You can reference:
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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.
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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.. |
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Theatre Manager is a 64 bit application. |
![]() OSX |
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![]() Windows |
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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. |
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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. |
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Can we use a Virtual Machine? Absolutely!!!
The specifications below refer to the three server processes required for Theatre Manager. You can:
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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:
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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:
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Nginx Web Server | Theatre Manager uses Nginx web servers. Recommended specs are:
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Please refer to setting up backups to see how they are automated.
AMS Cloud customers are backed up automatically. |
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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. |
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:
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 |
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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 |
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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.
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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. |
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:
The do's of backups: |
The don'ts of backups: |
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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.
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
Depending on the ticket printer and the operating system there will be different confirmation windows before the tickets are printed.
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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. |
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Finding out Practical Automation Ticket printer current IP address
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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 |
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It is a good idea to stick a label with the printer's IP address directly onto the printer. |
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If you change the printer's IP address, make sure to update its Device Record with the new ip address. |
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Finding out Practical Automation Ticket printer current IP address
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There will be a number of files.
Do this by pressing the Back button or the Up button.
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. |
This will connect you to the printer.
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.
A ticket will print containing the IP address of the printer.
Click here for more information on changing a user's ticket printer settings.
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.
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. |
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.
The word 'Done' should appear to the right of the button confirming the settings are saved.
The printer should reset once the settings have been updated.
A ticket will print containing the IP address of the printer.
Click here for more information on changing a user's ticket printer settings.
To reset the printer EEPROM settings to factory default, Press the following key sequence:
Click the icon to download the ITX 3000/2000 Printer User Manual. |
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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.
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Finding out Practical Automation Ticket printer current IP address
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For the Mac OS, you perform the following steps:
The configuration page opens.
The IP Address and Subnet Mask for the ticket printer will be displayed.
The work done will appear next to the OK button.
Wait for the settings to take effect.
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.
The first time printing tickets since logging onto Theatre Manager for that session, a confirmation window will appear, otherwise the tickets will automatically print.
To configure a printer for the Windows operating system, you perform the following steps:
This prints a ticket with information about the printer and it's IP address. The factory default tends to be 192.168.1.1
The installation file can be found at http://www2.artsman.com/Software/PANetworkUtilityVB-1.1.zip
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. |
Follow the prompts to complete the install.
If you disconnected this workstation from the primary network as noted above, reconnect it at this time.
Change the IP address in the appropriate spot
If a hub, switch, or router is not available, a crossover cable between another computer and the printer will be needed.
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.
Typically leading zeros are not necessary in an IP address, but they are for this setting.
Again, it is necessary to include the leading zeros.
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.
If a hub, switch, or router is not available, a crossover cable between another computer and the printer will be needed.
The Boca Systems' Printer Configuration Page opens.
Typically leading zeros are not necessary in an IP address, but they are for this setting.
Again, it is necessary to include the leading zeros.
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.
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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. |
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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. |
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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:
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Connect Ethernet Cable |
![]() ![]() 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 |
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Enter Device Communication Settings |
![]() 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 |
![]() Of particular interest are:
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Configure Printer |
![]() For ethernet setup:
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Configure Printer (Wifi) |
![]() If you wish to use wifi for connecting to the ticket printer, you can. It takes two approaches:
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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.
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.
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.
Once formatted for the FAT32 file system on the flash drive, copy the updated file to the flash drive by doing the following.
Firmware Version 01.01.21 (Jan 2024)
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.
Under the Code Ver should report 01.01.21. Led should turn green in color once the update is successful.
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.
https://www.microcomcorp.com/downloads/x85_configuration_application_for_windows.zip
You should now see a CUTTER TYPE, select MICROCOM CUTTER
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.
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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. |
On the Printer itself, click the Print Menu button.
Click the Next button twice to get to the Cutter Offset option.
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.
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.
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.
The Wi-Fi dongle will not light up.
Use the Next button to continue navigating through the settings.
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.
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This removes the previously configured IP address from the ethernet connection and moves the settings back to default.
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.
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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. |
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Net Use solution is NOT supported by Arts Management Systems. |
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Note: this technique only works with NT, 2000, XP pro and Vista. It does not work with:
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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:
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.
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"
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.
CODE | DESCRIPTION |
1 | Printer out of paper |
2 | Jammed ticket |
3 | Printer offline |
4 | Printer failure |
5 | Low paper (roll ticket printers only). |
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 |
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):
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
Memory (RAM)
Number of CPUs
Operating System
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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. |
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.
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:
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.
To login to Theatre Manager from the list of employees, you perform the following steps:
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.
You are now logged into the last used Theatre Manager database.
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:
The Login window opens.
You will be logged into the last used database.
To login to the Theatre Manager system, you perform the following steps:
The Login window opens.
The Theatre Manager application opens.
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.
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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:
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Changed all passwords from any vendor default password that might be used for installation per PCI DSS 2.1. For example, you must:
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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.
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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 |
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. |
Click here, for more information on the Employee List wondow.
Click here for more information on the Empolyee Data window.
The New Password window opens.
The new password is set for the Employee.
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.
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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. |
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The password parameters are defined on the PCI Security tab in Setup>>System Preferences. |
Click here, for more information on the Employee List window.
The Employee Access window for the selected employee opens.
NOTE: The employee will be forced to change their password from the one you enter above when they first log in.
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. |
To change your password to the Theatre Manager system, you perform the following steps:
The Login window opens.
The Change Password window opens.
The Theatre Manager Application opens
If you change your mind, click the Cancel button. Theatre Manager will open.
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. |
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:
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.
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.
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A good time to rebuild your Training database is immediately after you have loaded all your events for the upcoming season. |
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Click to see how to log into your database if it is hosted on the AMS Cloud |
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You can also switch from a local database and log into the AMS Cloud Server and back, depending where your database is. |
button.
Either the List of Employees window or the Access ID window will reappear.
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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:
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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:
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.
Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut of:
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.
Note that in this example the list is sorted by the patron number, denoted with a 1 to the right of the column title.
Note in this example the list is sorted first by Patron Last Name, then by Patron Number.
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.
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:
A checkable sublist opens.
What is checked in the list is the column that displays.
Clicking places a check next to the column name.
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.
