Step-by-step guide to creating and publishing your event

This guide has three parts:

• Part 1 — Quick Start: Everything required to create a working event and start selling tickets.
• Part 2 — Advanced Features: Optional features to maximise your event's potential.
• Part 3 — Troubleshooting: Quick answers to common setup issues.

Part 1 — Quick Start

FIELD	WHAT IT DOES
Start Date *	The date your event begins.
Start Time *	The time your event starts.
End Time	The time your event finishes.
Show separate end date	Tick this for multi-day events - adds an end date and time field
Timezone *	The local timezone for the event. Always verify — affects displayed times and sale windows.
Preview	Shows how the date and time will appear on your event page
Start / End Time Labels (Display Settings)	Customise the label shown next to your times on the event page (e.g. change 'Start time' to 'Doors open').
Advanced Settings -Add to Calendar	Sets the reminder frequency for the Add to Calendar feature.
Advanced Settings - Custom Display Labels	Controls how your event appears to ticket purchasers

For more details on how to use the Add to Calendar settings, see How to Set Up Recurring Calendar Reminders for Your Event

For more details on how to set up custom display labels, see How to Customise Your Event Date and Time Labels

2. Event location

The venue and address shown on your event page, confirmation emails, and e-tickets.

FIELD	WHAT IT DOES
Venue	Name of the venue (e.g. Sydney Town Hall). Optional but recommended.
Full Address	Start typing and click Find Address. Select the correct address from the results.
Show Map	Displays a Google Map of your venue on the event page.
Edit address details	Manually correct any address fields after using the address search.
Additional information	Parking details, entry instructions, accessibility notes. Shown on confirmation emails and e-tickets.

3. Organiser details

Contact details shown to ticket purchasers on your event page. All enquiries are sent to the email address entered here.

FIELD	WHAT IT DOES
Name *	The name of the event contact person.
Organisation Name *	Your company or organisation name.
Phone *	Contact phone number for the event.
Email *	Receives all enquiries and order confirmations
BCC Order Confirmation Emails	Tick to receive a copy of every order confirmation — useful as real-time sale notifications
Organiser Logo	Displays your organiser logo on the event page. The logo here is set up via Designing Your Organiser Page settings.
Contact Method (Advanced Settings)	Contact Form: your email is hidden, and purchasers submit enquiries via a form. Show Email Address: your email appears as a clickable link; the contact form is disabled.

4. Refund Policy

Your refund terms are displayed on the event page and referenced in ticket purchaser communications.

FIELD	WHAT IT DOES
Days for refund *	How many days before the event you will accept refund requests. Options: No Refund, 1, 2, 3, 14, 30 days, or custom
Secure My Refund	Lets ticket purchasers add refund protection at checkout. Auto-activates when refund timeframe is No Refund or 1–3 days — and cannot be removed in these cases. When set to 4+ days, you can activate or deactivate it manually
Refund Policy Reason	A short explanation of your policy shown to ticket purchasers (max 271 characters)
Link	Link to an external page with your full refund policy.
Document	Upload a PDF of your full refund policy (max 10MB).

For more on refund policy settings, see: How to set up your event's refund policy

5. Event Description

Your event description is the primary sales tool on your event page.

FIELD	WHAT IT DOES
Full Description	Full details about your event. Use the toolbar for headings, bold, bullet points, and links. You can paste directly from Microsoft Word. Include speaker or performer details, ticket inclusions, and key logistics.
Images Gallery	Up to 3 images (JPEG, PNG, or GIF) are displayed on the event page and in search results. Minimum recommended size: 1200 × 630px.
Image Background Colour	Sets the background colour for letterbox or pillar areas around your images. Match to your event branding.

For embedding images or video inside your description, see: How to add images and video to your event description.

6. Tickets

Create the ticket types that appear on your event page. You need at least one ticket type before your event can go live.

