is be the last revenue date orders are to be selected for the sales entry. Orders which have been realized as revenue and have not been journalized will be selected if they are on or prior to this date. Refer to Default Data General Ledger Setup for more information on determining when an order is realized as revenue. The current date will automatically be displayed in the revenue date field.

    When balancing is done the day of the sales, the date used will be the current date.

    When balancing is done the day after the sales, the date used will be the previous day’s date -- the date the sales were entered. If correcting ticket orders caused new ticket orders, ticket exchanges, or ticket refunds, then the date used will be the current date -- when this is performed, new ticket sales that have been realized as revenue will be included in the sales entry creation.

    It is recommended that if the balancing is performed the day after the ticket sales, then new ticket sales are not entered until the previous days sales are balanced. Creating the sales entry creates a general ledger entry that summarizes the sales revenue. A separate entry is created for each date which sales, exchanges, and refunds were recorded. When the entries are created daily and no corrections are made after posting, only one entry per day is created. When entries are created the day after sales, and corrections caused new orders, exchanges, or refunds to be created, two sales entries will be created for the same revenue date. One entry is created for the date of the original sale and the second entry is for the corrections entered the day after. The two sales entries must be manually combined when balancing to the deposit entry. If several days passed since the last Create Sales Entry was created, several sales entries are created, one for each day ticket activity was recorded.

    1. Open the Main Menu Accounting >> Create Sales Entry.

      The Journal Entry Types window opens.

    2. Click the New button.

      A G/L Entry Detail window opens.

    3. Enter a Description of the entry and a detailed Note highlighting the reason for the entry.
    4. Click the Save button.

      The entry is now created.

    5. The GL Entry window will change to allow you to add lines to the entry.


    6. Click the button at the bottom of the entry to add debits and credits as needed.

      A balanced entry will require the debits and the credits to add up to the same value. If the debits and credits do not balance it will cause the End of Day to be out of balance. The entry will need to be corrected before you can Post to the GL.

    7. Add the details to the G/L Account Detail

      • Account: The GL Account for this Credit or Debit
      • Play/Event (Optional): The Play, Event or Game that this entry applies to
      • Theatre/Venue (Optional): The Theatre or Venue that this entry applies to
      • Memo: A short description of why this entry is being made
      • Amount: The credit or debit amount for this entry
      • Debit or Credit "radio" buttons: Allows you to choose whether this is a Debit or Credit entry.
    8. Note: By adding the optional Play or Venue values, the GL entry can be tagged to that specific event or venue. Therefore, you can adjust values manually, as well as calculate the revenues by Venue. This could be helpful if you wish to compare how well Venue A does, compared to Venue B.

    9. Close the entry to save the changes.

    During the next End of Day, when the Post to GL step is done the entry will be journalized and posted.

    Exporting General Ledger Entries

    The General Ledger data can only be exported once. The entry is flagged as being exported when it is done so no one exports it twice by mistake.

    If you lose the export file, you'll need to clear the export flag using the Clear Export G/L button in the toolbar prior to exporting the entry again.

    GL Entries can only be exported if they:
    • are posted to the GL - unposted GL entries cannot be exported as they are still subject to manual correction
    • are not previously exported (the exported column will have a no in it).
    • are selected in the list to be exported
    • have the total of the Debits and Credits match in the database - to ensure consistency of data records

    Exporting General Ledger Entries allows you to take the entries and import them into your accounting software package. They can be exported in one of two places with the same result and the export format is defined in company preferences. You can export:

    • selected from the list of general ledger entries window. Only the ones you select can be exported, and only if they are not already exported
    • all not-yet-exported GL entries using the export button on the final tab of the End of Day Wizard. This gives an automatic way of picking up all the latest GL entries that have been posted and its the preferred location to do the export

     

    Exporting G/L Entries from the list

    1. Click the G/L Entries button at the top of the window in Theatre Manager.

    2. Set the date in the To and From fields for the transactions to be exported, and click the Search button.
    3. Select the entries to be exported.
    4. Click the Export G/L button.

      The user's operating system's Save dialog opens.

    5. Enter a filename to save the export under and click the OK button.

      The file will now be saved in Tab Delimited format for import into another program. Please reference the program's help section for information on importing.

    Diataxis: 

    Correcting Transactions in the G/L

    The Transaction Detail displays all information pertaining to a specific transaction. To view the detail of a particular transaction, select the transaction tab on a Patron's record and double click on the transaction. For more information on accessing the Patron Transaction tab, click here.

    • in order to make a correction to transactions the user MUST have a Master Users status in Theatre Manager.
    • The same transaction history list can be accesses from many places in Theatre Manager such as the End of Day wizard, Plays & Dates, GL Entry Window, etc. The contents of the transaction list varies depending on the route used to access it.

    1. Click the Transaction Tab in the patron window.

      The Transaction History Record opens.

      Click the Search button to view all transactions.

    2. Double clicking on the selected transaction opens the Transaction Detail window.

    3. Click Duplicate and Reverse button.

      A transaction can be duplicated (and reversed) to make a correction to a transaction that has already been journalized to the General Ledger. The result of duplicating a transaction is an un-posted journal entry which reverses the debit or credit result of the original transaction. This un-posted journal entry will be journalized the next time an End of Day, Create Sales Entry routine is generated.

      Click the No Button to cancel duplicating and reversing the transaction.

    4. Click the to reverse debit or credit created in error.

      You use this to correct a transaction that has been created in error and has not yet been journalized to the General Ledger resulting in a reversal of the debit or credit created by this transaction. It can only be preformed by Arts Management. This is an option rarely used.

    Setting up the Chart of Accounts

    The following steps are required to setup the General Ledger. If you don not compete the setup procedures, this could cause errors in posting.

    1. Confirm and update the credit card types in the Code Table setup.

      For more information on setting up the Credit Card types, click here.

    2. Determine the detail required for tracking sales revenue, ticket markups, ticket discounts, ticket exchanges, and ticket refunds.

      For more information on the Detail Level, see below.

    3. Determine the taxes that are applied to ticket sales and set the Default Data Tax controls so they are applied correctly.

      For more information on the Tax Table setup, click here.

    4. Create or update the General Ledger accounts.

      For more information on creating a general ledger account, click here.

    5. Enter the account numbers required for posting into the Default Data general ledger window.
    6. Determine when receivables are to be recorded in the General Ledger.

      For more information on this setting, click here.

    7. Input the correct revenue account numbers into the setup windows under the Events / Plays.

    Determine the General Ledger Revenue Detail Required

    The Plays and Dates window has seven general ledger account number fields. These fields are used to enter account numbers from the General Ledger Chart of Accounts to direct the type of revenue received, to a specific account number. Depending on the level of detail your organization requires, you can enter separate General Ledger account numbers in each field, or the same account number could be entered in all the fields.

     

    The number of General Ledger accounts setup depends on the detail required.

    Detailed Setup

    Simplified Setup

    The maximum detail is achieved when each event / play has a separate general ledger account number for sales, refunds, exchanges, markups, discounts, and service charges. The General Ledger would provide detailed information for each account. The general ledger entries created would display each revenue account affected by the transactions journalized in the entry.

    A simplified setup would use the same general ledger account number for sales, refunds, exchanges, markups and discounts. Another general ledger account number would be setup for service charges. The General Ledger Chart of Accounts would have only one revenue account. The general ledger entries created would display only one account number for all the transactions journalized for the event / play, recording all the revenue into one account.

    Chart of Accounts Window

    The General Ledger Chart of Accounts contains all the accounts your organization sets up in the G/L. Both the active and inactive accounts can be displayed using the selection field at the bottom of the window.

    To open the Chart of Accounts, select the Accounting >> General Ledger >> G/L Accounts menu.

    The G/L Chart of Accounts window opens.

    Parts of the GL Account Window

    Insert a New G/L Account.
    Open the detail window for a G/L Account.
    Create a copy a G/L Account
    Delete a selected G/L Account.
    Generate a report of the current list of G/L Accounts.
    Export the G/L Account details.
    Merges G/L Accounts (if more than 1 account is selected).
    Asset Displays all the accounts which have been setup as Asset Accounts. Click here to view a sample of Asset accounts.
    Liability Displays all the accounts which have been setup as Liability Accounts. Click here to view a sample of Liability accounts.
    Equity Displays all the accounts which have been setup as Equity Accounts. Click here to view a sample of Equity accounts.
    Income Displays all the accounts which have been setup as Income Accounts. Click here to view a sample of Income accounts.
    Cost/Sales Displays all the accounts which have been setup as Cost/Sales Accounts. Click here to view a sample of Cost/Sales accounts.
    Expense Displays all the accounts which have been setup as Expense Accounts. Click here to view a sample of Expense accounts.
    Other Income Displays all the accounts which have been setup as Other Income Accounts. Click here to view a sample of Other Income accounts.
    Other Expense Displays all the accounts which have been setup as Other Expense Accounts.
    Account # The eight digit account number of the account.
    Description The description of the account which is viewed on reports and any general journal entries which involve the account.
    Level The report level of the account. This feature is a future enhancement of Theatre Manager meant to represent indenting on the reporting and sub total levels. In other words, if something is at level 1, it is a grand total, Anything that is a 2 and under is accumulated into the grand total.
    Type The type of account either Detail or Posting. This is another future enhancement of Theatre Manager used to designate whether the account is a detail account or a posting account when printing summary level reports.
    Debit/Credit If the account is a Debit or Credit Account.
    Posting If the account is posted to the General Ledger
    Active If the account is set as active or inactive.

    G/L Account Detail

    The account detail window is accessed by opening the G/L Chart of Accounts and double clicking on an account or when inserting a new account.

    Parts of the Account Detail Window

    Saves the current general ledger account.
    Creates a duplicate of the current general ledger account.
    Reverts to the last saved version of the general ledger account.
    Deletes the general ledger account. If there are transactions associated with the account, it cannot be deleted.
    Prints the information in the general ledger account.
    Checks the spelling in all text entry fields in the window.
    Account Type Designates whether the account is a detail account or a posting account when printing summary level reports. Available for future enhancement. Not used at this time.
    Account Number An account consists of numbers and dashes. The dashes are typically a place holder (eg. 0-0000-000). The format of the numbers is controlled within the Accounting tab of Company Preferences. The first digit corresponding to the type of account. For more information on Account Types, see below.
    External Account External Account is a 50 character alpha-numeric field that will accommodate systems with longer account numbers or ones which include letters. When printing reports or exporting, the external account number will print or be visible. For use specifically with the Banner financial package and similar. Clients who do not need this longer field can simply duplicate the internal account number here. Information about the different export formats can be found here.
    Description Description allows the account to be named. The account number and descriptions are displayed on reports and on any general journal entries that affect the account. The more detail used to explain the account, the more easy reports will be to read.
    Status Used to indicate that the account is in use. If accounts are retired, or no longer required, it may be unchecked.
    The Setup tab deals with general information settings for the general ledger account. For more information on the Setup tab, click here.
    The Monthly Totals tab shows a breakdown of the monthly totals for the general ledger account. For more information on the Monthly Totals tab, click here.
    The Yearly Totals tab shows a breakdown of the yearly totals for the general ledger account. For more information on the Yearly Totals tab, click here.
    The G/L Entries tab shows transactions that are associated with the general ledger account. For more information on the G/L Entries tab, click here.

    Account Types

    Type of Account First Number
    Asset 1
    Liability 2
    Equity 3
    Income 4
    Cost of Sales 5
    Expenses 6
    Other Income 8
    Other Expenses 9

    The next four numbers indicate the account number. The last three digits are for a feature of the account.

    Play revenue accounts can be created so that the account number indicates the play and the feature indicates the type of revenue (sales, exchange, refunds, markup or discounts).

    Try to harmonize the numbers to match the account numbers used in your existing accounting system.

    G/L Account Detail Setup Tab

    The account detail window is accessed by opening the G/L Chart of Accounts and double clicking on an account or when inserting a new account.

    Parts of the Account Detail Setup Tab


    • Account Type indicates if the GL account is to be an Asset, Liability, Equity, Income, Cost of Goods Sold, Expense, or Other Income/Other Expense type.
    • Account Number is the GL Account Number that will be assigned to this account.
    • External Account gives you the opportunity to display a longer GL account number for reporting. This field is alpha-numeric.
    • Description is the common name of the GL Account. This, in conjunction with the Account Number will appear on reports.

    The Monthly Totals tab shows a breakdown of the monthly totals for the general ledger account. For more information on the Monthly Totals tab, click here.
    The Yearly Totals tab shows a breakdown of the yearly totals for the general ledger account. For more information on the Yearly Totals tab, click here.
    The G/L Entries tab shows transactions that are associated with the general ledger account. For more information on the G/L Entries tab, click here.
    Account Balance Depending on the account type selected, Theatre Manager will using standard accounting conventions to determine in the account should be a Credit or a Debit.

    G/L Account Detail Monthly Totals Tab

    The account detail window is accessed by opening the G/L Chart of Accounts and double clicking on an account or when inserting a new account.

    Parts of the Account Detail Monthly Totals Tab

    The Setup tab deals with general information settings for the general ledger account. For more information on the Setup tab, click here.
    The Yearly Totals tab shows a breakdown of the yearly totals for the general ledger account. For more information on the Yearly Totals tab, click here.
    The G/L Entries tab shows transactions that are associated with the general ledger account. For more information on the G/L Entries tab, click here.
    Next Year This area shows the account details for the Next Year prior to Year End Roll Over.
    Current Year This area shows the account detail for the current year divided into four quarters.
    Prior Year The same as the current year but the totals are for the prior year.

    G/L Account Yearly Totals Tab

    The account detail window is accessed by opening the G/L Chart of Accounts and double clicking on an account or when inserting a new account.

    Parts of the Account Detail Yearly Totals Tab

    The Setup tab deals with general information settings for the general ledger account. For more information on the Setup tab, click here.
    The Monthly Totals tab shows a breakdown of the monthly totals for the general ledger account. For more information on the Monthly Totals tab, click here.
    The G/L Entries tab shows transactions that are associated with the general ledger account. For more information on the G/L Entries tab, click here.
    A brief summary of the account details for the past five years and the total for those years.

    G/L Account Detail G/L Entries Tab

    You access the account detail window by opening the G/L Chart of Accounts and double clicking on an account or when inserting a new account.

    If you select a number of rows on the GL detail or transaction tabs, Theatre Manager will summarize the totals for you.

    Parts of the Account Detail G/L Entries Tab

    The Setup tab deals with general information settings for the general ledger account. For more information on the Setup tab, click here.
    The Monthly Totals tab shows a breakdown of the monthly totals for the general ledger account. For more information on the Monthly Totals tab, click here.
    The Yearly Totals tab shows a breakdown of the yearly totals for the general ledger account. For more information on the Yearly Totals tab, click here.
    Choose from the the drop down the type of entries for viewing
    Journal # The Journal number generated when the entry was created
    Description Brief description outlining the reason for the entry
    Date Date the entry was created
    Debit Amount debited to the G/L account
    Credit Amount credited to the G/L account
    Memo Details about the nature of the entry

    G/L Account Usage

    The 'Usage' tab shows the majority of locations where an account has been set up to be used for posting. This can include:
    • events
    • fees
    • donation campaigns
    • resources
    • taxes
    • default posting accounts

    Double click on any row to see the detail window containing the posting account. The first example shows what one might expect for a normal setup,

    This second example shows that events are being posted to a tax account, which may assist showing why things are getting into an account that you didn't expect.

    Setting up General Ledger Accounts

    1. Access to the Chart of Accounts is through the Accounting menu.

      The G/L Accounts window opens.

    Merging G/L Accounts

    From the list window, you can select one or more accounts and merge them. This will take all the items in the database using the account and:
    • change it to the first account
    • Aggregate any totals into the new account

    it could take a long time, especially if the account you are merging from has a lot of transactions (eg it was used for a play). Always try to merge into the most used account, and if you need to afterwards, rename/renumber the account you combined things into.

    Accounts must be of the same type to merge them. Eg, you can only merge an asset account into an asset account, an income account into an income account, etc. Since is possible to change some account types (eg you can change liability to income). If you wish to merge disparate account types, then change the account type first.

    Deleting General Ledger Accounts

    Only accounts which have not been used in a transaction may be deleted.

    For information on inactivating a G/L Account, click here.

    1. Find the account to be deleted.

      For more information on finding a G/L Account, click here.

    2. Click the Delete button.

      If the account has been used for a transaction the following message will appear.

      If the account has not been used then the following message will appear.

    3. Click the button to confirm.

      The account will be removed and a deletion confirmation will appear at the bottom of the window.

    Determine the Chart of Accounts

    Creating the Chart of Accounts requires understanding how the General Ledger will be used to generate information. For more information, refer to the sample Chart of Accounts by clicking here.

    Minimum General Ledger Accounts

    The suggested minimum number of General Ledger Account numbers are outlined in this table. The organization may choose to operate with fewer or more accounts.

    Minimum General Ledger Accounts

    Type of Account

    Cash

    Asset

    Check

    Asset

    Accepted Credit Cards

    Asset

    Vouchers Received

    Asset

    Other Payments

    Asset

    Accounts Receivable

    Asset

    Accounts Receivable - Future Payment

    Asset

    Accounts Receivable - Outlet

    Asset

    Accounts Payable

    Liability

    City/Municipal Tax Payable - If this tax is collected

    Liability

    Provincial/State Tax Payable - If this tax is collected

    Liability

    Federal Tax Payable - If this tax is collected

    Liability

    Prepaid Gift Certificates

    Liability

    Deferred Donation

    Liability

    Commissions Payable

    Liability

    Order Fees

    Revenue

    Exchange Fees

    Revenue

    Reprint Fees

    Revenue

    Mail Fees

    Revenue

    Sales Account for Each Event

    Revenue

    Cash Over/Under

    Expense

    Donation Bank Transfer

    Expense

    Bank Service Charges

    Expense

    Donations

    Other Income

    Required General Ledger Accounts

    1. Open the Code Table Window via the Setup >> System Tables >> Code Tables menu.

    2. Select Payments.

      A list of required general ledger accounts is displayed.

    3. Select Default Posting Accounts.

    The account names that appear in the list are the minimum number of accounts required for the General Ledger to operate and, except the credit card types, are determined by Theatre Manager. The credit card types that appear are determined by the credit card types entered in the Credit Card Category of the Code Table. All additional credit card types to the Code Table requires that Accounting Default Data be updated with a corresponding account number.

    The actual general ledger account numbers used depends on the accounts set up in the General Ledger.

    All required accounts must have a corresponding account number otherwise Theatre Manager we be unable to create deposits and revenue allocations.

    Editing a General Ledger Account

    To edit an account, you change some of the account details. Accounts can be changed to debit or credit accounts, active or inactive etc.

    1. Open the Chart of Accounts.

      For more information on accessing the Chart of Accounts, click here.

      For a detailed description of this window, click here.

    2. Find the account to be edited.

      For information on finding a G/L account, click here.

    3. Double click the account to open the Account Detail window.

      For a detailed description of this window, click here.

    4. Once the changes have been completed, click the Save button.

    Setting an Account as Inactive

    Over time, accounts in the GL may become obsolete. These accounts cannot be deleted because they still hold financial information. A user with the proper security clearance can set these accounts as inactive. Once an account is set as inactive it can no longer be used unless it it is reactivated.

    1. Open the Chart of Accounts window.

      For more information on accessing the Chart of Accounts, click here.

    2. Find the account to be set as inactive.

      For more information on finding a general ledger account, click here.

    3. Double click the account to open the Account Detail window.

    4. Uncheck the Status Active box.

      The account will now be set as inactive and can no longer be used.

    Finding General Ledger Accounts

    1. Open the Chart of Accounts window.

      For more information on accessing the Chart of Accounts window, click here.

    2. Select the type of search to use to find the account.

    3. Enter the range of accounts to search for in the To and From fields.
    4. Click the Search button.

      All matching entries will be displayed.

      To view the details of an account double click the account.

    Sample Chart of Accounts

    The number of General Ledger accounts setup depends on the detail required and should reflect the business practices for the organization. To view account details simply double click an account.

    Assets

    Liability

    Equity

    Income

    The four digit account number has been used to indicate the play code and the three digit feature code has been used to indicate the type of revenue. However, the three digit feature code could be used to indicate the play code and the four digit account number could be used to indicate the type of revenue.

    The refund accounts have a debit balance. 

    Cost of Goods

    Expense

    Other Income

    Other Expense

    Adding Accounts to the General Ledger

    Using the chart of accounts you can edit and add accounts to the GL.

    1. Open the Chart of Accounts Window.

      Click Here to Learn how to access this window.

      Click Here for a detailed description of this window.

      Clicking on the different tabs will show the accounts setup for corresponding type.

    2. Select the account type by clicking the corresponding tab.
    3. Either click the New button or right click and select add.

      The GL Account Detail Window opens.

      Click Here for a detailed description of this window.

    4. Enter the account number and description in the top fields.
    5. Choose the correct account attributes.

      Set the account as active if you wish to use it immediately.

    6. Once you have entered all the information click the Save button and close the G/L Account Detail window.

      The new account will be added to the Chart of Accounts.

    General Ledger - Budgets

    This Page is under construction

    Preparing for Tax Change

     

    If your organization has set the single ticket or season ticket prices as rounded prices (i.e. $15.00 or $15.50, etc) inclusive of the current tax, when the tax rate changes, the final price of the ticket will no longer be rounded (in most cases). To continue with rounded prices after a tax change, additional adjustments will have to be made to the ticket base prices and/or sales promotion calculations.

    We advise each site to start planning for any tax changes as soon as they are aware a change will happen. This way, you can determine the effect a change has on the 'end price' shown to the patron and if any other price changes to the base ticket price or sales promotion are required.

    For example, if the Exchange Fee (or Order Fee, or Mailing Fee) is currently $2.00 per ticket, inclusive of a 6% tax rate. It is likely the exchange fee in System Tables will need to be set to $1.90.
    To maintain a $2.00 exchange fee after a Tax Rate Change Day, you need to change the ticket exchange fee amount from $1.89 to $1.90.

    This same example applies if you have any ticket fees setup for your sales promotions. If you have a ticket fee that is setup to become rounded at $1.00 inclusive of the 6% Tax Rate, then in the Sales Promotion, you will need to setup the ticket fee amount from $0.94 to $0.95.

    Keep in mind, if a tax rate is being reduced, patrons may expect the ticket prices to drop accordingly. It will be an internal decision within your organization to reset the prices to round to the nearest dollar again, or leave the ticket prices as currently set and have 'non-rounded' ticket values. If your organization chooses to have 'non-rounded' ticket values for the remainder of the current season, then next season, simply go back to having 'rounded' ticket prices again.

    You will need to evaluate your patrons' perception, as many patron's expect to see a ticket price drop.

     

    Attendance Tracking/Ticket Scanning

    Theatre Manager handles tracking of tickets that were used at an event which can be accomplished in one of three ways:

    Each option was built for a different purpose and have some pro's and con's associated with them. These are outlined in the table below. All methods:

    • Allow you to enter ticket numbers for a specific event to record attendance. It can be done by scanning the bar codes on a printed or web ticket -or- if the bar code fails, typing it in manually.
    • Have a range of messages that tell you if the ticket was used already to gain admittance, if it is for the wrong night, etc.
    • Can be used in conjunction with each other - meaning, you can use all 3 methods simultaneously if you wish.
    Events & Dates

    This method of verifying attendance requires you to open the Events and Dates window (or access it from the Accounting->Confirm Attendance Menu).
    Pros
    • Can also track attendance by patron number. If you enter the patron #, then all tickets purchased by that patron for that night will be considered used.
    • The simplest method of attendance tracking and probably the cheapest, especially if used after stubs have been collected.
    Cons
    • Requires a full copy of Theatre Manager (and licence) for each of the workstations that you are using for attendance tracking. This means that attendance tracking 'at the door' requires a computer and scanner attached.
    • Does not facilitate the process of a patron entering and leaving a venue multiple times by multiple exits.
    Web Site Interface

    This method uses computers equipped with a web browser to communicate to the web listener to track attendance.
    Pros
    • Can use inexpensive 'older' computers and a connected bar code scanner to perform attendance tracking at the door. Discarded laptops with a USB interface might be ideal.
    • Bar code scanners connected to machines are cheaper than stand-alone wireless solutions - so this is probably a mid-range price solution.
    • It does not require a user licence to be in use to scan tickets. All tickets are scanned and sent to the web listener via a special interface to the listener.
    • It can be used to check patrons into the venue -and- allow them to leave for later re-entry.
    • It could be used for attendance tracking of stubs after the fact.
    • Can have one or more separate web listener(s) assigned to the attendance function, if desired.
    Cons
    • This approach requires a computer at each of the venue's access/egress points capable of being networked and running a browser.
    • The bar code scanner must be tethered ("wired") to the computer at each door.
    • You must have the web listener module to use this option (however, multiple devices can communicate to the same web listener).
    Wireless Scanners

    This option uses iPhone/iPod wireless scanners and a custom ArtsMan application to scan tickets and send the information to a web listener that checks the person in and out of a venue based on ticket number for that performance.
    Pros
    • This uses a battery operated stand alone wireless device specially designed for this purpose. Staff can wander un-tethered to scan tickets which makes it very flexible and the scanner can be deployed to any venue access/egress point depending on demand.
    • It does not require a user licence to be in use to scan tickets. All tickets are scanned and sent to the web listener via a special interface to the listener.
    • It is designed for the leanest communication with a web listener and is quite fast.
    • It has great visual and audio feedback to help determine the permissions of the user to check in and/or out.
    • Can have a one or more separate web listener(s) assigned to the attendance function, if desired, to speed processing.
    Cons
    • It requires the web listener module to operate (however, multiple wireless devices can communicate to the same web listener).
    • It is a more expensive technology.
    • It requires a wireless LAN connection to be operating continuously otherwise you cannot scan people into the venue.

    Scanning Tickets using Wireless Scanners

    Wireless scanners are a convenient way of checking people into (or out of) a venue and tracking exactly who is on the premises. They are battery operated, portable and can be deployed from one entrance to another, depending on traffic or load. They are easy to operate, however they do require a few steps to get them working the first time. The general setup steps are:

    1. Contact ArtsMan Sales Dept to purchase a ticket scanner and licence (iOS device NOT included with purchase of scanner)
    2. Buy or get an iPhone or iPod donated that fits the ticket scanner you are going to purchase in step 1
    3. Install the ticket scanning software and mate with the network (usually a one time task).
    4. Set up the preferences to scan a particular event (once before the show)
    5. Scan the tickets as people enter and exit the venue.

     

    Similar to the Web Scan method, you need to:

    You use the scanner to check patrons in (step 3) or check them out of (step 4) the venue.

    iOS device not included with purchase of scanner/licence. It must be acquired separately
    Ensure you fully charge the devices before a performance so they have a full battery level. There is nothing worse than having the battery run out in the middle of admitting patrons. If necessasry, test the device while it is in the charger cradle and to make sure that it will still scan.
    New Linea Pro scanners may arrive at your location not fully charged and occasionally drain completely during shipping or if they have not been used in a long time. In such instances, the scanner will appear non-responsive and probably won’t power up in a charging station. The solution is to remove it from any accessories (pistol grip) and plug it in directly with the provided mini-USB cable. It should start to charge normally within 1-2 hours at most.

    If the scanner is still unresponsive after leaving it plugged in for a couple of hours, only then would something more serious be likely.
    Print at home is wonderful and when enabled for a performance, it becomes the default ticket handling method online. Tickets are marked printed and the customer is prompted to download or print their tickets.

    Print at home may be new behaviour for patrons at your venue. If so, we suggest doing an initial educational eblast to your current online purchasers that might mention things like:

    • Your Venue Name now offers print at home tickets which will be the the default way to get tickets for online purchases -and/or-
    • Patrons who purchased prior to this offering can log into their online account if they wish and print their tickets for upcoming shows and avoid waiting in line at the box office -and/or-
    • patrons can reprint tickets at any time after logging in to the online web sales portal

    Step 1 - Installing Scanner Software

    Follow the steps in this section to install the software on the iOS device you are using. If you encounter any issues, check the frequently asked questions for troubleshooting
    1. Install the TM Scanner app on an iPhone/iPod
    2. Add the purchased Linea Pro Scanner attachment around the iOS device
    3. Test the scanner on some sample tickets in your environment

    The purchase of the linea pro scanner/licence does not include an iOS device.

    It must be acquired separately

    For installation instructions, click on the picture of the scanner.

    IOS

    TM Scanner App
    iOS - iPhone/iPod Based

    TM Scanner - with Linea Pro Bar Code Scanner

    The purchase of the linea pro scanner/licence does not include an iOS device.

    It must be acquired separately

    TM Scanner - Arts Management Systems Ltd. TM Scanner - Arts Management Systems Ltd. You can download the TM Scanner application by visiting the Apple App Store using the link above or typing tm scanner in the app store search

    The TM Scanner bar code scanner application can be used on iOS with a device like an iPhone in conjunction with a hardware scanner from Linea Pro.

    IOS To use this application, you will need to:

    • Make sure your ticket face has a bar code that goes all across the ticket so that it can be scanned more easily. Refer to adding a field to the ticket.
    • Provide your own iPod or iPhone
      • iOS 10 is currently the earliest compatible OS
      • It is always recommended to keep the devices updated to the latest version of iOS, in order to maintain security compatibility
    • Download the app from Apple's App Store. The app is free and may be installed on any number of devices that you wish.
    • Contact our sales department to:
      • Purchase the Linea Pro to match your iOS device for rapid scanning.
      • Add scanner licensing to your second generation listener (happens automatically when you purchase the above scanner hardware)
      • You can also type the ticket number on the screen as an option if you don't want to have a scanner. This approach is far less efficient than having scanner hardware as the ticket number is manually typed rather than scanned.
    • Make some settings in the TM Scanner app to talk to your web server
    • Set the print at home barcode to QR Code format.

    Step 2 - Setting Base Options in the Scanner

    The scanner options is generally the same no matter which scanner you are using. Generally, they tell the scanner where the web services are located and the user id/password to use to allow the scan to be processed.

    Most often, the settings can be made once and left alone if the intent is to scan tickets on the day of the show.

    Scanner User Id in TM

    Scanning tickets using a scanner requires a user id set up in theatre manager. We suggest dedicating a specific user id to this purpose.

    The setup steps for a user id for scanning are:

    • Create a patron in Theatre Manager with a suitable name, like 'Ticket Scanner'. You could even make them a household member of your other special TM id's like the 'Master User' or 'Web Listener'
    • Turn the user into an employee
    • The only settings and permissions that the ticket scanner id really needs is:
      • a unique set of initials to log in with. These are created automatically when the employee login is created and can be found on the employee window
      • The Employee initials are placed in the scanner setup field on the device you are using to do the scanning.
      • This active user must is allowed to log in
      • the permission to Confirm Attendance at a Performance as per the image below.

    Scanner Prefs - Linea Pro TM Scanner application

    You may protect access to this entire screen (or parts of it) using an iPhones built in Accessibility Feature
    Some configuration settings need to be made on the iPhone or iPod prior to using the Linea Pro scanner to scan tickets. These are very simple, and are all contained on one screen on the iPhone/iPod.

    When using the TM Scan application, click on the settings icon at the bottom right of the screen to make changes to the settings. When done, click on the scan button at the lower left.

    The values of the fields are in the table below and some troubleshooting steps are at the end.

    Theatre Manager Server Address This is the URL address of the web listener that will be responding to checkin and checkout requests. Enter the address of either:
    • your web ticketing server address such as tickets.yourvenue.org. This will elevate the scanning to use https and can occur from anywhere in the world. It must be used for AMS cloud customers.
    • Do not add http:// or https:// in front of the URL. That will be added automatically.
    Outlet This is the company number (normally 1). In multi-outlet venues, this number will be different for each outlet.
    Performance (optional) You can enter the performance number that you are scanning for or leave it empty. Both options affect which tickets will be accepted by the scanner.

    Please refer to the scanner rules for more detail.

    Area (optional) This is an optional number that you may assign to scans. It is intended to identify entrance to a specific venue in the case where one ticket allows a patron access to one or more places and you need to monitor how many people are in each area. The venue number must exist in Theatre Manager and does not need to be the same as the venue for the ticket. Example: the ticket could be for a game or circus in an arena. However, there may be a 'bar tent' or 'children's play area' that only ticket holders can go to -- so you can scan them into those auxiliary areas for capacity tracking.

    Normally, this field is not entered.

    User Initials This is the uppercase initials for the user ID in Theatre Manager doing the scanning. This person does not need to be able to log on to TM for any other reason. You might wish to create a generic ID for this purpose.

    The user initials for the scanner must be unique within each outlet.

    Password The password used for these User Initials to log on to Theatre Manager.

    Note: Passwords are case sensitive per PCI compliance. Please ensure you get the case correct.

    Beep on go This function can be turned on if you want a beep to sound when a valid scan is entered. If this is off, the scanner will only vibrate - which may be nice if you are scanning in an area where silence is better. A higher pitched longer beep occurs if an invalid scan is attempted.

     

    Troubleshooting the scanner

    The first trouble shooting technique if you can't scan tickets, is to open safari on the iOS device and see if you can connect to your ticketing web site.

    If you cannot, then usually the issue is the DNS on the wifi router you are connected to.

    If some devices can scan tickets and others cannot on the same network, then compare the versions of iOS on the devices to find out which version is working.

    Linea Pro Scanner Check Battery Health & RFID Laser

    Infinite Peripherals offers an app via the Apple Store to download and install on iPod or iPhone devices used with the Linea Pro Scanner sleds.

    The app is called IPCSupport and can only be downloaded from the apple store on your iOS device.