To change the default auto-capitalization setting for a field, you perform the following steps:
On a MAC:For example: MacDonald
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
For example: MacDonald
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.) |
- 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
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. |
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:
If you would like to further refine your sort, use Shift+Click on the columns in the order you would like them to sort:
Performing a Shift-Click on the same column header again will change whether it is in ascending or descending order:
A single regular click will remove the additional sorts.
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.
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:
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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.
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The main toolbar bar provides quick access to key data in Theatre Manager |
The Main Toolbar/Ribbon Bar gives you quick access to the following functions:
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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. |
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Quick Find - Find a patron in the database using the patron number. Click here for more information on Quick Find. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Report - List of reports. Click here for more information on Theatre manager Reporting. |
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Letter - List of form letters. Click here for more information on Form Letters. |
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Cart - List of shopping carts. Click here for more information on Shopping Carts. |
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Account - Chart of accounts. Click here for more information on the Chart of Accounts. |
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GL Entry - General Ledger entries. Click here for more information in GL Entries. |
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End of Day - End of day wizard. Click here for more information on the End of Day. |
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Map - List of theatres and their attached maps. Click here for more information on Theatre Maps. |
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Play - Play list. Click here for more information on Plays. |
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Subscription - Manage favorite seats for subscriptions. Click here for more information on Season Subscriptions. |
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Mail List - Mail lists and quick labels for patrons on a Mail List. Click here for more information on Mail Lists. |
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Preference - Employee preferences. Click here for more information on Employee Preferences. |
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Help - Access TheatreManagerHelp.com which contains the most recent documentation, procedures and FAQ's about Theatre Manager |
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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 |
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.
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:
This resets all window settings to the System Defaults, including any customized column placement. |
In the default mode, the Main Toolbar appears as indicated below.
By deselecting the "System Default" you have the following options:
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 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:
Alternatively
At any time press the [Ctrl] and [F] keys.
The Quick Search window opens.
The quick search window can be printed or exported.
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.
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:
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Click this button to move the calendar back one month. |
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Click this button to move the calendar back one year. |
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Click this button to move the calendar forward one month. |
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Click this button to move the calendar forward one year. |
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Click this button to directly select from any of the upcoming 12 months, or the same month from the next 5 years. |
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.
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.
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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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:
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 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.
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. |
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.
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. |
The G/L Entries List Window opens. For more information on the G/L Entries Detail window, click here
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.
The G/L transaction List Window opens.
For more information on the G/L Transaction History window, click here.
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This function is not available in this window. |
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Opens the Transaction Detail window for further detail about the transaction. |
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This function is not available in this window. |
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This function is not available in this window. |
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Prints a copy of the information in the window. |
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Exports the information in the window to a TXT document for the purpose of importing into another program. |
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Opens the Patron record of the patron associated with the transaction. |
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Attempts to unpost the transaction where applicable. |
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Creates a reverse debit or credit for the transaction. This function is not yet available. |
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Analyzes the TS transactions to verify that they are in balance. |
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A drop down menu of the available search functions. |
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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. |
The parts of the window are:
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Help - Opens the online help. |
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Duplicate - Duplicates and Reverses the transaction to create an offsetting entry |
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Delete - Unavailable |
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Patron - show the patron this transaction belongs to. Opens the Patron record for the patron associated with the transaction. |
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GL Entry - Show the GL Entry containing this transaction if it has been posted |
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Unpost - Clears the journal number on the transaction if it can be unposted so it can be posted again |
Displays general information about the transaction, such as:
The GL Entries tab displays:
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If a transaction has any notifications associated with it, you will see the recipients in this list. You can:
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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.
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Venues with databases on the AMS cloud should contact AMS support with message asking to make a special backup for year end. |
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You must manually create a backup at a time of your own choosing by following these instructions and saving the backup file. |
If you have not run a Year End Rollover and the last day of the fiscal year has now passed:
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.
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:
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.
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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 |
Reports you should consider running include ones below. Send them to the background report queue and wait for them to complete. That way you will have reports as-at-year-end saved in your database and you can reference them later.
Check with your Auditors for a complete list:
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If you are changing your fiscal year end, you can run a year end rollover:
This is such a rare situation, that we suggest you contact the support team. |
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
In the accounting data in TM, you will see the following effects.
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:
The effect you will see in the accounting data for TM is that:
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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. |
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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 |
This issue should only arise if you:
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.
Only a master user or outlet administrator can make this entry. It is not visible for any other user.
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:
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If you posted it in TM, the next step you take depends on whether you passed this GL entry to your accounting system:
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Converting a GL Entry to historical will:
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.
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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. |
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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. |
For cash control, an employees 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:
Your accounting polices and practices will determine how to develop the deposit totals.
The payment selection criteria window opens.
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 days 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.
The Deposit Window is now accessible.
For more information on the Deposit window, click here.
Before continuing with the deposit process, remember to balance the actual receipts to the daily receipts shown in the deposit window.
The second step of the Deposit window will open.
Once you see your receivables listing, you may want to:
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Opens the online help. |
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This function is unavailable in this window. |
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Opens the Patron record for the selected patron. |
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This function is unavailable in this window. |
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This function is unavailable in this window. |
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Prints a list of the patrons in the Receivables List window. |
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Exports the list of patrons in the Receivables List window into a TXT document for use in another program. |
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Opens the Patron record for the selected patron. |
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Adds a Payment to the slected order. |
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Rebuilds the selected order to verify that it is in balance. |
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Runs the Order and Transaction reports to verify that all orders listed are in balance. |
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The different ways to search the window. |
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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. |
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.
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Opens the online help. |
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This function is unavailable in this window. |
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Opens the payment record. |
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This function is unavailable in this window. |
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yo can delete a post dated payment. This will alter the balance owing on the order. |
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Prints the list of the payments on the Post Dated Payment List window to produce the post dated payment report. |
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Exports the list of payments into a TXT document for use in another program. |
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Opens the Patron record for the selected payments. |
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The different ways to search the window. |
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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. |
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.
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:
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.
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 yesterdays 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.
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.
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:
The Till Balance window opens. For more information on the Till Balance window, click here.
The Till Summary is suggested.
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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.
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Opens the online Help for this window. |
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Opens the selected Patron |
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If enabled, marks the selected payments as missing. |
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If available, authorizes the selected credit card. |
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If available, allows you to change the card that a post dated payment is being changed to. |
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Displays the summary table by patron. |
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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 |
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.
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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. |
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 |
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.
