FAQs

Why should I pick Wintix and Webtix?

Wintix and Webtix were rated among the top preferred software according to a survey from The Arts Management and Technology Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon in 2015.

We used to run a box office and developed the software to help us do a better job. We know the challenges box office people face and designed our programs with that in mind.

Expert and timely support is also valued by our clients. We believe you should able to reach a real person for help and have a wealth of tutorials and other important data on an online Knowledge Base.

Wintix is the best value on the market. And the software grows with your organization. It can handle cozy little community theatres, gigantic stadiums and everything in between.

We’re glad you are conducting some research before you buy your software. Here are a few hints to separate the wheat from the chaff:

Ask yourself the same questions that your customers will be asking. For example:
- “Who will I be sitting next to?” (Crucial for symphony and opera customers.)
- “Where was I sitting last season?” (Can you look up a customer’s history a part of the sale?)
- “How much do the tickets cost for this night in this section?” (Can you get a list of the prices for one performance, and only that performance, during the sale?)
- “Are the seats any better on another night?” (How quickly can you bring up another chart for a different performance?)
- “Leslie gave me cash, George has a gift certificate, and I am paying by check. Is that OK?” (Can you enter sales with multiple payment types?)
- “Could you give me a receipt please?” (Can you give your customers a choice of receipts that you have customized?)
Now ask yourself:
- At the end of a day, can you run a report by day for all sales? Does it make sense?
- Can you “browse the report” and correct mistakes as you find them?
- Can you run a report by show, for a single performance?
- Are the donors included on the report?

Do you charge per ticket or per user fees?

Until now, we’ve only offered hosted software on the cloud, with a required support subscription.

We have recently introduced a per ticket payment plan for those it might benefit. For instance, for organizations with different venues or departments. You can apply the per ticket cost to the total ticket price.

Either plan allows you to keep all those service fees in your pocket!

Is the software on my computer or in the cloud?

The Wintix program is installed on each workstation, but we host all your Wintix and Webtix data on the cloud on our servers, and Webtix is our companion program for online sales.

Having this kind of setup has many advantages:

Your data is always backed up. If necessary, we can do a point-in-time restore to within the last 10-15 minutes.
If you need a more advanced level of support for an issue, we can log into your data and diagnose the problem.
Webtix can easily get to your data so the site responsiveness is very good.

Do we need to sign a contract?

You sign a support agreement, which is usually based on a yearly price, though you can make monthly payments if you need to. But you don’t sign a contract that locks you into the program for years.

A support contract gives you unlimited phone and email support to help you learn how to use the many features of the software, and help you with any issues that may arrive. As an added benefit, you receive a monthly newsletter with valuable tutorials, important update information and other news, as well as access to our online Help Desk. Learn about support options.

Can I sell season passes?

Wintix allows you to create pre-assigned or flex season passes ….. In Wintix 6, online season patrons can pick their seats for each chosen performance during their purchasing process.

Wintix has the capability of rolling over from one season to another for renewal purposes.
Wintix provides users the ability to build season packages and print or email tickets and receipts.
Wintix tracks donations on season packages as well as for single tickets.
Wintix comes with reports to track your season subscribers from one year to the next.
Wintix has the ability to email notices for season ticket renewals. Since our software is compatible with software like Constant Contact, you can export email lists into these types of email programs. If you already use an application for merging, you may print out a report from Wintix listing your customer information for exporting to your mail merge document program.
Wintix also has batch print capability.

Can I take and manage donations?

You can take donations in-house and online with Webtix. It’s easy to track donations and donors in Wintix with robust reporting tools and group assignments for solicitation campaigns.

How else can I use the software?

You can use it for class or workshop registration, parking passes, selling merchandise – your imagination is your only limit. You also have the ability to create “form choices” where your patrons can select options such as meal choice, etc.

What kind of training and support do I get?

We provide two to four hours of direct training for each new client, depending on the size of your house.

With a support agreement in place, you have access to our expert customer service technicians who not only know the software inside and out, but how to run a box office and a business. And we are always on call after regular business hours for emergencies. Learn about your service support options.

You also get access to the Help Desk, our in-depth knowledge base, and our valuable monthly newsletters, which are filled with tutorials and other important information, and software update alerts and support.

We offer dedicated training and other system administration/IT services for an affordable fee.

Is Webtix mobile-optimized?

Webtix is fully optimized across all platforms and gives your customers a great, easy shopping experience.

Can we make Webtix look like our website and branding?

Absolutely! Webtix is fully customizable so you can match your branding and image. You can even customize the default interface to add performance information, graphics, advanced seating chart displays, and choice forms for items like entree selection or performance selections for flex season passes.

How do you keep online transactions safe - are you PCI compliant?

Wintix and Webtix encrypt credit card information and send it directly to the secure servers at Authorize.net, Stripe, NMI, and PayPal gateways which connect to our clients’ respective merchant service providers/credit card processors.

Here is our PCI Compliance Certificate:

Please click on this link to a Center Stage Software Help Desk post if you would like to read the Comply Assure Site Seal that states Center Stage Software is PCI compliant.

Does Wintix have patron management functions or CRM?

Customer management has been built into Wintix with box office needs in mind. You can track how many and what kinds of shows your customers attend, their donation activity, where they live, and many more types of information. Group assignment and email export functions make it simple to create targeted marketing and communications campaigns. Wintix lets you flag patron records and create house manager alerts, and keep detailed contact records of all their purchases and donations.

Can we use discounts and limited time offers?

Wintix let’s you create a specific discount or a percentage discount and set up automatic time limits. You can also offer the discounts to select groups.

Can my customer information be put into Wintix?

Absolutely. We install your customer records into Wintix before you begin to use it. If you are upgrading from a previous version of Wintix, all your sales data and seating plans will be transferred, as well.

What about seating plans?

When you purchase the Wintix software, Center Stage Software inputs the first seating plan absolutely free. Additional seating plans are input for a very affordable charge.

Costs for additional plans depend on whether the seating plan is a proscenium style, thrust, dinner/cabaret configuration, or is a multi-chart with an interactive graphic.
Wintix comes with tools for inputting seating plans and some of our customers do input their own plans. However, it is our experience that our customers have much more important tasks to do than to learn how to input seating plans. Our staff is very experienced and can input plans at a much faster rate than our users. We have a lot of expertise in how seating plans should be configured both for Wintix and for display in Webtix.

What kind of reporting does Wintix have?

Wintix has some of the most versatile and robust reporting features in the industry. Each type of report has multiple variables, letting you capture the exact information you need. From daily sales reports, out of balance reports, to run of show reports to customer activity reports, there’s a report for every need and department.

You can learn more about your most popular shows, buying trends, patron behaviors, and more. Center Stage Software can also customize reports for an additional charge.

Once I decide to purchase, then what happens?

Once the quote has been approved, we will need the following:

Upload your mailing list to us (we can convert overnight your mailing list to our software).
Send us your seating plan(s). One is complimentary and any additional plans are charged extra at a very affordable price.
Complete the Wintix/Webtix support agreements and the Webtix support agreement.
Provide us with your internet speed and latency speeds for internet commerce.
Provide us with your payment gateway login/transaction keys.

How long would it take to get me up and running?

We can generally have you up and running within two to three business days once we receive the above.