     

    This app will provide:

    • the battery health of the scanner device
    • the ability to test the infrared laser.
    • Note: There are other features in this app that are NOT applicable because the Linea Pro is using Theatre Manager's TM Scanner ticket scanning software.

    Only use the Device for battery health and RFID to test infrared laser.

    Protecting Scanner Preferences Using Accessibility

    If you wish to manage access to parts of you scanners so that volunteer ushers or unauthorized person cannot click on check out or the settings buttons on your scanner, Apple provides a great solution through the accessibility feature on the iPhone or iPod touch.

    Guided Access limits your iOS device to a single app and lets you control which features are available. You can turn on Guided Access when you let a volunteer use your device, or when accidental gestures might distract you..

     

    To Enable Guided Access

    1. open the Settings application and navigate through
      • General
      • Accessibility
      • Guided Access (as per the screen to the right)
    2. Turn on Guided Access.
    3. Tap Passcode Settings, then
      • tap Set Guided Access Passcode.
      • Enter a passcode, then reenter it.

     

    To set up Guided Access for a Specific Application

    Open the app that you want to manage (eg TM Scan - for purposes of this example) and decide if you want to control access to the entire settings tab or only parts of it.

     

    Option 1: Control Access to Multiple Specific Parts of Settings Tab

    This can be used to limit access to some parts of the settings. You might use this approach if you want to allow staff to only change of the performance

    1. Click on Settings
    2. Triple-click the Home button.
    3. If you want to manager parts of your screen to stop responding to touch, use one finger to circle those areas. You can move or resize the circle, or tap the X to remove it. In our example to the right we have selected the:
      • URL to the ticketing web site,
      • Outlet (if you are scanning for multiple organizations in an outlet version, you may not want to select this
      • ID and Password
      • Refer to scanner settings for meaning of the fields to decide what you want to protect. You could, if you want, protect the entire screen
    4. Tap Start.
    5. Stay on the main screen

     

    Option 2: Control Access to an entire screen

    This can be used to limit access to some parts of the settings. You might use this approach if you want to allow staff to only change of the performance

    1. Click on Settings
    2. Triple-click the Home button.
    3. Select all the fields on the screen
    4. Adjust the corners of the rectangle as need be by dragging them
    5. Tap Start.
    6. Stay on the main screen

    Step 3 - Checking a Patron INTO the venue

    This page describes how to scan a ticket and check a patron INTO the venue. The process is very similar for both scanners.

    TM Scanner (iPhone/iPod)
    • Make sure the 'white words' in the centre of the screen say 'Scan In'. If they do not, click the 'blue' words that say 'scan in'.
    • Aim the front of the scanner at a ticket
    • Press the 'black' button at the right side of the scanner so that the red laser scans the ticket
    • When you hear the beep (or the phone vibrates), the scan was successful and the words will say 'go'
    • If you hear a longer beep, the screen will say stop and the scan failed -- read the error message to find out why
    If you have trouble doing a scan, you can enter the ticket number manually. To do so:
    • Click on the green word 'Start' (or on the blue 'Manual' at the upper left)
    • Type in the ticket number
    • Click the 'Go' Button
    A successful scan looks similar to the image on the right.

    it will include:

    • The patrons name
    • The ticket number
    • And if its a reserved seating event:
      • the door
      • section
      • row
      • and seat data
      If such data is available for the venue

    Step 4 - Checking a Patron OUT of the venue

    This page describes how to check a patron OUT OF the venue so that they can come back in another entrance. A checkout assumes that the patron has been checked in to the venue in the first place. If you receive an error checking the patron out, it would be an odd situation.

    The process is very similar for both scanners.

    TM Scanner (iPhone/iPod)
    • Make sure the 'white words' in the centre of the screen say 'Scan Out'. If they do not, click the 'blue' words that say 'Scan Out'.
    • Aim the front of the scanner at a ticket
    • Press the 'black' button at the right side of the scanner so that the red laser scans the ticket
    • When you hear the beep (or the phone vibrates), the scan was successful and the words will say 'go'
    • If you hear a longer beep, the screen will say stop and the scan failed -- read the error message to find out why
    If you have trouble doing a scan, you can enter the ticket number manually. To do so:
    • Click on the green word 'Start' (or on the blue 'Manual' at the upper left)
    • Type in the ticket number
    • Click the 'Go' Button

    Ticket Scanner Acceptance Rules

    Entering a performance number or leaving it blank the scanner setup preferences directly affects which tickets the scanners will accept or reject.

    These apply to checkin or checkout of the venue.

    If you enter a Specific Performance Number into the scanner

    While providing a performance number is generally the best option, it is especially important If you have multiple venues or multiple events on the same day.

    • Tickets for any other performance will be rejected.
    • The scanner will accepts tickets if the performance date is midnight or earlier. It means you:
      • can scan tickets for an event that goes on today because it has todays date on it
      • can scan ticket stubs you put aside from a prior days performance if you wish, up to any number of days in the past
      • cannot scan tickets for any event with tomorrows date on it
    • Provide this parameters if you want absolute certainty that patrons are entering the correct venue.
    • Find the performance number from the list within the event window

     

    If you leave the Performance Number zero or blank

    If you generally have one event per day, it may work best leaving the performance number blank as there is no configuration changes required for each day. You just need to pick up the scanners and use them.

    • Tickets for any event/play that day will be accepted.
    • Ticket for any other day will be rejected. (Provide specific performance number to scan prior days events)
    • Use this if you have
      • a festival situation occurring and patrons could have purchased tickets to any one of a number of events / plays to obtain entry to the area you are scanning for.
      • a multi venue situation where you quickly move scanners from one venue to another and don't want operators to enter performance numbers
    • Note: If you enter a zero in this field, tickets for events occurring on any other day will return the message that the ticket is for a future event, and is not valid on this date.

     

    Tricking the scanning process for future performances

    If you want to scan for tomorrow's performance for some reason, then:
    • Just before attempting to scan tickets, set the date/time on the performance to be just before midnight today.
    • Add a comment to the specific performance notes to clarify for online sales (eg 'this performance is friday all day and not at the time indicated').
    • When you have finished scanning advance tickets, then change the date/time back to the proper performance time.

    Print-at-Home and coupon requirements

    If a sales promotions is explicitly marked with the requirement for a coupon when sold online, then the following happens:

    • if the patron prints at home - all tickets in the order will be printed - this is so that a patron has the same number of tickets as their online order
    • The tickets that require an online coupon will have an invalid bar code. This means that the ticket cannot be scanned into the venue in anyway.
    • There will be instructions on the ticket to take the print-at-home copy to the box office or will call to have it exchanged for a hard ticket stock ticket - which of course can be scanned.
    • This way the box office can verify price eligibility for the promotion, such as AAA discount, 2 for 1 coupon, Active Military - any reason at all.

    Scanning Tickets using Tethered Scanner

    With a tethered unit, you follow a similar process as outlined below:

    1. From the main menu bar, choose Accounting >> Confirm Attendance.

      The Patron Attendance list window opens.

    2. Enter Search Criteria.

      The search criteria is entered in the From and To fields and is based on the field listed in the drop down list.

    3. Click the Search button.

      A list of performances opens.

    4. Double click on a performance to select it. Once selected, the performance will open.

    5. Enter the patron number, ticket number or click in the ticket number field and scan the ticket.

      If you enter the patron number, all of the tickets the patron purchased will appear in the window. If you enter the ticket number or scanning the ticket, only that ticket will appear.

    6. Click the Accept button.

      To speed up the process, press the <RETURN> key to accept the ticket # / Patron #. If you are using a bar code scanner, set the default to include an automatic <RETURN> after each scan. If the tickets have a bar code on them, then either the patron number or the ticket number can be scanned in. It depends on what information has been encoded in the bar code.

      If too many tickets have been selected, and not all should be marked as attended, highlight those to remove and click the Clear Attend button. The tickets are removed from the list.

    7. Click the Finished button when all data has been entered .

      This marks all tickets entered in the list as Attended.

    Scanning Tickets using Web Interface

    While this kind of scanning will still work, we recommend a linea pro bar code scanner

    The web scanning interface is really quite easy to set up. You will need:

    • A computer
    • A USB bar code scanner (CCD is best)
    • A bar code on your hard tickets and your web tickets printed at the time of sale, and
    • A permanent net connection to the web listener

    To start, you need to know the following:

    Performance Number

    You need to know the performance number of the event that is occurring. You can find this by opening up the Events & Dates window, and clicking on the Performance tab. The first column of the performance list is the performance number.

    In the example below, you can see the performance number as #323 for the Apr 2, 2011 performance.

    Performance Number

    Web IP Address

    You need to know the listener IP address (internal). You find this by looking at the web listener on the title bar. In the example below, it is https://192.168.3.50:5111 (note - 192.168.3.50 is the IP address and 5111 is the port number to use if you are using the wireless scanners)

    Listener IP

    Once you have the setup information, then you can begin the process of tracking attendance.

    1. On any computer, start the web browser of your choice (Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc.)
    2. Enter the IP address of the listener (along with the attendance page) in the following manner. This is the IP address you found above, along with the actual attendance page called 'TMattendance.html'.

    Attendance

    If you want to track attendance at a remote venue using this method, you can use the web listener and the path name will resemble https://tickets.yourvenue.com/TheatreManager/1/TMattendance.html

    Once the browser page is started, you should see something like the following page. On it, you must fill in:

    • The performance number from above (in this example -- 323)
    • Your user initials (in this example -- RDE), and
    • Your password (Password are case sensitive. For most sites, you will enter it in all upper case).

    Put the performance number into both the upper area and the lower area. The upper area checks people into the venue who have not entered the venue. The lower area tracks people leaving the venue so that they may re-enter later.

    checkin


    Entering the Venue

    Once the web page is on the screen

    1. Place the cursor in the Ticket Number cell.
    2. Aim the scanner at the bar code on the ticket
    3. Pull the scanner's trigger
    4. Click the "Check Patron In" button on the web page (see NOTE below)
    5. Scan tickets until all patrons are in the venue.

    When you click the "Check Patron In" button, a message is sent to the web listener and it responds with a message. For possible messages, see below.

    If your scanner is programmed to automatically enter a "carriage return" after the click (see the scanner's User Manual to program), then you do not need to click the "Check Patron In" button. Alternatively, after scanning, you can click the ENTER key on your keyboard.

    The next steps are repeated as required.
    Action Possible messages
    Ticket Not Used Yet

    For a ticket that is valid for admission, the message will display "OK to Enter." In this case, the ticket number is '8569' and the user is informed to allow access.

    OK

    Ticket Already Used

    If the ticket has already been marked as used then you will see a message similar to the one below.

    Used

    Not Sold If you try to scan a ticket Theatre Manager thinks has not been sold, you will get a message similar to that below. This may happen if the ticket was sold and then exchanged but the original ticket was never destroyed (as part of the box office procedures).

    NotSold

    Wrong Performance If the ticket that is entered is sold, but it is for the wrong performance, then you will receive a message like the one below.

    Wrong Performance

    Leaving the Venue

    Sometimes people need to leave the venue. If you have scanned them in, then they cannot enter again because the ticket was already used. The only way to allow them to leave, and then return is to check them out of the venue. That will mark their ticket as un-used. They can then enter again at any access point that supports ticket scanning (or manual entry of tickets).

    You are not required to use this approach for re-entry. You can ignore this process and use the traditional 'hand stamp' method (or similar protocol).

    Action Possible messages
    Patron is Leaving the Venue

    In the lower area, scan the bar code (or type the ticket number) to indicate that the patron is leaving the venue. The input screen will look like the following.

    Web Checkout

    if the patron was properly scanned into the venue, you will get a message like the following in the standard message area.

    Leave

    Ticket Not Used

    If the ticket was used and the patron has been scanned out of the venue -or- if the patron was never in the venue in the first place, you will get a message similar to the one below. This is useful to let you know when "Elvis has left the building."

    Not In Venue

    Not Sold

    If you attempt to scan a ticket that Theatre Manager thinks is currently not sold, then you will get a message to that effect (similar to the "Check In" message)

    Wrong Performance If the ticket that is entered is sold, yet it is for the wrong performance, then you will receive a message to that effect (similar to the "Check In" message).

    Determining Used/Unused tickets

    There are a number of ways to determine how many tickets were used (scanned). Some are reports and others show quick stats for a performance.

    Note: It doesn't matter how the tickets were scanned (wireless, typed in manually, or tethered scanner), each of these methods will give the same result.

    In reports, the criteria you want to use is Ticket Scan Flag-Patron Came to the Event is equal to No (they didn't get scanned) Yes (they were scanned)

    Things you can do..

    1. The Ticket Scanning Monitor can be used in real time on the night of the event to see the flow of people into the venue. It can be useful for house management to know when to close the doors, or to hold them open should there be a weather related event occurring. This has the number of tickets scanned in (and out), the performance If multiple are happening that day) and the percentage of people in the house.
    2. The manual ticket scanning window will show the number of tickets told to the performance, the scanned count and the unused count on the window. It is a quick way of seeing one performance at a glance.
    3. On the play window in the attendance tab, there is a tab that indicates the ticket use (scanned/not scanned) status. This has 3 values:
      • Future Event - indicates that the performance is for the future so we cannot tell if it was used or not.
      • Attended - indicates the people who have been scanned into the venue.
      • Not Used - refers to any ticket that was sold, but not scanned into the venue
      If you highlight all the tickets in the attendance list, the window will tell you 'xx tickets selected: Attended: yy Not Used: zz' where xx is the number of tickets sold, yy is the count of those attended and zz is the count not used/not scanned.
    4. Using any Ticket Inventory Report, you can search for only tickets that were scanned (used) or those that were not scanned (not used). This can be used in conjunction with other criteria to do things like find:
      • the number of subscribers who did not attend
      • which board members came
      • the number of people given a comp that did not show up
      • etc
    5. The criteria to use in reports is Ticket Scan Flag-Patron Came to the Event is equal to No (they didn't get scanned) Yes (they were scanned)

    Course Management

    Theatre Manager includes a module specifically for setting up, selling, assigning report cards for, and managing courses or classes that your organization may offer. The following pages include details about setting up Theatre Manager to best handle courses, how to set up the courses themselves, and then how to edit, sell, track course attendance and assign report cards for the courses.

    Course Management Items In System Setup

    Before using the Courses module, it is recommended that an organization first set up a few items in System Setup. The Performance Field #1 is a Company Preference that will affect Theatre Manager company or outlet-wide, so it should be discussed with other users/departments before changing or implementing. There are also Report Card Templates in System Tables that must be set before report cards can be created and assigned to a course. A few different items related to Courses appear in Code Tables. Instructions for setting up these features follow on the next few pages.
    Diataxis: 

    Performance Field #1

    Performance Field #1 is a customizable drop-down field used to describe a performance.

    For example, you could call it Performance Type and populate it with genre descriptions like Comedy, Drama, or Musical.

    You can use the Performance Field #1 in the Course module, to classifying Course Types.

    In the example images in this section, Performance Field #1 has been called Course Type, and has been populated with Acting, Movement, Musical Theatre and Voice as groupings for classes. To change the name Performance Field #1 to Course Types, you perform the following steps:

    1. Choose Setup >> Company (or Outlet) Preferences Appearance Tab and scroll down to Performance Field #1 in the list on the left.
    2. Select the name on the right from Performance Field #1.

      It may be the same, or it may have been previously changed for your organization.

    3. Change the name on the right to what is appropriate for your organization.

      The change you make is Company (or Outlet) wide. Ensure, if the field has been used in the past, it is not currently in use or can it be altered to be more inclusive.

      The Code Table name will also change from Perf Type to your entry.

    4. Click the Save button.

      To populate the options available in Performance Field #1, please follow the instructions under Course Settings in Code Tables found here.

    Diataxis: 

    Searching By Performance Field #1

    One of the benefits of using Performance Field #1 in conjunction with Courses is that you can search by that field in the Performance Selection screen while purchasing a Course.

    One of the benefits of using Performance Field #1 in conjunction with Courses is that you can search by that field in the Performance Selection screen while purchasing a Course.

    Change the drop-down lookup menu at the top left to whatever you have named Performance Field #1 to search just for events or courses that fit one of its descriptors.

    For example, in the above image, Course Type is the name for Performance Field #1
    Acting is being selected as the descriptor as defined in the Code Tables for Course Type.
    For more information about Performance Field #1 and Courses, click here.
    To see instructions for adding values to the associated Code Table, click here.
    Diataxis: 

    Course Settings In Code Tables

    There are five code tables found in Setup >> System Tables >> Code Tables that need to be addressed when using the Courses Module. For more information, see:

    Diataxis: 

    Report Card Templates

    Before Report Cards can be assigned or used in the Courses module, you need to set up the Report Card Templates in Setup >> System Tables >> Report Card Templates. Please click here for instructions on setting up a template to use with Report Cards.

    Diataxis: 

    Setting up a Course

    Courses are set up in Theatre Manager just like any other event - in the Plays Window.

    Your version may have been changed from the default "Plays" to "Events" or another similar title.

    To set up a course, you perform the following steps:

    1. Chose Main Theatre Manager menu item Setup >> Plays.

      Alternatively

      Click the Plays button in the Theatre Manager toolbar / ribbon bar.

      The Play List Window opens.

    2. Click the New button in the Play List toolbar / ribbon bar to create a new record.

      The Plays and Dates Window opens.

    Diataxis: 

    Entering the Course Title Information

    Entering course title information is done in the plays window.

    To enter course title information, you perform the following steps:

    1. Enter a Play Code for the Course.

      In this the example - 13-ED1

      Enter a code that is easy to remember and follows the naming conventions you may already have set at your venue for Play Codes. Play Codes must be unique and cannot be used again for future plays or courses.
    2. Enter a Play Title that corresponds to the title of the Course.
    3. Enter the season information that corresponds to the timing of the Course.
    4. Enter a Pricing Map.

      If you have not set up a Venue specifically for Courses, you may want to do so. It can be a Festival Seating (or General Admission) map, but one needs to be entered here. Click here for information about setting up a new Pricing Map.

    5. Ticket information does not have to be entered if no tickets will be printed for the course.

      If this is the case, choose "Mark tickets as printed (but don't print)" under Ticket Printing Information.

    6. Ensure the Active Status box is checked.

      This way, the course will show in the Plays List for purchase.

    7. Enter any Web Sales Controls desired on the top right.

      For example:

      If Advance sales shut off at a certain time before the start of the class or

      If a patron is limited to the number of admissions they may purchase for this specific course (otherwise the program default limit on ticket purchases will apply).

    8. Make appropriate Ticket Printing selections.

    You must enter Accounting information in the Accounting tab before you can Save the record.

    Accounting information is discussed on the next page.

    Course Accounting Information

    The Accounting Tab information is the same as for any other Play or Event.

    For more information about the Accounting Tab, click here.

    You may want to set up specific liability and income accounts in your Chart of Accounts to correlate to course revenues. To read about adding accounts to your G/L, click here.

    Diataxis: 

    Assigning the Course Genre

    Genre is a general classification for events that is common to all Theatre Manager customers.

    You cannot edit the Genre Table

    There are approximately 70 genre classifications which are used in the TicketTrove iPhone/iPad app and on the event search window on the web to help customers find entertainment to their liking. For Example: Customers can look for drama, hockey games, musicals, symphonies, ballet, etc.

    Specifying a genre for a course or event is required.

    Genres are listed in the Play / Event Genre code table. Click here for information on the Genre table.

    To specify the Genere for your course, you perform the following steps:

    1. Click on the Marketing tab.
    2. Click the drop down list to select the appropriate Genre from the list.

    3. Enter other information as required by your organization.
    4. When complete, click the Save button.
    5. You can now go on and add classes (as performances).

    Diataxis: 

    Adding Course Performances (Classes)

    To add Performances (or Classes) to your Course, select the Performance tab of the Plays and Dates window.

    1. Click the New button.

      The Performance Wizard opens, beginning with Step One (details begin on the next page).

    Diataxis: 

    Adding A Class - Step One

    When you first enter the Adding Performances window, you need to chage the default sales method to set up courses.

    To add a class, you perform the following steps:

    1. Enter the number of Classes that will fall under this Course.

      In this example - 20.

    2. Select "Course" as the Sales Method.

      When "Course" has been selected, you will be given an option to either:

      The difference is:

      Each course is created as a separate performance Create ONE course as series of classes

      You can have multiple performances in your Course for patrons to choose from.

      They can attend one session (or performance) and not the others.

      This is useful if you are going to have one single class offered at several different times (just like any other event with multiple performances).

      The individual classes can be sold separately

      You are creating one Course that is a series of Classes

      Patrons sign up to attend the whole series (this is the case in the example photos).

      They purchase the entire series at once rather than separately.

      Performance Field #1 is customizable. It is used for descriptions of a performance.

      For example: You could use this field to group courses (or performances) by type--acting, voice, movement, etc (or drama, comedy, musical, etc).

    3. You can change the name of this field by following the instructions found here. In this example, the Field name has been changed to Course Type.
    4. You can populate options in this field by going to Setup >> System Tables >> Code Tables.

      Locating the name of the field (which is whatever you have changed it to in Company Preferences) and following the instructions found here.

    5. The quantity to sell is based on the venue assigned to the Course.

      If you think the Course may oversell the size of the venue, or if there is the possibility of adding more chairs to a venue, you can increase the quantity now.

      you cannot increase the quantity to sell once the Course has been created. Changing the venue will not increase the quantity to sell.

      The only way to increase the quantity is to create another event with a larger venue and move all the students out of this one and into the new one.

      If there is a possibility of a higher quantity to sell, increase that value now.

    6. Check the boxes next to the sales outlets for the course (the box office, the internet, etc).

      You cannot set a performance for sale Via the Internet until after pricing and promotions are set. You can check the box for Via the Internet at this step, but you will have to go back and edit the performance after setting Prices and Promotions and click Via the Internet under the Performance Tab of the Plays & Dates Window for the Course. For more information about this tab, click here.

    7. Set any appropriate Security controls for your venue.
    8. When you have everything set correctly, click the Step 2 button at the bottom right of the window.
    Diataxis: 

    Adding A Class - Step Two

    In Step 2, you setup the pattern for the course. In this example, the course is running 1 day per week for 20 weeks at 4:30 pm.

    1. In Step Two, you set the date of the first session of the Course.

      You can use the calendar lookup to the right of the data field to help choose the correct date.

    2. Use the sliders to select the number of Daily Performances for the classes in the course.

      Make sure they correspond to the date you selected as a start date (for example, if you select Feb 1 and Feb 1 is a Monday, then you can't set Monday to zero performances).

    3. Set the performance time for the start of each class in the course.
    4. Click the Step 3 button in the bottom right of the window.
    Diataxis: 

    Adding A Class - Step Three

    In Step Three, you are presented with a Calendar View of the Classes in the Course.

    1. If one or more of the classes starts at a different time than the Performance Time set in Step Two, you can drag that instance of the class on the Calendar to the appropriate start time for that class. You can also move classes to another day.
    2. When the Calendar looks the way you want, click the Build button in the bottom right corner. The Build Performance dialog opens.

    3. Click the Build button to add your performances to the database, or Cancel to go back to the Steps.

      When you have completed building your classes, you are returned to the Performance Tab of the Plays and Dates window. The Course just entered populates window.

    Diataxis: 

    Setting Course Pricing

    You set course pricing the same way Price Codes are set for any other Play or Event.

    To set the price codes for your course, you perform the following steps:

    1. In the Play window, click the Pricing tab.

    2. On the left side of the window, highlight the course.

      This enables the Price Codes on the right for editing.

    3. Double click on each Price Code to open the Price Code Detail window.

    4. Name the Price Code Description and/or set the price.
    5. When complete, click the Save button.

      For more information about Price Codes, click here.

    Diataxis: 

    Enabling Course Promotions

    Promotions, like Price Codes, are set in Courses the same way they are set for Plays or Events.

    To set the price codes for your course, you perform the following steps:

    1. In the Play window, click the Promotions tab.
    2. On the left side, highlight the Course to populate the promotions for that Course in the list on the right.

    3. Highlight promotions you do not want to use for that Course and click the Disable button to turn those promotions "off".

      Promotions are set to "Enabled" by default.

      If you change your mind or later decide to allow a promotion for use in the Course, you may have to change the drop-down in the bottom right corner to show All promotions (it may be set to only display enabled promotions)

    4. Highlight the one or ones you'd like to enable and click the Allow Use button to turn those promotions back "on".

      For more information about Promotions, please click here.

    5. Once you have completed the entire process from entering the course title, accounting information, performances, prices and promotions, you are ready to start selling Courses.

      If you want to make further adjustments to the Course, click here for information about accessing the Performance Detail tabs.

    Diataxis: 

    Redirecting link on your main website specifically for Courses

    Redirecting patrons to a specific list of Events or Performances can be especially helpful for organizations who sell Courses online. In addition to the usual Tickets link on the main website, a link can be created specifically for Courses.

    Creating a link to courses entails using the &search parameter in the event URL. By picking the right &search parameter you can:

    1. Show all courses by using the parameter &search=PB_SALES_METHOD=6 in the link. This is, by far, the easiest as
      • it simply shows all courses -and-
      • is immediately effective when new courses are created.
    2. Show selected events which can in the &search parameter. A sample is shown later on this help page.
      • This has the advantage of allowing events sold as courses as well as a final 'parent' performance to be found in one list.
      • It has the disadvantage that the web page link must be changed each time you have a new course
    3. A hybrid approach that may have a &search parameter that show all events sold as courses or some specific 'finale' performances.

     

    An example of showing a link specific courses (Option 2 above)

    A company has three Courses that are one-time events or workshops. Patrons can pick and choose or select all three if they'd like.

    In our example, the company wants a link redirecting patrons to the list of Events/Courses (we'll discuss a need for a list of Performances/Classes further down).

    In the Event List in Theatre Manager, the Courses look like this:

    The Event # column is the one at the far left.

    Those unique Event #'s - 86, 87, and 88 in the example - will belong to only the corresponding Event in the database and no others.>

    "x, y and z" are representative of those unique Event #'s in the search string in the link discussed above for creating a link to a list of Events.

    A link to these Courses will look like:

    https://tickets.myserver.com/TheatreManager/1/login&event=0&search=P_SEQ IN(86,87,88)

    Similarly, you can create a link to a list of specific Performances for sale. This can be useful if your organization offers a Course made up of a series of Classes which can be purchased separately.

    In this case, the Performance # works as the unique identifier for each Class in the Course.

    Under the Course (Event) Setup, in the Performance Tab, the Perf # column is on the far left of the list of performances:

    In the example image, the Perf #'s are 373, 374 and 375. A link to a list of those Classes would look like:

    https://tickets.myserver.com/TheatreManager/1/login&event=0&search=PB_SEQ IN(373,374,375)

    Care should be taken when creating Courses and Classes that you change the Sales Method to "Course" in the Performance Setup stage of the Course Setup.

    Online patrons can purchase a Course and then assign another patron as the attendee for the Course (helpful in cases where the parent buys a class for a child who will be attending). For this option to be available, Courses must be setup as Sales Method - Course. For more information about Courses in Theatre Manager, click here.

    Editing an Existing Course

    You may want to edit a Course or the classes within a Course.

    Most of the information you will want to access can be found under the Performance Tab for the Course in the Plays and Dates (or Events) Window.

    1. To start, go to Setup > Plays or click the Plays button in the Theatre Manager toolbar.
    2. In the Plays List, look up your Course and select it from the list.

      For information about how to use the Plays List lookup, click here.

    3. Select the Performance Tab of your Course Window.

      Here, you can set the Sales Outlets for the Course by highlighting it in the list and checking the appropriate boxes at the top of the window.

      After setting Price Codes and Promotions, you can check the Via the Internet button to sell the course online.

      If necessary, you can also change Security Settings.

    4. Select the Course from the Performance list and click the Edit button to open the Performance Detail Window.
    5. For informationon the Tabs in the courses window, Click here.

    Selling a Course (helpful hints)

    Selling a Course to a patron, is the same as selling a ticket. For Courses created as a series of classes, buying the Course gives the patron a seat in each of the classes.

    Courses created as individual events must be bought separately, just like any other event.

    Quick Reference information on buying a Ticket, click on the icon to launch the pdf or screencast.

    Quick Reference Guide

    Cheatsheet

    Flash Screencast

    MP3 Screencast

    To sell a course to a patron, you perform the following steps:

    1. Click the Patron button in the main Theatre Manager toolbar / ribbon bar.

      The Contact List window opens.

    2. Find the patron you are buying the course for in the contact list.

      Single Click on the patron in the list to highlight. For more information on finding patrons click here.

    3. Open the patron window and click the Tickets button in the Tickets tab.

      The Order Window opens.

    4. Select the course(s) the patron would like to buy tickets for.

      Click here to learn how to search for performances.

      To select a single course double click on it.

    5. Click the Seat Selection tab.

      The Seat Selection window opens.

      The course registration window to allows selection of any household member as the participant in the course rather than having to sell the course and make the change in the main patron ticket list. In a household with one or more parents and one or more children, this should be a convenient shortcut.

    6. Enter the Quantity to sell as 1.
    7. For Attendee, use the drop down list to select the appropriate attendee.

    8. Click the Reserve button.

      To add other Attendees, you:

      • Enter the Quantity to sell as 1.
      • For Attendee, use the drop down list to select the appropriate attendee.

      • Click the Reserve button.

      Continue until you have selected all the Attendees.

    9. When you have completed adding attendees, click the Payment button.

      The Order Payment window opens.

    10. Make the payment.
    11. The ticket tab of the patron window displays the courses purchased for the household member.

    Gifting Tickets and Courses

    You can "gift" tickets to other household patrons or to unrelated patrons in Theatre Manager. This is especially useful for courses where parents frequently purchase classes for their child or children to attend.

    Financial data remains attached to the purchaser's record, while the ticket is transferred to the receiver's account. The receiver is listed as the attendee to the event.

    For more information about gifting tickets, click here.

    Refunding a Partial Amount for a Course

    Sometimes you need to refund part of the course tuition after it has been sold to a patron. The reasons could vary, such as:
    • The patron could drop out and want a refund
    • You could cancel it midsession because the instructor needed an extended leave

    Once the course has commenced, completely refunding it means you lose knowledge that the patron started the course.

    Instead, we want to create a way to retain attendance info, yet refund all or part of the tuition.

    Setup of a Fee to Refunding part of the Tuition

    The first step is to create a new ticket fee that accepts negative values and make sure the employee permission is set if the refund amount is variable.

    Note: when setting up the fee, make sure to talk to your accountant about the proper account for tracking purposes.

     

    Steps to Refund part of the Course Cost

    1. Find the ticket for the course you want to refund tuition to
      • highlight it in the ticket list
      • Click the Tickets button at the bottom left of the patron screen
      • Pick Add tickets to order - even though we will not add tickets to the order, this sets us up to merely modify it

    2. On the order window
      • Click the Fees Button
      • Click the New button to add a new fee
      • Select the fee called Tuition Refund
      • Enter the amount amount you want to refund tuition by
    3. Click the Payments Button
      • Enter the refund method
      • The amount to refund should be the same as the negative fee you added
      • Enter card details, if refunding by card
      • Click Refund Payment

    Scholarships for Courses/Classes

    Scholarships can be offered to students participating in your classes or courses by using a Pass. This will fall under the Membership section of Theatre Manager and is a pass that can be given to the student to help pay for a portion (or all) of their class.

    "Membership" is a broad term meaning "Gift Certificates," "Flex Passes," "Vouchers," "Other Income" or a variety of other forms. Since the name of the field is customizable, some organizations may retain the term "Membership," while others change it to reflect their own terminology such as "GC/Pass," "Gift Certs." or even "Other Income." The nomenclature in your database may be different than "memberships."



    Creating the Scholarship Pass


    A Scholarship Pass can be created new 'Dollar Value" pass using the following parameters:
    1. On the Redemption Rules tab:
      • Choose "Dollar Value" as the redemption method.
      • Make the pass Redeemable by "Purchaser Only"
      • Set the Purchase Amount as $0.00
      • Set the Redeemable Amount to any value that scholarships are typically offered (this amount can be edited when the scholarship is issued to the student).

    2. On the Accounting tab:
      • Set the Tax Rate to "None"
      • Use a General Ledger Account number that represents an Expense for Scholarships for Income, Deferred Revenue and Redemption/Expense accounts. Use a standard income account for any Unearned Income/Write Off funds.

    3. On the Sales Management tab:
      • In the Allow pass/gc to be Purchased section, check the box for "Via pass/gc tab on patron screen" only.

    4. On the Edits tab:
      • Check the box for "Value can be changed during purchase"
      • Check the box for "Can be sold for a zero value"
      • In the Defaulting the Control Number section, choose "Theatre Manager defined"
      • In the Defaulting the Expiration Date, choose "Expires on Date" and use the last date the pass is valid (very likely the end of the class).

    5. On the Valid Plays tab:
      • Check the box that says "Allow setting of valid plays on each pass/gc"
      • Do not add any events to the listing at the bottom of the screen.



    Awarding the scholarship to the student


    1. Locate the Patron Record for the student who is to receive the scholarship
    2. Select the Pass/GC tab and click the BUY button

    3. Sell the student a new Scholarship.
      • Leave the Purchase Amount as $0.00
      • Edit the Issued Passes Amount to the value of the Scholarship desired
      • Click Save

    4. Select the Valid Plays/Events tab

    5. Click the ADD button
    6. Select the Class/Course the scholarship is to be awarded for


    Applying the scholarship to the class


    1. Sell the student a class
    2. When processing the payment for the class, choose PASS as the first payment method

    3. Locate and apply the Scholarship pass to the Order

    4. Pay any remaining balance using the Payment Method tendered by the Purchaser.



    Tabs in the Course Window

    This section describes the various information tabs in the Events and Dates window. Tabs that are critical for event setup are described under Creating a Course.