Toolbar/Ribbon Bar
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Help - Opens the online help. |
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Deposit Funds - Selects all undeposited payments by payment date and creates a bank deposit |
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Sales Entries - Creates G/L entries based on all new sales transaction in Venue Manager |
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Post to G/L - Posts the G/L Entries that comprise the 'end of day' totals to the ledger |
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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. |
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The Deposits tab is used for creating deposits to send to the bank. For more information on the Deposits tab, click here. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Deposits outstanding funds. For more information on using the Deposits tab, click here. |
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Opens the Transaction History window with information on the payments received. |
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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. |
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Opens the online Help. |
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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:
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Authorizes the selected payments through the credit card server if necessary. Valid on all tabs for credit cards |
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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. |
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Prints a list of the payment in the Deposit window. |
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Summarizes the payments in the deposit by payment type. |
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Summarizes the payments in the deposit by patron. |
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Summarizes the payments in the deposit by the employee who received them. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Cancels the Deposit window. |
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Moves to Step Two of the deposit process. |
Simply:
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When you next to end of day and need to authorize the payments, they will authorize using the replacement credit card. |
Step 2 of the deposit process shows possible issues
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.
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
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The Deposits tab is used for creating deposits to send to the bank. For more information on the Deposits tab, click here. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Enable the checkbox to summarize the data by account number. |
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Begins the process of journalizing the sales entries to the General Ledger. For more information on the Sales Entry Creation process, click here. |
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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. |
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The Deposits tab is used for creating deposits to send to the bank. For more information on the Deposits tab, click here. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Post the accounts receivable to the General Ledger. For more information on the Post to G/L process, click here. |
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Rebuilds the balances of the orders. |
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Creates a balancing entry in the GL for a Box Office write-off. |
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The Deposits tab is used for creating deposits to send to the bank. For more information on the Deposits tab, click here. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Prints the selected report to the screen. |
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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:
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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. |
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:
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.
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Recurring donations are created during end of day deposit automatically on the date that they are next due. |
For more information on the End of Day Wizard window, click here.
The Bank Deposits window opens.
The Deposit window opens.
For more information about the Deposits window, click here.
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.
The Deposit Confirmation opens.
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.
For more information on accessing the End of Day wizard, click here.
The Bank Deposits window opens.
Traditionally, accept the current default date to deposit all payments up to the moment.
The Deposit window with the Orbital feature window opens.
For more information about the Orbital Virtual Server window, click here.
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.
The Deposit Confirmation window opens.
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.
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:
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).
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:
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. |
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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. |
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.
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:
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Very important - please read the error message column to see if:
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This might happen if
The only reasons where this would occur is:
When you see this window:
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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. |
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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.
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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:
For more information on accessing the End of Day wizard, click here.
The Bank Deposits window opens.
Traditionally, accept the current default date to deposit all payments up to the moment.
The Deposit window with the Elavon feature window opens.
For more information about the Elavon VirtualMerchant window, click here.
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.
The Deposit Confirmation window opens.
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.
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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:
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:
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At the bottom centre, look for the following information:
Example 6 (total) - 1 (voids) = 5 (net transactions)
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).
To do so, you will need to:
If you are using Moneris Pin Pads for authorizing credit cards at the box office, Theatre Manager will:
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Normally, there should be no imbalances. However, if you do get one, it may look like the message below that tells you
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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)
Use the following to determine who to contact:
You will need Moneris's assistance removing them from the device if that is needed to balance to Theatre Manager.
The purpose of creating sales entries is to:
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.
A window displays the progress.
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.
When payment has not been received for goods or services, the balance is recorded under Accounts Receivable.
The confirmation window opens.
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.
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.
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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::
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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. |
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 reports selected are generated on the screen.
Once all reports have been printed, and there is no imbalance, the End of Day process is complete. Congratulations!
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: |
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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:
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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
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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: |
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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 |
An imbalance can be caused by a variety of things such as:
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.
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There are two important things to remember about an imbalance in the End Of Day:
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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.
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2 | Re-run the End of Day process again to see if any new sales show up.
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3 | Run the report called Utility Functions and Database Analysis Reports >> Check Order and Transaction Balances.
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4 | Run a Transaction History >> Transaction History List report.
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5 | Run Setup >> Batch Functions >> Order Balances
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6 | Go into Accounting -> General Ledger -> G/L Entries. Are there any manual G/L entries since last time balanced?
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7 | Did the system crash in the middle of creating sales entry? If so make sure G/L entries are not out of balance.
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8 | Did the system crash in the middle of a deposit? The deposit entries will need to be fixed in order to balance.
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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:
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10 | Run a Utility Functions and Database Analysis Reports >> Check Order and Transaction Balances report again.
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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) |
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:
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14 | Force the A/R Balance.
If you have:
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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 |
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:
Double click on the Merchant account to open it.
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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:
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.
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:
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.
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.
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).
Enter criteria to obtain transactions from 2:16 PM (one minute AFTER the previous End Of Day).
The Sales Transaction Allocation report will now match the GL Journal Entry Summary by Account report.
The Transaction Monitor displays the transactions which have taken place on the current day. Theatre Manager automatically updates the monitor every thirty seconds.
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Prints a copy of the information in the window. |
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This function is not available in this window. |
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Opens the Transaction window. For more information on the Transaction window, click here. |
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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. |
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Selection to show the transactions for the current day, current hour or by the last two hours. |
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The preferred view of the transactions to be displayed in the monitor window. |
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.
There are three types of General Ledger entries created by Theatre Manager:
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:
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.
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.
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".
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.
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Begins the creation of a new general ledger entry. For more information on creating manual entries, click here. |
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Opens the selected entry in the G/L Entry Detail window. For more information on the G/L Entry Detail window, click here. |
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This function is unavailable in this window. |
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This function is unavailable in this window. |
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Prints a copy of the currently selected entry. |
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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. |
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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. |
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For the selected G/L entry, this button can be used to
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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. |
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The search criteria options available for the window. |
From To | The search criteria to be used for the search. |
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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. |
For more information on the G/L Entries window, click here.
For more information on finding a G/L entry, click here.
In the Main Menu, selecting Accounting -> General Ledger -> G/L Entries
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.
