Ticket office closings
Ticket office closings help you maintain control over your in-person sales by comparing what your box office staff declares against what the system has recorded. This is essential for cash reconciliation and accountability.
What are ticket office closings?
A ticket office closing is a reconciliation report created at the end of a selling shift. It compares:
- What the system recorded (expected amounts)
- What the staff counted (declared amounts)
- The difference (ideally zero)
This creates an audit trail and helps identify discrepancies before they become problems.
Note: Ticket office closings are optional. You can sell tickets at the box office without ever creating a closing. However, for events with significant in-person sales, closings provide valuable control and accountability.
When to use ticket office closings
Use them when:
- You have dedicated box office staff
- Multiple people sell tickets in person
- You handle significant cash transactions
- You need accountability for each seller
- You want to reconcile daily sales
Skip them when:
- You only sell online
- You handle box office yourself occasionally
- In-person sales are minimal
How to create a closing
After finishing a selling shift, the box office member creates a closing:
- Go to the Sell menu (where they've been selling)
- Click the red button "Close Ticket Office" (top right)
- Complete the closing form:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Cash count | Total cash from all sales |
| Card count | Total from POS terminal closing |
| Observations | Any notes about irregularities |
- Click Submit
Date assignment
The closing is assigned to a date based on when it's submitted:
- Before 2:00 AM: Counts for the previous day
- After 2:00 AM: Counts for today
Example: Closing at 00:30 on Saturday → Assigned to Friday
What a closing captures
Each ticket office closing records:
| Data | Description |
|---|---|
| Date | Which day the closing corresponds to |
| Team member | Who created the closing |
| Tickets sold | Total tickets sold that day |
| Invitations | Courtesies sent/emitted that day |
| Cash expected | System-recorded cash sales |
| Cash counted | Staff-declared cash amount |
| Cash difference | Expected - Counted |
| Card expected | System-recorded card sales |
| Card counted | Staff-declared card amount |
| Card difference | Expected - Counted |
| Total difference | Cash + Card difference |
| Total expected | Cash + Card expected |
| Total counted | Cash + Card counted |
| Observations | Staff notes |
| Closed at | Exact date and time of closing |
Accessing ticket office closings
From the Fanz dashboard, go to Reports → Ticket office closings.
Filters
At the top you have several filters:
Date range
Filter closings by date. Default shows all closings (paginated, most recent first).
Member filter
Filter by specific team member. Default is "All members".
Group by day
A switch that changes how data is displayed:
| State | Display |
|---|---|
| Off | Individual closings per member |
| On | Closings grouped by date (totals per day) |
Download
Export visible data to CSV or XLS format.
Metrics bar
Below the filters, summary cards show totals for all visible closings:
| Card | Information |
|---|---|
| Total tickets | Online + box office tickets (only when grouped by day) |
| Tickets sold | Box office tickets sold |
| Invitations | Courtesies sent |
| Cash counted | Total + expected + difference |
| Card counted | Total + expected + difference |
| Total difference | Counted vs expected, with total difference |
Closings table
The main table shows all ticket office closings with the data described above.
Display modes
Individual view (Group by day OFF):
- Each row is one closing from one member
- Shows member with profile picture (hover for name/email)
- Actions available per closing
Grouped view (Group by day ON):
- Each row is a date
- Expandable to see individual closings
- Shows combined totals for the day
Difference colors
Differences are color-coded for quick scanning:
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 🟢 Green | Little to no difference (acceptable) |
| 🟡 Yellow | Small difference (review recommended) |
| 🔴 Red | Notable difference (investigate) |
Available actions
For individual closings (not grouped), you can:
View orders
Opens a modal with the orders list pre-filtered by that team member and date. This is the fastest way to review all sales included in the closing without manually setting filters.
View purchases
Opens a modal with all transactions made by the ticket seller. Use this to quickly validate and review everything the seller did during their shift—including individual purchase details—without leaving the closings page. This is helpful when you need to audit a specific seller's activity before reconciling.
Refresh closing
Recalculates the closing with the latest system data.
