A good event-day process is one where nobody has to think much on the night. The hard decisions were settled earlier, everyone knows their job, and the surprises already have playbooks. Most incidents the audience sees actually trace back to a preparation step skipped days before.
Checkpoint one: seven days to one day out
This is when the things that should stop changing are locked. Ticket tiers, prices, zone maps and quotas per tier. Sale waves and voucher rules. Ticket design including entry terms and a hotline number. Payment gateway and receiving account, with reconciliation rules.
In parallel comes the gate plan: flow by zone, a separate exception area, the check-in staff list and permissions per person. Devices are tested for real, not on paper.
Checkpoint two: before the on-sale
If there is an online on-sale, run one real and one test transaction through the finance process so the money is proven to flow correctly. Turn on defence settings if the event is exposed to harvesting.
Open the support channels, a hotline and a shared group between both parties, and above all agree who decides. During a peak, the slowest thing is not the technology but not knowing whom to ask.
| Checkpoint | Key work | Cost of skipping |
|---|---|---|
| T-7 to T-1 | Lock tickets, gates, staff, devices | Improvising all night |
| Before on-sale | Test transaction, defences, contacts | Money misrouted, tickets harvested |
| T-4h to close | Briefing, sync, doors | Gate congestion and long queues |
| After the event | Log sync, reconciliation, incident record | Weeks of arguing over numbers |
Checkpoint three: four hours out to close
A fifteen-minute team briefing. Correct accounts signed in on every device. Ten sample scans covering a valid ticket, a used ticket and a non-existent ticket. Ticket data synced to devices and offline readiness confirmed.
At the doors, the three-second rule applies strictly: if it does not scan, invite the holder to the exception area rather than debating in the flow. A congested lane opens a reserve. Network loss switches to offline exactly as rehearsed.
Checkpoint four: after the event
Sync the full check-in log if any period ran offline, then close the report with tickets sold, tickets admitted and exception cases. Reconcile across three sources: system report, gateway statement and the signed record between both parties.
If there was an incident, write it up within twenty-four hours while memory is fresh: time, severity, preliminary cause and remedy. That record is valuable material for the next event.
Frequently asked questions
How many spare devices are needed
At least ten percent of the fleet, one spare battery per device, and mobile data from at least two different carriers.
Who should decide on the night
One named person, agreed in writing beforehand, with authority to stop or change the operating flow. Two equals under pressure is a recipe for paralysis.
Where should the exception area sit
Away from the main flow but within sight of the gate, with a table, dedicated staff and its own connectivity where possible. Placed too far away, people will not walk to it and will argue at the gate instead.
Conclusion
An event-day process is not a document for the archive but a list to tick line by line. Teams that run these four checkpoints properly turn show night into routine rather than a gamble. To review the process for an upcoming event, talk to the KHC team.
See also solutions for events and concerts.
A single-event framework agreement, live straight away.