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
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Begins the creation of a new general ledger entry. For more information on creating manual entries, click here. |
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Saves the general ledger entry. |
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Duplicates the general ledger entry. |
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Reverts to the last saved version of the general ledger entry. |
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Deletes the general ledger entry. |
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Prints a copy of the general ledger entry. |
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Checks the spelling of all text entry fields. |
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Reverses or unposts the currently selected entry. For more information on using the Unpost function, click here. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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The Transactions tab is used to see all transactions that are incorporated into the entry. For more information on the Transactions tab, click here. |
You use the General Ledger Entry Detail window for creating new G/L entries and examining posted entries.
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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. |
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Creates a new G/L transaction. |
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Opens the selected G/L transaction. |
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Deletes the selected G/L transaction. |
The General Ledger Entry Detail window is used for examining posted entries.
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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. |
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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. |
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Opens the Transaction Detail window. |
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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 days 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.
The Journal Entry Types window opens.
A G/L Entry Detail window opens.
The entry is now created.
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.
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. |
During the next End of Day, when the Post to GL step is done the entry will be journalized and posted.
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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. |
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GL Entries can only be exported if they:
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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:
The user's operating system's Save dialog opens.
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.
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.
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The Transaction History Record opens.
Click the Search button to view all transactions.
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.
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.
The following steps are required to setup the General Ledger. If you don not compete the setup procedures, this could cause errors in posting.
For more information on setting up the Credit Card types, click here.
For more information on the Detail Level, see below.
For more information on the Tax Table setup, click here.
For more information on creating a general ledger account, click here.
For more information on this setting, click here.
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. |
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.
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Insert a New G/L Account. |
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Open the detail window for a G/L Account. |
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Create a copy a G/L Account |
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Delete a selected G/L Account. |
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Generate a report of the current list of G/L Accounts. |
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Export the G/L Account details. |
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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. |
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.
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Saves the current general ledger account. |
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Creates a duplicate of the current general ledger account. |
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Reverts to the last saved version of the general ledger account. |
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Deletes the general ledger account. If there are transactions associated with the account, it cannot be deleted. |
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Prints the information in the general ledger account. |
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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. |
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The Setup tab deals with general information settings for the general ledger account. For more information on the Setup tab, click here. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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.
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.
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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.
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The Setup tab deals with general information settings for the general ledger account. For more information on the Setup tab, click here. |
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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. |
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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. |
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.
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The Setup tab deals with general information settings for the general ledger account. For more information on the Setup tab, click here. |
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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. |
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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. |
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A brief summary of the account details for the past five years and the total for those years. |
If you select a number of rows on the GL detail or transaction tabs, Theatre Manager will summarize the totals for you.
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The Setup tab deals with general information settings for the general ledger account. For more information on the Setup tab, click here. |
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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. |
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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 |
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.
The G/L Accounts window opens.
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.
Only accounts which have not been used in a transaction may be deleted. |
For information on inactivating a G/L Account, click here.
For more information on finding a G/L Account, click here.
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.
The account will be removed and a deletion confirmation will appear at the bottom of the window.
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.
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 |
A list of required general ledger accounts is displayed.
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.
To edit an account, you change some of the account details. Accounts can be changed to debit or credit accounts, active or inactive etc.
For more information on accessing the Chart of Accounts, click here.
For a detailed description of this window, click here.
For information on finding a G/L account, click here.
For a detailed description of this window, click here.
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.
For more information on accessing the Chart of Accounts, click here.
For more information on finding a general ledger account, click here.
The account will now be set as inactive and can no longer be used.
For more information on accessing the Chart of Accounts window, click here.
All matching entries will be displayed.
To view the details of an account double click the account.
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.
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.
Using the chart of accounts you can edit and add accounts to the GL.
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.
The GL Account Detail Window opens.
Click Here for a detailed description of this window.
Set the account as active if you wish to use it immediately.
The new account will be added to the Chart of Accounts.
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.
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.
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:
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). |
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Pros
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Cons
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Web Site Interface This method uses computers equipped with a web browser to communicate to the web listener to track attendance. |
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Pros
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Cons
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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. |
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Pros
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Cons
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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.
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iOS device not included with purchase of scanner/licence. It must be acquired separately |
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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. |
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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. |
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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:
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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.
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The purchase of the linea pro scanner/licence does not include an iOS device.
It must be acquired separately |
To use this application, you will need to:
Most often, the settings can be made once and left alone if the intent is to scan tickets on the day of the show.
The setup steps for a user id for scanning are:
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You may protect access to this entire screen (or parts of it) using an iPhones built in Accessibility Feature |
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:
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
The app is called IPCSupport and can only be downloaded from the apple store on your iOS device.
This app will provide:
Only use the Device for battery health and RFID to test infrared laser.
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..
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.
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
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
TM Scanner (iPhone/iPod) |
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If you have trouble doing a scan, you can enter the ticket number manually. To do so: |
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The process is very similar for both scanners.
TM Scanner (iPhone/iPod) |
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If you have trouble doing a scan, you can enter the ticket number manually. To do so: |
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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. |
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.
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.
If you want to scan for tomorrow's performance for some reason, then:
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If a sales promotions is explicitly marked with the requirement for a coupon when sold online, then the following happens:
With a tethered unit, you follow a similar process as outlined below:
The Patron Attendance list window opens.
The search criteria is entered in the From and To fields and is based on the field listed in the drop down list.
A list of performances opens.
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.
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.
This marks all tickets entered in the list as Attended.
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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:
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. |
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) |
Once you have the setup information, then you can begin the process of tracking 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:
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.
Once the web page is on the screen
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. |
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. |
Ticket Already Used | If the ticket has already been marked as used then you will see a message similar to the one below. |
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).
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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.
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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. if the patron was properly scanned into the venue, you will get a message like the following in the standard message area. |
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 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). |
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..
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)
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:
It may be the same, or it may have been previously changed 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. |
To populate the options available in Performance Field #1, please follow the instructions under Course Settings in Code Tables found here.
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.
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:
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:
Alternatively
Click the PlaysThe Play List Window opens.
The Plays and Dates Window opens.
To enter course title information, you perform the following steps:
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.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.
If this is the case, choose "Mark tickets as printed (but don't print)" under Ticket Printing Information.
This way, the course will show in the Plays List for purchase.
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).
You must enter Accounting information in the Accounting tab before you can Save the record. |
Accounting information is discussed on the next page.
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.
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:
You can now go on and add classes (as performances).
