How can I preview my event as a ticket buyer and test the checkout process?

Before you open ticket sales, it’s important to review how your event appears to buyers and test the checkout process. This helps ensure everything is set up correctly and that customers can complete their purchase without issues.

Below are three ways you can preview your event and test the booking flow.

1. Test Mode (Recommended)

Yapsody offers Test Mode, which allows you to experience the full booking flow for both General Admission and Reserved Seating events before starting live sales.

When your account is in Test Mode:

• Only events created under the event category “Test Event – No Fee” will be visible.
• Any live events previously published to your online store will be hidden.
• A banner will appear at the top of the store stating “Test Mode – Not Real Events.”

Because live events are temporarily hidden, we recommend using Test Mode only if you do not have active ticket sales on your online store.

Learn how to use Test Mode here:
https://support.yapsody.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002947534-Test-Mode-feature

2. Access Management (For accounts with live events)

If you already have events with active ticket sales but want to test a new event without switching to Test Mode, you can use the Access Management feature. In this method, the event will be visible to your ticket buyers at the online store, but access to the tickets will be restricted.

When you enable an access code:

• The event is locked and can only be accessed by entering the access code.
• General customers will not be able to access or purchase tickets.
• You can safely test the entire booking flow using the access code.

Once testing is complete and you’re ready to go live, simply disable the access code to open ticket sales.

Learn how to use Access Management here:
https://support.yapsody.com/hc/en-us/articles/51048172217625-What-is-Access-Management-Feature-and-how-to-Enable-it-Formerly-Access-Code

3. Private Event with a Private Link

Another option is to make your event private by restricting ticket sales to the Box Office and creating a Private Link.

With a private link:

• The event will not appear in your online store.
• Only people with the link can access and purchase tickets.
• You can test the checkout flow without making the event public.

Important note:
The private link takes you directly to the ticket selection page. It does not show the event description page.

Learn how to create a private link here:
https://support.yapsody.com/hc/en-us/articles/30614760722329-How-to-create-Private-link-for-your-event

Note: If you’ve completed any test transactions, you can refund them through the Box Office to make those tickets available for sale again.
Learn how to refund a transaction here:
https://support.yapsody.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000674303-How-to-refund-a-transaction-from-Box-Office-Event-Presenters

Need help choosing the best option?

• Use Test Mode if you don’t have live sales.
• Use Access Management if you already have live events.
• Use a Private Link if you want to test checkout without displaying the event publicly.

If you need help setting this up, feel free to contact Yapsody Support.