    Play Tab in Courses

    Parts of the Play Tab

    Play Information

    Play # Unique play number generated by Theatre Manager.
    Play Code A quick reference for a Course. It is recommended that course codes start with the fiscal year of the course, followed by the course number. This allows for quickly generating reports on courses by year. If there is more than one venue or different types of series, a character code can be included after the year.
    Play Colour You can override the normal course colour displayed on the calendar by selecting a different colour from the colour palette.
    Play Title Official title of the course as it will appear on the ticket or internet.
    Season Year the course takes place. This is based on the financial year.
    Theatre Map Number of the venue map where the course takes place. Courses which are to be sold with reserved seats must take place in venues that have had seats created. Courses sold as general admission, Festival Sales or Traveling Troupe, may be sold to plays with or without seats created.
    Theatre map search button. This button is only available when a new course is entered. To open a list of possible theatre maps to choose from click the button. From the list double click on a map to select it.

    Additional Information

    Corporate Sponsor Name of the sponsor for the production. Additional sponsors could be entered in the notes field. This information can be printed on tickets.
    Special Note Additional information such as warnings or special messages that may be required for an play. This information can be printed on tickets.
    Director Director of the play. This information can be printed on tickets.
    Playwright Playwright of the play. This information can be printed on tickets.

    Show Status Information

    Active Status of the course for reporting purposes.
    Closed Status of the course for ticket sales and postings.
    Date Closed This field displays the date the course was set to prevent sales and financial changes.
    By This field displays the initials of the employee who closed the course.

    Web Sales Controls

    Stop Sales in Advance Number of minutes prior to the course start time the course will be removed from web sales.
    Patron Purchase Limit Sets the maximum number of tickets to be sold in an order for this course via web sales. If the Box Office will allow a patron to have more than the allotted number of tickets, the tickets will need to be sold by a Box Office staff member and not via the internet.

    Ticket Printing Information

    Print selected ticket face Choose to print ticket for this play (is the default setting)
    Ticket Face The ticket face selected for the play. The ticket face number can be typed manually or selected.
    Click to open a list of possible ticket faces to choose from. Double click on a ticket face to select it. By leaving this field blank a built in default ticket face design will be used for printing tickets.
    Mark ticket as printed (but don't print) Will not print a ticket for the course, all though when tickets are sold they will appear printed.
    Only Print Sales Promotion ticket face Prints a ticket based upon the promotion selected. For more information regarding printing tickets by promotion refer to Promotion Detail.
    Click to print a test ticket for this course.

    Accounting Tab in Courses

    The Accounting Tab displays the accounting information for a course. It shows the general ledger accounts set for the event and the applicable taxes applied. As well, when the revenue will be received into the general ledger can be determined.

    Parts of the Accounting Tab

    Accounting Stype

    Use same accounts - When checked, you can enter the accounts once and use for all ticket types.

    Tax Code and Pricing

    Ticket Tax Code Select the tax rate to apply to the BASE PRICE ONLY. If there are taxes on the various fees in the promotion, then they are set in the sales promotion Calculation Tab.
    Currency The Currency the event is priced in

    Deferred Revenue Allocation

    Revenue earned at time of sale When selected, All sales go directly to the revenue account without deferral
    Defer revenue until performance The revenue will be deferred until the performance occurs (normally these are liability accounts) After the performance a G/L entry is created to automatically transfer the revenue drom the deferred account to the Earned Revenue Account (normally income).

    Refer to the section, General Ledger Setting Up the Chart of Accounts for more information on determining a Chart of Accounts.

    Sales Target Target income
    Also Defer Tax Deferring taxes requires deffered tax accounts be set up in the G/L

    General Ledger Accounts

    Regular Accounts to use when posting tickets sold using a sales promotion marked as 'Regular'
    Season Accounts to use when posting tickets sold using a sales promotion marked as 'Season'
    Other-Type 1 Accounts to use when posting tickets sold using a sales promotion marked as 'Other-Type 1'
    Other-Type 2 Accounts to use when posting tickets sold using a sales promotion marked as 'Other-Type 2'
    Other-Type 3 Accounts to use when posting tickets sold using a sales promotion marked as 'Other-Type 3'

    Depending on how your accounting system is designed, you may want to set up all account types with the same general ledger account. For example, the same general ledger account can be entered for all revenue accounts -- the general ledger will record all revenue for the event into one account. Separate general ledger accounts can be entered for all revenue accounts -- the general ledger will record each type of revenue for the event in a separate account. Refer to the section, General Ledger Setting Up the Chart of Accounts for more information on determining whether to use a detailed versus a simplified general ledger number setup.

    Sales Account Designates the general ledger account number used to record revenue received through new ticket sales for the event.
    Exchange Account Designates the general ledger account number used to record revenue gain or revenue loss through ticket exchanges for the event.
    Refund Account Designates the general ledger account number used to record revenue loss through ticket refunds for the event.
    Discount Account Designates the general ledger account number used to record the net value of ticket discounts through ticket sales, ticket exchanges, and ticket refunds for the event.
    Markup Account Designates the general ledger account number used to record the net value of ticket markups through to ticket sales, ticket exchanges, and ticket refunds for the event.
    Ticket Fee Accounts Designates the general ledger account number used to record the net value of per ticket service charges applied to ticket sales, ticket exchanges, and ticket refunds for the event.

    Performance Tab in Courses

    The Performance Tab is used to create the classes that make up a Course. Class information cannot be added (and the tab will not be made available) until Course information and Accounting information have been entered and saved. If a course has already been set up you can access the Performance Tab at any time.

    Parts of the Performance Tab

    Sale Settings

    At the Box Office Checking this box allows you to sell theCourse at the Box Office.
    Via the Internet Checking this box allows you to sell the Course on the Internet.
    At Other Outlets Checking this box allows you to sell the Course at other outlets.
    Season Control Performance Checking this box allows the performance to be used in a Control House for subscribers.
    Prevent Overselling Checking this box prevents the performance from being oversold.
    Sell Security Allows you to control what security levels have the ability to sell this performance. Click here for more information on Sell Security.

    Performance Information

    Performance # Unique performance number generated by Theatre Manager.
    Performance Code A quick reference for the course.
    Date Date of the course.
    Time Time of the performance.
    # Sold Number of seats sold for this course.
    # Held Number of seats currently held for the course.
    # Available Number of seats currently available for purchase for this course.
    Box Office? Whether the course is available for sale at the Box Office.
    Web? Whether the course is available for sale on the Internet.
    Outlet? Whether the course is available for sale at an outlet.
    Subscription? Whether the course is available for sale via a subscription.
    Oversell? Whether overselling is allowed for this course.
    Play # The Play number that this course is part of.

    Additional Buttons

    Creates a new class and opens the Course Setup Window. Click here for more information.
    Opens one or more Class Setup Window(s) for the selected course.
    Deletes the selected course. Click here for more information.
    Shows all transactions for the selected course.
    Verifies all seats for the selected course. It is best to do this when no other users are logged in.

    Parts of the Course Detail Window

    The Course Detail window opens when you double click on an existing Course. Through this window you are able to edit course data. Depending on which sales method is being used you may not have access to some data fields. For example if you are using the festival method you will be allowed to modify the quantity of seats you can sell whereas with reserved seating since every patron requires a seat you cannot access this field.

    The tabs available within the Course Detail window include:

    Course Detail Window - Performance Tab

    As indicated in the image, many fields in the Performance Tab are not accessible once the Course has been created and built. For instance, the Quantity to Sell field cannot be changed.

    The fields available for editing are:

    Performance Code Defaults to Course for Course events
    Default Price Code You can change from the highest price default setting
    Ticket Tax Code where applicable
    Check Box for including the performance in annual patron statistics
    Held Seat Count

    For holding seats (useful if you have overestimated the quantity to sell and have not yet reached full capacity).

    For example, if the venue usually holds 24 people but you *could* add 6 more chairs, you may have set the Quantity to Sell at 30 and you can hold 6 of those seats here for release once the 24 seats sell.

    Sales Management Tab

    In the Sales Management Tab, you can set future onsale dates and times for sales outlets.

    Though not necessarily valid for Courses, you can set a Performance as a Season Control Performance here.

    The field for setting a Course or Performance as a Pay What You Can performance in Before Event Sales is found here. Courses can be sold in this way if you choose. For more information about Pay What You Can, click here.

    Web Settings Tab

    The Web Settings tab allows you to define a number of parameters for how the course is handled in Web Sales.

    The Web Settings Tab allows you to set:

    Performance Flags These are most often used for Web Sales plug-ins
    time limit to stop advance sales For example, You can shut down sales an hour before the class starts to "cap" it./td>
    specify a limit of tickets Limit the number of seats a patron can purchase (defult is 10)
    Notifications You can assign notifcations from the drop-down
    Performance Notes Anything entered here will be visible to ticket purchasers online

    Holds Tab

    Returning tickets to "hold" only applies to Reserved Seating venues.

    If your course is in a General Admission venue, this tab appears as in the image above, with the selection grayed out.

    To set a number of holds in a GA venue, use the Holds area on the Performance Tab.

    Security Tab

    If your organization has Security Settings to determine which employees can sell which events, those can be defined here by checking the appropriate boxes.

    Course Tab

    Report Cards

    On the right side of the Courses Tab, Report Cards issued for a Course are displayed. For more information about Report Cards, click here.

     

    Class dates

    On the left side of the Courses Tab, Class Dates and information are displayed.

    • If a Course has been set up, but does not have any transactions associated, you can alter settings in the Course Tab to remove sessions of the course using the Remove button.
    • Sessions of a Course can be set as active or not active via the checkbox next to their entry on the Courses Tab.
    • Class dates and times can be changed by:
      • double clicking on a class date
      • changing the appropriate fields window that opens
      • you can change dates even after sales have occurred as it will simply move the class time. This might be useful for 'snow days', 'hurricane moments', 'public holidays' or any other cancellation (see example below)
      • You can also tell Theatre Manager if individual reminders for each class are to be sent to the patron
    • If your organization wants to alter the value of Performance Field #1 for a class within a Course, you can make that change here.
    • If one or more classes for the Course take place in an Alternate Venue, you can change that. For example, a couple of classes could be in the rehearsal hall, some could be offsite at a school. If attendees or instructors have synced their purchase calendar to their devices, they will see the locations.
    • Using an alternate venue will not affect the quantity of seats available for sale.

      It only affects where you tell the instructor or students where to meet for that particular class - and shows in your facility management calendars.

      The performance runs from and through dates are automatically calculated as follows:
      • For the primary class that is being sold, it is the beginning of the class through the end of the LAST CLASS
      • For each of the other classes, the run time is simply the start of the class to the end of the class, based on the duration of each class.
      Optionally, you can change either the entire class range, or each individual class length by double clicking on the class and editing the runs though time. See image below.
    Diataxis: 

    Ticket Printing Tab

    Ticket printing and e-ticket delivery for print at home are normally enabled and disabled on the play window. You can over-ride the settings if you would like them to be different for every performance.

    Parts of the Window

    Box Office Settings Options are:
    • Print ticket face and any on sale promotions
    • Mark tickets as printed (but don't print)
    • Print only the sales promotion ticket face
    • Print ticket face only
    E-Ticket Delivery Options are:
    • Tickets cannot be printed at home (patron must select mail or will-call)
    • Tickets must be printed at home (patron has no option)
    • Tickets will be printed at home (unless patron selects mail or will call)

    Pricing Tab in Courses

    In the Pricing tab, you set course pricing the same way Price Codes are set for any other Play or Event.

    Parts of the Pricing Tab

    Pricing information for the selected performance on the left, displays in the price list on the right side of the Play Setup Window. When you click on different performances the price list will change. From left to right the price list displays:

    Pricing Panes

    Code Displays the single character code that is associated with this price. This character was assigned in the Price Code field in the Venue Map window.
    Use? Check box field. If the box is checked then the price code is available for use by the performance that is highlighted in the performance list.
    Description The description you give to easily identify the price code. For example, Adult, Child, Senior, Student. Or alternatively: Front, Mezzanine, Loge, Balcony.
    Price Displays the dollar value of the price code. For example, $10.00, 15.00... etc.
    City Displays the amount of city tax charged on the price code.
    State/PST Displays the amount of provincial / state tax that is charged on the price code.
    Federal/GST Displays the amount of Federal tax charged on the price code.
    Price + Tax Displays the total price of the price code with all taxes included.
    Duplicates the entire pricing structure from another course to this course.
    Copies prices from one play to the selected structures. Click here for more information on Copying Prices.
    Set the default price code for the selected courses. Click here for more information on setting a default.
    Opens the selected price code for editting.

    Copying Prices

    In Theatre Manager , you can copy prices to a single performance or group of performances, from any performance saved in Theatre Manager.

    1. Click on the Pricing  Tab of the Events and Dates Window.

      Pricing information should now display on the right side of the Events and Dates window.

    2. Select the performances that you want to Copy Prices to.

      To do this, click on the first performance you want to copy prices to, then drag you cursor over the remaining performances from the performances list on the left side of the window. Alternately, you can click the first performance, and then hold <CTRL> (Windows) or <COMMAND> (Mac) and click each additional performance.

    3. Click the Copy Prices  Button.

      The Copy Price Wizard window opens.

    4. In Step 1, select the performance to use as a Pricing Template.

      To further refine your search click the drop down list under the 1. You can then choose a different five search fields. They are:

      Select a search field, and you can further restrict the search using the "from" and "to" fields to enter criteria. For example, the (picture) below displays a successful search for performance that have Play Codes starting with 07.

    5. In Step 2, you select the performance that you want to use as a Pricing Template.

      As you select plays on the right, their price codes are displayed on the left and the performance's price codes are displayed on the right.

    6. Select the Price Codes you want to copy.

      Highlight the Price Codes you want. You can select all, none, or some of the price codes to be copied.

    7. In Step 3, you choose which Attributes of the Price Code to copy.

      There are four parts of the price code that you can copy across. The Description, the Price, Able To Use Flag, and Enabled/Disabled Promotions. To copy an attribute put a check in the box beside the attribute desired.

    8. Click the Copy Button.

    Selecting a Default Price Code for Courses

    Each course (series) can have its own default price code setting.

    1. Click on the Pricing  Tab of the Course Setup Window.

      Pricing information displays on the right side of the Event Setup Window.

    2. Select the performance for which you are setting the Default Price Code.

      Click on the performance from the performance list. The prices for this performance display in the price list on the right side of the window. 

    3. Open the Default Price Code drop down list.

      A list of usable price codes is displayed.

      Select a Price Code to be the Default.

    4. Do this by clicking on a price code from the list.

    Promotions Tab in Courses

    The Promotions tab is where you can add, edit or remove promotions availble when selling courses.

    Parts of the Promotions Tab

    Promotion Name The descriptive name of the promotion.
    Promotion Type Similar to the report groups, these classify similar sales promotions together. There are four possible selections to choose from. Regular Admission, Season Ticket, and three user defined fields. These promotion types are used in the same manner as the report groups.
    Used Sales outlet where the promotion can be used
    Sets or disables the default promotion to be used for this class
    Allows the selected promotions to be used when selling this class
    Indicates that the selected promotion will not be used when selling this class
    Allows you to choose which promotions are seen on the tab

    Attendance Tab in Courses

    The Attendance Tab is used to show which patrons are attending a course. As well you can track the attendance the day of the performance. Click here for more information on Tracking Attendance.

    Parts of the Attendance Tab

    Performance # Number of performance assigned in order of creation.
    Performance Code Code assigned based on the week and day of the performance.
    Performance Date The date of the performance.
    Purchase # Purchase reference number.
    First Name Patron's first name.
    Last Name Patron's last name.
    Company Company the patron works for.
    Quantity Number of admittance per ticket.
    Section Section the patron is seated in.
    Row # Row the patron is seated in.
    Seat # Seat number the patron is seated in.
    Sets the attendance for the course. This is only available on the day of the course or after it has taken place.
    Clears the attendance of the course. This is only available on the day of the course or after it has taken place.
    Print the selected tickets for this course that are not yet printed.
    Refunds the selected ticket(s).
    Transfers the selected ticket(s) to another course.

    Revenue Tab in Courses

    This tab displays a detailed summary of the revenue taken in for each course of an event. The Play is broken down into individual course.

    Parts of the Revenue Tab

    Performance Code This is the code used to track the course by.
    Date The date of the course.
    Time The time of the course.
    # Sold The current number of tickets sold to the course.
    # Report The number of tickets being used for reporting.
    Price The base price pf the ticket.
    Discount The total of all discounts.
    Gross Sales The total amount of sales minus all discounts, fees, and taxes.
    Ticket Fee 1 Total of all fees categorized to this fee.
    Ticket Fee 2 Total of all fees categorized to this fee.
    Ticket Fee 3 Total of all fees categorized to this fee.
    City Tax The total of all City taxes.
    State / PST Tax The total of all State or PST taxes.
    Federal / GST Tax The total of all Federal or GST taxes.
    Total The total of all money collected during payment. This includes fees and taxes.
    Journal No Code If the course has occured, the G/L number that it was posted to.
    Performance # The performance number assigned by Theatre Manager based on order inputted.

    Volunteer Tab in Courses

    "Volunteer" is a broad term meaning "Personnel," "Volunteers," "Staff," or a variety of other terms. The field refers to any person assigned to an activity - whether they are paid or unpaid. you may have a mixture of paid and unpaid staff within the same event, for example Ushers (who are unpaid) and Run Crew (who are compensated). Since the name of the field is customizable, some organizations may retain the term "Volunteer," while others change it to reflect their own terminology. The nomenclature in your database may be different than "Volunteer."

    This Volunteer tab displays a list of the volunteers (personnel) assigned to each course, and what their task will be.

    Parts of the Volunteer tab

    Performance Information On the left side of the window, the listing of courses including the sequence number of the course, series code, and date.
    Volunteer Information On the right side of the window, the listing of volunteers assigned to a specific course.
    Allows you to look up and add a volunteer to the selected course date.
    Brings up the Volunteer Activity Detail window for the selected patron.
    Allows you to remove a volunteer from the selected course.
    Show volunteer working entire event This feature is currently under development.

    Sales Tab in Courses

    More Information to come.

    G/L Tab in Courses

    The G/L Entries tab displays a detailed summary of the transactions created and journalized to the general ledger for the general ledger accounts defined for this course.

    You can adjust the summary options by choosing the drop down menu in the bottom right hand corner of the window.

    Marketing Tab in Courses

    In the Marketing tab, you can configure the Marketing notes for the course. You can also add the course to a mail list and include external and internal notes for your Box Office Staff. Information you enter on this page will appear on your page in the Ticket Trove iPhone and iPad app.

    Parts of the Marketing Tab

    Available Actions

    Notification The email notification that will be sent when tickets are purchased to this course. Click here for info on work flow notifications.
    Default Mail List Allows you to assign this play to a specific mail list.
    Running Time Running time of each performance in minutes. Also displays for Web Sales.
    Genre Genre is a setting for events that is common across all Theatre Manager customers. Currently, there are about 30 classifications which will be used in the iPhone/iPad app to help customers find entertainment to their liking.
    External Sales Notes Marketing notes for both your Box Office staff and for Web Sales.
    Internal Sales Notes Marketing notes that appear to you Box Office staff, but not on the Web.
    Event Icon for Web/iPhone App If there is a graphic in the event, entering it here will display the graphic for all performances of the event.

    Tasks Tab in Courses

    Any tasks associated with a course can also be seen in the Course window. From here you can add tasks and associate them with resources, so you can create all the tasks needed for a particular course. These can then be added to a project and billed.

    Tasks are added on the left side. Once a task has been added, you can select the task and add the resource on the right side.

    Click on the Calendar button in the window's top toolbar to view all tasks, performances, and/or volunteers associated with the event / play in a new calendar.

    For more information on Tasks, click here.

    Tracking Course Attendance

    As patrons purchase tickets for Courses, they are automatically added to the Attendance Tab for that Course. Before the date of the first Course (or class), the attendance list can be viewed and printed. Once the first date arrives, the ability to set Attendance Reason is enabled via the Attendance Tab.

    The image below shows the Attendance Tab for a Course which is set for a future date.

     

    Patrons setting own absence reason for courses

    Patrons may be able to set their own absence reason in advance of the class using the web site. There is a button that is typically on the Home page called Manage Courses.

    If this feature is allowed, you will want to set some absence reasons in code tables as being Patron Useable. The patron can then select the reason from one of those defined in code tables that they are allowed to use.

    Setting Attendance Reason

    The image above shows a Course Attendance Tab for a Course which has already occurred but for which the Attendance Reasons have not been set. The "Reason" column is blank for all attendees.

    To set Attendance Reasons:

    • Highlight the Course in the left column to populate the Attendance list on the right.
    • Highlight the first attendee in the list.
    • Click the Set Attendance button on the bottom of the window.
    • Choose the Attendance Reason from the menu that appears:
    • A warning message will pop up asking if you want to set All attendees to the same reason at once, or if you'd like to Scan each one individually. Choose accordingly.
    • The attendee(s) will be marked with the Reason chosen.
    • If you need to clear the Reason for one or more attendees, highlight the first one in question and click the Clear Attendance button. The same menu will appear and you can either select a new reason or choose No Reason Given to clear the Reason column entirely for the selected attendee. You will also see the same warning asking if you want to Clear All or Scan each.

    The image below shows the Attendance Tab with attendees' attendance reasons marked:

    Use of Household and Relationships

    If the courses are for children or youth, we find people want to track a number of things like:
    • emergency contacts
    • doctors
    • who may pick up the child (or who may not)
    • the other parent or guardian in a separated household
    • etc.

    This is a convenient use of relationships within Theatre Manager. You can set up the child in the parents household record and make associations with other people such as grandparents, etc and define the nature of the relationship.

    The advantage of setting the child up in the patrons household means that when they purchase online, the patron can 'gift' the course to anybody in the family using the cart web page and effectively designate which of their children would be taking the course, drama camp, conservatory or what have you.

    Diataxis: 

    Report Cards

    Being able to create, assign, and print report cards is part of the Courses module. Before report cards can be used, you need to set up the following in the Setup >> System Tables >>code tables:

    • Report Card Templates, click here for more information,
    • Course levels, to assign different levels or grades of classes, click here for more information,
    • Report Card Categories for different areas to assess students, click here for more information,
    • Report Card Ratings, to describe your system of assessment, click here for more information.

    The next few pages will describe how to:

    • create and assign report cards for a course based on the template(s) created in System Tables, and
    • how to complete the report cards for each student.

     

    Diataxis: 

    Assigning Report Cards

    To assign a report card to a Course, you perform the following steps:

    1. Open Play from Setup or use the Plays button in the Theatre Manager toolbar / ribbon bar.
    2. The Play List window opens.

    3. Search for the Course in the Plays List and select it to open up the Plays and Dates Window.
    4. Select the Performance Tab.

    5. Select the Course from the performance list and click the Open buttom.

      The Performance Detal window opens.

    6. Select the Course Tab in the Detail Window.

    7. Under the Report Cards to Issue column on the left, click the New button to add a new report card.

      The Report Card Detail window opens.

    8. Enter a name for the report card (e.g the name of the course).
    9. Using the lookup button, choose a Template from the list of report card templates.
    10. Enter a due date for the report card.
    11. Under the Notes tab, Internal Notes are notes that will only appear within Theatre Manager. External Notes will print on every report card.
    12. Click the Save button.

      The Report Card tab populates with the name of each student in the Course and enables the report card to be completed.

    Completing Report Cards

    Once you have clicked Save on the Report Card Insert Window, click the Report Cards tab. The list of students registered is available to issue report cards. This list comes from the Attendance tab for the Course.

    In the top portion of the window (just above the Notes and Report Cards tabs) are the Completed and Remaining boxes. These show you the number of report cards that have been filled out and those that are left to be done.

    1. Double-click on a student's name to open up the student's report card record.

      The Report Card Information is already populated.

    Under Status & Future Recommendation, there is a checkbox to mark that Report Card completed, and there are two drop-down menus.

    • Overall Rating is for the student's final grade or overall rating for the Course. This drop-down is populated from the Course Report Card Ratings from Code Tables.

    • Next Level will print on the report card as Next Recommended Course and is populated from the Course Level, also from Code Tables.

    • The Internal and External Notes fields work in the individual report cards much like the same fields work in the Report Card Template. Internal Notes will only appear inside Theatre Manager, and External Notes will print on the student's report card. The notes in *this* window only apply to the selected student.
    1. Click the Evaluation tab to move on to assessing the student based on the Categories and individual items in the report card.

    2. Highlight a Category on the left to enable the items for each category as set up in the Report Card Template.
    3. Assign a Rating for each item under each Category. The comments beside each item will print on the report card in line with that item.
    4. Click the Save button.

      Close the report card to move on to the next student in the Report Cards list.

    Printing Report Cards

    Report Cards can be printed from each individual student's report card record using the Print button in the report card window, or from within Reports accessed via the Theatre Manager toolbar.

      To print from Reports, you perform the following steps:

    1. Click the Reports button.

      The List of Reports window opens.

    2. Select Course Reports >> Course Report Card.

    3. Click the Print button.

      The Course Report Card Criteria window opens.

    4. Click the New button, to open the Edit Report Parameters window.

    5. Set the Criteria to Course Report Card #> is one of > select the Report Card you'd like to print.
    6. Click the Save button.

      You are returned to the Course Report Card Criteria window Sort tab.

    7. Click the Next button.

      The Titles Tab opens.

    8. Click the Done to print the report cards.

    Online Event/Course Management

    You can allow course instructors to manage some aspects of the student's attendance or front of house staff to manage guest arrival to an event via the online, depending on settings in code tables

    This can include:

    • Setting Attendance for the students in each class of the course
    • Setting Attendance for the guests arrival for an event
    • Adding new patron to the class if you have previously been their instructor. This also means that a first time attendee must be added at the box office - to provide some control over student/teacher setup process
    • refund patron and remove them from the class or event
    • Reschedule the class in entirety
    • add an extra class

    What can this be used for?

    This feature was intended to support various things like:

    • Instructors taking attendance at the beginning of the class via a tablet and immediately tracking it in the database. eg did the ballet dancers or swimmers in a course come to the class. Or, did the conference participant attend a session?
    • Instructors adding late registrants to a course they are teaching (if they taught them before)
    • Instructors of personalized sports/fitness sessions being able to add registrants and use passes to pay for the session (if they have thought them before)
    • Instructors being able to reschedule the class or add an additional one
    • This feature is not just for instructors of courses or classes. It can be used to manage events to check in guests to a gala/special event, seminars, small member, or donor events where a guest list is used to greet guests as they arrive.
    Diataxis: 

    Adding A Student to a Class

    The instructor can add a student to their own class online using the following process and subject to a few conditions:
    • The class must have already been set up and in the future
    • The instructor must have already taught the student in the past

    Steps for adding a student online

    1. The instructor must log in to the online portal and ho to the home page. If they are allowed to manage classes, they will see Manage Play/Courses in their Patron Services area.

      It is permissible to bookmark the link to manage performances - and it may involve a login to proceed.

    2. This will show a list of upcoming courses that they are allowed to manage as an instructor. They can select the course that they want to Manage and add a student to.

    3. To add a new student, click the Add Attendee button.

    4. A search window will appear. The instructor will need to:
      • type some portion of the students name to find the patron in the database
      • click the search button, and
      • select the person from the list of those previously taught and click Select Price and Payment
    5. The instructor will be asked to Select a pass/gift certificate that will pay for the registration. The passes must be valid and belong to the patron. There is an option to place the registration On Account This feature can be disabled by editing the web pages.

      Note that any notes particular to the pass type are shown - which means you can place some rules for the instructor if you wish.

    6. After picking the pass to pay for the registration, the Instructor will need to confirm via the Pay With Pass ... button

    7. After confirming payment, the Instructor will then see the student as part of the class roster - and they can take attendance if they wish - using the active attendance reasons in code tables

    Diataxis: 

    Manage Attendance in a Course

    Taking attendance for a course requires some prior setup/permissions before it can be done via a tablet or computer
    The list of absence reasons are defined in the attendance reasons code table.

     

    Steps for Managing Attendance

    1. The instructor must log in to the the ticketing site (tickets.yourvenuename.org) and go to the home page. If they are allowed to manage classes, they will see Manage Play/Courses in their Patron Services area.

      It is permissible to bookmark the link to manage performances - and it may involve a login to proceed.

    2. This will show a list of upcoming courses that they are allowed to manage as an instructor. They can select the course that they want to Manage and set the attendance for.

    3. The instructor will see a list of attendees. To change the attendance status of the student, click the Attending button beside their name.

    4. The Instructor
      • will see a list of absence reasons, and
      • can select one as the reason for missing the class, and
      • click the Set Reason for Absence to mark the student absent

      If a student is marked absent and they should be present, you can use these steps to clear the absence reason.

    5. After adding the attendance reason, the list of registrants will change to show why the Student is not able to attend.

    Clearing or Changing an Absence Reason

    1. If a student was set absent by mistake, or arrives late and you want to change the attendance reason, all you need to is:
      • start at the class roster
      • Click on the absence reason button that is beside the patron name. This example says Attended-Late and is shown in orange (the typical bootstrap danger colour)

    2. The attendance screen is shown. You will have two options:
      • Clicking the button that says {Student Name] will attend, which clears the absence and sets the Student Attended
      • Selecting a different absence reason and then clicking Set Reason For Absence
      • Clicking the Back to Performance Management to make no changes to the data

    3. When back on the attendance list, the revised attendance status will be shown beside the student's name

    Personnel Setup for taking Attendance on tablets

    The instructor, volunteer or staff member can manage the attendance of students within the course or patrons within an event, subject to a few conditions:
    1. The class or performance must have already been set up and in the future
    2. There must be a Volunteer or Personnel activity set up in code tables that allows the Set Attendance option.
      • Typically that Activity code might be called 'Instructor' or 'Attendance Taker'. It could even be 'Usher' if desired.
      • The staff member or volunteer must be permitted to do the activity code that has ticket scanning capability
    3. The staff member or volunteer with an activity code that allows scanning must be assigned to the performance you want them to scan attendance for in one of the three ways below:

    Manage Attendance in a Event

    Taking attendance for an event requires some prior setup/permissions before it can be done via a tablet or computer

    Steps for Managing Attendance

    1. The front of house staff must log in to your ticketing site (tickets.yourvenuename.org) and go to the home page. If they are allowed to manage events, they will see Manage Play/Courses in their Patron Services area.

      It is permissible to bookmark the link to manage performances - and it may involve a login to proceed.

    2. This will show a list of upcoming events that they are allowed to manage as a front of house staff. They can select the event that they want to Manage and set the attendance for.

    3. The front of house staff will see a list of attendees. To change the attendance status of a patron, click the Attending button beside their name.

    4. Front of House Staff
      • will see a list of Attendance Status
      • can select the attending status to mark the patrons arrival for the event
      • click the Set Reason for Absence to set the status

      Patrons can be marked as a 'no show' at performance time. Should they arrive late, you can use these steps to clear the absence reason.

      The list of absence or attendance reasons are defined in the attendance reasons code table.

    5. After adding the attendance status, the list of patrons will change to show who is checked in for the event.

    Customers Paying their Own Balances

    If you wish to have patron's pay for course balances online, there are two ways to do it:

    • Via the Upcoming Courses button on the home page, which also allows the patron to indicate if they will be absent at the course
    • Using the Pay an Order Balance button that can be accessed from the home page or the shopping cart window

    Diataxis: 

    Manage Course or Pay Balance via Home Page

    If the user selects Upcoming Courses from the home page, they will be able to

    Viewing Upcoming Courses

    1. After clicking Upcoming Courses, the patron will see a list of courses/classes that they are enrolled in. In the example below, there is an outstanding balance on some registrations.

      These are indicated with a button that says Add Order #xxx to Cart on the class that money is owed for.

    2. If the order is added to cart by the patron, the next page that is shown is the shopping cart containing the order (as shown below)

    3. Should the student end back up at the course list, if the button says In Cart, it means that the order has been added to the cart already and all the Student needs to do is checkout and pay.

    Student Indicates reason for being absent

    You can show your Students how to tell you that they will not be able to attend.

    1. From the Home page, they select Upcoming Courses which will provide a list of dates for the classes they are registered in.

    2. In the column called Absent?, if they click the X inside the brown circle, they will see a list of absence reasons they can select from. This list contains only those from code tables that are patron usable.

    3. After picking the absence reason, the student will see their current attendance history in the Absent? column. The student can clear or change any absence reason that is a button in that column. Any reason that is text is one that is set by the Instructor and is not patron changeable.

    Pay order balances online (in general)

    A payment for prior orders online follows the rules of applying a single payment for multiple orders
    The feature is enabled in company preferences-->Web Options-->Carts & Checkout under the checkout grouping of orders
    If you enable the feature, we suggest entering a useful comment in the order's external notes when you put the order on account.
    If the student/patron selects the Pay an Order Balance from their online cart page or home page, they will see a list of orders as per the image below.

    1. The outstanding balance list shows all the orders containing receivables that the patron will eventually pay for at some time. The patron can pick one and Add to Cart.

      There are two conditions under which an order could appear on this window.

      • If the student was registered by an instructor online and they put the order on account
      • If the box office took a phone in or walk up order and put it on account -AND- indicated that the order balance could be paid online (refer to On Account payment on this page).

    2. When they do that, they will end up at the shopping cart, ready to continue shopping or to pay for the balance.
    Diataxis: 

    Credit Card Authorization Setup

    Theatre Manager provides a connection to a number of service providers for credit card authorization, along with two modes of operating each option (schedule "C" or Schedule "D" compliance mode). Both are PCI PA-DSS 3.2.1 verified.