To add Performances (or Classes) to your Course, select the Performance tab of the Plays and Dates window.
The Performance Wizard opens, beginning with Step One (details begin on the next page).
To add a class, you perform the following steps:
In this example - 20.
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).
Locating the name of the field (which is whatever you have changed it to in Company Preferences) and following the instructions found here.
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. |
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. |
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.
You can use the calendar lookup to the right of the data field to help choose the correct date.
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).
In Step Three, you are presented with a Calendar View of the Classes in the Course.
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.
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:
This enables the Price Codes on the right for editing.
For more information about Price Codes, click here.
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:
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)
For more information about Promotions, please click here.
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.
Creating a link to courses entails using the &search parameter in the event URL. By picking the right &search parameter you can:
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.
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.
For information about how to use the Plays List lookup, click here.
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.
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:
The Contact List window opens.
Single Click on the patron in the list to highlight. For more information on finding patrons click here.
The Order Window opens.
Click here to learn how to search for performances.
To select a single course double click on it.
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.
To add other Attendees, you:
Continue until you have selected all the Attendees.
The Order Payment window opens.
The ticket tab of the patron window displays the courses purchased for the household member.
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.
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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. |
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.
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Note: when setting up the fee, make sure to talk to your accountant about the proper account for tracking purposes. |
"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." |
Play Information |
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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. |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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. |
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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. |
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Click to print a test ticket for this course. |
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.
Accounting Stype |
Use same accounts - When checked, you can enter the accounts once and use for all ticket types. |
Tax Code and Pricing |
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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 |
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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 |
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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. |
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.
Sale Settings |
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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 |
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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 |
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Creates a new class and opens the Course Setup Window. Click here for more information. |
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Opens one or more Class Setup Window(s) for the selected course. |
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Deletes the selected course. Click here for more information. |
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Shows all transactions for the selected course. |
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Verifies all seats for the selected course. It is best to do this when no other users are logged in. |
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:
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. |
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.
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 |
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.
On the right side of the Courses Tab, Report Cards issued for a Course are displayed. For more information about Report Cards, click here.
On the left side of the Courses Tab, Class Dates and information are displayed.
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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. |
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The performance runs from and through dates are automatically calculated as follows:
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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.
Box Office Settings | Options are:
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E-Ticket Delivery | Options are:
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In the Pricing tab, you set course pricing the same way Price Codes are set for any other Play or Event.
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 |
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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. |
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Duplicates the entire pricing structure from another course to this course. |
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Copies prices from one play to the selected structures. Click here for more information on Copying Prices. |
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Set the default price code for the selected courses. Click here for more information on setting a default. |
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Opens the selected price code for editting. |
In Theatre Manager , you can copy prices to a single performance or group of performances, from any performance saved in Theatre Manager.
Pricing information should now display on the right side of the Events and Dates window.
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.
The Copy Price Wizard window opens.
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.
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.
Highlight the Price Codes you want. You can select all, none, or some of the price codes to be copied.
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.
Each course (series) can have its own default price code setting.
Pricing information displays on the right side of the Event Setup Window.
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.
A list of usable price codes is displayed.
Select a Price Code to be the Default.
Do this by clicking on a price code from the list.
The Promotions tab is where you can add, edit or remove promotions availble when selling courses.
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 |
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Sets or disables the default promotion to be used for this class |
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Allows the selected promotions to be used when selling this class |
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Indicates that the selected promotion will not be used when selling this class |
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Allows you to choose which promotions are seen on the 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. |
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Sets the attendance for the course. This is only available on the day of the course or after it has taken place. |
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Clears the attendance of the course. This is only available on the day of the course or after it has taken place. |
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Print the selected tickets for this course that are not yet printed. |
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Refunds the selected ticket(s). |
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Transfers the selected ticket(s) to another course. |
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.
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" 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.
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. |
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Allows you to look up and add a volunteer to the selected course date. |
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Brings up the Volunteer Activity Detail window for the selected patron. |
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Allows you to remove a volunteer from the selected course. |
Show volunteer working entire event | This feature is currently under development. |
More Information to come.
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.
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.
Available Actions |
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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. |
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.
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 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.
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:
The image below shows the Attendance Tab with attendees' attendance reasons marked:
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.
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:
The next few pages will describe how to:
To assign a report card to a Course, you perform the following steps:
The Play List window opens.
The Performance Detal window opens.
The Report Card Detail window opens.
The Report Card tab populates with the name of each student in the Course and enables the report card to be completed.
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.
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.
Close the report card to move on to the next student in the Report Cards list.
To print from Reports, you perform the following steps:
The List of Reports window opens.
The Course Report Card Criteria window opens.
You are returned to the Course Report Card Criteria window Sort tab.
The Titles Tab opens.
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:
This feature was intended to support various things like:
It is permissible to bookmark the link to manage performances - and it may involve a login to proceed.
Note that any notes particular to the pass type are shown - which means you can place some rules for the instructor if you wish.
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Taking attendance for a course requires some prior setup/permissions before it can be done via a tablet or computer |
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The list of absence reasons are defined in the attendance reasons code table. |
It is permissible to bookmark the link to manage performances - and it may involve a login to proceed.
If a student is marked absent and they should be present, you can use these steps to clear the absence reason.
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Taking attendance for an event requires some prior setup/permissions before it can be done via a tablet or computer |
It is permissible to bookmark the link to manage performances - and it may involve a login to proceed.
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.
These are indicated with a button that says Add Order #xxx to Cart on the class that money is owed for.
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A payment for prior orders online follows the rules of applying a single payment for multiple orders |
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The feature is enabled in company preferences-->Web Options-->Carts & Checkout under the checkout grouping of orders |
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If you enable the feature, we suggest entering a useful comment in the order's external notes when you put the order on account. |
There are two conditions under which an order could appear on this window.
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.
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.
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.
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.
With each service provider, Theatre Manager supports the ability for processing:
Refer to payment code table for setup information.
Click here for steps to set up a Merchant Account inside Theatre Manager.
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 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:
The Query Type determines the type of report that will result from the report query. Options include:
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:
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:
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:
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.
If your question is about setup, please refer to Moneris e-Select Installation
The Transactions Search Parameters window will open.
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.
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. |
The Batch Reports Search Parameters window opens.
A window opens, showing the totals of any open batches.
The Batch total should match the Theatre Manager Deposit List Total for authorized credit cards.
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.