When to use:
- A last-minute sale was entered after closing
- A payment method was corrected on a purchase
- You need to update the expected amounts
Edit closing
Only available to administrators.
Edit the declared amounts:
- Cash count
- Card count
- Observations
After editing, the closing recalculates with the updated data.
Delete closing
Removes the closing entirely. Shows a confirmation modal.
Understanding and handling differences
What causes differences?
Common causes of discrepancies:
| Cause | Example |
|---|---|
| Counting errors | Staff miscounted cash |
| Wrong payment method | Sale recorded as cash but paid with card |
| Missing sale | Transaction not entered in system |
| Change given incorrectly | Too much or too little change |
| Timing issues | Sale made after closing cutoff |
| Theft | Staff pocketing cash or manipulating sales |
Important: In uncontrolled ticket office environments, recurring negative cash differences (staff counted less than expected) can indicate theft. This is one of the main reasons to use ticket office closings—they create accountability and make irregularities visible before they become significant losses.
How to handle differences
Small differences (green/yellow):
- Check if any sales have incorrect payment methods
- Review the observations for explanations
- If explainable, document and move on
- If recurring, review staff training
Large differences (red):
- Don't panic—investigate first
- Click View orders in the closing's action menu to see all transactions pre-filtered
- Go through each order looking for inconsistencies
- Look for payment method errors (common)
- Verify POS terminal closing matches
- Review security footage if available
- Document findings in observations
- If pattern continues, address with the team member
How to spot inconsistencies
When reviewing orders, look for patterns that don't match your business model. For example:
- 3 purchases to the same person: 2 are courtesies and 1 is paid—if your policy is "all or nothing," this is a red flag
- Multiple small cash transactions: Could indicate split transactions to avoid scrutiny
- Unusual payment method patterns: Too many card reversals or voids
- Sales outside normal hours: If the venue was closed
What's "normal" depends entirely on your business. Someone familiar with your operations should do these reviews.
Correcting payment method errors
A common fix for differences:
- Find the purchase in Reports → Purchases
- Open the purchase detail
- Check if payment method is correct
- If wrong, edit to correct method
- Go back to the closing and click Refresh
- The difference should reduce or disappear
Best practices
Daily closings
- Close the ticket office at the end of each shift
- Don't wait until the next day—memories fade
- Make it part of the routine
Multiple sellers
- Each seller should create their own closing
- This maintains individual accountability
- Use the member filter to review each person
Document everything
- Use observations for anything unusual
- "Customer disputed charge" or "POS error at 8pm"
- This context is valuable later
Review regularly
- Check closings weekly or after each event
- Look for patterns in differences
- Address recurring issues early
Use group by day for overview
- Start with grouped view to see daily totals
- Drill down into individual closings when needed
- Export grouped data for management reports
Next steps
No, they're optional. You can sell at the box office without creating closings. However, for events with significant in-person sales or multiple sellers, closings provide valuable control and accountability.
Closings are automatically assigned based on when you submit them (before 2 AM = previous day). You cannot manually select a different date, but you can edit the closing after creation.
A negative difference means you counted less than expected. This could be a counting error, incorrect change given, or a sale recorded as cash that was actually paid by card.
A positive difference means you counted more than expected. This usually indicates a sale was recorded as card when it was actually cash, or a transaction wasn't entered in the system.
No. Only administrators can edit closings. Sellers can refresh their closing to recalculate with latest data, but can't change the declared amounts.
Refresh recalculates the expected amounts from the system without changing what the seller declared. Edit allows changing the declared amounts (cash/card counted).
The closings shown depend on your brand. If you have multiple locations, each location's closings appear together. Use filters to narrow down.
When grouped by day, Total tickets shows both online and box office tickets for that date, giving you the full picture of that day's sales across all channels.
Look for red or yellow difference colors. Red indicates a notable discrepancy that needs investigation. Yellow suggests a small difference worth reviewing.
Yes. Use the download button to export to CSV or XLS. Apply filters first to get exactly the data range you need.