    More information on Credit Card installation, setup, USB credit card swipes, PCI compliance, and card encryption can be found by clicking here.

    Definitions

    There is often confusion between the purpose of a bank and a service provider and understanding the difference helps make sense of the authorization options available to you.

    Bank:
    A bank is where the money ends up at the end of the day. If somebody gives you money in any form (cash, check, credit card), you write up deposit slips and take it to the building at the corner on the main street. Banks are very bricks and mortar companies with charters to write loans, put your money is a safe, etc.
    Service Provider:
    A service provider is not a bank. Service providers are only in the business of authorizing credit cards on behalf of a bank and hold on to the money while it is electronically in transit to your bank. When you do your daily credit card batch settlement, the money in transit is transferred directly to your bank. In North America, there are about 15 major service providers such as Paymentech, Nova, 1st Data, Visanet, FMDS, etc. Some banks prefer working with some service providers - but generally, most service providers can get your money to any bank.

    The reason that service providers and banks are separate is historical. Banks started as local or regional entities in the USA. Most were not big enough to handle the infrastructure of authorizing credit cards. When cards became very popular in the 70's, they farmed out the business of authorizing cards to a service provider as an economical means of providing cards to their customers without the expense of hosting large computer centers.

    Service providers provide the infrastructure to authorize cards and then deposit YOUR funds in ANY bank.

    System Flow

    With any service provider, the money always gets to your bank account. You enter or swipe the card information into Theatre Manager and it sends all the correct information to the appropriate service provider. The following illustrates the difference in flow of the authorization. In either case, a merchant has to maintain a PCI compliant Office setup.

    Transactions Types

    With each service provider, Theatre Manager supports the ability for processing:

    • Payment Pre-Authorizations
    • Payment Voids
    • Independent Payment Refunds
    • Linked Payment Refunds
    • Batch Settlement
    Each service provider reserves the right to restrict the use of certain transactions in certain situations from being processed based on what the merchant provider has set up for your merchant account. These merchant provider restrictions can be set in the Merchant's Authorization Tab.

    Enabling Credit Card Authorization in Theatre Manager

    Regardless of which of the options you choose (Orbital, Moneris, Elavon, etc), there are two key areas to address inside Theatre Manager in order to enable credit card authorization.

    Payment Methods Code Table

    Refer to payment code table for setup information.


    Merchant Accounts

    Click here for steps to set up a Merchant Account inside Theatre Manager.

    Paymentech Orbital

    All users of the Orbital Virtual Terminal in conjunction with Theatre Manager are encouraged to download a Virtual Terminal Quick Reference Guide directly from Chase Paymentech. Additionally, once you log into your VT, there is a Help button for FAQ's and support from the Orbital Support team.

    Installation

    Installation and setup instructions for use with Paymentech Orbital start here.

    End of Day

    Instructions regarding the use of Orbital during the End of Day process are found here.

    Current Batch Total

    To find the batch total in the Orbital Virtual Terminal, Click here and follow the steps.

    Allow Manual Settlement

    click here.

    Reporting

    To find information about the various reporting options inside the Orbital Virtual Terminal, click here.

    Open Batch

    Open Batch reports are reports on the current batch in the Virtual Teminal (and by extension, in Theatre Manager). Using this function, you can look up transactions based on:

    • Transaction Status

    • Account # - this could be either the full credit card number or just the last 4 digits.
    • Order # - the Order number assigned to that transaction.
    • Order Description - the description assigned to the order.
    • Card Type - Options in the drop-down will vary based on the types of cards accepted by each individual organization.
    • Amount Range - search for transactions based on minimum or maximum amounts.
    • Approval Code - search by the authorization/approval code - this will also be noted in the Payment record in Theatre Manager.
    • Transaction Reference -
    • Profile ID - the profile ID is set up inside the Admin area of the Virtual Terminal itself and does not correspond to fields in Theatre Manager.
    • User Logon - this is the user ID used to log into the Virtual Terminal. Theatre Manager clients likely only have one of these ID's, though it is possible there could be one for each user who performs EOD.
    • A date range can be added to the search if the checkbox for that area is checked and dates included. To exclude a date range and search any dates, simply remove the check from the box.

    The Query Type determines the type of report that will result from the report query. Options include:

    • Detailed Transactions - this query shows all the details about each transaction in the batch.
    • Summary Query - a summary with totals of charges in the batch. This is the option to use in pulling the report to match to Theatre Manager's End of Day Wizard. More information about that here.
    • Generate Detail Report - will pull a detailed report in PDF format that can be recalled later in the Reporting area under Report Type.
    • Generate Detail File - will pull a CSV file that can be used to export/import to accounting packages and is also retrievable later in Reporting.

    Review

    Under the Review Tab, a user can choose to review entire Batches or specific Transactions or ranges of Transactions.

    Batch Review

    A Batch Review allows users to pull reports of in-progress, settled or rejected batches. Choose between searching by Batch Number range or a Date range.

    The Query Type determines the type of report that will result from the report query. Options include:

    • Detailed Transactions - a report with specific details about each transaction in the selected batch(es).
    • Summary Query - shows totals of the batch(es) without detail on transactions.
    • Generate Detail Report - will pull a detailed report of the batch(es) in PDF format that can be recalled later in the Reporting area under Report Type.
    • Generate Detail File - will pull a batch detail CSV file that can be used to export/import to accounting packages and is also retrievable later in Reporting.
    • Pending Options - pull either a PDF report or CSV file on batches that meet the criteria and are still pending.
    • Rejected Options - pull either a PDF report or CSV file on batches that meet the criteria and were rejected by the processor.

    Transactions Review

    Reports can also be generated for single or groups of transactions based on selected criteria. Except for the Transaction Status selection, the criteria are the same as for pulling an Open Batch report as described here.

    Under Transaction Status, a user can choose transactions which meet all the selected criteria and are:

    • Settled
    • Pending
    • Settled Sales (no refunds/credits will be included)
    • Settled Returns (the alternate of the above)
    • Rejected Items

    Reporting

    When you are pulling reports, either under Open Batch or Review, you can choose Generate Detail Files or Reports. Your previously generated reports can be recalled again in the Reporting Tab.

    You can further refine reports to include only those that are:

    • Complete
    • Queued/In Process
    • No Results
    • Deleted
    • Error

    When the report is originally pulled, under Query Type, you can choose to generate a "Report," a PDF report of the results, or "File," a CSV file that can be imported into an accounting package.

    Reports are pulled either under the Review Batch Tab, under the Open Batch Tab, or under the Admin Tab > Profile Management.

    Moneris

    This section contains information on how to use the Moneris Virtual Terminal in conjunction with Theatre Manager to obtain batch information, reports, and to charge cards directly in the Virtual Terminal.

    If your question is about setup, please refer to Moneris e-Select Installation

    Processing Charges Directly in Moneris Virtual Terminal

    This page will contain instructions for processing credit card charges in the Moneris Virtual Terminal in the rare cases it might be necessary that you do so. All charges should be normally processed in Theatre Manager.

    Viewing Transaction List in Moneris

    You can view a list of Transactions by a number of different parameters (a specific batch, a time span, by card type, etc) directly in the Moneris Virtual Terminal:
    1. Login to www.eselectplus.ca.
    2. Select Reports > Transactions from the top toolbars.

      The Transactions Search Parameters window will open.

    3. Set the search parameters to capture the transactions you'd like to see.

      For example, you can enter a time frame or day under Date, and check the Batch Number under Other Criteria. This gets all the transactions in a specific time span and in a particular batch.

      Click Submit Search to get a list of the transactions.

    4. In the returned listing, transactions with an Order ID beginning "mvt" were processed directly in the Moneris Virtual Terminal (and not in Theatre Manager). Those with a number for an Order ID were processed in Theatre Manager.

    Clicking Process Grouped Transactions will settle any unsettled transactions in the list. Do not do so without direction from Arts Management Support as this will affect your End of Day in Theatre Manager.

    Viewing the Current Open Batch Total in Moneris

    To view a summary total of any open batches in Moneris, you perform the following steps:
    1. Login to www.eselectplus.ca.
    2. Choose Reports > Batches in the top toolbars.

      The Batch Reports Search Parameters window opens.

    3. Under Date, select Current - Open Batches.
    4. Click Search at the bottom of the page.

      A window opens, showing the totals of any open batches.

    5. The Batch total should match the Theatre Manager Deposit List Total for authorized credit cards.

    Moneris Refunding Limits

    When an account is created with Moneris, the refund limit for an organization is determined. Often the daily limit is set to $5,000. The daily limit for voiding transactions for most merchants is only $500. During a traditional business day, this is often more then enough. However, when an event is cancelled, the value of refunds can be far higher then standard $5,000 limit.

    When an increase to the refund limit is required, you can make a request to Moneris. The increase usually lasts for a day. If more than a one day increase is needed, each day must be requested individually. Details about the refund date, required amount, banking information and security questions are required in advance of making the request.

    It's important you choose a date to process the cancelled events refunds. Consider a date when staff are available to complete the process and you have collected the refund details. The majority, if not all refunds, should be completed on this day, as the refund value will default back to the company limit on the following business day.

    You will need to calculate the expected amount of the refunds. You can use the Ticket Printing, Invoicing and Inventory Analysis >> Revenues by Payment Method - Ticket Based report. This report can determine how much was originally purchased using credit cards, thus helping determine the amount to be refunded.

    Once the above information is collected, the Moneris representative can be contacted. Provide them the merchant account number to locate the organizations record. Arrangements can be made for the increase and the refunds can be completed. For details on refunding tickets through Theatre Manager click here.

    Donation Management

    A Donation would be any item given to an organization without intention of receiving a benefit. Most donors receive a tax receipt for their donation. Donations can be Inserted, Modified, or Deleted depending on the need.

    Please refer to Donation Features or see how to deal with various data entry scenarios

    Please note that are required to have some system table settings in place before using the donation module. To learn more about Donation System Tables click here.

    Accessing Donations

    1. Open the Patron Record.

      For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

    2. Click the Donation tab.

    You can download the Quick Reference Guides (less than 20 pages), Cheatsheets (1-2 pages) and Screencasts (online video demonstrations of the functions with narration) by clicking on the icon.

    Topic

    Reference Guide
    pdf format

    Cheatsheet
    pdf format

    Flash

    ScreenCast

    MP4

    ScreenCast

    Donations

    Donations Overview

    Add a Donation thru the Order Window

    Refund a Ticket to a Donation

     

     

    Create a Campaign  

    Pledged Donations  

    How to Toggle Between Individual & Corporate Donations  

    How to Make a Donation Anonymous  

    Soft Credits  

    Matching Gifts Part 1 - Setting up the Gifter  

    Matching Gifts Part 2 - Adding Gift to a Donation, Running a Report  

    Gift In Kind  

    Deleting and Refunding Donations  

    Donation Module Features

    The Donation module is a complete tracking option for all unearned income. The donation module closely follows IRS and CRA guidelines and is built from their recommendations as well as from the needs of our diverse clients.

    Theatre Manager can be used to enter and manage donations for your:

    • Annual Fund
    • Capital Campaign
    • Recurring donations
    • Donations on a payment plan, or
    • Simple Ticket Round-up donation online
    • Campaigns with progress bars and suggested donations online
    • Special fundraising events, silent and live auctions including raffles, cash advances and checkouts
    • Aggregating donations for recognition across campaigns
    • Gifts in kind, matching gifts, soft credits
    • and almost any scenario
    Theatre Manager can provide the entry, accounting, pledge management, tracking/reporting, print tax receipts(one per payment or annual statement) and even print the program insert listing your donors within their respective donor categories.

    For more information on the features of the donation module, you may wish to refer to a number of cheatsheet and videos or the sample data entry scenarios.
    Diataxis: 

    Features Overview

    For more information on the features of the donation module, you may wish to refer to a number of cheatsheet and videos or the sample data entry scenarios.

    The Development/ Fundraising/ Donation module of Theatre Manager has long been a major portion of the system with a long list of extensive features such as:

    Plus the numerous donation detail, summary, giving trends, giving level, reports geared towards telemarketers, board members, development staff, and management.

    Diataxis: 

    Sample Donation Scenarios and how to enter them

    For more information on the features of the donation module, you may wish to refer to a number of cheatsheet and videos.

     

    What are some sample Donation Scenarios?

    Single donation PAID at time of entry with one payment A single donation is one that is entered, paid for and receipted at one time. You would:
    • Insert a new donation (providing amount, campaign, tax receipt name, tax receipt option etc)
    • Apply a payment
    • (optionally) add a letter/email acknowledging the gift
    • Print the tax receipt now (or later)
    Single donation with PAID with multiple post dated payments A single donation is one that is entered, with a payment plan for and receipted later. You would:
    • Insert a new donation (providing amount, campaign, tax receipt name, selecting annual statement tax receipt option etc)
    • Begin applying a payment and click on post dated tab
    • Enter the post dated payments options which can be credit card, EFT or checks (if they give you all the checks in hand)
    • Add a letter/email acknowledging the gift
    • Print the tax receipt now, or later when each payment arrives, or once in an annual receipt at end of year.
    Single donation where patron PLEDGED to send checks in later on A single donation is one that is entered but there is no payment plan. The customer would be sending the checks later in response to as reminder to pay an instalment. You would:
    • Insert a new donation (providing amount, campaign, tax receipt name, selecting annual statement tax receipt option etc)
    • Click on the correspondence tab and setup up PLEDGE REMINDER letter/emails for the appropriate frequency
    • Add a letter/email acknowledging the gift
    • When each payment comes in, look up the donation it is for and apply the payment.
    • Print the tax receipt when each payment arrives, or once in an annual receipt at end of year.
    • Use the report Patrons Behind in Pledge Payments to manage who has received a reminder and hasn't sent in their payment
    Recurring Donation that repeats forever A donation that repeats forever needs to be entered once and then set up to recur. The next donation is automatically generated on the appropriate date. Any existing donation can be turned into recurring. The suggested steps are:
    • Enter a donation like the simple donation with one payment. In general, select Annual Statement receipt for the ta receipt type
    • When done, create a recurring donation from the individual donation and
      • set a frequency of occurrence (eg, weekly, monthly ,quarterly, etc.)
      • pick a payment method that is a credit card, EFT, or On account (meaning you will call them)
      • Post dated payments and pledge payments are not appropriate for recurring donations
    • Run you end of day each day. On the appropriate date, a new donation and payment will be created.
    • If it is credit card, you will authorize it. if it is EFT, you will generate an EFT file
    Donation with a non receiptable benefit amount A donation with a benefit amount is entered and paid for like any other donation. The only difference is that the campaign allocated to the donation
    • Has a benefit amount assigned to the giving level (since each giving level could have a different benefit like 2 tickets, 4 tickets and a mug, etc.
    • You can allow the benefit amount to be optional, meaning that the patron does not have to take the benefit
    • Enter the donation
    • Optionally, modify the benefit amount
    • Follow any of the previous examples for post dated, pledge, or single payment.

    Donations with a benefit will show that on the tax receipts for IRS or CRA purposes, while allowing the donation to be recognized within the venue at full value. The tax receipt will effectively indicate: Thanks for your donation of $xxx.xx of which $y.yy is a non receipt-able benefit.

    It is most often used for special events with dinners, or where there are material benefits conferred or costs incurred by the venue as part of receiving the donation.

    Prospects, Grants and Foundations A government grant or foundation gift is the same as a single donation. Simply enter it. You may want to do the following:
    • (Optional) Enter the donations as a prospect when you start applying or it
    • Create a task for the donation and on the 'documents' tab of the task, drag in any PDF's spreadsheets, word documents, etc that are pertinent to the application process. This saves them in the database permanently and make a great reference for the following year.
    • When the grant is approved:
      • Change the donations amount to the amount actually approved by the granting agency or foundation.
      • Change the donation from a prospect to a regular gift
    • Apply payments when they come in - which is often first payment, middle payment and final payment.
    • If there are interim reports, save those as a PDF and add them to the task as well
    Restricted Donations, Capital Campaigns and Gaming Revenue Generally, restricted donations are those that can only be used for a specific purpose or are required to be put into a separate bank account (or tracked appropriately in the GL).

    In some locations, funds MUST be placed into a separate account (eg gaming revenue). These are handled as follows

    • Set up a campaign that uses a restricted account.
    • Enter the donation as normal
    • Take Payments as normal. These can be one time payments, post dated, EFT, pledges, etc as described above
    • When end of day is done, Theatre Manager will create clearing entries telling you to move funds from your operating account to the appropriate restricted bank account. Use your online banking portal to move the appropriate amount
    Gifts to multiple campaigns Some donations are split amongst two or more campaigns. To do this:
    • Enter a donation to the one campaign along with the amount
    • Use the duplciate button to create an new donation in the same order. it will be created as a prospect
      • Change the campaign that is donation is to go to
      • Change the amount, if the allocation is not equal
      • Change the donation from a prospect to a gift to make it real -or-
      • Delete it if you do not want it.
    • Proceed and pay for it as you would any other donations.
    Alternatively, if you don't want the donations in the same order, just enter a second one and pay each of them separately.
    Gifts to multiple years Some donations are pledged and split amongst multiple years for ongoing large donations. Eg, a patron might pledge $3000 a year to the virtuoso fund for a 5 year period. If you want the recognition for the total amount of $15,000 for all 5 years, you would handle this as follows:
    Pledges Over Multiple Years Scenario: a patron that would like to give a total of $10,000.00 over 5 years ($2,000.00 each year). We don't want to record the $10,000 pledge upfront into our General Ledger, creating a large Accounts Payable entry. However we would like to keep track of the total amount and the progress of the $10,000.00 as it decreases with future payments. What is the best practice in this scenario?

    Buy a Seat If you are doing a seat naming campaign, the best way to handle it is:
    • Create a specific performance for the buy a seat campaign.
    • Create two prices: One for the box office of $0.00 and one for online at the donation for the seat of $xxx.xx
    • At the box office:
      • Sell the required number of seats to this performance at $0.00
      • Add a donation, set the amount and assign to the buy a seat campaign
      • enter any custom inscription notes into the donation note field
      • Take your payment (check, card, EFT or post dated payments)
      • Print receipts as required (annually, or per payment)
    • For online sales:
      • People buy online to get the seat they want to sponsor, pay the appropriate price and checkout.
      • Later, go to the attendance tab in the event window
      • Select the number of tickets sold online - they will have the sponsorship price associated with it, instead of $0.00
      • Right click and change the price on the tickets to zero
      • add a donation to the order equivalent to the former ticket price
      • Print receipts as required (annually, or per payment)
      At the end of the 'buy a seat' sale, you now have:
      • A seat map showing the seats that patrons sponsored which you can refer to later on
      • A campaign with the total of the seat sold
      • The ability to export the engraving notes from the donations
      Diataxis: 

      List Window

      There are two ways to access the donation list window. The Donation Tab window will let you access other functions of the Donation Module. For instance you can Insert a New Donation from this window or you may access the Donation Detail window from here.

      1. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      2. Click the Donation tab.

      Parts of the Donation Tab

      Order # Unique number assigned to the order for tracking within Theatre Manager.

      Program Year

      The Program Year defines the time frame the donation will be recognized in published material. Use it in reports to print a list of Program Names within the Program Year.
      Use The type of donation received.
      Campaign Campaign the donation was assigned to.
      Fiscal Year The financial year the donation was made within.
      Donation Date Date the donation was recorded in Theatre Manager for.
      Pledge The amount the donation was originally entered as.
      Actual Amount of money received for the donation. A donation may be made in the form of a Stock and the payment amount may be more of less then the donation amount. For information on Stock gifts click here.
      Donation Balance The unpaid difference between the Donation and the Total Payment
      Donation Amount of Receipt The amount of the donation that receipts have been issued for.
      Inserts a new donation. For more information on inserting donations click here.
      Opens the selected donation for editing. For more information on editing donations click here.
      Deletes a donation when the tax receipt and prior payments have been removed. For more information on deleting donations click here.
      Opens the donation payment window. For more information on making payments Click here.
      Prints the donation on a ticket if a default ticket face has been associated with the donation. For information on setting up donation campaigns click here.
      Diataxis: 

      Details Window

      You use the Donation Detail Window to insert a new donation. You also use this window to provide a user with specific details about a Patron's particular Donation.
      • When Inserting Donations the Donation Detail Window is accessed through the donation module or the order window.
      • To access a Patron's Donation Detail Window after the donation has been inserted, you can open the patron's Donation tab and the previous donation from there. Double click on any donation line and the Donation Detail Window will appear.
      The data in the Campaign, Solicitor, Non-Receipt Benefit is definable while Setting up Donation. The format of program name and many of the print function defaults are defined in Default Data.

      To access the Donation Detail window, you perform the following steps:

      1. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      2. Click the Donation tab.

      3. Click the New button.

       

      Parts of the Detail Window

      Inserts a new donation. For more information on inserting donations click here.
      Saved changes made to the current donation.
      Reverts changes made to the donation back to the last saved point.
      Deletes a donation once the donation receipt and payment have been removed. For more information on deleting donations click here.
      Generates a report displaying the donation details.
      Checks the spelling within the data entry fields.
      Adds a payment to the order. For more information on adding payments click here.
      Campaign The drop down list contains the possible donation campaign to give the donation to.
      Date Donated Enter the date a donation was made or if the donation differ from the default computer date the date can be back dated into a prior calendar year for tax purposes.
      Solicitor Select the person responsible for receiving the donation from the drop down. This person must exist in the Employee table (see Setting up an Employee)
      Donation (gift) There are two parts to the actual donation amount:
      • The gift type - which is a popup in front of the gift amount
      • The gift amount
      Click in to the amount field and type in the donation amount.

      This amount is normally set up a receivable in Theatre Manager so that the system knows to expect a payment for this amount. It could be one payment or it could be post dated payments.

      However, the choice in the popup affects whether the GL is informed about the gift. There are generally 4 choices when entering a new gift:

      • Prospect - Is used to indicate a possible future donation. These are part of the prospecting portion of Theatre Manager so that you can track a list of 'prospects' and manage them to completion through a moves management process. Pledge amounts are NOT sent to the GL until converted to a hard pledge or donation (gift).
      • Soft Pledge - a soft pledge is like a prospect. It is intended to be used for prospects that have indicated intent to give, but have not signed any paperwork. Soft pledges are also not sent to the GL.
      • Hard Pledge - are a way to classify donations where the donor has signed a pledge card and needs to be sent reminders to donate. Because there is a signed pledge card, these are sent to the GL as per IRS/CRA reporting requirements.
      • Donation (gift) - are intended to be used for regular donations, gift in kinds, grants and most donations where you get the check along with the donation or are reasonably assured you will receive the donation. These donations are also sent to the GL.
      Total Payment Amount of money received for the donation. A donation may be made in the form of a Stock and the payment amount may be more of less then the donation amount. For information on Stock gifts click here.
      WriteOff Amount The unpaid difference between the Donation and the Total Payment.
      Matching Gift Select the Matching Gift if you wish to link this donation to another patron who will also donate as a result of this patron giving a new donation. Click Here for more information.
      Commission Select Commisssion if the employee responsable for the donation receives a persentage of the sale.
      Access You can specify the groups of people who can access this donation if you wish to put some sort of restrictions on the record.
      Non-Receipt Benefit The amount deducted from the donation receipt to cover taxable benefits received by making the donation.
      Next Contact By default, the Next Contact Date is eleven months from the date of the donation. This date can be changed should you require a different date from the default. Use it in reports to print a list of donors that need contacted at that time to ensure that they give on a regular basis.
      Fiscal Year The Fiscal Year defaults from the
      Program Year The Program Year generally tracks the fiscal year - meaning it is the same. However, you can make the program year an arbitrary year in the future or in the past -- so that you can track totals differently than fiscal year. Changing program year has no effect on financial data. It can be used as selection criteria for creating the program listing.

      The allows your FISCAL YEAR to track IRS and CRA reporting/accounting requirements while program year can track your own reporting requirements

      It defaults to:

      Tax Receipt Name This field is used to record the name of the individual who will receive the tax deductible receipt. Theatre Manager prints a receipt for tax purposes in the name of the individual recorded here, which could differ from the individual giving the donation.

      Please refer to Tax Receipt Name Considerations when entering this field - there are some legal implications.

      Program Name This field is used to record how the patron would like to be recognized on the program. Theatre Manager generates a donor recognition report that ensures your donation list is complete and up-to-date. If the Donor wishes to remain anonymous this field should read "anonymous". Click here for more information on making the donation anonymous.
      Sort Name The sort name is suggested by Theatre Manager. It is initially based on the last name or company, depending on how the default donor name is selected and it may be changed. The sort name is used to position the donor's name in the program. For example, if the Program Name is 'Anonymous', the sort name could still be 'Smith'. This would cause the program to creating a listing for 'Anonymous' under S.
      Receipt Options Choose how and when receipts should be Printed. The options are described on this web page.
      Click here for details on the Notes tab.
      Click here for details on the Pledge Schedule tab.
      Click here for details on the Receipt tab.
      Click here for details on the Soft Credit tab.
      Click here for details on the Matching Gift tab.
      Click here for details on the Transaction tab.
      Diataxis: 

      Note Tab

      The Notes Tab allows you to select specific donors and event / plays and enter Notes about the selected donation.

      Parts of the Notes Tab

      Donor #1 (pop-up) A customizable pop-up field edited through the code tables. This pop-up can be made a mandatory field in Company Preferences.
      Donor #2 (pop-up) A customizable pop-up field edited through the code tables. This pop-up can be made a mandatory field in Company Preferences.
      Donor #3 (pop-up) A customizable pop-up field edited through the code tables. This pop-up can be made a mandatory field in Company Preferences.
      Donor #4 (char) A customizable character field. This field can be made a mandatory in Company Preferences.
      Donor #5 (flag) A customizable Check Box.
      Donor #6 (flag) A customizable Check Box.
      Donor #7 (flag) A customizable Check Box.
      Play Allows you to attach a play to this donation. Use the Event / Play Lookup button to choose from a list of events / plays.
      Donation Notes Any addition notes to be added to the donation. If the donation was a matching gift, notes to that effect will be automatically placed here.

      If any of the customized fields are made mandatory, you will need to edit the TMdonation.html web page in order to successfully accept donations online.


      Diataxis: 

      Pledge Schedule & Contacts Tab

      This tab can be used to add Pledge Schedules and track all donation Contacts.

      Parts of the Pledge Schedule / Contacts Tab

      Status Pictorial progress of the letter, pledge or email.
      Seq # Sequence number of the letter, pledge or email.
      Status Verbal progress of the letter, pledge or email.
      Type Type of contact detail.
      Priority Rating of priority.
      Requested By Employee who added the letter, pledge or email.
      Notes Name of the letter or email.
      Records/File Connected to Correspondence Details of the attached letter, pledge or email.
      Date Begin Date the correspondence is set to begin.
      Adds a scheduled pledge reminded to the donation. For more information on scheduled pledges click here.
      Opens the selected letter, pledge or email.
      Deletes the selected letter, pledge or email.
      Adds a new letter or email to the donation.
      Opens the document that corresponds to the selected pledge, letter or email.
      Prints the selected letter.
      Diataxis: 

      Tasks Tab

      Tasks are part of the Facility Management module. If your organization has not purchased the Facility Management module, the Tasks feature in Donation Management will be limited.

      Calendars show tasks to be done in a variety of formats. Gantt charts (part of Projects) show tasks associated with each other and the relationships between the various pieces. Invoices use tasks and the associated people and resources as line items in an invoice to bill clients.

      You can associate tasks with any number of people who are responsible for making sure the task gets completed. Tasks can be reminders to yourself about upcoming deadlines. Tasks can be used to schedule your time. Tasks can have physical resources assigned to them that may be billed or not.

      Notifications or reminders can be set up for tasks so you don't miss a meeting or appointment.

      To learn more about tasks and how to add them click here.


      Parts of the Tasks tab

      Task # The sequence number assigned by the database to the task.
      Status The current status of the task (Done, Not Done, In Progress, Cancelled).
      Begin Date Date the task is set to begin.
      Date End Projected completion date of the task.
      Description The description of the task.
      Event Title The title of the event / play associated with the task (if any).
      Event Code The event / play code associated with the task (if any).
      Perf # The Performance number associated with the task (if any).
      Date The date of the event associated with the task (if any).
      Time The time of the performance associated with the task (if any).
      Diataxis: 

      Receipt Tab

      In this window, you can Add, Edit and Delete donation receipt information.
      Please refer to receipt options to see how your choices of when and how receipts should be printed for the donation by Theatre Manager.

      Parts of the Receipt Tab

      Receipt Date The Date the Receipt was created i.e. The day the payment was received.
      Description Method of payment received.
      Receipt Amount Amount the receipt was issued for.
      Receipt # The number of the receipt. This number is setup in Company Preferences under the Donation Receipts tab.
      Receipt Printed Date Date the receipt was printed.
      Receipt Print Count Number of times the receipt has been printed.
      Opens the Edit Manual Receipt detail window.
      Deletes the selected receipt. If after the receipt is deleted the total donation is greater than the receipted amount Theatre Manager will rebuild the order and recreate the receipts.
      Adds a form letter to the selected payment.
      Prints a ticket receipt for the selected payment.
      Diataxis: 

      Soft Credit Tab

      A Soft Credit is used to attach a patron other then the donor to the donation. The purpose is to recognize a patron for the value of the contributions they helped raise.

      Parts of the Soft Credit Tab

      Patron # Reference number for the patron associated by the soft credit.
      Patron Name First and last name of the patron.
      Soft Credit Amount of the donation the patron is to be recognized for.
      Program Year The year in which the patron should be recognized in publications.
      Campaign Name Campaign the donation was contributed to.
      First Name First name of the patron.
      Last Name Last name of the patron.
      Company Company the patron works for.
      Inserts a new soft credit. For more information on creating soft credits click here.
      Opens the selected soft credit for editing.
      Deletes the selected soft credit.
      Diataxis: 

      Matching Gift Tab

      For details on inserting matching gifts click here.

      Parts of Matching Gift Tab

      Patron Patron number for the matching gift patron.
      Amount Value of the donation the matching gift patron will make.
      Order # The order number in the matching gift patrons file.
      Giving Ratio The percentage the matching gift patron's donation is in relation to the original donation
      Opens the patron record for the matching gift patron.

      Quick reference Information for Matching Gifts

      Quick reference information for Setting up the Gifter

      Screencast

      Screencast

      Diataxis: 

      Transaction Tab

      Parts of the Transactions Tab

      Seq # The transaction reference number.
      Trans Date Date the transaction took place.
      Journal No Journal Entry reference number.
      Code Theatre Manager reference code used to determine the type of transaction.
      Transaction Desc Brief description of what the transaction was.
      Order # Reference number used to tract the components of the order.
      Play Code Play code reference the donation is associated with.
      Performance Code Performance code reference the donation is associated with.
      Opens the selected transaction displaying the transaction details window.
      Diataxis: 

      Campaign Setup

      You can download the Cheatsheets (1-2 pages) and Screencasts (online video demonstrations of the functions with narration) by clicking on the icons.

      Cheatsheet

      Flash

      MP4

      Campaigns are at the heart of the donation module. For accounting and marketing purposes, Theatre Manager allows you to divide your fundraising activities into as many "campaigns" as you wish. You may choose to have a single Annual Campaign that rolls over from year to year, or you may opt to create a new Annual Fund Campaign each year, thereby allowing you to place funds from each year into separate GL account.

      While all funds for campaigns are initially processed through your general operating accounts, certain campaigns - such as the Capital Campaign - may actually reside in another bank or bank account. To handle this, Theatre Manager uses a Donation Bank Transfer (or "clearing" account) that signals your accountant to move funds from the main account to the other bank account that is being used for the Capital Campaign. And Theatre Manager handles all this accounting for you through the End Of Day.

      Campaigns can be set be used only in specific places (box office vs, the web) and for specific purposes (all ticket returns go to a specific campaign, while general gifts have more options). Solicitors can be set to a specific employee or "champion" or can be left unset so that whomever solicits the donation will get the credit for having done so. This is particularly helpful in "Ticket Round-up" campaigns where Box Office staff can compete to see who raises the most funds.

      Each campaign can be assigned a specific "Giving Level Matrix" which is simply a listing of dollar levels and their matching name. For example:

      • $0.00 to $99.99 Donor
      • $100.00 to $249.99 Friend
      • $250.00 to $349.99 Star
      • $350.00 to $499.99 Director
      • $500.00 to $999.99 Producer
      • $1,000.00 to $999,999.99 Playwright

      You can also indicate within each level what benefits they may receive for their gift (if any) and record any impact that may have on their taxable receipt amount.

      Diataxis: 

      Setting Up Stock Gifts / Donations

      We have a number of sites that receive stock donations. The general practice, is to value the stock at time of gift. This is the valuation for the tax receipt the donor receives.

      The theatre can keep the stock (perhaps for an endowment investment) or turn it over to a broker to sell it under the direction of the theatre.

      The donation value is most often recognized at the time of the gift. The amount actually received can be more or less than that valuation.

      To handle this, yopu create a payment method called 'stock gain/loss' to be written off to a special account. You create this new payment method in code tables. For more information on code tables, click here.

      For example: A patron gives $1,000 in stock.
      The stock is sold for $1,010.
      There are two payments for the gift. One of $1,000 check from the broker, and one of $10 gain/loss. The donor gets receipted for the $1,000 only, the $10 adjustment is the gain/loss.

      For future reference, in the donations notes field, you can include the information regarding amount of shares, at what price, and when you sold them in the donation notes field.

      Should you create the GL account as an expense account or revenue account?

      Typically, the stocks should be increasing in value (or at least you hope so!), so the Stock Gain/Loss GL account should be created as a revenue account by default.