TICKET TYPE	USE THIS WHEN...	TYPICAL EVENTS
Single Ticket	One ticket per purchase at a fixed price.	Most events
Group Ticket	Fixed group size (e.g. table of 8) for one set price.	Gala dinners, group bookings
Open Group Ticket	Buyer selects group size within your min/max. Booking fee is calculated on the group total — reduces per-person fee.	Workshops, tours
Single Reserved Seating	Individual seat selection. Requires a seating plan.	Theatres, ceremonies
Group Reserved Seating	Group purchase with assigned seats.	Seated group events
Free Ticket	No payment taken. For free events or registrations.	Community events, webinars
Donation	Buyer pays any amount. For fundraising.	Charity events

Ticket Fields

FIELD NAME	WHAT IT DOES
Ticket Name *	Shown on the event page and e-ticket (e.g. General Admission, Early Bird, VIP).
Ticket Description	Optional short description (e.g. "Includes a welcome drink")
Price *	Ticket price in AUD. If GST-registered, include GST. The field shows the resulting Net, Fee, and Cost
Include Booking Fee in Price	Shows purchasers a single all-inclusive price. If unticked, the booking fee is added at checkout.
Ticket Capacity *	Maximum tickets of this type available for sale
Distribute e-ticket *	Tick to attach a scannable e-ticket to the buyer's confirmation email. Leave unticked only if managing attendance manually.

Advanced Ticket Settings

Advanced settings are only visible when creating your first ticket. For existing tickets, access these settings via the edit (pencil) icon in the ticket summary table

FIELD	WHAT IT DOES
Max Per Order	Maximum tickets of this type a ticket purchaser can buy in one transaction
Min Per Order	Minimum tickets required per transaction
Start Selling	When this ticket goes on sale. Default: immediately when event is live. Set a future date for release schedules or Early Bird tickets
Stop Selling	When sales close. Default: when the event starts. Set an earlier date for time-limited pricing
Show Tickets Remaining — ticket level	Displays a low-stock notice below the number you enter
Show Tickets Remaining — event level	Displays a total remaining notice across all ticket types
Sales Channel	Where this ticket can be purchased: Both, Online only, or Check-in App only
Hide Ticket	Hides this ticket until a ticket purchaser enters a promotional code, or when configured as a sub-ticket

Event-level ticket settings 

FIELD	WHAT IT DOES
Event Capacity	Total tickets that can be sold across all ticket types
Individual Ticket Holder Details	Allows ticket purchasers to enter a separate name for each ticket in their order. Enable this if you need to know who each individual attendee is (e.g. corporate bookings, allocated seating). If disabled, the purchaser's name appears on all tickets by default
Edit Ticket Holder Details	Allows ticket purchasers to update names after purchase via My Tickets
Enable Waiting List	Lets ticket purchasers join a waitlist when sold out
Allow Invoice Payment (EFT)	Allows ticket purchasers to request an invoice and pay by bank transfer
Disable Ticket Transfer	Prevents ticket purchasers from requesting ticket transfers to another event

For help creating multiple ticket types, see: How to add and configure tickets for your event

7. Preview and Go Live

Click Preview (top right of the event editor) to see your event page exactly as ticket purchasers will see it.

If all required sections are complete, you will see a green banner: "Your event is now ready to go live."

If the banner isn't showing, at least one required section is incomplete — check for any unsaved orange sections.

Click the Make Event Live  button and choose:

• Go Live Now — publishes immediately
• Schedule for Later — set a future date and time for automatic publishing

Event statuses at a glance:

STATUS	MEANING
Pending	Draft — not visible to buyers, tickets cannot be purchased.
Scheduled	Set to go live at a future date. Not yet visible to buyers.
Live	Published and selling. Visible to the public.
Sold Out	All tickets sold. The waiting list option is shown if enabled.

Part 2 - Advanced features

These features are optional but can improve your event's performance.

8. Sub-tickets

Add-on items ticket purchasers can purchase alongside a parent ticket — for example, merchandise, meal packages, or parking. A sub-ticket only appears to ticket purchasers who have selected the linked parent ticket.

To create a sub-ticket, click Create A Sub-Ticket from the ticket management screen.

For full instructions, see: How to set up sub-tickets to sell add-ons and cross-sell event tickets.

9. Seating Plan

Required only when using Single Reserved Seating or Group Reserved Seating ticket types. Allows ticket purchasers to select specific seats from an interactive venue map.

