Theatre box office software sells your seats online and at the window, and keeps a record of every patron. For a small theatre or arts venue, choose by how you sell and by who can get into those records. Here are nine tools in no particular order; seven are built for arts or box office use.
Most box office shopping starts with seat maps. I'd start somewhere else, because the seat map is the part you'll see in every demo and the patron list is the part you'll live with for years.
Start with who can log in to your patrons
Your box office system holds names, emails, membership and subscription history, often gathered across online sales and the window. In a small venue, plenty of people touch it: front-of-house staff, a volunteer on the Saturday matinee, someone covering the phone. Buyers rarely ask how those people get in.
NIST's cybersecurity basics for small businesses say to require multi-factor authentication on all accounts that offer it, and to back up your data regularly and test those backups. That's general guidance and not written for theatres, but it turns into very direct questions for a vendor:
- Does each member of staff and each volunteer get their own login, or does the window run on one shared password?
- Is multi-factor authentication available on every one of those accounts, including the ones on the window computer?
- Can you limit what a volunteer sees, so someone scanning tickets isn't browsing the whole patron list?
- How do you back up patron data, and how would you restore it if something went wrong?
- Can I export the full patron and order list myself if I leave, and in what format?
That last one matters most. Your patrons' history is what lets you say thank you to a loyal subscriber, and it shouldn't be stuck inside a system you've outgrown.
All nine in one table
These run alphabetically, in no particular order of merit.
| Tool | Type | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| accesso ShoWare | Enterprise box office | Assigned seating online and at the window |
| AgileTix | Venue ticketing and memberships | One inventory across several sales channels |
| PatronManager | Arts ticketing and CRM | Ticketing, fundraising and marketing together |
| Spektrix | Theatre box office and CRM | Performing arts ticketing with sector experience |
| Tessitura | Arts CRM and ticketing | Nonprofit-run CRM for arts and culture |
| Ticket Tailor | General event ticketing | Online ticket sales with a check-in app |
| Ticketor | White-label box office | Your own branded ticketing with seating charts |
| TicketSpice | General ticketing with seating | Seated, timed or recurring events |
| Tixly | Performing arts ticketing | An integrated performing arts suite |
Arts platforms, venue box offices and general ticketing
The useful split here isn't feature by feature. It's about what each tool was built around, because that shapes every screen you'll use.
- Built around arts patrons. PatronManager, Spektrix, Tessitura and Tixly all describe themselves in performing arts or arts and culture terms. Two of the four are large vendors, so a small venue should ask early whether it's the kind of customer they're set up for.
- Built around the box office and venue. accesso ShoWare, AgileTix and Ticketor talk more about seats, windows, kiosks and scanning. The first of those is a large company too, so the same question applies.
- General ticketing. TicketSpice and Ticket Tailor aren't theatre products. They can make sense if you run occasional shows or a mixed programme, and they're the two to question hardest on subscriptions and window sales.
The nine tools, A to Z
accesso ShoWare
Best for: Theatres selling online and at the window, with assigned seating, season subscriptions and will-call; the vendor says its seat maps switch holds and ADA blocks instantly.
AgileTix
Best for: Theatres, cinemas, museums and festivals selling through several channels; the vendor says online, box office, kiosk and partner sales all draw from one synchronised inventory.
PatronManager
Best for: Arts organisations wanting ticketing, fundraising and marketing on one platform; the vendor says it now sits in the Ticketure family with the same workflows and support.
Spektrix
Best for: Performing arts and culture venues after a ticketing platform from a team that says it's worked in the sector and supports customers from implementation onwards.
Tessitura
Best for: Arts and culture organisations wanting CRM and ticketing from a self-described nonprofit tech company, working with fundraising, membership, marketing and front of house.
Ticket Tailor
Best for: Organisers who mainly sell online and want to design and manage their own tickets; it's general event ticketing with a free check-in app, not theatre-specific.
Ticketor
Best for: White-label ticketing under your own name, with a seating chart designer, season passes, memberships and sales at booths or by phone, according to the vendor.
TicketSpice
Best for: Venues of many kinds, from museums to farms and fairs by its own account, wanting a page builder and seating layouts; it isn't theatre-specific.
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Tixly
Best for: Performing arts organisations wanting one integrated suite for selling tickets, engaging customers and running ticketing operations, as the vendor pitches it.
Run the demo like a busy Saturday
A polished demo shows one calm sale at a time. Your venue doesn't work like that, so ask the vendor to walk through these with your own seating plan:
- Someone buys seats online while the window sells the seats next to them. What does each person see?
- A subscriber renews and wants the same seats as last season. How many clicks does it take?
- A patron phones to swap nights. Can a volunteer do it, or does it need a manager?
- You need to hold wheelchair spaces and companion seats, then release some nearer the night.
- The same patron books online, then at the window under a shortened name. Do you end up with one record or two?
- The internet drops ten minutes before curtain up. What still works at the door?
My advice for a small venue
If you run a theatre with subscribers and donors, look at the arts platforms first, then check they want a venue your size. If you mainly run a window and a seating plan, the venue box offices may be closer to your day. If shows are only part of what you do, general ticketing is a fair place to start, as long as you're clear about what it wasn't built for. Whichever way you lean, don't sign until a vendor has answered the login, backup and export questions in writing. They're quick to answer, and a vague reply tells you a lot.
If you aren't running a theatre
Festivals, conferences and one-off events usually need something different, and our guide to event ticketing platforms is the better place to look. If you're managing the building as well as the seats, it's worth reading about venue management software too, since hires and room bookings are a separate job from selling a show.
Do you make theatre box office software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Related: email marketing software (this site).
Frequently asked questions
What does theatre box office software do?
It sells tickets online and in person from the same set of seats, and keeps records of your patrons and their orders. Many tools also handle subscriptions, memberships and scanning at the door.
What's the difference between box office software and event ticketing?
Box office software is built around a venue with a seating plan, a window and returning patrons. General event ticketing is built around selling tickets to an event, so check subscriptions and window sales before you rely on it for a theatre.
Should every volunteer have their own login?
Yes, if the system allows it. Individual logins let you remove someone's access when they leave and see who changed what. Ask the vendor whether each login can also use multi-factor authentication.
Can I take my patron data with me if I switch?
Ask before you sign, as vendors differ. You want the full patron and order list in a format you can open yourself, and it's worth asking to see a sample export during the demo.
Does a small community theatre need a CRM?
It depends on how much you do with your audience. If you run subscriptions, memberships or fundraising, patron history matters a lot. If you put on two shows and sell mostly on the door, simpler ticketing may be enough.