      The required GL Accounts are:

      • Stock (Asset) - only if you keep Stock in the current form as Stock to be sold at a later date
      • Stock Gain/Loss (Revenue GL Account)

      The account numbers and actual type are defined by your accountant.

      Any brokerage fees (hopefully you have a generous broker who does not keep the fees) are treated the same way as a Gain/Loss on the sale of the stock.

      Example A:

      Receive $1,000 Stock and keep it as stock

      Donation $1,000

      Payment Method = Stock $1,000 (goes into the GL as a debit/asset)
      Tax Receipt = $1,000

      Sell the Stock ($1,000) that was initially entered as Payment Method Stock for a surrender value of $1,200

      Payment Method = Stock -$1,000 (to remove the initial stock asset)
      Payment Method = Cash $1,200
      Payment Method = Stock Gain/Loss -$200 (goes into the GL as a credit/gain)
      Tax Receipt - none at this point because it was already issued during initial receipt of stock

      OR Sell the Stock ($1,000) that was initially entered as Payment Method Stock for a surrender value of $900

      Payment Method = Stock -$1,000 (to remove the initial stock asset)
      Payment Method = Cash $900
      Payment Method = Stock Gain/Loss $100 (goes into the GL as a debit/loss)
      Tax Receipt - none at this point because it was already issued during initial receipt of stock

      Example B:

      Receive $1,000 Stock, Convert it to Cash for $1,010

      Donation $1,000

      Payment Method = Cash $1,010
      Payment Method = Stock Gain/Loss -$10 (goes into the GL as a credit/gain)
      Tax Receipt = $1,000

      Example C:

      Receive $1,000 Stock, Convert it to Cash for $990

      Donation $1,000

      Payment Method = Cash $990
      Payment Method = Stock Gain/Loss $10 (goes into the GL as a debit/loss)

      Tax Receipt $1,000

      Diataxis: 

      Donation Entry

      Theatre Manager is designed to handle donation entry from several sources including:
      • Box Office
      • Online
      • Pledges
      • In conjunction with ticket sales
      And once entered, the management and tracking possibilities are almost limitless. Pledge reminders, automatic billing, and financial maintenance are all part of the donation module.

      For more information on the features of the donation module, there are a number of cheatsheet and videos. Click here for a listing of the Donation Module quick reference materials.

      Follow through the links below to learn how to enter and maintain donations in Theatre Manager.

      Inserting a Donation

      It is important to recognize that donations can be entered from more then one place in Theatre Manager. You can enter a donation from the donation tab or from the orders window while a patron is purchasing tickets.

      Open the Patron Record.

      For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      1. Click the Donation tab.

      2. Click the New button. The Donation Detail window opens.

      Alternatively

      To add a Donation to an existing order, or while creating an order, you would:

      1. In the Orders window, click the Donations button.
      2. Click the New button in the Order >> Donations toolbar / ribbon bar.

        The Donation Detail window opens.

        Campaign The drop down list contains the possible donation campaign to give the donation to.
        Date Donated Enter the date that donation was made.

        If the donation date differs from the default computer date, you can back date the donation by up to 3 months into a prior calendar year for tax purposes. Donations always appear on tax receipts according to the year on the donation date.

        Note that Revenue Canada has stated:

        There are also severe penalties for issuing false receipts so we err on the side of caution..
        Solicitor Select the person responsible for receiving the donation from the drop down. This person must exist in the Employee table (see Setting up an Employee)
        Donation (gift) Click in to the amount field and enter the donation amount. Depending on the selection in the popup to the left, this sets up an as a receivable in Theatre Manager so that the system knows to expect a payment for this amount. It could be one payment or it could be post dated payments.

        In the popup to the left of the amount, the typical choices are listed below. The affect how money is reported to finance to create a receivable.

        • Categories that do not report to finance
          • Prospect - Indicates that the donation is not real and will not be reported to finance. Use this designation to track key major donations, bequests, likely grants, or other possible funding sources. Amounts can be raised or lowered without affecting financial reports
          • Soft Pledge - Similar to prospect. The intention of this category is to indicate that you have verbal (but not written) commitment for a large donation.
        • Categories that cause G/L entries to be created
          • hard pledge - When you receive any signed paperwork for a pledge that is considered legally binding, use this option. Generally it means people are paying over time. on the odd occasion, you may need to switch a Prospect or Soft Pledge (not reported to finance) over to a Hard Pledge or Donation when all the hard work has been completed and a prospective donation becomes reality.
          • Donation (gift) - Generally used for most donations where a check arrives or when advised that a grant proposal has been accepted and money is on the way.
          • Donation Refund for Ticket - an option to delineate when refunding tickets and the donation was for the refunded ticket.
        Total Payment Amount of money received for the donation. A donation may be made in the form of a Stock and the payment amount may be more of less then the donation amount. For information on Stock gifts click here.

        There are a number of rules for USA 503c registered charities that may affect the amount entered.

        WriteOff Amount The unpaid difference between the Donation and the Total Payment.
        Matching Gift Select the Matching Gift if you wish to link this donation to another patron who will also donate as a result of this patron giving a new donation. Click Here for more information.
        Commission Check the Commission Paid box to indicate if a commission was paid to a third party to procure this gift. Theatre Manager will enter the date that the commission was paid.
        Non-Receipt Benefit The amount deducted from the donation receipt to cover taxable benefits received by making the donation such as a dinner or a show. You will not be able to enter a receiptable benefit unless you have set it up in the donation campaign setup. You may also have to indicate standard benefit amounts at each donation range in the giving level matrix.
        Next Contact By default, the Next Contact Date is eleven months from the date of the donation. This date can be changed should you require a different date from the default. Use it in reports to print a list of donors that need contacted at that time to ensure that they give on a regular basis.
        Program Year The Program Year defines the time frame the donation will be recognized in published material. Use it in reports to print a list of Program Names within the Program Year.
        Fiscal Year The Fiscal Year is selected from the fiscal year set up in default settings. Refer to Accounting for more information
        Tax Receipt Name This field is used to record the name of the individual who will receive the tax deductible receipt. Theatre Manager prints a receipt for tax purposes in the name of the individual recorded here, which could differ from the individual giving the donation.

        While you can put anything into the tax receipt name, there are some legal implications. Please refer to this page on the true donor as explained in a Government Of Canada document.
        If you cannot ascertain the true donor with certainty, you'll need to ask them for any correction. If you still cannot, then you should mark their donation receipt option as No Receipt Required so that the system will not print one.
        Program Name This field is used to record how the patron would like to be recognized on your program listings. The default name is populated into the program recognition field in the order that follows:
        1. If there is a default donor publication name in the donor tab of the patron window, this will ALWAYS be used as the default publication name.
        2. If there is 'COMPANY' name in the patron record, then the donation will be set to corporate and the company name will populate in this field. You can easily change it by clicking on individual to set the patron's name in the field
        3. If the above two options do not apply, then the default is the patron's name, in the format specified in the company preferences
        4. You can then Change the recognition name manually For example:
          • if the Donor wishes to remain anonymous this field should read "anonymous". Click here for more information on making the donation anonymous.
          • Or if the name is 'in memoriam' or 'in honor of', then simply change the program name to state 'In Memory of .....'
        Theatre Manager can generate a donor program recognition report that would be your up-to-date data for creating a program listing
        Sort Name The sort name is suggested by Theatre Manager and is used to DETERMINE THE SORT ORDER of patrons (within a giving level) on the donor program insert reports.

        It is initially based on the last name or company, depending on how the default donor name is selected and it may be changed. The sort name is used to position the donor's name in the program. For example, if the Program Name is 'Anonymous', the sort name could still be 'Smith'. This would cause the program to creating a listing for 'Anonymous' under S.

        In order to maintain a reasonable alphabetic sort order, the sort name starts out with either:

        • For individual donations:
          • the first 7 characters of the last name (padded with ! if need be)
          • the first 7 characters of the first name (padded with ! if need be)
          • The first character of the middle name (or a single ! if no middle name)
        • -OR- the company name without spaces (for corporate donations)
        The sort name is designed so that you can alter the natural sort order of patrons. For example::
        • Anonymous typically falls under 'A', but you can force it to appear where the patron's last name would fall, or change sort name to ZZZZ to make it fall at the end
        • In Memory of Spot the Family Dog can be made to fall under Spot if you make the sort name Spot or under Family if you make the sort name Family
        • Normally, you would not change the sort name, this just gives some extra capability for extraordinary situations like 'In Memoriam' or 'Anonymous' or 'on behalf of' gifts.
        Tax Receipt Options There are a number of options for printing tax receipts, some of which Theatre Manager will handle for you. Please refer to the explanation on what each receipt option means and how the system processes them.
        Please read very carefully about Revenue Canada's Policies on issuing tax receipts.. Improper receipting can result in heavy fines.
      3. Enter the Donation Details.
      4. Proceed to the tab if required.
      5. Click the Payment button.

      6. Pay for the donation.

        Click Payment for additional information.

      Quick reference information Donations Overview

      Diataxis: 

      Entering a Prospect or Soft Pledge Donation

      One of the first tasks of soliciting donations is to identify your prospective donors. A "prospective donor" is anyone who hasn't been a donor to your organization, or possibly is a lapsed donor that you want to bring back into the organization.

      A prospective donor's name may come from discussions at a Development or Staff meeting, or noticing a donor on another venue's Donor Wall that isn't in your current donor list. it might also be for the purpose of Planned Giving

      As soon as you identify a prospective donor, you should start a Prospect Donation in Theatre Manager. This way, you can track the progress of moving the potential donor towards an actual gift.

      A Prospect Gift or Soft Pledge will not affect your financials in any way. Entering a Prospect Gift is simply a way of tracking a potential gift without creating any Receivables.

      Entering a Prospect Donation

      1. Start by opening the Patron Record of the prospective donor. For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
      2. Click the Donation tab.

      3. Click the New button. The Donation Detail window opens.
      4. Alternatively, refer to Enter Donations on the Order Window when already within an order.

        The Donation Detail window opens.

      5. On the left-hand side of the Donation Detail window, you will see a drop down for:
        • Prospect
        • Soft Pledge
        • Hard Pledge
        • Donation (gift)
      6. Select "Prospect"

        You will also note a change in the blue text to the right of the field. It now says:
        Long term prospect who may give if nurtured appropriately. Receivables/accounting entries ARE NOT created until this is converted to a gift.

      7. Complete the remainder of the fields for the prospective gift.
      8. Click the SAVE button at the top of the Donation Detail window.
      The gift will now appear in magenta on the prospective donor's DONOR tab on their Patron Record. You can now use this donation to track the progress of cultivating this donor towards an actual gift. Continue to use this donation entry, updating it with any Tasks you may have regarding this gift, and moving it through the process from Prospect to Soft Pledge to Hard Pledge to Donation (gift). Alternatively, you may be moving the donor directly from a Prospect to a Donation (gift), depending on the actions the Donor takes. Either way, the history will be maintained within this record for future reference. There is no need to create a new Donation record as the cultivation process progresses.

      Some prospect gifts will remain as prospect gifts for a long time - perhaps even forever. They will always be recorded in the Patron Record so you can see what work has been done with this particular Donor.

      Diataxis: 

      Using Prospect for Planned Giving

      Planned gifts are bequests to the venue upon the passing of the individual (as per their will) or some such variation such as a living will.

      A Prospect Gift or Soft Pledge will not affect your financials in any way. Entering a Prospect Gift is simply a way of tracking a potential gift without creating any Receivables.

      This gives you a place to track all interactions with the patron during the planned giving process.

      Setup and Data Entry

      To handle these in Theatre Manager:

      • Make a donation campaign, if it is deemed best to have a different one for tracking purposes
      • Indicate that the donation be set up as a PROSPECT

      • Enter the potential value of the planned gift
      • put something in the notes about what the planned gift is for or how you will receive it
      • optionally, use one of the custom donation fields for an additional identifier. This image shows that flag #7 is not taken, so you might rename that as 'planned gift' in company preferences if an additional marker is required to simplify pulling some reports.

       

      What to do before you actually receive the Planned Gift

      Before you actually receive the planned gift, there will undoubtably be changes to the information, discussions, reporting, etc. You can:

      • Use the TASK tab to track meetings , to-do's or such with the potential donor
      • In one of the tasks, if you get documentation from the donor, stick it into the attached files tab of the task
      • Track any letters you send specific to the planned gift in the pledge Schedule/Contacts tab
      • This gives you a central source of all interactions about this specific planned gift with the patron.

       

      What changes when you get the planned gift?

      • Change the PROSPECT marker to GIFT - this initiates the financial data to be sent to finance for the GL
      • enter the true amount of the planned gift, if it has changed from what you thought
      • Enter full payment or any sort of payment plan that the planned gift species -- just like any other donation
      • Prepare a tax receipt, any custom acknowledgement for this kind of gift, or any required government forms - which you can also track in the attached files tab of a task

      In the end, a planned gift is just like any other donation ..... except it starts its life as a PROSPECT before being converted to an actual gift.

      Diataxis: 

      Donation Tax Receipt Name Considerations

      While you can put anything into the tax receipt name, there are some legal implications. If you are in Canada, please read Revenue Canada's Policy Commentary CPC-010

      For those in the USA, you may wish to lookup the details of IRS publication 1771

      Please read about Revenue Canada's extensive policies on issuing tax receipts.. Improper receipting can result in fines.

      This handy chart below comes from the Revenue Canada web site and illustrates some common examples. In all cases, Revenue Canada indicates the need to highlight the true owner of the donation. If the donors name cannot be ascertained 100%, then no receipt should be issued.

      Refer to for entering a donation and tax receipt name

      Diataxis: 

      Donation Tax Receipt Options

      Please read carefully about Revenue Canada's Policies on issuing tax receipts. The CRA web site mentions:

      Theatre Manager modelled the contents of receipts after the requirements/samples on Revenue Canada's Web Site.. The US has fewer, although somewhat similar requirements as mentioned in publication 1771

      Read how to batch print receipts that have not been printed.
      Please note: receipts are issued for each payment made towards the donation. Receipts are not issued for the donation.

      The reason is that donations are only an indication of what the patron intends to give and payments are what they actually gave. A receipt cannot be issued until the payment is made and each payment is given its own receipt number and date.

       

      Tax Receipt Options

      Theatre Manager has a number of tax receipt options that you can set for each donation. In addition there is a setting for each campaign on the edits tab that can be used to only print donations above a certain amount.

      Receipt Options Types Printed by Theatre Manager
      • One tax receipt per Payment - is the default. Each payment is issued a separate tax receipt when the payment is received. If there are 10 payments, you will create 10 receipts at when each payment is entered.
      • Annual Statement Style (calendar Year) - will print a one page tax receipt for the patron listing all donations in the calendar year marked as using this style of receipt. If a receipt was previously printed, it is so indicated on the statement.
      Receipt Options to be handled Manually
      • Manual On typewriter - are used when the donation and payments are complex enough and the only way to observe various government regulations is to simply type one up in a word document or on an old fashioned typewriter. Theatre Manager ill not print any receipts for this donation. Once finished the donation receipt, you may want to import a PDF of the document into a task to record what was sent.
      • Special Handling - are also used for complex receipting requirements. We suggesting that this be used if you create a form letter for this purpose
      • No Receipt Required - there are cases when you should not print a receipt for a donation even if a receipt is normally created for the campaign. Use this option when the true donor cannot be identified, or if the entire donation receives benefit.
        If you cannot ascertain the true donor of a gift, select No Receipt Required to comply with Revenue Canada regulations.

       

      Which receipt type to use?

      • One per payment receipts are best suited for:
        • Larger donations paid with one or two payments
        • When the customer wants a receipt after a payment
        • if you want to strictly follow Canada's governmental reporting requirements and use facsimile signatures and/or are using preprinted forms
      • Annual Style receipts are best suited for:
        • Donations with many payments or post dated payments
        • recurring donations that never end.
        • If the client wants for one receipt for all donations in the year
      • Form letters can be used to print receipts if the options provided or the situation warrants something custom to be created.

        To use form letter receipts:

        • Mark the receipt type as Special Handling so that TM will not attempt to print one for each payment
        • Make sure to mark your receipts printed manually on the receipt tab - which will generate a receipt number in Theatre Manager
        • Create a standard form letter (based on donation receipts file as per the image to the right) and place a table in the form letter containing the receipt data you want to show that also includes the receipt number.
      Diataxis: 

      Entering Donations on the Order Window

      You can add one or more donations to the same order that contains subscriptions, tickets and/or gift certificates. There are a number of reasons why you may wish to do this:
      • A donation that accompanies a season subscription renewal
      • A patron may not be able to attend the upcoming event / play and would like to turn in their tickets. Click here for an explanation of how to turn a refunded ticket into a donation.
      • A single donation that is targeted for multiple campaigns would be entered in this window. You would enter multiple individual donations to each campaign that add up to the total donation amount. As each donation is added, the total appears at the bottom left od the screen in the financial summary.
      • Similarly, donations for a multi year pledge or capital campaign are entered in this manner. Enter a separate donation for each program year that add up to the total expected amount.

        Note: Any payment to an order with multiple donations is applied to the individual donations in this order:

        • Program Year - this mean that for donations that span multiple years, arrange them so that the program year is entered in the order that you want payments allocated.
        • Donation Date - if there are donations for the same program year, then payments are applied according to the donation date.
        • Donation Number - if the multiple donations have the same program year and donation date, then the payments are applied to donation in order of the donation number.

      Once a payment is applied to a an order with multiple donations, you cannot change the allocation of receipts unless you:

      • delete the receipts first, -then-
      • change the program year or donation date to be the order you want the receipts applied -then-
      • rebuild the order which will re-allocate the payments to the donations and recreate the receipts

      1. In the Order window click the Donation button.

        The Order window can be accessed by purchasing ticket, a membership or by simply adding a payment to an existing order.

      2. Click the New button.

      3. Enter the Donation Details.
      4. Click the Save button.
      5. Close the Donation Detail window.

      6. Click the Payments button.
      7. Pay for the donation.

        Click Payment for additional information.

      Diataxis: 

      Converting Refunded Tickets to Donations

      A patron may come to you and tell you that they cannot attend an upcoming event / play and therefore they would like you to refund their tickets, but they also tell you that they would like the company to keep the money as a donation.

      To convert a refunded tick to a donation, you would perform the following steps:

      1. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      2. Select the ticket(s) to be refunded.

        Only tickets within the same order can be refunded at the same time.

      3. Click the Refund button.

        The Order window will open.

      4. Click the Confirm button.

        This will release the seats to be refunded back to the Box Office. The order will now have an outstanding CREDIT balance.

      5. Click the Donations button located in the left column of the window.
      6. Click the New button in the top icon bar.

        The Donation Default Settings window will open.

      7. Click the Yes button.

        A new Donation Detail window will open.

      8. Enter the Donation information.

        Certain detail information will automatically be inserted by default i.e. Donation Amount and Date Donated. Click Donation Detail for more information on entering Donation information.

      9. Click the Save button.  
      10. Close the Donation window.

        The Order window will return. The balance in the lower left corner will be zero.

      11. Close the Order window to complete the transaction.

        Theatre Manager will have refunded the tickets from the patrons account and converted the value of those tickets into a donation. The tickets will then be returned so they can be sold to other patrons.

      Quick reference information for convertioning a refund to a donation, you can download:

      Flash

      MP4

      Diataxis: 

      Creating Anonymous Donations

      Some patrons may want to make a donation, but remain anonymous. This can be done easily in Theatre Manager, by changing the Program Name for the donation. When you change this value, the donation will be stored under anonymous for the first letter of the patron's last name. That is, Tom Potimer's anonymous donation will be stored under P Anonymous.

      To create an anonymous donation, use the following steps:

      1. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      2. Click the Donation tab.

      3. Click the New button.

      4. Enter the Donation Details.
      5. Change the Program Name to Anonymous.
      6. Click the Payment button.

      7. Pay for the donation.

        Click Payment for additional information.

      Quick reference information on how to make a donation anonymous:

      Flash

      MP4

      Diataxis: 

      How to Toggle Between Individual and Company Donations

      There MUST be a company name in the patron record for a donation to become a Corporate donation.

      You have discovered a donation and receipt for an individual should have been made in the individual's company name. In Theatre Manager, if the donation is not printed (or you unprint it), you can easily change from:

      • an individual to their company
      • the corporation to the individual, -or-
      • one individual name to another in the household

      Please be aware of Revenue Canada's Policy Commentary CPC-010 for legal interpretations regarding the donor name in Canada.

      For quick reference information, see the following information on Toggling Between Individual and Corporate Donations.

      For quick reference information on

      Toggling Between Individual and Corporate Donations

      Cheatsheet

      Video

      To toggle between corporate and individual donations, you perform the following steps:

      1. Open the donation.

        Click here for more information on how to open the donation.

      2. Click the Receipt Tab.

      3. Double-click on the receipt to apply the changes to.

        The receipt detail window opens.

      4. Click in the Receipt # box and delete the number.

        The date will automatically clear from the Date/Time Printed field.

      5. Click the Save button.

        Repeat Steps 3 - 5 for every receipt listed for the donation (if there is more than one).

      6. Close the receipt detail window.
      7. Tax Receipt Type: Click the button to change who the donation and receipt is applied to.

        Click Corporate if you are switching from an individual donation to a company donation.

        Click Individual if you are switching from a company donation, to an individual donation.

        When you click the appropriate tax receipt type, the Tax Receipt Name, Program Name and Sort Name fields will switch to the company/individual name.

      Diataxis: 

      Setting or Changing the Donation Program Name

      If you wish to change the program name (the donor's name as they wish it to appear in the program listing) for a donation it can be done while you are entering the donation. If after the donation has been processed and the patron name on the donation needs to be changed:

      1. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      2. Click the Donation tab.

      3. Select the Donation to change and click the Open button.

      4. Edit the Program Name as needed.
      5. Click the Save button.
      6. Close the Donation Detail window.

        The Donation will now be seen under the new name in the Program Name column of the Donation tab.

      Diataxis: 

      Pledge Schedule

      A Pledge Schedule allows you to assign pledge reminder letters to a donation, so that at a certain time (weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.) you can print letters reminding donors that their payments are due.

      To set up a pledge schedule, you perform the following steps:

      1. Open the Pledge Schedule/Contacts tab in the Donation Detail window.

        Click here to learn more about adding pledges.

      2. Click the Add Pledge button.

        The Donation Pledge Reminder Setup window opens.

        Correspondence Letter Select a letter to be sent as the reminder.
        Send Reminder as Choose to send pledge reminders as a letter or an email.
        Date First Pledge Due Date the first reminder will be sent.
        Total To Schedule Amount added to the pledge schedule at this time.
        # New Reminders Number of pledge reminders to be added to the donation.
        Send Reminder Number of days ahead of the pledge due date the letter should be sent out.
        Pledge Frequency Amount of time reminders are to be spread out over.
      3. Click the Letter Search button.

        The Form Letter Selection window will open.

      4. Select a Form Letter.

        Single click on a letter to select it.

      5. Click the Select button.
      6. Alter the remaining values as required.

      7. Click the Add button.

      For Quick Reference Pledge Scheduling, You can download: Cheatsheets (1-2 pages) and
      Screencasts (online video demonstrations of the functions with narration)

      Cheatsheet

      Flash

      Mp4

      Diataxis: 

      Pledged Donations

      A pledged donation is when a patron says they are going to give the company X number of dollars over a period of time. A patron may pledge $600, pay $50 immediately and say they will pay $50 a month so there total for the year is $600. Also they may pledge $600 and ask you to post date the payments to be made once a month on there credit card or postdated cheques. Theatre Manager deals with these types of donations within the Donation Detail window which is opened when a new donation is being made or edited.

      For Quick Reference Pledge Scheduling, You can download: Cheatsheets (1-2 pages) and
      Screencasts (online video demonstrations of the functions with narration)

      Cheatsheet

      Flash

      Mp4

      Pledges without Postdated Payments

      1. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      2. Click the Donation tab.

      3. Click the New button.

      4. Enter the Donation Details.
      5. Click the Pledge Schedule/Contacts tab.

      6. Click the Add Pledge button.

        The Donation Pledge Reminder Setup window will open.

        Correspondence Letter
        Select a letter to be sent as the reminder.
        Send Reminder as
        Choose to send pledge reminders as a letter or an email.
        Date First Pledge Due
        Date the first reminder will be sent.
        Total To Schedule
        Amount added to the pledge schedule at this time.
        # New Reminders
        Number of pledge reminders to be added to the donation.
        Send Reminder
        Number of days ahead of the pledge due date the letter should be sent out.
        Pledge Frequency
        Amount of time reminders are to be spread out over.
      7. Click the Letter Search button.

        The Form Letter Selection window opens.

      8. Select a Form Letter.

        Single click on a letter to select it.

      9. Click the Select button.
      10. Alter the remaining values as required.

      11. Click the Add button.

      12. Click the Payment button.

      13. Change the Payment Amount to reflect the amount the patron will pay at the time the donation is created.
      14. Click the Accept Payment button.
      15. Place the remaining amount of the pledge On Account.

        As they pay more of there pledged amount additional payments will be made to the order. For more information on adding payments to an order click here.

      Pledges with Postdated Payments

      Another method to deal with the Pledged amount is to use the Create Post Dated tab on the Payment for Order window. Under this tab you can setup a schedule of payments for the pledge.

      1. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      2. Click the Donation tab.

      3. Click the New button.

      4. Enter the Donation Details.
      5. Click the Pledge Schedule/Contacts tab.

      6. Click the Add Pledge button.

        The Donation Pledge Reminder Setup window will open.

      7. Click the Letter Search button.

        The Form Letter Selection window will open.

      8. Select a Form Letter.

        Single click on a letter to select it.

      9. Click the Select button.
      10. Alter the remaining values as required.

      11. Click the Add button.

      12. Click the Payment button.

      13. Click the Create Post Dated tab.
      14. Enter the Post Dated Payment details.

        For more information on entering post dated payments click here.

      15. Click the Create Post Dated button.
      16. Close the Payment for Order window.

        Theatre Manager creates the payments for the allotted time period. When viewing the Donation in the Donation tab the Donation Amount Due is blank. The balance is $0.00 because the payments have been guaranteed through the creation of the Post Dated Payments. Theatre Manger will show the posted dated payments in the end of day wizard when they are to be deposited.

      Diataxis: 

      Changing the Donor's Credit Card

      If a patron indicates that they would like their credit card charged in monthly installments to pay off a donation, you can set up donation pledge payments and Theatre Manager will automatically place those payments in the End Of Day on the proper dates for the proper amounts.

      Sometimes, issues may arise if the payments stretch over a long time. If the:

      Diataxis: 

      Soft Credits

      The donation module contains a system for tracking donation soft credits. This allows you to enter any number of soft credits to any number of other patrons, for a gift given by one person.

      A soft credit is a way to give recognition to someone who 'encouraged' the original hard donation without entering a real donation.

      For example:

      • Patron 'A' was encouraged to give a real gift or pledge of $500 by a Board member.
      • Enter the full donation under Patron 'A'
      • In the soft credit tab, you can assign an amount to the Board member that will increase their recognition total in the donation module without causing a real donation to be entered.
      • The donation program listing can be told to accumulate real donations, soft credits and matching gifts to provide the aggregate recognition

      When producing the program listing, Theatre Manager lets you determine if you want to include soft credits in the summary, just like you can optionally include matching gifts.

      Theatre Manager keeps totals for current soft credits, prior year soft credits, and total soft credits - just like it does for actual donations. This means you can find people who had soft credits last year but not this, etc.

      Almost all the donation reports have the ability to show soft credit data.

      1. Click the New button.

        Alter the values as required.

      2. Patron # This is the Patron account that you wish to add a soft credit for. You can use the button to access the list of records to find the patron.
        Soft Credit This is the amount of the soft credit that you wish to add. This assigns a giving level to the credit.
        Campaign This allows you to set the soft credit for a different campaign than the original donation. This allows you to have a corporate donation, but the person who solicited the donation will be getting the soft credits, which can appear on an individual campaign
        Program Year Allows you to determine which program year this soft credit will apply to. This is the year that this soft credit will appear in the Program Insert.
        Fiscal Year Allows you to determine which program year this soft credit will apply to. This is the year that this soft credit will appear in the Program Insert.
        Include matching gift amount... This allows you to determine whether or not to include the matching gift amount when determining program list recognition.
      3. Click the Save button.

      For Quick Reference Soft Credits, You can download: Screencasts (online video demonstrations of the functions with narration)

      Flash

      Mp4

      Diataxis: 

      Matching Gift

      A Matching Gift is a donation from another patron as a result of the current donation being entered. Example: as a result of Blaine Abel's donation, Jake Belleville would also like to donate by matching his gift. The amount of the matching gift can be less than, the same as, or more than the amount of the current patron's donation.

      1. Open the Patron record for the patron who will be matching the gift.

        In the example about this would be Jake Belleville. For more information on finding a patron click here.

      2. Click the Match tab.
      3. Check the Matching Gift box and enter a Matching Gift Ratio.

        The Matching Gift Checkbox must be checked if this patron is to be used as a matching gift company.

        The Matching Gift Ratio can be altered at the time of the donation by editing the amount the matching gift patron will be donating.

        In addition, any minimums or maximums set by the Matching Gift company can be indicated here.

      4. Click the Save button.
      5. Open the Patron Record for the Patron making the Donation.

        In this example the patron would be Blaine Abel.

      6. Click the Donation tab.
      7. Click the New button.
      8. Enter the Donation Campaign and Donation Amount.
      9. Check the Matching Gift box.

        The Donation Matching Gift window will open.

      10. Click the Patron Search icon next to the Patron # field.

        Search the contact list to locate the patron making the matching gift. In this example it would be Jake Belleville. For more information on using the Contact List click here.

      11. Select the Patron who will be matching the donation.

        Single click on a patron to select them.

      12. Click the Select button.
      13. Enter the Amount of the matching gift.

        By default Theatre Manager assumes the matching gift to be the same as the donation. If the ratio has been modified under the donor tab of the matching gift patron that ratio is calculated and inserted in to the matching gift detail. The matching gift can be more or less than the amount of the current donation. Edit the Amount to change the giving ratio.

      14. Click the Create button.

        Once the payment transaction has been completed the Donation Detail window will return and the Matching Gift tab will be displayed.

      15. Click the Payment button.
      16. Pay for the donation.

        Click Payment for additional information. Once a payment is received the Donation Detail window will reopen.

      17. In the Matching Gift tab, click the Show Matching Gift Patron button.

        The Donation List Window for the matching gift patron will be opened

      18. Select the Donation tab.
      19. Select the Matching Gift donation.
      20. Click the Open button.
      21. Click the Payment button.

        Pay for the donation if all information is correct

      You can run the Donation Reports & Receipts >> Donor Program Insert reports (either one) on this data and the matching gift will be included for the individuals donations.

      When running these reports, on the Insert Summary tab click "Add matching gift amount to patron's recognition when calculating their giving level"

      Quick reference Information for Matching Gifts

      Quick reference information for Setting up the Gifter

      Screencast

      Screencast

      Matching Gifts Part 2 - Adding Gift To Donation & Running a Report

      Cheatsheet

      Video

      Screencast

      Diataxis: 

      Modifying a Donation

      After you have entered a donation, there are some things that you may need to change after the fact. Often it is just a matter of editing the donation and the financial transactions will follow in end of day.

      Typical things to change are:

      Diataxis: 

      Increasing the Donation Amount

      You may wish to modify a donation for various reasons. To add notes, make payments on pledges ect. Modifying a donation is preformed quickly through the Donation Detail Window.

      1. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      2. Click the Donation tab.

      3. Select the Donation to edit.

        Single click on a donation to select it.

      4. Click the Open button.

      5. Change data as needed.

        If a receipt has been printed for the donation you will not be able to edit the Tax Receipt Name Field.

      6. Click the Save button.

        The changes have now been made to the donation.

      7. Close the detail window.
      Diataxis: 

      Decreasing the Donation Amount

      Coming soon: How to decrease the value of a donation that has already had a tax receipt created.

      Donations - Set Donation Name

      To start, you click the Name button.

      The Set Donation name dialog opens.

      Step 1. You are about to change the donor Name and the corresponding Sort name for the selected donation. Select the name you want to change it to.

      You are given a number of choices and the option to enter another name. However, please read about Canada's Tax Receipt Name Implications if you want to type something other than the patron's name.

      Step 2. When creating a program listing, the Sort Name is used to determine the aplhabetical order of the patron in the program listing and to summarize all donations with the same sort name. Select the Name you want to change to.

      Again you are offered a list you can select from and the option to enter your own Customized Sort Name.

      Once you have made your selections, press the Change button.

      You are returned to the Donations tab.

      Diataxis: 

      Gift In Kind

      Gift in Kind is a donation of gift or services rather than money. For example: the donation of a computer or other office equipment, building materials and paint supplies for props, clothing for wardrobe or the donation of one's time. There is a perceived value for these goods and services which can be considered a donation and are subject to a receipt for tax purposes.

      1. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      2. Click the Donation tab.

      3. Click the New button.

      4. Select the Donation Campaign from the drop down.
      5. Fill in the Donation Amount as the appraised amount of the gift.
      6. Enter remaining information.
      7. Click the Payment button.

        This opens the Order Payment window.

      8. Select Gift in Kind from the Payment Method drop down menu.

        >
      9. Enter a description of the Gift In Kind, the Appraiser's Name and the Appraiser's Address for reference.

        This information may be required for auditing purposes.

      10. Click the Accept Payment button.
      11. Close the Donation Detail Window

        The gift in kind donation will now appear on the Donation List window. Details on the payment type can be seen under the Payment tab.