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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.
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
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 |
Cheatsheet |
Flash ScreenCast |
MP4 ScreenCast |
Donations |
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Donations Overview | ||||
Add a Donation thru the Order Window | ||||
Refund a Ticket to a Donation |
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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 |
Theatre Manager can be used to enter and manage donations for your:
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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. |
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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.
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For more information on the features of the donation module, you may wish to refer to a number of cheatsheet and videos. |
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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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Donation with a non receiptable benefit amount |
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:
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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
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Gifts to multiple campaigns |
Some donations are split amongst two or more campaigns. To do this:
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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:
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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?
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Buy a Seat |
If you are doing a seat naming campaign, the best way to handle it is:
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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.
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
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. |
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Inserts a new donation. For more information on inserting donations click here. |
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Opens the selected donation for editing. For more information on editing donations click here. |
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Deletes a donation when the tax receipt and prior payments have been removed. For more information on deleting donations click here. |
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Opens the donation payment window. For more information on making payments Click here. |
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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. |
To access the Donation Detail window, you perform the following steps:
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
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Inserts a new donation. For more information on inserting donations click here. |
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Saved changes made to the current donation. |
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Reverts changes made to the donation back to the last saved point. |
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Deletes a donation once the donation receipt and payment have been removed. For more information on deleting donations click here. |
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Generates a report displaying the donation details. |
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Checks the spelling within the data entry fields. |
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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:
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:
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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
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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:
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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. |
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Click here for details on the Notes tab. |
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Click here for details on the Pledge Schedule tab. |
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Click here for details on the Receipt tab. |
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Click here for details on the Soft Credit tab. |
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Click here for details on the Matching Gift tab. |
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Click here for details on the Transaction tab. |
The Notes Tab allows you to select specific donors and event / plays and enter Notes about the selected donation.
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 ![]() |
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. |
This tab can be used to add Pledge Schedules and track all donation Contacts.
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. |
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Adds a scheduled pledge reminded to the donation. For more information on scheduled pledges click here. |
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Opens the selected letter, pledge or email. |
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Deletes the selected letter, pledge or email. |
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Adds a new letter or email to the donation. |
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Opens the document that corresponds to the selected pledge, letter or email. |
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Prints the selected letter. |
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.
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). |
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Please refer to receipt options to see how your choices of when and how receipts should be printed for the donation by Theatre Manager. |
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. |
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Opens the Edit Manual Receipt detail window. |
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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. |
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Adds a form letter to the selected payment. |
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Prints a ticket receipt for the selected payment. |
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.
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. |
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Inserts a new soft credit. For more information on creating soft credits click here. |
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Opens the selected soft credit for editing. |
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Deletes the selected soft credit. |
For details on inserting matching gifts click here.
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 |
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Opens the patron record for the matching gift patron. |
Quick reference Information for Matching Gifts
Quick reference information for Setting up the Gifter |
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. |
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Opens the selected transaction displaying the transaction details window. |
You can download the Cheatsheets (1-2 pages) and Screencasts (online video demonstrations of the functions with narration) by clicking on the icons. |
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:
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.
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 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?
The required GL Accounts are:
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
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.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.
Alternatively
To add a Donation to an existing order, or while creating an order, you would:
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:
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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.
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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.
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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:
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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:
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Tax Receipt Options |
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Click Payment for additional information.
Quick reference information Donations Overview |
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.
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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. |
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Alternatively, refer to Enter Donations on the Order Window when already within an order. |
The Donation Detail window opens.
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.
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.
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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. |
To handle these in Theatre Manager:
Before you actually receive the planned gift, there will undoubtably be changes to the information, discussions, reporting, etc. You can:
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.
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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 |
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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.
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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 |
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Read how to batch print receipts that have not been printed. |
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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. |
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.
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If you cannot ascertain the true donor of a gift, select No Receipt Required to comply with Revenue Canada regulations. |
To use form letter receipts:
Note: Any payment to an order with multiple donations is applied to the individual donations in this order:
Once a payment is applied to a an order with multiple donations, you cannot change the allocation of receipts unless you:
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The Order window can be accessed by purchasing ticket, a membership or by simply adding a payment to an existing order.
Click Payment for additional information.
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:
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
Only tickets within the same order can be refunded at the same time.
The Order window will open.
This will release the seats to be refunded back to the Box Office. The order will now have an outstanding CREDIT balance.
The Donation Default Settings window will open.
A new Donation Detail window will open.
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.
The Order window will return. The balance in the lower left corner will be zero.
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: |
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:
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
Click Payment for additional information.
Quick reference information on how to make a donation anonymous: |
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:
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 |
To toggle between corporate and individual donations, you perform the following steps:
Click here for more information on how to open the donation.
The receipt detail window opens.
The date will automatically clear from the Date/Time Printed field.
Repeat Steps 3 - 5 for every receipt listed for the donation (if there is more than one).
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.
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:
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
The Donation will now be seen under the new name in the Program Name column of the Donation tab.
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:
Click here to learn more about adding pledges.
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. |
The Form Letter Selection window will open.
Single click on a letter to select it.
For Quick Reference Pledge Scheduling, You can download: Cheatsheets (1-2 pages) and
Screencasts (online video demonstrations of the functions with narration) |
Cheatsheet |
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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 |
Mp4 |
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
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. |
The Form Letter Selection window opens.
Single click on a letter to select it.
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.
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.
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
The Donation Pledge Reminder Setup window will open.
The Form Letter Selection window will open.
Single click on a letter to select it.
For more information on entering post dated payments click here.
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.
Sometimes, issues may arise if the payments stretch over a long time. If the:
A soft credit is a way to give recognition to someone who 'encouraged' the original hard donation without entering a real donation.
For example:
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.
Alter the values as required.
Patron # | This is the Patron account that you wish to add a soft
credit for. You can use the ![]() |
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. |
For Quick Reference Soft Credits, You can download: Screencasts (online video demonstrations of the functions with narration) |
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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.
In the example about this would be Jake Belleville. For more information on finding a patron click here.
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.
In this example the patron would be Blaine Abel.
The Donation Matching Gift window will open.
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.
Single click on a patron to select them.
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.
Once the payment transaction has been completed the Donation Detail window will return and the Matching Gift tab will be displayed.
Click Payment for additional information. Once a payment is received the Donation Detail window will reopen.
