Many users have found us out of a need to sell event tickets, but our event capabilities reach beyond that. In one Cheddar Up collection, you can organize volunteers, menu selections, donors, merchandise, and more!
Here, we show you how — walking you through an event collection template we made as a guide. You can grab it for free too!
Benefits of Using Cheddar Up for Event Planning
What makes Cheddar Up the latest, greatest party HQ? To name a few:
1. Gang’s all here.
No browser hopping necessary. Instead of directing guests to one website to grab tickets, another to sign up for volunteer spots, and another to provide all contact details, you can have just one URL as party central.
2. No more record scratch.
Cheddar Up automatically logs all submitted information, which means all your records and spreadsheets stay up to date. No ticket mishaps! We can track a set quantity, too, so you won’t have to monitor overselling.
3. Volume control.
Turn it up or down, whichever you like — meaning that the planning team has more capacity to enjoy the party while Cheddar Up takes over some time-consuming responsibilities.
Elements of a Cheddar Up Event Collection
Because of our versatility, your categories can be whatever you need them to be, but the following are what we see most in our users’ collections. (Need help organizing your collection into categories? Click here!)
For each item below, we offer some logistical tips to streamline your event planning as much as possible.
Tickets
This is what we see most from event organizers using Cheddar Up. You may have just one ticket choice, which will count as one item, or you can create separate items for every ticket option. In our template, we created two ticket options, Dinner + Dance or Dance Only:
Additionally, we added an item variation under each ticket option: When purchasers select a ticket, a pop-up will ask whether it’s for a couple or individual, and the price will change based on their choice. To learn more about using item variations, check out this guide.
(Note: Item variations is a paid feature. We think the simplified view helps out your collection visitors, but if you’re using the basic plan, you will create multiple items instead of one item with multiple variations. More about that here.)
Other Cheddar Up features to help maximize your ticketing process are:
- Create a customizable receipt to use as a ticket for entry, or that includes a link to a PDF ticket.
- Download and print detailed reports for event check-in.
- Close ticket sales automatically by setting a collection end time.
- Set available quantities under each item to show how many tickets are still available. (If you’re using item variations, it will only indicate when a ticket type is sold out.)
Menu
We also included an item question with the steak option — we like to call these “mini-forms added to a specific item” and another way to gather all necessary info in one place. We’ve specifically asked our steak selectors how they’d like it prepared.
TIP: If everyone attending your event will take part in a meal (and you’re offering menu options) consider creating just one item with item variations for all of the options — instead of multiple items for each one. This way, you can make the item required, which means no one can check out without choosing their meal. It can save follow-up time!
Volunteers
Need extra hands to make your event run? Include a “Volunteers” category, with a different item for each need. (Set each item’s Exact Amount to $0 to ensure no cost is attached.)
In our example, we again utilized item variations to offer time slots for three of the volunteer items. If people select Photo Assistants, Concessions, and Merchandise Table, they’ll receive a pop-up asking their preferred time — but not with the Check-In Table because it only has a one time slot option, thus no item variations. Use the item setting that works for your needs.
Sponsorship and Donations
In our example, we added this optional section after the event essentials — tickets, menu, and volunteers — so that the most relevant categories to all attendees are at the top. Ours shows a tiered sponsorship, with item questions attached to each: whether the donation should be anonymous, and if not, what name to display.
NOTE: If you have any required items in your collection linked to event attendance, the sponsorship section assumes that all patrons will be attending. Otherwise, required items could prevent donations from those who cannot attend. If you would like to solicit donations from anyone, even those not attending, you can either create a separate collection for fundraising, or eliminate any requirements.
Is your event specifically a fundraiser?
Merchandise
You can use this section as a preorder or offer onsite purchases using our point-of-sale feature. Or both! Your inventory will update automatically with either method. For all the tips, tricks, and Cheddar Up features made for merchandise sales, check out this blog post.
Finish With a Form
In addition to basic contact info, we included an e-signature to confirm guests understand the refund policy. That question format is especially helpful if you need to collect sensitive or critical information. To learn about other question types and form uses, check out this blog post.
TIP: You can also make form questions required! When you’re creating or editing a question, toggle on “Required” and your guests won’t be able to check out without answering.