      For Gift In Kind Quick Reference, You can download: Screencasts (online video demonstrations of the functions with narration)

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      Diataxis: 

      Splitting an Existing Donation and Payment Across Multiple Campaigns

      There can be times when a patron makes a donation and payment to a campaign. After the face, it is discovered the donation should be split across multiple campaigns. Follow the instructions below if this happens.

      1. Un-print the donation receipt if it has already been printed. For more information on un-printing donation receipts, click here.
      2. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      3. Click the Order tab.
      4. Select the Order containing the donation to be changed.
      5. Click the Open button.

        The Order window opens.

      6. Click the Donation button.
      7. Highlight the donation to be removed.

      8. Click the Delete button.

        The donation will now be deleted and removed from the list.

      9. Click the New button.

        The Donation Detail window opens.

      10. Enter the donation campaign.
      11. Enter the price of the donation, adjusted to be split across multiple campaigns.
      12. Click the Save button to save the donation.
      13. Repeat Steps 9 to 12 as many times as needed to split the donation across multiple campaigns.
      14. Close the window.

        The payment previously made will be split across all of the donations entered.

      Diataxis: 

      Deleting a Donation

      You use this process when a mistake has been made in entering a donation.
      • Once a payment has been deleted or reversed, the amounts on the donation can be modified or the donations can be deleted.
      • If the donation is deleted -and-
        • it is has a matching gift the matching gift
        • that matching gift will not be deleted.
        • If you require the matching gift to be deleted as well you must repeat the steps for that donation.
      • Only donations which have all payments removed may be deleted.
      • However refer to reducing the value of a donation to see how to reduce one
      • Before you can delete a donation all printed tax receipts associated with the donation must be un-printed.

       

      How to delete a Donations

      1. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      2. Click the Donation tab.

      3. Select the donation to be refunded.

        Single click on the donation to select it.

      4. Click the Open button.

        The Donation Detail window opens.

      5. Click the Payment button.

        A Payment Warning appears, indicating there is no payment required for this order.

      6. Click the Yes button.
      7. Enter a negative payment for the value of the donation.

        You can use the Prior Payments tab to review how the original payment was made.

      8. Click the Accept Payment button.

        A Payment Warning dialog opens, indicating the payment made does not complete the order.

      9. Click the Yes button.

        The Process Another Payment window appears.

      10. Click the No button.

        The Donation Detail window appears.

      11. Click the Receipts tab.

      12. Click the Open button.

        The Edit Manual Receipt Detail window opens.

      13. Delete the Receipt #.
      14. Close the Edit Manual Receipt Detail window.
      15. Click the Delete button.

        The Delete A Record confirmation window opens.

      16. Click the Delete button.

        The receipt is removed from the Donation Detail window.

      17. Close the Donation Detail window.

        The Patron Record will display the Donation tab.

      18. Click the Delete button.

        The Delete A Record confirmation window opens.

      19. Click the Delete button.

        The Donation is now deleted from the Patron Record.

      For Quick reference information on Deleting a Donation, You can download: Screencasts (online video demonstrations of the functions with narration)

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      Diataxis: 

      Deleting and Refunding Donations

      You use this function when a mistake has been made in entering a donation. Once the donation has been deleted, the payment for the donation can be refunded or modified. If the donation to be deleted is accompanied by a matching gift the matching gift will not be deleted. If a matching gift needs to be deleted, the same steps must be repeated for that donation in that patron's record.

      Before you can delete a donation, all printed tax receipts associated with the donation must be un-printed.

      1. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      2. Click the Donations tab.

      3. Choose the donation to be deleted.

        Single click on a donation to select it.

      4. Click the Delete button.

        A warning dialogue box opens.

      5. Any donations with receipts printed cannot be deleted until the receipt(s) for that donation are un-printed. Only users with proper security access can un-print receipts.

      6. Click the Delete button.

        A note appears at the bottom of the Patron window. The donation has been deleted but not refunded.

      7. Click the Orders tab.

        An outstanding receivables of $21.40 can be seen for Order # 117.

      8. Select the order to be refunded or modified.
      9. Click the Payment button.

        The Payment Order window for the selected Order opens.

      10. Select the method in which the patron is to be refunded

        That is, Cash or Credit Card if the transaction has been processed. If the original purchase method is unknown, click the Prior Payments tab to view all previous payments to this order.

      11. Click the Accept Payment button.

        The payment and donation have now been refunded.

      For quick reference information in Deleting and Refunding Donations you can access the following:

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      Diataxis: 

      Refunding a Donation

      There are three steps to take in order to refund a donation. The first is to refund the payment, second the tax receipt needs to be removed and finally the donation itself needs to be deleted.

      1. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      2. Click the Donation tab.

      3. Select the donation to be refunded.

        Single click on the donation to select it.

      4. Click the Open button.

        The Donation Detail window will open.

      5. Click the Payment button.

        A Payment Warning opens, indicating there is no payment required for this order.

      6. Click the Yes button.
      7. Enter a negative payment for the value of the donation.

        Use the Prior Payments tab to review how the original payment was made.

      8. Click the Accept Payment button.

        A Payment Warning will appear indicating the payment made does not complete the order.

      9. Click the Yes button.

        The Process Another Payment window opens.

      10. Click the No button.

        The Donation Detail window opens.

      11. Click the Receipts tab.

      12. Click the Open button.

        The Edit Manual Receipt Detail window will open.

      13. Delete the Receipt #.
      14. Close the Edit Manual Receipt Detail window.
      15. Click the Delete button.

        The Delete A Record confirmation window opens.

      16. Click the Delete button.

        The receipt will be removed from the Donation Detail window.

      17. Close the Donation Detail window.

        The Patron Record will displaying the Donation tab.

      18. Click the Delete button.

        The Delete A Record confirmation window will appear.

      19. Click the Delete button.

        The Donation is now deleted from the Patron Record.

      For quick reference information in Deleting and Refunding Donations you can access the following:

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      Diataxis: 

      Donation Receipt Printing

      Theatre Manager manages donation receipts for all donation campaigns and adheres to the strict guidelines put forth by government agencies.

      If you choose to print tax receipts from within Theatre Manager you may need to arrange for customized tax receipt paper. Theatre Manager prints the Recipients Name and Address, the name of the Organization issuing the receipt, the Date of the Donation, the Date of Receipt, the Donation Amount and the Donation Campaign. If Federal or State law requires your receipt to include your organizations address or a government website you may wish to include these on your preprinted tax receipt paper. Please ensure you are aware of all necessary requirements for your tax receipts prior to printing receipts in Theatre Manager.

      Follow the links below to learn more about managing donation receipts within Theatre Manager.

      Canadian tax law allows that if the date of payment and date of printing the receipt are the same, you can print one date on the tax receipt.

      However, if the payment date is different than the date the receipt is printed, then you must print

      • date of payment for donation
      • date that the receipt was issued (printed)
      This only applies of the patron's primary address is Canada and handles clearly identifying delayed receipts, reprinting of receipts, or those that occure near year end.

      Addresses in other countries do not print the 'Date Receipt Issued' on a tax receipt.

      Diataxis: 

      Manually Reprinting or Printing a One-Off Donation Receipt

      Sometimes it may be necessary to:
      • reprint a donation receipt, or
      • manually print a one-off receipt (as opposed to using the Batch Print function) -or-
      • backdate the receipt date if the payment for the donation is entered after year end and you need it to be for the prior calendar year
      When editing donation receipts, you CANNOT:
      • date a receipt earlier than the donation date
      • remove the receipt printed date without removing the receipt number
      • have a receipt printed date and no receipt number
      • have a receipt number and no receipt printed date
      YOU CAN date a receipt earlier than the payment date. This allows a small leeway for
      • post dated payments that are processed after calendar year end
      • checks received in the mail after year end but are dated prior to year end so the donation is really for the prior calendar year

       

      Reprinting a Receipt

      1. From the Donation tab in the Patron Record, open the receipt that requires a reprint.

      2. Inside the Donation Detail window click the Receipt tab. Select the donation and click the Open button.

      3. Inside of the Edit Manual Receipt window, click Set Reprint to reprint the receipt

        You can
        • click the Set Reprint button -or-
        • clear the reprint date
          • The reprint date will default to the payment date on the donation.

            You may change it to match the donation date in some cases. For example if the donation comes in right at calendar year end and can be entered for the prior year

            This process has un-printed the receipt, setting up the donation to be printed again. Now we can either run a Batch Print for the next set of receipts (and this donation will be included), or, we can manually print the receipt (described below).

       

      Manually Printing a Receipt

      1. Enter and receive payment for the donation

        For further information on this topic refer to Inserting a Donation.

      2. In the Donation Detail window, click the Receipt tab.

      3. Select the donation that requires a manual receipt.
      4. Click the Open button.

        The Edit Manual Receipt window opens.

        Theatre Manager will fill the date fields with the current date and will set the receipt number to the next number as set up in the Donation Receipts tab of Company Preferences. This can be changed to match the manual receipt if it has not been set up.

      Click the Set Reprint button if you want to unprint the receipt - so you can then reprrint it using the batch receipt printing. You can also unprint a batch of receipts through another window.
      An unprinted donation receipt generates a DU transaction with the old receipt number on it - which you can see in any transaction report or transaction window.
      Diataxis: 

      Printing Receipts from Batch Functions

      Donation receipt can be printed from the Donation Detail window individually or on mass through Batch Functions.

      The actual process of printing the receipts is quite similar between the three locations. The main difference is that the Donation Receipts in the Reports Window and the Donation Receipts in Batch Functions print all receipts that have the number Zero as the receipt number. Whereas the Receipts that print from Donation List Window are only printed for selected donations. Creating a manual receipt for a patron can be accomplished using the Recording a Manual Receipt. Many of the data defaults for receipt printing are defined in Default Data.

      If you choose to print tax receipts from within Theatre Manager you may need to arrange for customized tax receipt paper. Theatre Manager prints the Recipients Name and Address, the name of the Organization issuing the receipt, the Date of the Donation, the Date of Receipt, the Donation Amount and the Donation Campaign. If Federal or State law requires your receipt to include your organizations address or a government website you may wish to include these on your preprinted tax receipt paper. Please ensure you are aware of all necessary requirements for your tax receipts prior to printing receipts in Theatre Manager.

      1. Open Setup >> Batch Functions.

      2. Select Print Charitable Receipts for Donor.

        The Print Charitable Receipts for Donor Criteria window opens.

      3. Adjust the Next Receipt number if necessary.

        Next Receipt # defaults to the next receipt number that is set up in the Donation Tab of Company Preferences. You can set this number to any value you desire. If you override this value, it will not update the next available receipt number in Company Preferences.

      4. Select the campaign you wish to print receipts for - if necessary.

        By default, this is set to All Campaigns. However, if you wish to only batch print receipts for a specific campaign, you may choose it here.

      5. Select Name Between search parameters.

        Select the last name of the patron to search the data base. Left blank, Theatre Manager assumes all records.

      6. Select the Fiscal Year (optional).

        Enter the fiscal year that you wish to print the Donation Receipts for.

      7. Select your print options.
        Print Receipt number on Forms Checking this box will print the receipt number on the receipt.
        Regular Name with Company Checking this box will print either the Patron name if the donation is made by a Corporation and the patron record does NOT include a Company name, or the Company name and the patron name if the donation is made by a corporation and the patron record DOES contain a Company name.
        'Campaign:' prompt Checking this box will print the prompt
      8. Select the number of copies you wish to print..

        You may wish to print one for the donor and one for your files.

      9. Include Receipt Comments.

        When printing donation receipts you have the option to include a personalized messaged from your organization / company to all of your receipt recipients. All you have to do is type a message into the Comments box and the message will print on the receipt.

      10. Click the Next button.
      11. Review the Sort option.
      12. Click the Next button.
      13. Edit any of the default report titles or 'printed by' options.
      14. Click the Done button.
      15. The receipts will now begin to print to the default printer. Clicking the Cancel button will cancel the receipt printing process.

      Diataxis: 

      Printing a Receipt from the Donation Detail Window

      Use this method if the donation has multiple receipts, i.e. in a post dated donation, and you wish to print only selected receipts.

      If you choose to print tax receipts from within Theatre Manager you may need to arrange for customized tax receipt paper. Theatre Manager prints the Recipients Name and Address, the name of the Organization issuing the receipt, the Date of the Donation, the Date of Receipt, the Donation Amount and the Donation Campaign. If Federal or State law requires your receipt to include your organizations address or a government website you may wish to include these on your preprinted tax receipt paper. Please ensure you are aware of all necessary requirements for your tax receipts prior to printing receipts in Theatre Manager.

      1. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      2. Click the Donation tab.

        The Patron's Donation history is displayed.

      3. Select the donation needing a receipt printed.
      4. click the Open button.

        The Donation Detail window opens.

      5. Click the Receipts tab.

      6. Select the receipts to be printer.
      7. Click the Receipt button.
      8. The Print Charitable Receipts for Donor Criteria window opens.

      9. Adjust the Next Receipt number if necessary.

        Next Receipt # defaults to the next receipt number that is set up in the Donation Tab of Company Preferences. You can set this number to any value you desire. If you override this value, it will not update the next available receipt number in Company Preferences.

      10. Select the campaign you wish to print receipts for - if necessary.

        By default, this is set to All Campaigns. However, if you wish to only batch print receipts for a specific campaign, you may choose it here.

      11. Select Name Between search parameters.

        Select the last name of the patron to search the data base. Left blank, Theatre Manager assumes all records.

      12. Select the Fiscal Year (optional).

        Enter the fiscal year that you wish to print the Donation Receipts for.

      13. Select your print options.
        Print Receipt number on Forms Checking this box will print the receipt number on the receipt.
        Regular Name with Company Checking this box will print either the Patron name if the donation is made by a Corporation and the patron record does NOT include a Company name, or the Company name and the patron name if the donation is made by a corporation and the patron record DOES contain a Company name.
        'Campaign:' prompt Checking this box will print the prompt
      14. Select the number of copies you wish to print..

        You may wish to print one for the donor and one for your files.

      15. Include Receipt Comments.

        When printing donation receipts you have the option to include a personalized messaged from your organization / company to all of your receipt recipients. All you have to do is type a message into the Comments box and the message will print on the receipt.

      16. Click the Next button.
      17. Choose and Sort options..

        You may choose to sort the donation receipts by some other method than the default 'Last Name'.

      18. Click the Next button.
      19. Edit any of the default report titles or 'printed by' options.
      20. Click the Done button.
      21. The receipts will now begin to print to the default printer. Clicking the Cancel button will cancel the receipt printing process.

      Diataxis: 

      Unprinting a Donation Receipt

      If donation receipts have been printed by mistake or the wrong receipts have been printed, Theatre Manager will allow you to un-print those receipts. Theatre Manager will actually allow you to un-print any printed donation receipts, but it is recommended that receipts are only un-printed if necessary. If you need to reprint a donation receipt you must first un-print the receipt if it has already been printed then it can be printed again.

      You can also manually un-print and reprint donation receipts from the donation receipt tab on the donation window.
      An unprinted donation receipt generates a DU transaction with the old receipt number on it - which you can see in any transaction report or transaction window.
      1. Click Setup >> Batch Functions.

      2. Select Unprint Batch of Charitable Receipts.

        The Donation List window opens.

      3. Enter the Range of Donations Receipt # to search for.

        Use the drop down list to select the Donation Receipt #. For more detailed information about this window click here.

      4. Click the Search button.

        For the purpose of this example receipt numbers between 1000 and 3000 have been searched for. A list of donation receipts matching the criteria will be displayed in the list window.

      5. Highlight the Receipts to Un-print

        Click on a receipt to highlight it. To select multiple receipts hold the Ctrl or Appel key while clicking each receipt.

      6. Click the Un-Print button.

        The following dialogue box will display.

      7. Click the Yes button.

        The Donation Receipts have now been un-printed. The Donation Receipt Number will reset to zero. The Receipt can now be reprinted if required using the steps in Printing a Donation Receipt.

      Diataxis: 

      Unprinting a Donation Receipt from the Donation List Window

      This window opens when the "Un-print Batch of Charitable Receipts" batch function is selected. You can also search for a specific donation or range of donations using the search function on the top of the window.

      To unprint some receipts:

      • Select the receipts you want to unprint
      • Right click on the lines and use the context menu to unprint the selected receipts
      • Confirm that you want to unprint them. note a DU transaction ('donation unprint') will be created that to track that they were unprinted.

      Parts of the Donation Receipt List Window

      Last Name The patron's last name.
      First Name The patron's first name.
      Company The patron's company name.
      Campaign The campaign the patron's donation was given to.
      Receipt # This column displays the official charitable tax receipt number of the donation receipt. If the receipt number is zero, then no receipt has been created for the donation, or the receipt has been Un-printed.
      Receipt Amt This column displays the amount of the donation the has been receipted to date.
      Receipt Printed This column displays the date that the donation receipt was printed.
      Diataxis: 

      Donation from Agency that is really for Individuals.

      There are some agencies (like United Way or what have you) that collect money and give you a donation that is really from a number of people. If those people's donations need to be individually receipted then you have to:
      • Sell a Gift Certificate to the main agency and pay for it using their check


      • Selling a Gift Certificate to the Agency


      1. Locate the Patron Record for the Agency who sent a check for donors
      2. Select the Pass/GC tab and click the BUY button

      3. Sell the Agency a new Dolar Value Gift Certificate.
        • Edit the Issued Passes Amount to the full value of the Agency check
        • Click Save

    • Find each of the individuals making donations covered by the Agency's check:
      • Enter a donation in their name for the amount they gave
      • Pay for the donation using the gift certificate from the main agency


      Applying Gift Certificate to Pay for Donation


      1. When processing the payment for the donation, choose PASS as the payment method

      2. Locate and apply Agency Gift Certifiacte



    • Diataxis: 

      Recurring Donations

      Recurring donations, once set up, are created during end of day automatically on the date that they are next due.

      If somebody is supposed to give their next gift today, End-Of-Day Deposit process will create the donation, the payment and queue up the next one.

      A Recurring Donation is a series of gifts given repeatedly on an open-ended schedule with no specific commitment from the donor. The fundraising is based on encouraging its donors to donate at least on a monthly basis. The donor can decide to end the arrangement at any time or pay indefinitely.

      Gift vs. Pledge vs. Recurring Donation

      Although similar in nature, there is a difference between these three common donation types.

      • Gift - a one time gift given with no expectation of the donor to give again in the future. These can be paid for:
        • Single payment at time of gift
        • Using post dated payments that spread the payments over a a specified period of time to complete the donation
        • Put on account and paid for later when a check arrives.
      • Pledge - a promise to pay a specified amount over a predetermined time period. You may (or may not) wish:
      • Recurring Donation - a series of gifts given repeatedly on an open-ended schedule.
        • Each gift is created as a separate donation with a separate payment.
        • The gift can be stopped at any time.
      The main differences in the donation concepts are:
      • once the gift has been received, there is no expectation of another gift until perhaps another year goes by.
      • After the pledge has been fulfilled, the donor has completed their commitment and another pledge or request for donations starts the process with the donor again.
      • For a recurring donation with no specific end date, the donor could continue to donate indefinitely.

       

      Setup Available Through Box Office and Online Donations

      Recurring donations can be setup both in the Box Office or via an Online Donation initiated by the patron. In both situations, the ability exists to review Recurring Donation Details and alter the information at anytime.

       

      Reporting of Recurring Donation Revenue for Accounting

      Recurring donations are treated as earned revenue when they are received - just as if a normal cash donation was received. There are no Accounts Receivable as each gift has a pre-defined payment method that will be used for each occurrence of the gift.

       

      Employee Permissions Set Up

      You must enable a permission under the Users & Access->Employee List for each employee in the Data Tab called Manage recurring donations for a patron.

      Theatre Manager does not require any additional setup to maintain Recurring Donations within the Donation Campaigns. The existing accounting setup is able to be used.
      Diataxis: 

      Recurring DonationTemplate List Window

      A recurring donation template contains all the data required to create future donations on an ongoing basis. When a template is processed, the future donation will contain a new order, donation and payment based on the template.

      A donation template is NOT a donation per se. A process is run to create a donation and payment from the template.

      There are three ways a recurring donation can be created. Please read about all of them.

      To access the Recurring Donation Templates window:

      1. Choose Setup >> System Tables >> Recurring Donation Templates

        Recurring Donations Menu Selection

        The Recurring Donation Template List window opens.

        Recurring Donation Templates List
      2. Parts of the Recurring Donation Template List Window

        Accesses the Help section for this window.
        Inserts a New recurring donation template through the Recurring Donation Template window. For more information on inserting recurring donations click here.
        Opens a window to edit a recurring donation through the Recurring Donation Detail window. For more information on editing recurring donations click here.
        Duplicates an existing recurring donation. For more information on duplicating an existing recurring donation click here.
        Deletes a recurring donation. For more information on deleting recurring donations click here.
        Generates a report of recurring donations to the screen or default print location.
        Exports out a recurring donation template list in a tab-delimited format.
        The patron record opens. For more information on the patron window click here.
        Recurring Donation Button Creates the next scheduled gift for each of the recurring donation templates. For more information on the creating scheduled gifts for recurring donations click here.
        Recurring # Unique number assigned to the recurring donation for tracking within Theatre Manager.
        Patron # Unique number assigned to the patron for tracking within Theatre Manager.
        Type The patron's selected category type. For more information on defining patron types click here.
        First Name The patron's first name that has the recurring donation.
        Last Name The patron's last name that has the recurring donation.
        Company The patron's company name that has the recurring donation.
        Campaign Name (Internal) The internal campaign name that receives the recurring donation. For more information on Donation Campaigns click here.
        Campaign Name (External) The external campaign name that receives the recurring donation. For more information on Donation Campaigns click here.
        Start Date The date the recurring donation was requested to be started.
        Next Date The date the next recurring donation is scheduled to be created.
        End Date The date that will stop all further gifts from being created by the recurring donation. Once this date has past, no donations will be created. An empty End Date will allow donations to be created into perpetuity.
        Amount The amount each gift will be created for each scheduled frequency.
        Recurring Frequency How often the donation will be created.
        Donation Field#1 The Donation Field #1 value to assign for each gift created by the recurring donation. For more information on defining the Donor#1 Popup Field click here.
        Donation Field#2 The Donation Field #2 value to assign for each gift created by the recurring donation. For more information on defining the Donor#2 Popup Field click here.
        Donation Field#3 The Donation Field #3 value to assign for each gift created by the recurring donation. For more information on defining the Donor#3 Popup Field click here.
        Solicitor The main solicitor for this recurring donation. For more information on defining solicitors click here.
        Solicitor # The main solicitor # for this recurring donation.
        Active Indicates if the recurring donation is active and will create gifts on the scheduled frequency.
      Diataxis: 

      Creating a Recurring Donation

      There are 3 ways to create a Recurring Donation.

      1. Through the Setup->System Tables->Recurring Donations setup menu. This method is extremely helpful if the patron is a first time donor and hasn't made a previous donation.
      2. Using an existing donation for a patron, which will define the starting values for the Recurring Donation.
      3. Using online web sales, the patron can indicate that they wish to setup and start a Recurring Donation.


      How to Start A First Time Recurring Donation

      To setup a new Recurring Donation for a patron, there are three steps to follow:

      1. Enter a NEW donation for the amount of the monthly gift and click on the Payment button
      2. Charge the credit card. This will be the FIRST donation of their Recurring Donation
      3. With the First Donation charged to the patron's credit card, now use the Recurring Donation Template button to setup the future payment amounts and frequency.

      Using the System Tables Setup menu

      1. Open the Recurring Donation window.

        Click here to learn how to access this window.

        Recurring Donations List

      2. Click on the recurring donation you want to edit.
      3. Click the New button.

        The recurring donation detail window will open. Click here to learn more about this window.



      Using an Existing Donation for a Patron

      Refer to Creating a Recurring Donation from an Existing Gift for more information.



      Using Web Sales to Setup a Recurring Donation

      Refer to Creating a Recurring Donation for an Online Donation for more information.

      A recurring donation template contains all the data required to create future donations on an ongoing basis. When a template is processed, the future donation will contain a new order, donation and payment based on the template.

      A donation template is NOT a donation per se. A donation must be created from it.

      Diataxis: 

      Recurring Donations Create From Existing Gift

      Using an existing donation as a starting point to populate the Recurring Donation's fields is an easy process. In a situation where the patron may have made a donation and realizes that they wish to become a recurring donor, you're able to transfer the donation information along with the payment information over to the recurring donation.

      If the donation being used has a donation date of today, it will be automatically linked to the Recurring Donation as the 1st gift. The 'Next Gift Date' will be set in the future based on the 'Frequency'.

      1. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      2. Click the Donation tab.

        Patron Donations

      3. Select the Donation to edit.

        Single click on a donation to select it.

      4. Click the Open button.

        Patron Donation Detail

      5. Click the Recurring Recurring Gift Button button in the top toolbar.

        A confirmation window will open to confirming the creation of a Recurring Donation from the existing donation.

        Recurring Donations Create From Existing Gift

      6. Click Recurring button.

        The Recurring Donation will now be created and the Recurring Donation Detail Window will open to allow for any additional changes to the setup.

        The payment method for the recurring donation will be the same payment method applied to the originating donation. Only payment methods of type Credit Card and EFT will be applicable; all others will be assigned as 'On Account'.

      Diataxis: 

      Recurring Donations Create From Existing Gift - Already Exists Warning Message

      When creating a Recurring Donation from an Existing Gift, if the donation selected is associated to an existing recurring donation previously created for the patron, a warning message will appear. In most cases this message will appear when the originating donation selected is of type 'Recurring Gift'.

      Recurring Donations Create From Existing Gift Already Exists

      This message is only a warning and will not stop the creation of another Recurring Donation based on this donation. The message is to provide an indicator that a recurring donation already exists for this patron based on the exact same gift information selected. The message is there to prevent a secondary recurring donation from being created by mistake.

      1. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      2. Click the Donation tab.

        Patron Donations

      3. Select the Donation to edit.

        Single click on a donation to select it.

      4. Click the Open button.

        Donation Donation Detail

      5. Click the Recurring Recurring Gift Button button in the top toolbar.

        A confirmation window will open to confirming the creation of a Recurring Donation from the existing donation.

        Recurring Donations Create From Existing Gift Already Exists

      6. Click Make More button.

        The Recurring Donation will now be created and the Recurring Donation Detail Window will open to allow for any additional changes to the setup.

        The payment method for the recurring donation will be the same payment method applied to the originating donation. Only payment methods of type Credit Card and EFT will be applicable; all others will be assigned as 'On Account'.

        The originating donation will not be associated with the new recurring donation that was just created. It will remain associated with the original recurring donation series.

      Diataxis: 

      Recurring Donations Create for an Online Donation

      A Recurring Donation can be initiated by the patron during an online donation submission. When the patron fills in the required fields to complete the online donation, the patron selects a recurring frequency from the "How often do you want to make this donation?" pop-up list. During the checkout process, Theatre Manager will automatically create the Recurring Donation based on the information provided with the online donation.

      1. The Patron accesses online sales.

        For further information on Web Page Documentation click here.

      2. Click the Donation tab in the top toolbar.

        Recurring Donation Web Sales

      3. Fill in the required donation fields.

        The Donation Amount within the online donation will be used as the Recurring Amount for each future recurring occurrence.

      4. Choose a recurring option for the "How often do you want to make this donation?" choice.

      5. Click Add Donation to Shopping Cart button.

        The Recurring Donation request has now be added to the shopping cart along with the originating donation. At this stage in the process, the Recurring Donation has not been created. It has only been requested to be setup by the patron. It will only be created upon successful checkout of the shopping cart.

      6. If the originating donation is removed from the shopping cart prior to the checkout process, the Recurring Donation will not be created for the patron.

        A donation must be added to shopping cart along with the request to initiate the Recurring Donation, before a Recurring Donation will be created for the patron. Upon successful checkout of the shopping cart, this originating donation will be associated as the 1st gift within the series. The Next Gift Date will be set with a future date based on the recurring occurrence chosen by the patron.

      7. Complete the checkout process of the Shopping Cart

        The payment method for the recurring donation will be the same payment method used to complete the purchase of the shopping cart. Only payment methods of type Credit Card and EFT will be applicable; all others will be assigned as 'On Account'.

      8. After a successful checkout has occurred, the Recurring Donation is created.

        For reference information to assist the box office in determining the Shopping Cart in which the online patron initiated the request for the recurring donation, the Shopping Cart Number is provided on the Statistics tab of the Recurring Donation Detail Window.

      Diataxis: 

      Editing a Recurring Donation

      Editing a Recurring Donation will not update previously created gifts associated to the recurring donation with those edits being made. Only the future gifts created from the recurring donation will contain the edits. If the edits being made within the recurring donation are required to be made retro-active to the existing gifts, those edits will need to be made directly within each gift's donation record.

      1. Open the Recurring Donation window.

        Click here to learn how to access this window.

        Recurring Donation Templates List

      2. Click on the recurring donation you want to edit.
      3. Click the Open button.

        The recurring donation detail window will open. Click here to learn more about this window.

      Diataxis: 

      Duplicate a Recurring Donation

      Duplicating a Recurring Donation will not duplicate previously created gifts associated to the recurring donation. Only the Recurring Donation itself will be duplicated.

      1. Open the Recurring Donation window.

        Click here to learn how to access this window.

        Recurring Donation Templates List

      2. Click on the recurring donation you want to duplicate.
      3. Click the Duplicate button.

        The recurring donation has now been duplicated.

      Diataxis: 

      Delete a Recurring Donation

      1. Open the Recurring Donation window.

        Click here to learn how to access this window.

        Recurring Donation Templates List

      2. Click on the recurring donation you want to delete.

        The recurring donation must not be tied to a previously created donation in order to be deleted.

      3. Click the Delete button.

        A delete confirmation dialog opens.

      4. Click the Delete button.

        The recurring donation has now been deleted.

      Diataxis: 

      Recurring Donations Detail Window

      All the details of a recurring donation can be entered, edited and kept track of in the Recurring Donation Detail window. This page explains the details of the window and its tabs.

      Recurring Donation Detail Window

      Parts of the Recurring Donation Detail Window

      Opens a new Recurring Donation Detail window to enter a new recurring donation.
      Saves the currently open recurring donation.
      Creates a duplicate of the currently open recurring donation.
      Can be clicked while editing to revert back to the last time the open recurring donation was saved.
      Deletes the recurring donation currently open.
      Checks the spelling in the appropriate fields.
      The Details tab is where you enter the descriptive information about the recurring donation. Click here for more information about the Details tab.
      The Notes tab is where you enter default values and notes for the recurring donation. Click here for more information about the Notes tab.
      The Matching Gift tab is where you define the matching gift profile of the company who will match this recurring donation. Click here for more information about the Matching Gift tab.
      The Statistics tab shows the various total amounts for the selected recurring donation. Click here for more information about the Statistics tab.
      The Donations tab displays the list of gifts and matching gifts associated with this recurring donation. From here, you can open the selected donation. Click here for more information about the Donation tab.
      Diataxis: 

      Recurring Donations Detail Window - Detail Tab

      Recurring Donation Details

      Parts of the Recurring Donation Detail Window - Detail Tab

      Active Indicates if the recurring donation is enabled and currently active to create scheduled gifts.
      Patron The patron's account making the recurring donation.
      Campaign The drop down list containing the possible donation campaigns to give the donation to.
      Start Gift Date The start date for the recurring donation.
      Next Gift Date The date for the first recurring donation to occur.
      Solicitor Select the person responsible for receiving the donation from the drop down. This person must exist in the Employee table.
      Recurring Amount The amount for each recurring donation.
      Recurring Frequency The frequency for when a gift will be created for the recurring donation.
      Matching Gift Select the Matching Gift if you wish to link this donation to another patron who will also donate as a result of this patron giving a new donation. Click Here for more information.
      Tax Receipt Type Indicates if this recurring donation was given by the patron or by the patron's company.

      Parts of the Recurring Donation Detail Window - Payment Information

      Payment Method Choose the method of payment that will be used for each recurring donation.
      Credit Card

      Recurring Donation Payment Method Credit Card

      1. Select the Credit Card type from the Payment Method drop down.

        If the patron has made a previous credit card payment, the previous credit card type, number, and expire date will display as the default. Refer to the Payment Methods section of the Code Tables for defining the credit card types.

      2. Enter the credit card number.

        Theatre Manager checks the credit card number entered to ensure it is a valid sequence of numbers. This helps prevents card numbers from being typed in wrong.

        If your Workstation is equipped with a credit card swipe device, swipe the card and Theatre Manager will insert the number, card type and expiry date automatically.

      3. Enter the credit card expire date in the mm/yy format.

        If a credit card number is recorded in the patron record, it may automatically be displayed. If the Patron wishes to use an alternative credit card, the card number can be entered at this time. Click Here for more information on changing credit card information.

      4. Enter the name as shown on the credit card.
      EFT

      Recurring Donation Payment Method EFT

      1. Select the EFT payment type from the Payment Method drop down.

        If the patron has made a previous EFT payment, the previous EFT type, bank, branch, and account will display as the default. Refer to the Payment Methods section of the Code Tables for defining the EFT payment types.

      2. Enter the Bank Account's owners name.

        The Bank Account Holder's Name should match exactly as to what the bank account was created with. The Bank Account Holder Name may be used by the banking system as part of the verification process prior to accepting and authorizing transactions. This name does not need to match exactly as to the patron's name.

      3. Enter the Bank Account Information.

        If an EFT payment method was previously recorded in the patron record, it may automatically be displayed. If the Patron wishes to use an alternative Bank Account, the banking information can be entered at this time.