The Donation List Window for the matching gift patron will be opened
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 |
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Matching Gifts Part 2 - Adding Gift To Donation & Running a Report |
Typical things to change are:
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.
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
Single click on a donation to select it.
If a receipt has been printed for the donation you will not be able to edit the Tax Receipt Name Field. |
The changes have now been made to the donation.
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.
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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.
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.
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
This opens the Order Payment window.
This information may be required for auditing purposes.
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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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.
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
The Order window opens.
The donation will now be deleted and removed from the list.
The Donation Detail window opens.
The payment previously made will be split across all of the donations entered.
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
Single click on the donation to select it.
The Donation Detail window opens.
A Payment Warning appears, indicating there is no payment required for this order.
You can use the Prior Payments tab to review how the original payment was made.
A Payment Warning dialog opens, indicating the payment made does not complete the order.
The Process Another Payment window appears.
The Donation Detail window appears.
The Edit Manual Receipt Detail window opens.
The Delete A Record confirmation window opens.
The receipt is removed from the Donation Detail window.
The Patron Record will display the Donation tab.
The Delete A Record confirmation window opens.
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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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.
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
Single click on a donation to select it.
A warning dialogue box opens.
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. |
A note appears at the bottom of the Patron window. The donation has been deleted but not refunded.
An outstanding receivables of $21.40 can be seen for Order # 117.
The Payment Order window for the selected Order opens.
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.
The payment and donation have now been refunded.
For quick reference information in Deleting and Refunding Donations you can access the following: |
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.
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
Single click on the donation to select it.
The Donation Detail window will open.
A Payment Warning opens, indicating there is no payment required for this order.
Use the Prior Payments tab to review how the original payment was made.
A Payment Warning will appear indicating the payment made does not complete the order.
The Process Another Payment window opens.
The Donation Detail window opens.
The Edit Manual Receipt Detail window will open.
The Delete A Record confirmation window opens.
The receipt will be removed from the Donation Detail window.
The Patron Record will displaying the Donation tab.
The Delete A Record confirmation window will appear.
The Donation is now deleted from the Patron Record.
For quick reference information in Deleting and Refunding Donations you can access the following: |
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
Addresses in other countries do not print the 'Date Receipt Issued' on a tax receipt. |
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When editing donation receipts, you CANNOT:
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YOU CAN date a receipt earlier than the payment date. This allows a small leeway for
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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).
For further information on this topic refer to Inserting a Donation.
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.
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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. |
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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. |
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.
The Print Charitable Receipts for Donor Criteria window opens.
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.
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.
Select the last name of the patron to search the data base. Left blank, Theatre Manager assumes all records.
Enter the fiscal year that you wish to print the Donation Receipts for.
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 |
You may wish to print one for the donor and one for your files.
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.
The receipts will now begin to print to the default printer. Clicking the Cancel
button will cancel the receipt printing process.
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.
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
The Patron's Donation history is displayed.
The Donation Detail window opens.
The Print Charitable Receipts for Donor Criteria window opens.
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.
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.
Select the last name of the patron to search the data base. Left blank, Theatre Manager assumes all records.
Enter the fiscal year that you wish to print the Donation Receipts for.
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 |
You may wish to print one for the donor and one for your files.
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.
You may choose to sort the donation receipts by some other method than the default 'Last Name'.
The receipts will now begin to print to the default printer. Clicking the Cancel
button will cancel the receipt printing process.
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.
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You can also manually un-print and reprint donation receipts from the donation receipt tab on the donation window. |
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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. |
The Donation List window opens.
Use the drop down list to select the Donation Receipt #. For more detailed information about this window click here.
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.
Click on a receipt to highlight it. To select multiple receipts hold the Ctrl or Appel key while clicking each receipt.
The following dialogue box will display.
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.
To unprint some receipts:
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. |
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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.
Although similar in nature, there is a difference between these three common donation types.
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.
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.
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.
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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. |
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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. |
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There are three ways a recurring donation can be created. Please read about all of them. |
To access the Recurring Donation Templates window:
The Recurring Donation Template List window opens.
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Accesses the Help section for this window. |
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Inserts a New recurring donation template through the Recurring Donation Template window. For more information on inserting recurring donations click here. |
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Opens a window to edit a recurring donation through the Recurring Donation Detail window. For more information on editing recurring donations click here. |
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Duplicates an existing recurring donation. For more information on duplicating an existing recurring donation click here. |
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Deletes a recurring donation. For more information on deleting recurring donations click here. |
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Generates a report of recurring donations to the screen or default print location. |
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Exports out a recurring donation template list in a tab-delimited format. |
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The patron record opens. For more information on the patron window click here. |
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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. |
There are 3 ways to create a Recurring Donation.
To setup a new Recurring Donation for a patron, there are three steps to follow:
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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. |
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'. |
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
Single click on a donation to select it.
A confirmation window will open to confirming the creation of a Recurring Donation from the existing donation.
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'. |
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'.
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. |
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
Single click on a donation to select it.
A confirmation window will open to confirming the creation of a Recurring Donation from the existing donation.
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. |
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.
For further information on Web Page Documentation click here.
The Donation Amount within the online donation will be used as the Recurring Amount for each future recurring occurrence. |
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.
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. |
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'. |
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.
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. |
Click here to learn how to access this window.
The recurring donation detail window will open. Click here to learn more about this window.
Duplicating a Recurring Donation will not duplicate previously created gifts associated to the recurring donation. Only the Recurring Donation itself will be duplicated. |
Click here to learn how to access this window.
The recurring donation has now been duplicated.
Click here to learn how to access this window.
The recurring donation must not be tied to a previously created donation in order to be deleted.
A delete confirmation dialog opens.
The recurring donation has now been deleted.
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Opens a new Recurring Donation Detail window to enter a new recurring donation. |
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Saves the currently open recurring donation. |
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Creates a duplicate of the currently open recurring donation. |
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Can be clicked while editing to revert back to the last time the open recurring donation was saved. |
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Deletes the recurring donation currently open. |
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Checks the spelling in the appropriate fields. |
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The Details tab is where you enter the descriptive information about the recurring donation. Click here for more information about the Details tab. |
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The Notes tab is where you enter default values and notes for the recurring donation. Click here for more information about the Notes tab. |
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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. |
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The Statistics tab shows the various total amounts for the selected recurring donation. Click here for more information about the Statistics tab. |
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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. |
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. |
Payment Method | Choose the method of payment that will be used for each recurring donation. | ||
Credit Card |
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EFT |
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On Account |
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The Notes Tab allows you to define specific fields for each gift created by the Recurring Donation.
