---
title: "Box office"
description: "Sell at the counter from the live seat map, take payment your way, print on an 80 mm roll or A4, and find any order."
---

The box office sells from the same live inventory as your website. A seat sold
at the counter is gone from every buyer's screen at once.

Open the event and choose the **Box office** tab. It appears on events that use
SeatLayer checkout.

## Make a sale

<Steps>
  <Step title="Choose seats">
    In **Sell** mode, use **List** or **Map**. Type a seat like `H12` in
    **Find tickets**, tap seats on the map, or use **Best [n] seats in [price]**
    and **Add best**. **Pick again** swaps in the next best block. Standing
    areas are sold by quantity, and tables whole or by the chair.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Record the payment">
    Under **How were you paid?** choose how the money was taken. **Cash** is
    preselected; the list also shows **Card** (on your own card machine),
    **Complimentary**, and any method your admin added. SeatLayer records how
    you were paid. It never charges anyone at the counter. To give a discount,
    choose **+ Discount** and pick a preset; the sale shows the price, the
    discount and the new total before you confirm.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Buyer details">
    **Buyer name**, **Email** and **Note** are optional. With an email, the
    tickets are sent there. If the event asks for a name on every ticket, the
    form says so.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Complete and print">
    Choose **Complete sale** (Ctrl or ⌘ + Enter). The receipt shows the total
    and how it was paid. **Print tickets** (key P) prints; **Next sale** starts
    the next one.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Payment methods, discounts and comps

An admin sets these up once in **Settings → Box office**.

- **Counter payment methods.** Cash, Card and Complimentary come as standard.
  Choose **+ Add a method** for others, such as a bank transfer (up to 12).
  Rename, reorder, or hide them; the order sets the number keys 1–9. Cash is
  always offered and can only be renamed. A method that was used is hidden
  rather than deleted, so its orders and reports keep the name.
- **Discounts and comps.** **+ Add a discount** creates a preset such as
  "Student 20%": a percentage, or a fixed amount in one currency. A fixed
  amount is offered only on events in that currency, and is never converted.
  **+ Add a comp reason** creates a 100% preset such as "Press (free)", which
  is recorded as a comp with its name as the reason.

Staff can only apply presets; they cannot type their own discount. The preset's
name prints on the ticket, the receipt and the confirmation email, and a comp
shows as Complimentary. When staff choose **Complimentary**, they pick a comp
reason or choose **Other…** and say why it is free.

Only admins can change these settings. Choose **Save box office settings** when
you are done.

## Printing

Set **Paper** once per device: **A4 sheet** or **80 mm roll**. For one-click
printing, make the roll printer the device's default printer, with 80 mm paper.
Tickets print from a PDF, so any printer the browser can reach works.

## Find an order

Switch to **Find order** (key F). Search by name, email, phone (four digits or
more), the 8-digit order number or the code on a ticket, or scan the ticket.
From the order you can:

- **Print again**. The panel shows how many times it was printed, and every
  copy is logged. Each copy has the same QR code, so the door still admits the
  ticket once.
- **Email tickets** to the address on the order or a new one.
- **Change seats**.
- Read the order's **History**.

Refunds and cancellations need an admin. See
[Refunds and cancellations](/sell/refunds-and-cancellations/).