      On Account

      Recurring Donation Payment Method On Account

      1. Select On Account from the Payment Method drop down.

        No payment will be received at this time, so the amount due on the order will be placed as an outstanding balance due on the patron's account. You will still need to deal with the non-zero order balance later in order to clear your books.

      Diataxis: 

      Recurring Donations Detail Window - Notes Tab

      The Notes Tab allows you to define specific fields for each gift created by the Recurring Donation.

      Recurring Donation Details

      Parts of the Recurring Donation Detail Window - Notes Tab

      Donor #1 (pop-up) A customizable pop-up field edited through the code tables. This pop-up can be made a mandatory field in Company Preferences.
      Donor #2 (pop-up) A customizable pop-up field edited through the code tables. This pop-up can be made a mandatory field in Company Preferences.
      Donor #3 (pop-up) A customizable pop-up field edited through the code tables. This pop-up can be made a mandatory field in Company Preferences.
      Donor #4 (char) A customizable character field. This field can be made a mandatory in Company Preferences.
      Donor #5 (flag) A customizable Check Box.
      Donor #6 (flag) A customizable Check Box.
      Donor #7 (flag) A customizable Check Box.
      Recurring Notes Additional important information or general background information about this recurring donation.

      Recurring Notes will not be transferred over to gifts created from the recurring donation. These notes are kept separate and are to reflect information specific to the recurring donation itself.

      Diataxis: 

      Recurring Donations Detail Window - Matching Gift Tab

      Recurring Donation Details

      Parts of the Recurring Donation Detail Window - Matching Gift Tab

      Campaign The drop down list containing the possible donation campaigns to give the donation to.
      Solicitor Select the person responsible for receiving the donation from the drop down. This person must exist in the Employee table.
      Patron The matching gift company account making the recurring donation.

      The patron account selected must be setup as a Matching Gift Company before it will be accepted for the recurring donation.

      Matching Gift Ratio The percentage the matching gift patron's donation is in relation to the original donation.
      Match Amount Value of the donation the matching gift patron will make.

      This value is for reference only. When the gift is created, the Matching Gift Ratio will be used when setting the Matching Gift Amount.

      Diataxis: 

      Recurring Donations Detail Window - Statistics Tab

      Recurring Donation Details

      Parts of the Recurring Donation Detail Window - Statistics Tab

      Annual Summaries/Projections

      Contains a backward look at actual amounts and a forward look at projections over a 6 year period.

      Actual 2021 This is the total recurring donations from TWO years ago based on this template. (the 2021 refers to the year and will change as time moves forward.
      Actual 2022 This is the total recurring donations from ONE years ago based on this template. (the 2022 refers to the year and will change as time moves forward.
      Estimate 2023 This is a combination of the actual recurring donations created this year plus an estimate of the future recurring donations not yet created. For example:
      • if it is march and only one monthly recurring donation has been created,
      • this attempts to predict that the future might only be 9 months worth of recurring donations.
      (the 2023 will change as time moves forward).
      Projected 2024 This is the projected total donations ONE year in the future based on this recurring donation template.
      • If the the template is inactive, the value will be zero.
      • If the recurring donation is slated to end in the year, that is taken into account as well.
      • If the recurring donation is not scheduled to start in the future, that is taken into account as well
      (2024 will change as time moves forward).
      Projected 2025 This is the projected total donations TWO years in the future based on this recurring donation template.
      • If the the template is inactive, the value will be zero.
      • If the recurring donation is slated to end in the year, that is taken into account as well.
      • If the recurring donation is not scheduled to start in the future, that is taken into account as well
      (2025 will change as time moves forward).
      Projected 2026 This is the projected total donations TWO years in the future based on this recurring donation template.
      • If the the template is inactive, the value will be zero.
      • If the recurring donation is slated to end in the year, that is taken into account as well.
      • If the recurring donation is not scheduled to start in the future, that is taken into account as well
      (2026 will change as time moves forward).
      Overal Actual Amounts

      contains the summary of every donation that has been created because of this recurring donation template.

      Total Amount Total amount of gifts created for the recurring donation.
      Total Donations Number of gifts created for the recurring donation.
      Matching Gifts Total amount of matching gifts created for the recurring Donation.
      # Gifts Matched Number of matching gifts created for the recurring donation.
      Source Information
      Transaction Source The source location where the recurring donation was entered.
      Shopping Cart The websales shopping cart number in which the patron confirmed their request to create this recurring donation.

      This value is for reference only. The shopping cart number is automatically assigned upon confirmation of the websales order containing the request to create this recurring donation.

      Diataxis: 

      Recurring Donations Detail Window - Donations Tab

      Recurring Donation Details

      Parts of the Recurring Donation Detail Window - Donations Tab

      Status Icon based indicators on the various aspects of the donation.
      Order # The order number is a reference number for the order.
      Prog Yr Program Year.
      Use Indicates the source detailing hose the donation was received.
      First / Last & Company Name Name of the patron making the donation.
      Campaign Name Name of the campaign the donation was applied to.
      Fiscal Year The accounting Fiscal Year the donation was made.
      Donation Date Date the donation was made.
      Pledge Amount The amount the patron pledged to this donation.
      Actual Amount The actual amount the patron has confirmed they will donate towards their original pledged amount.
      Giving Level What level of giving the donation is at.
      Balance Outstanding balance of the pledged amount remaining to the paid.
      Total Receipted The amount of the donation that has been issued paayment/receipts.
      Soft Credit The total amount of Soft Credits that have been applied to the donation.
      Program Name How the patron would like to be recognized on the program.
      Diataxis: 

      Recurring Donations Create Scheduled Gifts from Templates

      This process will process the Recurring Donation Templates and create gifts/donations for each recurring donation template whose 'Next Gift Date' is up-to or equal to the date the process is run.

      If the 'Next Gift Date' spans a timeline where multiple gifts are to be created based on the combination of 'Next Gift Date, 'Frequency', and the 'date the process is run'; each gift created will have the appropriate Donation Date as if the process was run on the date it was scheduled to be created.

      Scheduled Gifts for Recurring Donations are reviewed and created in the following areas:

      1. Choose Setup >> System Tables >> Recurring Donations from the Main Menu.

        Recurring Donations Menu Selection

        The Recurring Donations List window opens.

        Recurring Donation Templates List

        Click here for information about the recurring donation window.

      2. Click the Recurring button Recurring Gift Button.

        The confirmation window will open confirming the request to create gifts from the recurring donations.

        Recurring Donations Create Scheduled Gifts

      3. Click Create Gifts

        The gifts will now be created.

      4. Click OK after reviewing the completion message.

      Diataxis: 

      Restricting Access To Donor Information

      This function is used to restrict employee access to the donor tab within the patron window. For details on setting access within Employee Setup click here.

      1. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      2. Click the Donor tab.

      3. Check the Private box.

        If the Publication Name is left blank a warning screen will appear.

      4. If the preferred Publication Name is to be Anonymous click the Yes button.

        Anonymous will be entered in the Publication Name field.

        If the patron Publication Name needs to be entered click the No button.

        Enter the patron Publication Name.

        The donor's General Donor Notes are now restricted to employees with security clearance to this tab. It is important to note that the actual donation history in the lower part of the screen is not restricted with this option, but rather in Employee Setup on the Data tab.

      To allow viewing of the donor's information

      1. Open the Patron Record.

        For details on locating a Patron Record click here.

      2. Click the Donor tab.
      3. Uncheck the Private box.

        A warning screen will appear asking if you are sure you wish to allow access to there information.

      4. Click the Yes button to allow access to all users or the No button to keep the information restricted.
      Diataxis: 

      Reducing a Donation or splitting an existing donation into multiple donations

      Occasionally, you may need to reduce the amount of a specific donation. Examples might be:

      • the donor may have donated with a subscription and a change in the subscription might mean a slight reduction in the donation -or-
      • you need to split an existing donation amount into two or more donations if the donor decides that they want to give to multiple separate campaigns instead of the one campaign they originally indicated.
      In either case, you can edit the existing donation without having to re-charge the patron's credit card or process a new payment of any kind.
      A donation amount cannot be reduced if receipts have been printed already for the patron.

      You would need to un-print some receipts to create the audit trail before reducing it in value.

      Splitting a donation consists of reducing the donation first followed by adding another donation to the existing order.

       

      Reducing the amount of an donation:

      1. Locate the patron's record.
      2. Go to the Donation tab.

      3. Double click on the donation you wish to reduce in amount.

        The donation record opens.

      4. Reduce the amount of the donation.

        There are two things that can happen when you reduce the amount of the donation and click save.

        • If the unprinted receipts amount allows a reduction, then you'll see a message below that indicates it is ok to reduce the donation.
        • If too many receipts have already been printed, then you will need to un-print some before reducing the amount. See the next step
      5. Un-print sufficient donation receipts

        If you cannot reduce the amount of a donation, you will need to un-print enough receipts to allow for the reduction in the donation. To do this:

        • Go to the 'receipts' tab
        • Select some receipts that are printed. There may only be one. In the case of post dated payments, there may be more.
        • Right click and select unprint receipts for selected donation for later printing
        • Confirm any dialog that appears

       

      Making the split donation

      After reducing the amount of the original donation and saving it, you can thne make a new donation to the same order for the amount that you reduced it.

      1. Click the New button on the donation that you just reduced in amount.

        This adds a new donation to the existing order.

      2. Set the donation amount, campaign, solicitor, notes, etc for the split/second portion of the donation.
      3. Click the button.
      4. Close the window.

        The first donation detail window will still be open. Close it too.

      5. In the end, there will be no new payments required if the split donation makes up the difference for the old donation.
      Diataxis: 

      DonorSearch Analytics

      Take the guesswork out of fundraising. Convert patrons into donors.

      DonorSearch can help you convert your patrons into members and donors, motivate smaller donors to increase their support, and strengthen your relationships with important supporters.

      Using wealth, philanthropy and other databases, along with their proprietary algorithms and manual oversight, DonorSearch can offer you:

      • Where your alumni are and what they're doing
      • Their wealth levels and capacity to give
      • Philanthropic history and the causes they support
      • Connections they have with others who support you

      Prospect with confidence.

      DonorSearch can help you evaluate, with a high degree of confidence, your prospects’ wealth (whether they can donate) and their past philanthropy, which is a strong indicator of whether they will donate.

      You'll have the critical information you need about your prospects to:

      • Boost attendance
      • Improve personal communications
      • Decrease your daily workload
      • Build valuable relationships

      Theatre Manager has integrated an interface directly with DonorSearch allowing easy interaction between your existing Theatre Manager patron and donor information to the analytic analysis warehouse of information.

      Theatre Manager provides an interface directly to DonorSearch. Accessing DonorSearch's wealth of information and analytic analysis of potential donor profiles requires an account be set up and maintained directly with DonorSearch.

      To contact DonorSearch about your prospect research needs, please contact Donor Search at info@donorsearch.net or call (410) 670-7880 or visit their website at http://www.donorsearch.net for further information.

      Diataxis: 

      DonorSearch API Key

      The DonorSearch API Key is a unique identifier used with all transactions between DonorSearch and Theatre Manager. It acts as the place holder for a "Username" and "Password" that the end user would enter into the DonorSearch Web Portal directly if not accessing the data via Theatre Manager.

      This process will return the API Key. You will only be able to return the API Key once. After an API Key is created for your account, it is not retrievable this way again. Attempting to run this same process will report "Error". There are two reasons for the "Error" message will occur:

      1. The username and password are an invalid combination.
      2. The API Key has already been generated.

      If this message occurs please reach out to your DonorSearch contact after ensuring you have entered the appropriate required fields.

      If you have previously generated your API Key and know exactly what the API Key is, you can enter it directly into the API Key field.

      Retrieving API Key

      1. Use the Setup menu and clicking on Company/Outlet Preferences.
      2. Click the Donation tab.
      3. Click the DonorSearch API Settings button.

        The DonorSearch API Setup window opens.

        Username The account name provided by DonorSearch to access your organization's account.
        Password The password provided by DonorSearch to access your organization's account.
        API Key DonorSearch's unique identifier used with all transactions between the DonorSearch API and other outside parties.
      4. Enter the "Username" provided by DonorSearch for your account setup.
      5. Enter the "Password" provided by DonorSearch for your account setup.
      6. Click the Get API Key button.
      7. Click OK.
      8. Click Save in the window toolbar.

      The DonorSearch API Key has now been updated and saved within Theatre Manager.

      Theatre Manager provides an interface directly to DonorSearch. Accessing DonorSearch's wealth of information and analytic analysis of potential donor profiles requires an account be set up and maintained directly with DonorSearch. To contact DonorSearch about your prospect research needs, please contact Annette Zakuto at annette@donorsearch.net or call 401-988-4978 or visit their website at http://www.donorsearch.net for further information.

      Diataxis: 

      DonorSearch Submitting New Searches

      There are 2 methods of sending in requests to DonorSearch for analysis on your donors. An exported Text File Submission and Direct Submission. The exported file offers more information to match on and generates a more higher degree of successful data matching, however a direct submission offers a more quick turnaround on immediate information about your donor. Regardless of your choice of submitting new searches, the steps to complete the process are virtually the same.

      To begin with a search, you will need to determine which patrons you wish to submit for analysis on. This could be from:

      Once you have determined the patrons you wish to submit, proceed wth one of the following submission choices:

      1. Direct Submission - offers a more quick turnaround on immediate information about your donor.
      2. Text File Submission - generates a more higher degree of successful data matching and additional information about your prospect.
      Diataxis: 

      DonorSearch Direct Submission

      To begin with a search, you will need to determine which patrons you wish to submit for analysis on. This could be from:

      Submitting a New Search Request

      1. Select the patrons to request a new search for.

        If your submitting a request from the Patron window Donor's tab, there is no patron selection required. Proceed with the next step by Right-Clicking anywhere on the donation listing.

      2. Right-click on the selected patrons

        A context menu will pop-up

      3. Choose menu option DonorSearch Analytics >> Request Analysis

        The Export Donor Information for DonorSearch Analytics window opens

        Choose Patron Locations

        DonorSearch will use the addresses submitted to provide a better quality match the exact patron you are requesting analysis on.

        Home Address Select the location code that best matches the patron's home address.
        Home Phone Select the location code that best matches the patron's home phone.
        Home Email Select the location code that best matches the patron's home email.
        Cell/Mobile Phone Select the location code that best matches the patron's cell or mobile phone.
        Seasonal Address Select the location code that best matches the patron's seasonal/vacation address.
        Work Address Select the location code that best matches the patron's work address.
        Choose Patron Relationships

        DonorSearch will also use relationships between patrons to determine a better quality match during the analysis process.

        Spouse Select the relationship code that best matches the patron's spouse.
        Current Employer Select the relationship code that best matches the patron's current employer or the location where they currently work.
        Choose Export Format

        DonorSearch can receive a direct submission or an exported text file to their system as the source of information for the patron.

        Direct Submission Select this option to send information immediately for a more quick turnaround immediate response for a high-level analysis.
        Text File Select this option to create a text file to send to DonorSearch can for an in-depth analysis.
      4. Make the selections within the submission window.
      5. Choose "Direct Submission" for the Choose Export Format choice.
      6. Click the Create button.
      7. Review the response message to confirm the patron information has been submitted for analysis.

      8. Click OK
      9. Proceed to the steps on how to Retrieve Analytic Results from DonorSearch.
      Diataxis: 

      Direct Submission Data Sent

      The DonorSearch Direct Submission sends a portion of the patron's information as part of the analysis process. The more information Theatre Manager has about the patron, the better the results and experience using DonorSearch will be. Below are the list of fields sent when processing a request.

      Information Sent During Direct Submission Request

      The asterisk (*) denotes minimum required information for a Direct Submission. Patron's not meeting the minimum requirements will be excluded from the submission.

      NOTE: DonorSearch is only able to match on addresses within the USA, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Marshall Islands. Addresses outside of these locations will be excluded from the submission. If a patron's address is excluded resulting in the patron not meeting the minimum requirements, the patron will be excluded from the submission.

      • *Patron #
      • *Patron First Name
      • Patron Middle Name
      • *Patron Last Name
      • Patron Suffix
      • Patron Age (Current)
      • *Patron Address Line 1
      • Patron Address Line 2
      • *Patron City
      • *Patron State
      • *Patron Zip Code
      • Spouse First Name
      • Spouse Middle Name
      • Spouse Last Name
      • Employer Name
      • Business Address Line 1
      • Business Address Line 2
      • Business City
      • Business State
      • Business Zip Code
      • Seasonal Address Line 1
      • Seasonal Address Line 2
      • Seasonal City
      • Seasonal State
      • Seasonal Zip Code
      Diataxis: 

      DonorSearch Text File Submission

      To begin with a search, you will need to determine which patrons you wish to submit for analysis on. This could be from:

      Submitting a New Search Request

      1. Select the patrons to request a new search for.

        If your submitting a request from the Patron window Donor's tab, there is no patron selection required. Proceed with the next step by Right-Clicking anywhere on the donation listing.

      2. Right-click on the selected patrons

        A context menu will pop-up

      3. Choose menu option DonorSearch Analytics >> Request Analysis

        The Export Donor Information for DonorSearch Analytics window opens

        Choose Patron Locations

        DonorSearch will use the addresses submitted to provide a better quality match the exact patron you are requesting analysis on.

        Home Address Select the location code that best matches the patron's home address.
        Home Phone Select the location code that best matches the patron's home phone.
        Home Email Select the location code that best matches the patron's home email.
        Cell/Mobile Phone Select the location code that best matches the patron's cell or mobile phone.
        Seasonal Address Select the location code that best matches the patron's seasonal/vacation address.
        Work Address Select the location code that best matches the patron's work address.
        Choose Patron Relationships

        DonorSearch will also use relationships between patrons to determine a better quality match during the analysis process.

        Spouse Select the relationship code that best matches the patron's spouse.
        Current Employer Select the relationship code that best matches the patron's current employer or the location where they currently work.
        Choose Export Format

        DonorSearch can receive a direct submission or an exported text file to their system as the source of information for the patron.

        Direct Submission Select this option to send information immediately for a more quick turnaround immediate response for a high-level analysis.
        Text File Select this option to create a text file to send to DonorSearch can for an in-depth analysis.
      4. Make the selections within the submission window.
      5. Choose "Text File" for the Choose Export Format choice.
      6. Click the Create button.
      7. Choose the name and location of where the export text file should be placed.

      8. Click Save
      9. Review the response message to confirm the location where the file was saved.

      10. Click OK
      11. Proceed to the steps Upload the Text File to DonorSearch.

      The export text file is already formatted and prepared based on data submission requirements from DonorSearch.

      After you have received back the analytic results on the patrons you uploaded to DonorSearch, proceed to the steps on how to Import Analytic Results from DonorSearch.

      Diataxis: 

      Text File Data Provided

      The DonorSearch Text File Submission sends additional patron's information then the Direct Submission process to allow a more in-depth analysis of the patron. This allows for a higher degree of accuracy during the patron matching process and provides the opportunity for a further detailed analytic result. The more information Theatre Manager has about the patron, the better the results and experience using DonorSearch will be. Below are the list of fields sent when processing a request.

      Information Sent During Text File Submission Request

      The asterisk (*) denotes minimum required information for a Direct Submission. Patron's not meeting the minimum requirements will be excluded from the submission.

      NOTE: DonorSearch is only able to match on addresses within the USA, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Marshall Islands. Addresses outside of these locations will be excluded from the submission. If a patron's address is excluded resulting in the patron not meeting the minimum requirements, the patron will be excluded from the submission.

      • *Patron #
      • Patron Salutation
      • *Patron First Name
      • Patron Middle Name
      • *Patron Last Name
      • Patron Suffix
      • Patron Age (Current)
      • Patron Date of Birth
      • Patron Home Phone
      • Patron Email Address
      • *Patron Address Line 1
      • Patron Address Line 2
      • *Patron City
      • *Patron State
      • *Patron Zip Code
      • Spouse First Name
      • Spouse Middle Name
      • Spouse Last Name
      • Spouse Age (Current)
      • Spouse Date of Birth
      • Employer Name
      • Business Address Line 1
      • Business Address Line 2
      • Business City
      • Business State
      • Business Zip Code
      • Seasonal Address Line 1
      • Seasonal Address Line 2
      • Seasonal City
      • Seasonal State
      • Seasonal Zip Code
      • Patron First Gift Date (in Theatre Manager)
      • Patron First Gift Amount
      • Patron Last Gift Date (in Theatre Manager)
      • Patron Last Gift Amount
      • Patron Largest Gift Date (in Theatre Manager)
      • Patron Largest Gift Amount
      • Patron Total Gift Count (in Theatre Manager)
      • Patron Total Gift Amount
      • Custom Field 1 - Patron #
      • Custom Field 2 (not used)
      • Custom Field 3 (not used)
      • Custom Field 4 (not used)
      • Custom Field 5 (not used)
      • Custom Field 6 (not used)
      • Custom Field 9 (not used)
      • Custom Field 10 (not used)
      • Custom Field 11 (not used)
      • Custom Field 12 (not used)
      • Custom Field 13 (not used)
      • Custom Field 14 (not used)
      • Custom Field 15 (not used)
      • Custom Field 16 (not used)
      • Custom Field 17 (not used)
      • Custom Field 18 (not used)
      • Custom Field 19 (not used)
      • Custom Field 20 (not used)
      Diataxis: 

      Upload Text File to DonorSearch

      The Theatre Manager export text file is already formatted and prepared based on data submission requirements from DonorSearch. This step transfers the patron prospects exported from Theatre Manager to DonorSearch for processing.

      1. Log into the DonorSearch Web Portal.
      2. Click the Tab.

        The Upload File section will appear.

      3. Click to select the Theatre Manager export text file.
      4. Enter your first and last name into the "Your Name" field.
      5. Enter your Email address into the "Your Email" field.
      6. Select Production File = Current Client Users for the "File Type".
      7. Enter a File Description to describe the type of prospects being uploaded.
      8. Enter Any Special Instructions you may have for the file being uploaded.
      9. Click to upload the Theatre Manager export text file.

        The file will be uploaded to DonorSearch for processing. It may take a few moments to complete the upload process depending on the filesize and speed of your internet access.

      It is recommended that you send a direct email to your DonorSearch Contact to notify them that a prospect file has been uploaded. This will enable them to follow the process on their side to get the results back to you as quickly as possible. Your DonorSearch Contact will be able to provide an estimated time when the results will be ready.

      After you have received back the analytic results on the patrons you have just uploaded, proceed to the steps on how to Import Analytic Results from DonorSearch..

      Diataxis: 

      DonorSearch Retrieve Analytic Results

      The following process is for retrieving the analytic results from requests to DonorSearch that were perform through the Direct Submission option.

      If your submitted a Text File for processing and are wanting to import those results into Theatre Manager, you will need to follow the steps at Importing DonorSearch Analytic Results.

      Before beginning with the retrieval process, you will need to determine which patrons you wish to retrieve the analysis on. This could be from:

      Retrieving Analytic Results

      1. Select the patrons that you requested a new search for.

        If your retrieving a request from the patron window donor's tab, there is no patron selection required. Proceed with the next step by Right-Clicking anywhere on the donation listing.

      2. Hint: If your unable to remember exactly which patrons you need to retrieve analytic results for, proceed directly to the DonorSearch Analytic Results window. From there, you're able to easily determine which patrons require retrieval of results and download them too.

      3. Right-click on the selected patrons

        A context menu will pop-up

      4. Choose menu option DonorSearch Analytics >> Retrieve Analysis
      5. Review the response message confirming the analytic results information has been downloaded into Theatre Manager.

      6. Click OK
      7. Proceed to the steps on how to View Analytic Results window from DonorSearch.

      Note: The results returned from DonorSearch during a direct submission are limited compared to the detailed information provided within the DonorSearch Web Portal. The returned results are intended to offer a quick turnaround on immediate information about your donor:

      • DS Rating
      • Overall Rating / Quality Score
      • Largest Gift High
      • Largest Gift Low
      • Capacity Range Based On Wealth
      • Estimated Capacity
      • Real Estate Total
      • Real Estate Count
      • Total Likely Charitable Count
      • Total Likely Charitable Matches
      • Foundation Board
      • GuideStar Board
      • Political Likely Count
      • Political Likely Total
      • Business Reveue
      • SEC Stock Value
      • SEC Stock Insider
      • IRS 990PF
      • Real Estate Trust
      • Market Guide
      • Market Guide Compensation
      • Market Guide Options
      • Business Affiliation
      • Pension
      • Pension Assets
      • CorpTech Match
      • FAA Pilot License
      • Airplane Owner
      • Boat Owner

      If your looking for additional information to be maintained in Theatre Manager, you can export the data results from the DonorSearch Web Portal and import those results into Theatre Manager following the steps at Importing DonorSearch Analytic Results.

      Diataxis: 

      DonorSearch Importing Analytic Results

      The following process is for importing the analytic results from DonorSearch that were through the Text File option.

      If your submitted a Direct Submission for processing and are wanting to retrieve those results into Theatre Manager, you will need to follow the steps at Retrieving DonorSearch Analytic Results.

      The access to import DonorSearch menu option, an employee must have either Insert or Edit access to the "Donor - Manage DonorSearch Analytic Analysis Results" Data Security functions. in their employee profile.

      Importing Analytic Results

      1. Goto menu options File >> Import/Export >> Donation >> DonorSearch Analytic Results.

        This will open the Import Data Window.

      2. Click Select button.
      3. Select the file that was provided from DonorSearch containing the analytic results.

      4. Click Open button.
      5. Match Fields to the Database.

      6. Click Match Keys button.
      7. Select Key Field to Match On.

        In most cases, select "DS_PROFILE_LINK - DonorSearch-Profile Link"

      8. Click Set Options button.
      9. Select Data Import Options.

        In most cases, select "Import all data as new records"

      10. Click Import button.
      11. Click Import to proceed with the import process.

      12. Proceed to the steps on how to View Analytic Results in Theatre Manager from DonorSearch.
      Diataxis: 

      DonorSearch View Analytic List Window

      The DonorSearch Analytic Results List window displays the retrieved/downloaded analytic analysis for your organization. From this window your able to continue your analysis of your potential and existing donors as you manage their movements through your donation campaigns.

       

      Opening the DonorSearch Analytic Results List Window

       

      Parts of the DonorSearch Analytic Results List Window

      Not available in this window.
      Opens the selected DonorSearch Analytic Result for the selected patron.
      Not available in this window.
      Deletes the selected analytic results. This only deletes the result from Theatre Manager. DonorSearch retains the record until it has been deleted manually through the DonorSearch Web Portal.
      Generates a report of all listed analytic results to the screen or default print location.
      Exports the data from the analytic results list into a selected file format and saves it to a selected location.
      Opens the Contact Card for the selected patrons in the list.
      Assigns a donor solicitor to the selected patrons in the list.
      Requests a New DonorSearch Analysis for the selected patrons in the list.
      Retrieves the DonorSearch Analytic Results for the selected patrons in the list.
      Go directly to the DonorSearch Web Portal and view the DonorSearch Analytic Results for the selected patrons in the list.

       

      Analytic Results Search

      Search options require parameters to search within. The most common search parameter is From/To. This option allows for a start and end range to be entered for the search. It can limit down the list quickly and can be as specific as needed. The second most common search parameter is Like. Like returns results containing the value entered for the search.

      All View all analytic results.
      Submit Time Searches for the date that the DonorSearch record was processed.
      DS-Rating Searches for the ranking of a prospect's ability and propensity to make $5,000+ donations.
      Overall Rating Searches for the confidence level of name matching to donor records. Anything over 17 indicates a high degree of confidence.
      PGID-Rating Searches for the prospect's likelihood to be a planned gift donor based upon a combination of internal giving history and age. 0 = no info found; 1 = least likely; 7 = most likely. If there is no internal giving history, the rating will be based on external giving (to other nonprofits), and will not be as accurate.
      Largest Gift-High Searches for the largest gift found when the exact amount and/or a range of giving are reported.
      Largest Gift-Low Searches for the lowest gift found when the exact amount and/or a range of giving are reported.
      Capacity Range Searches for the amount a donor can give as a "stretch" gift over a five-year period, based on his/her wealth.
      Real Estate Total Searches for the estimated value of all real estate owned by the patron.
      Patron # A patron number starting from one number to another. If the exact number is know this can be entered in both fields. The patron assigned that number will appear as the result.
      Name/Company Enter a part of the patron's first name, last name or company. All three fields in the database will be searched for a record containing like information. i.e. "Ab" returns Blaine Abel, Julie Abel and Lauren MacIntosh of ABC Book Store.
      First Name The first letter, part of or all of the patron's first name. The more entered the more accurate the results will be. This field only searches the first name field within the database.
      Last Name The first letter, part of or all of the patron's last name. The more entered the more accurate the result will be. This field only searches the last name field within the database.
      Company The first letter, part of or all of the patron's company name. The more entered the more accurate the result will be. This field only searches the company name field within the database.
      Diataxis: 

      DonorSearch Analytic Results Detail Window

      The DonorSearch Analytic Results Detail Window displays all of the analysis results from DonorSearch on your patron.

      Parts of the DonorSearch Analytic Results Detail Window

      Opens the Contact Card for the selected patrons in the list.
      Requests a New DonorSearch Analysis for the selected patrons in the list.
      Retrieves the DonorSearch Analytic Results for the selected patrons in the list.
      Go directly to the DonorSearch Web Portal and view the DonorSearch Analytic Results for the selected patrons in the list.
      Primary Tier displays the essential results to be used in reviewing the donor's analysis. This information is suggested be referenced when building mail lists for prospects for your donation campaigns.
      Second Tier displays the important information about the donor.
      Third Tier displays information of significance about the donor.
      Batch Screening displays the group of fields used to house batch screen information created during the batch processing (Text File) submission. The values on this tab represent analysis results comparing to the other patrons submitted within the same batch processes.
      Miscellaneous displays the counts and total amounts for various areas of interest found for this patron during the analysis.
      Profile displays the additional information provided by Theatre Manager to DonorSearch during the batch processing (Text File) submission.
      Submitted displays the statistical information of actual gifts made by this donor that was exported by Theatre Manager to DonorSearch during the batch processing (Text File) submission. The statistical information of actual gifts shown is based on the exact information contained within Theatre Manager at the time the export occurred. Any donation activity within Theatre Manager after the submission, may alter the current and up-to-date statistical information shown on the patron window statistics tab.
      Diataxis: 

      DonorSearch Results Primary Tier

      Primary Tier displays the essential results to be used in reviewing the donor's analysis. This information is suggested be referenced when building mail lists for prospects for your donation campaigns.

      Parts of the Primary Tier Tab

      DS Rating A ranking of a prospect's ability and propensity to make $5,000+ donations.
      Quality Score Confidence level of name matching to donor records. Anything over 17 indicates a high degree of confidence. Note that in the comprehensive Profile, each piece of data is individually scored for confidence.
      High Range This indicates the largest gift found when the exact amount and/or a range of giving are reported.
      Low Range This indicates the lowest gift found when the exact amount and/or a range of giving are reported.
      Capacity Range The amount a donor can give as a "stretch" gift over a five-year period, based on his/her wealth. The individual philanthropy and wealth report on each prospect includes two capacity ranges: one based on wealth and one based on previous philanthropy.
      Real Estate Count Number of properties owned by the donor.
      Real Estate Total Estimated value of all real estate owned by the donor.
      Submit Date The date that the DonorSearch record was processed.
      Profile Link A link to the prospect's complete wealth and philanthropic profile on the DonorSearch web portal.
      Diataxis: 

      DonorSearch Results Second Tier

      Second Tier displays the important information about the donor.

      Parts of the Second Tier Tab

      Gift Matches Count Number of unique positive matches to outside giving history found for the record. This quantity does not include "maybe" donations.
      Gift Matches Total The dollar amount of all positive matches to outside giving history found for the record. This total does not include "maybe" donations.
      Foundation Board Identifies whether the prospect is on the board of a foundation. M = maybe, Y = yes, and a Blank = no data match found.
      GuideStar Board Indicates whether the prospect is on the board of a grant-seeking foundation.
      Political Total Count Number of federal and state political gifts found (note that not all states report political giving).
      Political Total Total amount of political giving found; Maybe indicates gifts that may not be tied to that donor. This is a strong philanthropy indicator: 15K in 15 political gifts typically indicates a 5-7 figure charitable gift elsewhere.
      Business Revenue Dollar value of revenues at a Dun & Bradstreet firm at which the prospect is an executive-level employee. These revenues are reported by the company or estimated by Dun & Bradstreet, and thus may be distorted.
      SEC Stock Value Dollar value of any SEC reported stock options.
      SEC Stock Insider Identifies whether the prospect has stock options related to being a company insider or high-ranking employee who must report stock transactions to the SEC. Y = Yes, M = Maybe, Blank = no data match found.
      Market Guide Identifies whether the prospect has been matched to the Reuters Market Guide database on company insiders. M = Maybe, Y = Yes, and Blank = no data match found.
      Diataxis: 

      DonorSearch Results Third Tier

      Third Tier displays information of significance about the donor.