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.
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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.
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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.
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Annual Summaries/Projections
Contains a backward look at actual amounts and a forward look at projections over a 6 year period. |
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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:
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Projected 2024 | This is the projected total donations ONE year in the future based on this recurring donation template.
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Projected 2025 | This is the projected total donations TWO years in the future based on this recurring donation template.
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Projected 2026 | This is the projected total donations TWO years in the future based on this recurring donation template.
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Overal Actual Amounts
contains the summary of every donation that has been created because of this recurring donation template. |
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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.
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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. |
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.
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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. |
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Scheduled Gifts for Recurring Donations are reviewed and created in the following areas:
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The Recurring Donations List window opens.
Click here for information about the recurring donation window.
The confirmation window will open confirming the request to create gifts from the recurring donations.
The gifts will now be created.
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.
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
If the Publication Name is left blank a warning screen will appear.
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.
For details on locating a Patron Record click here.
A warning screen will appear asking if you are sure you wish to allow access to there information.
Occasionally, you may need to reduce the amount of a specific donation. Examples might be:
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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. |
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Splitting a donation consists of reducing the donation first followed by adding another donation to the existing order. |
The donation record opens.
There are two things that can happen when you reduce the amount of the donation and click save.
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:
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.
This adds a new donation to the existing order.
The first donation detail window will still be open. Close it too.
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:
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:
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. |
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:
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.
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. |
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. |
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:
To begin with a search, you will need to determine which patrons you wish to submit for analysis on. This could be from:
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. |
A context menu will pop-up
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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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.
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. |
To begin with a search, you will need to determine which patrons you wish to submit for analysis on. This could be from:
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. |
A context menu will pop-up
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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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. |
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.
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. |
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.
The Upload File section will appear.
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.. |
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:
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. |
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. |
A context menu will pop-up
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:
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. |
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. |
This will open the Import Data Window.
In most cases, select "DS_PROFILE_LINK - DonorSearch-Profile Link"
In most cases, select "Import all data as new records"
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.
A context menu will pop-up
A context menu will pop-up
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Not available in this window. |
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Opens the selected DonorSearch Analytic Result for the selected patron. |
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Not available in this window. |
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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. |
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Generates a report of all listed analytic results to the screen or default print location. |
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Exports the data from the analytic results list into a selected file format and saves it to a selected location. |
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Opens the Contact Card for the selected patrons in the list. |
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Assigns a donor solicitor to the selected patrons in the list. |
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Requests a New DonorSearch Analysis for the selected patrons in the list. |
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Retrieves the DonorSearch Analytic Results for the selected patrons in the list. |
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Go directly to the DonorSearch Web Portal and view the DonorSearch Analytic Results for the selected patrons in the list. |
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. |
The DonorSearch Analytic Results Detail Window displays all of the analysis results from DonorSearch on your patron.
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Opens the Contact Card for the selected patrons in the list. |
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Requests a New DonorSearch Analysis for the selected patrons in the list. |
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Retrieves the DonorSearch Analytic Results for the selected patrons in the list. |
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Go directly to the DonorSearch Web Portal and view the DonorSearch Analytic Results for the selected patrons in the list. |
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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. |
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Second Tier displays the important information about the donor. |
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Third Tier displays information of significance about the donor. |
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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. |
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Miscellaneous displays the counts and total amounts for various areas of interest found for this patron during the analysis. |
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Profile displays the additional information provided by Theatre Manager to DonorSearch during the batch processing (Text File) submission. |
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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. |
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.
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. |
Second Tier displays the important information about the donor.
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. |
Third Tier displays information of significance about the donor.
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. |
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.
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. |
Miscellaneous displays the counts and total amounts for various areas of interest found for this patron during the analysis.
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.
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# 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. |
Profile displays the additional information provided by Theatre Manager to DonorSearch during the batch processing (Text File) submission.
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. |
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.
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. |
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. |
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. |
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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. |
Using the tool, you may replace the typical bands of seats with different pricing on aisles or zones in the venue.
to use the hot seat analyzer, you perform the following steps:
The Hot Seat Analyzer opens.
Theatre Manager shows the reserved seating events in the venue that are active.
Select if you want the seat display to:
Theatre Manager aggregates information based on the seats that are sold in the map, and adjusts the legend.
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. |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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. |
Importing a file consists of a number of steps:
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Sometimes MS Excel documents have unwanted extra lines and formatting that can increase the record count when imported. To prevent this from happening,
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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.
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 |
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:
There are also some fields that can be used for matching fields - which allow data to be replaced in current records.
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.
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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. |
Some special fields that will "update" the field, rather then add new contact information to the patron account
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.
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.
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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. |
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Helpful Link: Canada Post address correction web site |
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).
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.
Patron Number |
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Salutations |
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First Name |
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Last Name |
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Suffix |
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Address |
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State/Province |
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Country |
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Phone Numbers |
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This will open the Import Data window.
Step 2 of the data import process is to match the spreadsheet columns up with the Theatre Manager data fields.
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The first step in the data import process. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Cancels the data import process. |
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Moves to the next step in the data import process of matching keys. |
Step 3 of the process is to select the Theatre Manager database field used to locate the existing patron account.
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The first step in the data import process. |
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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. |
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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 |
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Cancels the data import process. |
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Moves to the match keys step in the data import process. |
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Moves to the Set Options step in the data import process of setting options. |
Step 4 is the options available when importing the data into Theatre Manager.
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The first step in the data import process. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Cancels the data import process. |
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Moves to the previous step in the data import process. Click here for more information on the previous step of the data import process. |
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Moves to the next step in the data import process of importing the data. |
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:
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Before using the import features, we suggest making a backup of the database - just in case. |
This will open the Import Data window.
For more information on the Import Data window, click here.
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.
The MKT_C_SEQ should be listed in Step 3 next to Patron # For Marketing Record. This line should be highlighted by default.
A warning message will appear.
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.
The Patrons have now been added to the Mail List. The Mail List can be opened and reviewed for details.
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.
This will open the Import Data window.
For more information on the Import Data window, click here.
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.
To match fields, click on a field and drag it to the right hand side to match it.