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Day 1 Morning

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Please have Ready for Trainer's Arrival

  • The "Local" Administrator password for the database server. This may be a different password then the "Domain" Administrator account. This account is required for the database server only.
  • If you have a Network Domain setup, the "Domain" Administrator user ID and password for the server and workstation(s)
  • If you are not using a Network Domain setup, the "Local" Administrator user ID and password for workstation(s)
  • If you are using a Wireless Network that will be used by the Onsite Trainer, the Wireless Network password
  • Chart of Accounts (a list of the General Ledger accounts) used to maintain money received from patrons, revenues for events, gift certificates, donations, memberships, tax accounts, etc. ready and available for training
  • Fiscal Year Starting Month
  • Venue Maps of the venue(s) (for reserved seat sales) indicating the various sections, rows, and seats numbering patterns. Please ensure that this map is accurate to the actual physical seats in the venue. If you are unsure, please walk to the venue(s) prior to the trainer’s arrival.
  • Brochures (these inform us of pricing options for single and season tickets)
  • Organizational Chart
  • Evening contact phone numbers (for data verification questions)
  • Credit Card Merchant Account Setup Information
  • Examples of Gift Certificates that you provide patrons
  • Samples of existing ticket(s) that you are currently providing to the patrons. This will assist in designing the new ticket layout, which Theatre Manager will be printing.
  • Samples of existing reports that you are currently use for event balancing and revenue accounting. These reports will be useful in determining which of the many reports in Theatre Manager are comparable to those you already work with.
  • A pricing chart of the venue(s) indicating the various price levels based on where the patron sits, “scaled” or “tiered” houses. (if applicable)
  • A pricing chart for the various ticket prices, including season packages the patron may purchase.
  • A list of the various sales promotions used for discounting when selling tickets.
  • A list of the upcoming events (dates and times) and the prices charged to the patrons for each event.
  • Sample donation thank-you letter, donation solicitation request, pledge payment reminders that you would provide to a donor
  • Sample marketing letters that you would provide to a patron

Onsite Trainer Arrives

As this is most likely the first time to your facility for our training, providing the trainer a sense of your organization is important as then they can get a better sense of how to customize the training they will provide to your organization. Some ideas to give them a sense of your organization are:
  • Location and setup of the box office
  • Location and walk through of the venue seating location(s)
  • Locations for other administration staff's offices
Some other helpful locations to know about are:
  • Location of the training location
  • Location of a coffee/lunch room area
  • Location of the water closet

Meet & Greet

  • All staff members should attend this important meeting (usually 30-90 minutes)
  • Have staff bring their goals and hopes for the new software
  • Arts Management goal is to get you functioning by the end of training
  • You may not be using all 100% of Theatre Manager by the end of training
  • Bring forward any changes in the training agenda based on your specific goals

Getting to Know Your Business

  • Seating chart layouts
  • Events that you have upcoming
  • Pricing Information – Price categories, promotions, discounts, zone pricing within the venue
  • Deferred/Earned Revenue
  • Breakdown of ticket revenue within the General Ledger
  • Additional Fees or surcharges that you charge to patrons
  • Gift Certificates, Memberships, and Passes
  • Donation Campaigns
  • Donation Giving Levels

Pricing Strategy

  • Review the existing pricing strategy for base prices for single, group, season, etc. prices
  • Review the existing pricing strategy for discounted tickets (2 for 1, 10% discounts, seniors)
  • Create a crossover spreadsheet on how the existing pricing strategy will be implemented within Theatre Manager's price codes and sales promotions

Data Exporting

  • Where do we stand on the progress of the data exporting?
  • Patron Data
  • Mail Lists
  • Patron Relationship Data
  • Media/Press Information
  • Ticketing Data
  • Donation Data
  • Memberships
  • Outstanding Gift Certificates
  • Volunteer Information and History of Activities
  • Any other databases on employee’s computers
  • Exporting final data conversion from existing databases

Data Preparation for Importing

  • Clarification & preparation of patron data that is required to be imported