      Parts of the Third Tier Tab

      IRS 990PF Identifies whether the prospect is associated with a namesake grant-giving foundation. M = maybe, Y = yes, and Blank = no data match found.
      Real Estate Trust Real Estate Trust owned by the donor. Y = yes, M = maybe, Blank = no information found.
      Market Guide Dollar value of any Market Guide reported company compensation for a given year.
      Market Guide Options Dollar value of any Market Guide reported stock options executed.
      Business Affiliation Identifies whether the prospect has been matched to a Dun & Bradstreet firm at an executive level position. Y = Yes, M = Maybe, Blank = no data match found.
      Pension Administration Identifies whether the prospect has been matched to the Larkspur SEP/Keogh Pensions database as having deferred income or a qualified pension plan. Y = Yes, M = Maybe, Blank = no data match found.
      Pension Assets Dollar value of Larkspur/Keogh pension plan or deferred income; not all assets may belong to the prospect.
      CorpTech Match Indicates if the prospect is profiled in the CorpTech database, a database of business executives in high technology manufacturing, development and service companies. Y = Yes, M = Maybe, Blank = No.
      FAA Pilot License Identifies if the prospect has a pilot's license and is in the FAA database. Y = Yes, M = Maybe, Blank = No.
      Airplane Owner Identifies if the prospect is an airplane owner. Note that corporate aircraft will not be listed, nor will fractional or timeshare ownership. Y = Yes, M = Maybe, Blank = No.
      Boat Owner Identifies if the prospect is a boat owner and is in the Coast Guard database. Y = Yes, M = Maybe, Blank = No.
      Estimated Capacity Estimated 5-year gift capacity for the prospect based on wealth and external philanthropy.
      Diataxis: 

      DonorSearch Results Batch Screening

      Batch Screening displays the group of fields used to house batch screen information created during the batch processing (Text File) submission. The values on this tab represents an internal analysis of the relationship you have with each of your prospects within the same batch processes. It does not compare your donors to other organizations in creating the ratings shown.

      Parts of the Batch Screening Tab

      Major Gift Likelihood Prospect's likelihood to be an major gift donor based upon a combination of external giving and giving history to the client's organization (if available). 300 = most likely; 0 = least likely.
      Annual Gift Likelihood Prospect's likelihood to be an annual fund donor based upon a combination of external giving and giving history to the client's organization (if available). 300 = most likely; 0 = least likely.
      RFM Total An internal analysis of the relationship you have with each of your prospects, using a formula that includes how RECENTLY your prospect has given to you, how FREQUENTLY your prospect has given to you, and the total amount of MONEY given. Scale of 1-300. 300 is the highest rating and indicates the greatest likelihood of donating. This analysis is only available if an organization has supplied giving data on a particular donor; prospects who are non-donors will not have an RFM score. RFM is calculated using your donor data only; it does not compare your donors to other organizations.
      RFM Recent An internal analysis of the relationship you have with each of your prospects, using a formula that includes how RECENTLY your prospect has given to you. RFM is calculated using your donor data only; it does not compare your donors to other organizations.
      RFM Frequency DonorSearch analytics show that RFM Frequency is the best indicator of future philanthropy. A donor whos given a gift annually for 15 years is much more likely to donate again than someone whos given one large gift one time.
      RFM Money The donor whos given you the most amount of money, for example, will be scored 100 in the RFM Money category, regardless of how much he/she has given. The top 1% of all your donors, in terms of amount, will receive a score of 100, the next most generous donors will receive an RFM Money score of 99, etc. RFM is calculated using your donor data only; it does not compare your donors to other organizations.
      Planned Gift Rating Prospect's likelihood to be a planned gift donor based upon a combination of internal giving history and age. 0 = no info found; 1 = least likely; 7 = most likely. If there is no internal giving history, the rating will be based on external giving (to other nonprofits), and will not be as accurate.
      Assessed DonorSearch manually assesses the top 200 prospects in your database as quality assurance that all data is correct to an 85-90% level at no extra charge. Additional assessments may be purchased.
      Questions Questions DonorSearch had when manually processing the profile’s assessment.
      Diataxis: 

      DonorSearch Results Miscellaneous

      Miscellaneous displays the counts and total amounts for various areas of interest found for this patron during the analysis.

      Parts of the Miscellaneous Tab

      VIP Used only for Daily Patient Screening; identifies most potentially philanthropic patients.
      RW Sports A list of professional athletes from many of the premier professional U.S. sports leagues. Information includes birthplace, age, team, position, and salary for athletes from MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, the PGA Tour, the LPGA Tour, ATP, WTA and the Sprint Cup NASCAR Series. Compiled from various sources, it is one of the most diverse collections of data on athletes available. M = Maybe Match. Y = Match.
      Marquis Who's Who Identifies if the prospect is in the Marquis' Who's Who, which offers biographical and professional information to help you create a more complete profile on your prospect. Who's Who information is contained in the complete philanthropic and wealth profile of each donor. Y = Yes, M = Maybe, Blank = No.
      Donor Notes about the donor from DonorSearch.
      Notes Custom notes manually entered into DonorSearch about this profile. These notes are entered by the organization via the DonorSearch Web Portal.
      M Total The total dollars donated that are not positive matches to the individual.

      It is the total dollars donated by someone with the name of the individual where DonorSearch does not believe it to be a tight match.

      # States Real Estate Number of states where donor owns property.
      Inner Circle Helps you find connections between your current board of directors/executives/supporters and potential donors. This shows the number of inner circle matches the individual/prospect has. Inner Circle will compare your list to the thousands of board affiliations found in Who Knows Who, and highlight the matches in the section labeled Inner Circle in each prospective donor's detailed profile.
      Avg. Home Value Average property value for the zip code in which the prospect resides.
      Household Income Median household income for the zip code in which the prospect resides.
      LexisNexis Property Count Number of properties owned according to LexisNexis.
      LexisNexis Property Total Value of real estate according to LexisNexis.
      Zillow Property Count Number of properties owned according to Zillow.
      Zillow Property Total Value of real estate according to Zillow.
      Higher Education Count Number of gifts found to universities, colleges and two-year colleges.
      Higher Education Total Dollar amount of gifts found to universities, colleges and two-year colleges.
      Private Schools Count Number of gifts found to private schools, academies, and other educational institutions that aren't included in the Higher Education Count.
      Private Schools Total Dollar amount of gifts found to private schools, academies, and other educational institutions that aren't included in the Higher Education Count.
      Philanthropic Count Number of gifts found to philanthropic and grant-making organizations.
      Philanthropic Total Dollar amount of gifts found to philanthropic and grant-making organizations.
      Healthcare Count Number of gifts found to healthcare agencies.
      Healthcare Total Dollar amount of gifts found to healthcare agencies.
      Arts Count Number of gifts found to organizations whose main mission is related to the arts, culture or humanities.
      Arts Total Dollar amount of gifts found to organizations whose main mission is related to the arts, culture or humanities.
      Republican Count Number of gifts found to Republican candidates for federal and state offices. Due to reporting requirements, contributions to PACs and other political organizations are not included. Note that not all states report political contributions.
      Republican Total Dollar amount of gifts found to Republican candidates for federal and state offices. Due to reporting requirements, contributions to PACs and other political organizations are not included. Note that not all states report political contributions.
      Democratic Count Number of gifts found to Democratic candidates for federal and state offices. Due to reporting requirements, contributions to PACs and other political organizations are not included. Note that not all states report political contributions.
      Democratic Total Dollar amount of gifts found to Democratic candidates for federal and state offices. Due to reporting requirements, contributions to PACs and other political organizations are not included. Note that not all states report political contributions.
      Political Likely Count Total count of political giving found that are most likely by this prospect.
      Political Likely Total Total amount of political giving found that are most likely by this prospect.
      Other Political Count Number of gifts found to candidates for federal and state offices who are not Republicans or Democrats. Due to reporting requirements, contributions to PACs and other political organizations are not included. Note that not all states report political contributions.
      Other Political Total Dollar amount of gifts found to candidates for federal and state offices who are not Republicans or Democrats. Due to reporting requirements, contributions to PACs and other political organizations are not included. Note that not all states report political contributions.
      Society Count Number of gifts found to organizations whose main mission is related to a society benefit; these are organizations whose mission doesn't fit other philanthropic categories.
      Society Total Dollar amount of gifts found to organizations whose main mission is related to a society benefit; these are organizations whose mission doesn't fit other philanthropic categories.
      Religion Count Number of gifts found to religious organizations.
      Religion Total Dollar amount of gifts found to religious organizations.
      Diataxis: 

      DonorSearch Results Profile

      Profile displays the additional information provided by Theatre Manager to DonorSearch during the batch processing (Text File) submission.

      Parts of the Profile Tab

      Field 1 User Field #1 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process. This field represents the SEARCH ID used to link this patron account to the information in the DonorSearch Web Portal.
      Field 2 User Field #2 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 3 User Field #3 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 4 User Field #4 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 5 User Field #5 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 6 User Field #6 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 7 User Field #7 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 8 User Field #8 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 9 User Field #9 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 10 User Field #10 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 11 User Field #11 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 12 User Field #12 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 13 User Field #13 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 14 User Field #14 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 15 User Field #15 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 16 User Field #16 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 17 User Field #17 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 18 User Field #18 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 19 User Field #19 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Field 20 User Field #20 supplied by Theatre Manager; they are included for your convenience when submitting your file(s) for screening. Values in User Fields are not used in the analytic process.
      Diataxis: 

      DonorSearch Results Submitted

      Submitted displays the statistical information of actual gifts made by this donor that was exported by Theatre Manager to DonorSearch during the batch processing (Text File) submission. The statistical information of actual gifts shown is based on the exact information contained within Theatre Manager at the time the export occurred. Any donation activity within Theatre Manager after the submission, may alter the current and up-to-date statistical information shown on the patron window statistics tab.

      Parts of the Submitted Tab

      Total Gifts Count Total Gift Count supplied by Theatre Manager; used to calculate RFM.
      Total Gifts Total Gift Amount supplied by Theatre Manager; used to calculate RFM.
      First Gift Date First Gift Date supplied by Theatre Manager; used to calculate RFM.
      First Gift Amount First Gift Date supplied by Theatre Manager; used to calculate RFM.
      Last Gift Date Last Gift Date supplied by Theatre Manager; used to calculate RFM.
      Last Gift Amount Last Gift Amount supplied by Theatre Manager; used to calculate RFM.
      Largest Gift Date Largest Gift Amount supplied by Theatre Manager; used to calculate RFM.
      Largest Gift Amount Largest Gift Date supplied by Theatre Manager; used to calculate RFM.
      Diataxis: 

      DonorSearch Web Portal

      DonorSearch offers a direct web portal to the ProspectView Plus web serviced database. ProspectView Plus is designed as a visual, interactive display of the generated detailed profiles containing philanthropic and wealth information.

      This visual portion will only work via a web browser.

      Parts of the DonorSearch Web Portal Login Window

      Username The account name provided by DonorSearch to access your organization's account.
      Password The password provided by DonorSearch to access your organization's account.
      Login After entering in the Username and Password, click the "Login" button to access your organization's account.

      For access to the web portal's user manuals, screening manuals, training manuals, other resources materials related to DonorSearch, or for information on how to use the DonorSearch Web Portal, log into the web portal website at https://www.donorlead.net and visit the "Customer Resources" tab.

      Theatre Manager provides an interface directly to DonorSearch. Accessing DonorSearch's wealth of information and analytic analysis of potential donor profiles requires an account be set up and maintained directly with DonorSearch. To contact DonorSearch about your prospect research needs, please contact Annette Zakuto at annette@donorsearch.net or call 410-988-4978 or visit their website at http://www.donorsearch.net for further information.

      Diataxis: 

      Hot Seat Analyzer

      The hot seat analyzer tool can be used to:
      • Determine the usage frequency of seats in a venue and/or the revenue capacity of a particular seat and provide a heat map
      • Find out if the current price zones in the venue are appropriate or if they should be allocated differently to accommodate customer preferences in your venue.

      Using the tool, you may replace the typical bands of seats with different pricing on aisles or zones in the venue.

      How to Start the Hot Seat Analyser

      to use the hot seat analyzer, you perform the following steps:

      1. From the main menus, choose Patron Sales -> Hot Seat Analyzer

        The Hot Seat Analyzer opens.

      2. Choose a Venue/Theatre from the drop down list.
      3. Choose a Pricing Map from the drop down list.

        Theatre Manager shows the reserved seating events in the venue that are active.

      4. Choose a summary method from the drop down list.

        Select if you want the seat display to:

        • Include comps - which are tickets that had a value, but were discounted to zero using a promotion
        • Include free tickets - which are tickets that started off at a zero price
        • Include patrons that are part of a mail list. You could limit the patrons displayed on the hot seat analyzer to include:
          • only a certain list of donors. eg: if you wanted to see where people who gave between $200 and $250 tended to sit
          • last years purchasers or prior year purchases. eg: if you made a zone change in the venue for this year, did it change prior patrons buying habits
          • people who bought 3 or more tickets. eg: do multiple ticket buyers have a preferences for are in the venue?
          • people who are both donors and volunteers. eg: are the volunteers telling you something about best view in the house?
          • any kind of grouping you wish. If no mail list is provided, then all patrons with tickets are included.
      5. Select a range of performances in the list on the left that you want to analyze.

        Theatre Manager aggregates information based on the seats that are sold in the map, and adjusts the legend.

      6. As the performances and options are changed, Theatre Manager automatically adjusts the legend and colour scaling. That means a colour on one analysis does not necessarily mean the same as the same colour on another seat analysis.

      Seating Quantity Example

      Each range shows:
      • the range of tickets sold into each seat across an event called 'High School Musical'.

        Most times, the range will show something like 10 - 23 (999) which means tickets in this range were sold to individual seats between 10 and 23 times.

      • total number of tickets sold within that range. In the example above, the 999 means the total number of tickets sold i for seats in that range.
      To get this, each performance of the run was selected.

      What does it show?

      • Even on an 10 day run, the balcony had at least 5 seats sold. It gives a measure of desirability of the seat.
      • the centre was sold out most nights, seemingly being more popular.

      This tells you where people wanted to sit (sometimes its something you already know, but this proves it). In this case, it also proves that people didn't really like the second row in the front, despite that the seats are close to the stage.

      Average Price Example

      The legend is colour coded and shows 10 ranges where each contains:
      • The average ticket price in the range. In the first grouping, tickets in the range cost between $5.00 and $10.00.
      • The average value of seats sold in this group is in parenthesis. If all tickets are added up and an average calculated, it shows as $9.57 in the example.

      This helps show price sensitivity. In a range of prices, if the average is towards the lower end, then the higher end price ls not as desirable (in that range). If its towards the higher end it may indicate less price sensitivity - but you have to examine the reason for prices in that area.

      Gross Revenue Example

      Looking at which seats brought in the most revenue, the front row R1 shows that there is $434+ for the seats.

      Yet a row back, the seats were realizing $336-$377. The implication is that being nice and discounting a prime area was a $100 hit for the run of the show per seat. For 10 seats, that is $1000.

      Opening Night Example

      This example shows picking some arbitrary events. In this case, opening friday was selected for a couple of years.

      You can see that people like the front, but nobody wants the sides. This might have been something you know, but it might also be something that you want to quantify and move unpaid tickets to less desirable areas so that donors can have the better seats.

      Importing Data to TM

      Theatre Manager supports the importing of Patron information and Theatre Map Seat Names. This section describes how to prepare a file and import information into the Patron files.

      For Patron data, you can import demographic data only (names, address, phone numbers, email address, etc.). Transactional data, such as ticket history, donation history or other purchases must be imported by Arts Management Systems.

      The Import Process

      Importing a file consists of a number of steps:

      1. Obtaining a data file either by purchasing one or exporting the data fields from another program.
      2. Preparing the data file in tab-delimited format by reviewing it, correcting it and aligning columns.
      3. Making a backup of the database before an import is strongly recommended. The effect of an import cannot be reversed - the only recourse is to restore to a backup.
      4. Deciding which data to include in the import.
      5. Deciding which fields should be used to match with existing patron data and merged versus adding data.
      Diataxis: 

      Preparation

      Data needs to be prepared before it is imported. You need to:
      • Look at the data to import in a tool (like Excel) and adjust the data so columns are consistent.
      • Add column headers for each data item.
      • Use special names for those column headers, especially if the column can be used to match records during the import and replace data in the database.
      • Fill down columns with missing data, if you want a default for a particular column (e.g. if there is no Country listed for some records, and you want a default, then entering a country in the empty fields in that column).
      • Add some fields of your own, if appropriate, to create defaults for imported data.
      • You can import the Excel spreadsheet in a number of formats. You can
        • Import the columns you want from the Excel spreadsheet in either .XLS or .XLSX format, even with calculations in it. TM only looks at the content of the column and ignores the actual calculation.
        • Save the Excel document as a TEXT file in either TAB or COMMA delimited format. (TAB delimited is recommended - it seems easier to use).
        • Other tools that will be help are Text editors like BBedit. Opening the prepared text file with an editor can help with hidden formatting like columns, carriage returns, and more. See View, Text Display, Show Invisibles.

      Sometimes MS Excel documents have unwanted extra lines and formatting that can increase the record count when imported. To prevent this from happening,
      • Excel Format: Make sure there are no empty lines or columns by using the 'clear' command in excel to ensure no additional empry rows or columns in the spreadsheet. They are hidden and not easy to see
      • TEXT Format: Open the TEXT document in a text reader program like NotePad++ or BBedit. The text reader program will expose the additional unwanted lines. Delete the blank lines. Save the TEXT file. Now it's ready for a clean import.
        Diataxis: 

        Preparing the Import File

        Patron data imported into Theatre Manager must be in either the industry standard Tab Delimited or Comma Delimited format. This format is supported by most applications. If it is not, a tool like Microsoft Excel or Word is very useful for helping massage data before importing into Theatre Manager.

        Tab delimited format means that each field in the database is separated by a tab and the last field in each record has a carriage return after it. The first record in the data may be the title of the fields for clarity, although this is not necessary.

        Patron Import Sample

        Company Address Line 1 Address Line 2 City State Postal Code gPhoneWork
        Elk Whistle 18032-C Lemon Drive F Street Yorba Linda CA 92886 (714) 695-0994
        Namah Dance and Music Ensemble 5756 Wallis Lane Woodland Hills CA 91367 626) 576-8730
        L.A. SYMPHONIC WINDS 23309 Mariano Woodland Hills CA 91367 818,348-2990

        Notes about the Import File

        • The first row in this import file contains a description of the fields, or columns of data. Examples are 'Company' and 'City'. The only benefit of using descriptive names for the column headers is to assist the column matching process. Because of the change where there can be many email accounts, phone numbers, addresses, etc. for a patron, we needed to create some special column titles that refer to columns that have special use for convenient importing or matching data.
        • There are some spaces at the beginning of some fields. Work Phone in the second row has some spaces before the (714) area code. Theatre Manager will remove all extra spaces at the start and end of each field.
        • Some columns have blank entries. In this case, a value for 'Address Line 2' is only present in the second row. The last two rows will be imported as blanks.
        • Theatre Manager will attempt to fix data problems during import. On the last line, 'L.A. SYMPHONIC WINDS' will be converted to 'L.A. Symphonic Winds' and '818,348-2990' will be corrected to '(818) 348-2990'. The conversion will occur depending on the parameters set in System Preferences for auto-capitalization.
        Diataxis: 

        Cleaning Up Data

        It is very important that each column of data contains the same type of data, otherwise importing the data file would provide disastrous results. The import process will simply import whatever is in that column into that field in the database. For example, the 'Company' column should only contain Company names. If it does not, the import may end up with last names in the first name or addresses in a company name. Each patron would have to be deleted and the import would have to be started again.

        When data importing, you should 'clean up the data' prior to importing. This can be done by creating separate columns for:

        • patron salutation
        • patron name-first (if the first and last are in the same field, the import will auto-split them)
        • patron name-last
        • address line 1
        • address line 2
        • city
        • province
        • postal code/Zip Code
        • country (Optional)
        Diataxis: 

        Special Import Column Names

        Most data can be imported regardless of the name on the column. However, Theatre Manager is a relational database which makes it difficult to import some types of fields, especially if there are multiple for a patron (like phone numbers).

        There are also some fields that can be used for matching fields - which allow data to be replaced in current records.

        Diataxis: 

        Import Fields with Special Meaning

        You can use any of the special fields below when you do your import process. They will match up with fields in the database such as lookup data or phone numbers.

        The import routines will automatically create new values into Code Tables for the special meaning fields during the import process. In most cases, there is no need to prepopulate code table values that will be used.

        The exception is gPaymentMethod - all payment methods must be created prior to using them.

        Patron Information
        • gPatronType - patron type - individual, company, staff, etc. Code Table "Patron Type".
        Patron Contact Information
        • gPhoneHome - patron home phone number
        • gPhoneWork - patron work phone number
        • gPhoneCell - patron mobile phone number
        • gPhoneFax - patron fax phone number
        • gEmailHome - patron home email address
        • gEmailWork - patron work email address
        • gWebsite - patron work website URL

        Some special fields that will "update" the field, rather then add new contact information to the patron account

        • gPrimaryPhone - Patron primary phone number
        • gPrimaryEmail - Patron primary email address
        • gPrimaryFax - Patron primary fax number
        • gPrimaryWeb - Patron primary web site URL
        Patron Marketing Information
        • MKT_C_SEQ - REFER to special field for matching patron numbers on import
        • gC_AGE_CODEresult - Marketing age code
        • gC_MKT6result - Marketing field #6
        • gC_MKT7result - Marketing field #7
        • gC_MKT8result - Marketing field #8
        Volunteer/Personnel Information
        • gC_ACTIVEresult - Marketing Volunteer Status
        • gMktVol1Result - Volunteer Popup field #1
        • gMktVol2Result - Volunteer Popup field #2
        • gMktVol3Result - Volunteer Popup field #3
        • gMktVol4Result - Volunteer Popup field #4
        • gMktVol5Result - Volunteer Popup field #5
        • gMktVol6Result - Volunteer Popup field #6
        • gMktVol7Result - Volunteer Popup field #7
        • gMktVol8Result - Volunteer Popup field #8
        • gMktVol9Result - Volunteer Popup field #9
        • gMktVol10Result - Volunteer Popup field #10
        Patron Donor Information
        • gDonorGivingCapacity - Marketing Donor Giving Capacity
        • gDonorMovesStatus - Marketing Donor Moves Management Status
        Patron Mail Lists
        • PM_SHORT_NAME and gName1 through gName15 - are up to 16 mail list columns. If you want to import any mail list, then you must have ONE column called PM_SHORT_NAME.
          • The contents of the field indicate which mail list to which the patron will be added.
          • You can comma separate the mail lists to add to a patron such as list1,list2,list3 and/or
          • You can have multiple columns in your import file named 'gName1' through 'gName15'. In those columns, you can have blanks or mail lists to which you want people added (eg list1 or list2, etc.)
          • In this way, you can use up to 16 columns to specify a lot of mail lists to add a patron to, either many in one column separated by commas, or in separate columns if that is more clear for you.
        Ticket/Donation/Member Data - Orders
        • I_ORD_REASON_BUY_RESULT - Order reason "Why did Patron Buy?", Code Table "Order Reason to Buy".
        • gSource - Delivery Method - ticket handling status.
          • 0 = Hold for Pickup/Taken
          • 1 = Mail to Patron
          • 2 = Hold for WillCall
          • 3 = Hold @ Door for Coupon
        Ticket Data - Tickets
        • gTixUsed - Patron Attended - flag to indicate if patron attended the performance.
          • attended = indicate that patron attended the performance
        • gAttendedReason - description for the Patron Attended or Not Attended Reason. Code Table "Course Attendance Reasons".
        Donation Data - Donations
        • gDonor1Field - Donor Popup field #1
        • gDonor2Field - Donor Popup field #2
        • gDonor3Field - Donor Popup field #3
        Donation Data - Campaigns
        • gAccount - Account number to assign to new donation campaigns
        Member Data - Memberships/Passes
        • gMember1Field - Member Popup field #1
        • gMember2Field - Member Popup field #2
        • gMember3Field - Member Popup field #3
        Member Data - Member/Pass Types
        • gAccount - Account number to assign to new member/pass type
        Ticket/Donation/Member Data - Payments
        • gPaymentMethod - Payment Method. Matching "Payment Code" in code table "Payment Methods". All payment methods must be created prior to using them.
        • gOrigin - Payment Source - location of where the payment originated.
          • 0 = Internet/Web Sales
          • 1 = Telephone Order
          • 2 = Mail Order
          • 3 = Patron Present
        Diataxis: 

        Matching Fields

        The following fields could be used as unique identifiers to import and match records to data that exists in Theatre Manager, or they could just be used to import data. The meaning changes depending on how you use them for matching data during the import process.

        MKT_C_SEQ

        This is a special field that is allows you to match imported data with existing patrons based on the patron number. This should only be used if the data file originated from Theatre Manager in the first place, such as for address correction, and you are sure the Patron number matches the one in Theatre Manager (otherwise the results will be overwritten and jumbled data). If you are going to match on patron number, be sure to make a backup of the database first and verify the success of the results after the import.

        If you plan to Export patron names for address correction purposes through a Mail House or other verification service, be sure to include the Patron number on the export, so that when you reimport the corrections back in, you have the patron number to link the corrected address with the correct patron record. In addition, be sure not to merge any patron records while the list is at the Mail House, or else the patron numbers may not align when you reimport the data.
        Helpful Link: Canada Post address correction web site

        MKT_FIELD_1 through MKT_FIELD_5

        These are the marketing fields on the patron record. If they are unique within your database, and you specify them as a column header in the import file, they will also be presented as 'matching field' options. Only do this is you have used these fields to reference unique keys from another system (such as prior ticketing systems).

        Diataxis: 

        What to Import

        The data file may have a lot of information and many types of fields. We suggest that you make an evaluative judgment on the quality of the data. For example, first name, last name and address fields are usually of good quality. Often work and home phone numbers are reasonable. Other phone numbers, marketing information, etc. may be poor quality. Sometimes it is better not to import poor quality data. If it is missing, nobody can make a decision based on poor data.

        During the import, the program will try to match data with an existing patron based on fields you select. If a match is found, only the fields in the import file will be replaced. The remaining patron information will remain untouched. This may be useful when importing an address correction from the post office. The user may not want to update the patrons first name or last name, just their address, city and postal/zip code fields. If so, only include those columns in the import file.

        Here are some general guide lines:

        Patron Number
        • If you are using patron number to import to match to existing ones in Theatre Manager (say for address correction purposes), then you must include the patron number with each record and the field heading must be MKT_C_SEQ
        Salutations
        • Ensure all have a period where appropriate. For example, Mr. Mrs.
        • Ensure all are either 'and' or '&'. For example Mr. & Mrs.
        • Ensure all are set to the proper mixed case.
        First Name
        • Ensure all are either 'and' or '&'. For example John & Mary
        • Move all salutations out of the first name field and move them to the Salutation field
        Last Name
        • Move all company names into the company name field.
        • Move all suffixes out of the last name field and move them to the Suffix field
        Suffix
        • Ensure all have a period where appropriate. For example, Jr.
        • Ensure all are set to the proper mixed case.
        Address
        • Update address information to contain the Post Office address guidelines for mailing address. For example, using PO BOX, RR
        • Update address information to be contained on 2 address lines. If you have more then 2 address lines, they will need to be either combined into 2 lines, or have data contained within the address lines moved to different fields within the patron information record.
        State/Province
        • Ensure all are consistent with a 2 letter state/province code
        Country
        • All contries must match those that are in the codetables. For example, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Japan. Those that do not match will be ignored.
        Phone Numbers
        • Best ability to ensure that phone numbers are properly indicated into separate columns as Home, Work, Fax or Other
        • Depending on time availability, telephone number extensions to be standardized to be starting with a 'x'. For example x111
        • If area codes are missing from phone numbers and you wish to have all 'missing' area codes be set to something, please let us know prior to the data being imported.
        • If the phone number being imported is to be the primary phone number, use the correct column name in the import file.
        Diataxis: 

        1. Importing Data

        At this time Theatre Manager allows organizations to import patron demographic data only (name, address, phone number, email, etc.) from another program. All other data (for example ticket history, donations or other transactional data) should be handled by the Arts Management staff to ensure the data is properly imported.

        1. From the main menu bar, go to File >> Import/Export >> Patron >> Patron.

          This will open the Import Data window.

        Diataxis: 

        2. Match Fields to Database

        Step 2 of the data import process is to match the spreadsheet columns up with the Theatre Manager data fields.

        Parts of the Import Data Window

        The first step in the data import process.
        Opens the user's operating system dialog for opening a file.
        Delimiter Select the type of delimiter used in the import file. The two possible types are Tab Delimited and Comma Separated.
        The second step in the data import process.
        # A numerical order to the fields found in the data import file.
        Column The column headers found in the data import file.
        Database Column A list of the database columns in Theatre Manager to which the data import can be matched.
        Size The size in pixels of the width of the column
        Matches When a data import column header is matched to a TM database field, it is placed here.
        Cancels the data import process.
        Moves to the next step in the data import process of matching keys.
        Diataxis: 

        3. Select Key Field to Match On

        Step 3 of the process is to select the Theatre Manager database field used to locate the existing patron account.

        Parts of the Import Data Window

        The first step in the data import process.
        Opens the user's operating system dialog for opening a file.
        Delimiter Select the type of delimiter used in the import file. The two possible types are Tab Delimited and Comma Separated.
        The third step in the data import process.
        Database Field Name If you are importing a field that is considered a matching field (such as MKT_C_SEQ for the patron number), then they will appear here. If you select one of the matching fields, Theatre Manger will replace data in the database if it finds the record on the database. If not, TM can insert records (depending on the options you select).
        Database Column Description describes the meaning of the column
        Cancels the data import process.
        Moves to the match keys step in the data import process.
        Moves to the Set Options step in the data import process of setting options.
        Diataxis: 

        4. Data Import Options

        Step 4 is the options available when importing the data into Theatre Manager.

        Parts of the Import Data Window

        The first step in the data import process.
        Opens the user's operating system dialog for opening a file.
        Delimiter Select the type of delimiter used in the import file. The two possible types are Tab Delimited and Comma Separated.
        The fourth step in the data import process.
        Include Header Record If the first row of the data import file contains information that needs to be imported, then check this box to include the data. Otherwise the information will not be included as TM assumes that it is header information.
        Delete existing data and import as new records
        Import all data as new records A new patron record will be created for each row of the data that is imported.
        Import only data that does not exist During the import, TM will look for duplicates and only import new data.
        Replace existing data only During the import, TM will look for matching records and replace the existing information contained in the record.
        Replace existing data and import new data During the import, TM will look for matching records to update, and if records aren't found, it will create new records.
        Cancels the data import process.
        Moves to the previous step in the data import process. Click here for more information on the previous step of the data import process.
        Moves to the next step in the data import process of importing the data.
        Diataxis: 

        Sample Imports

        This shows the setup for some sample imports for various types of data in Theatre Manager.

        Importing Existing Patron To A Mail List

        There are times when a group of patrons from the Theatre Manager database may need to be exported and imported back into Theatre Manager in order to create a new mail list. This might be required:

        • to recover and old Mail List that was deleted and needs to be recovered -or-
        • when an excel document containing patron numbers is manipulated in some way to further identify patrons (eg donors where their 6 year trend shoes each years donations increased by 10% every year -or-
        • a list of people is passed to another department for selection for marketing purposes or to have their content altered in some way
        Before using the import features, we suggest making a backup of the database - just in case.

         

        Prepare the list of patrons

        1. Clean up data file.
        2. Open the file in Excel.
        3. Remove all column except the Patron # column.
        4. Change the first line in the column from Patron # to MKT_C_SEQ.
        5. Make the first line in the next column read PM_SHORT_NAME.
        6. Fill in the PM_SHORT_NAME column with:
          • to add to an existing mail list: the exact name of the Mail List from Theatre Manager.
          • to create a new mail list: the name of a non-existent mail list in Theatre Manager. Theatre Manager will create that new mail list for you
          • Note: patrons cannot exist in a mail list twice, so they will be automatically de-duplicated
        7. Save the document as a tab-delimited file.

         

        Import Patrons To A Mail List

        1. Click File >> Import/Export >> Patron >> Mail Lists.

          This will open the Import Data window.

          For more information on the Import Data window, click here.

        2. Set the Delimiter format of the file and use the Select button to pick the file that contains the data to be imported.

          An Open File dialog for the user's operating system will appear.

          Once the file has been selected, the column headers will appear in Step 2 of the window. Scroll through the list to ensure MKT_C_SEQ appears next to Patron # For Marketing Record and PM_SHORT_NAME appears next to Mail List Name. If a column header from the import file does not automatically match, drag the column from the left to the matching line on the right.

        3. Once all fields have been matched, click on the Match Keys button to move to Step 3.

          The MKT_C_SEQ should be listed in Step 3 next to Patron # For Marketing Record. This line should be highlighted by default.

        4. Click the Set Options button to move to Step 4.

        5. The bullet in Step 4 defaults to Import only data that does not exist.
        6. Click the Import button to begin the import process.

          A warning message will appear.

        7. Click the Import button to confirm the importing of data.

          At the bottom of the Data Import window, a message will appear to show the import has started.

          Depending on how much data is being imported, the import routine can take some time to run.

          When the import is complete, a final dialog will appear.

        8. Review the information on the dialog window, and then click the Close button to finish.

        The Patrons have now been added to the Mail List. The Mail List can be opened and reviewed for details.

        Diataxis: 

        Importing Patron Data

        At this time Theatre Manager allows organizations to import patron data only from another program. All other data importing should be handled by the Arts Management staff to ensure the data is properly imported. Before beginning the import process, please click here to read the tips on importing data.

        1. From the main menu bar, go to File >> Import/Export >> Patron >> Patron.

          This will open the Import Data window.

          For more information on the Import Data window, click here.

        2. Set the Delimiter format of the file and use the Select button to pick the file that contains the data to be imported.

          An Open File dialog for the user's operating system will appear.

          Once the file has been selected, the column headers will appear in Step 2 of the window.

        3. From the box on the left hand side, match the fields with fields in Theatre Manager.

          To match fields, click on a field and drag it to the right hand side to match it.

        4. Once all fields have been matched, click on the Match Keys button to move to Step 3.

        5. If the data