For full instructions, see: How to create and publish a seating plan for your event.

10. Promotional codes

Create discount codes for selected ticket purchasers — members, sponsors, staff, or early registrants. You can enter multiple unique codes at once (one per line).

For full instructions, see: Step-by-step guide to creating promotional codes for your event.

11. Event Privacy

Controls who can find your event page. If set to Private, the event will not appear in search results on stickytickets.com.au, but can still be accessed via a direct link.

For more information, see: How to control your event's visibility on Sticky Tickets.

12. Split Payments

Automatically divides ticket revenue between you and a third party at payout — for example, a charity partner, co-organiser, or venue.

For full instructions, see: How to split ticket revenue between bank accounts.

13. Order Success Button

Add a custom button to the Order Successful page that ticket purchasers see immediately after purchase. Use this to direct attendees to another website related to your event.

For more information, see: How to add a redirect button to the Order Success page.

14. Event Questions

Collect custom information from ticket purchasers at checkout — for example, dietary requirements, t-shirt sizes, or emergency contacts. Access from the left sidebar of your event editor.

For full instructions, see: How to create and manage custom questions for your event.

15. Custom Page Design

Customise the visual appearance of your event page with colours and branding. Access from the left sidebar of your event editor once your event is live.

For full instructions, see: How to customise your event page design.

Part 3 — Troubleshooting and Common Questions

Quick self-check if your event won't go live:

1. Is there a green "Your event is now ready to go live" banner? If not:
2. Check Event Date — filled and saved?
3. Check Refund Policy — a refund option selected and saved?
4. Check Tickets — at least one ticket created?

If all three are complete and the banner still isn't showing, contact our support team.

Why won't my event go live?

• Cause: One or more required (orange) sections are incomplete or unsaved. Fix: Look for the green "Your event is now ready to go live" banner. If it's absent, check each orange section and confirm it has been saved. The Refund Policy and Tickets sections are the most commonly incomplete.
  

Can I create a free event?

• Yes — use the Free Ticket type. No payment is taken from ticket purchasers.

What is the booking fee, and who pays it?

• Sticky Tickets charges a booking fee per ticket sold. By default, this is added on top of your ticket price and paid by the ticket purchaser. To show a single all-inclusive price instead, tick "Include Booking Fee in the Price" on the relevant ticket type.

I'm running the same event next month — do I need to set it up from scratch?

• No. Use the Copy Event feature to duplicate your existing event. Update the date and time, and adjust any other details as needed. For more detailed instructions, see How to copy an existing event

What happens to ticket purchasers if I cancel my event?

• All ticket purchasers will receive a refund. For a more detailed information about cancelling events, see How to Cancel Your Event and Refund All Ticket Purchasers

What image size should I use?

• At least 1200 × 630px in JPEG, PNG, or GIF format.

Where did my advanced ticket settings go?

• Cause: Advanced ticket settings are only visible when creating your first ticket. Fix: Click the edit (pencil) icon next to any existing ticket to access and update these settings.

Can't find a draft event?

• Draft events are not listed under Live Events. Go to My Events and filter by Pending or Scheduled status.
  

A ticket type isn't showing on the event page

• Check all of the following:

  • Has the Start Selling date passed?
  • Is Hide Ticket unticked?
  • Does the ticket still have remaining capacity?
  • Is the event status Live?

Can I change the event date, time, or location after going live?

• No — these fields cannot be edited from the event editor once tickets are on sale. Contact our support team to make these changes.

What happens if I update the refund policy after tickets are sold?

• You can update the number of refund days at any time. However, changes only apply to new ticket purchases. Tickets purchased before the change continue to follow the original refund policy.

Why did Secure My Refund switch on or off automatically?

• Secure My Refund auto-enables when the refund timeframe is set to 1–3 days, or when no refund/over 3 days is selected. You can manually toggle it on or off in the Refund Policy section.

Ticket purchasers are confused by the booking fee

• Tick "Include Booking Fee in the Price" on the relevant ticket type. Ticket purchasers will then see one all-inclusive price at checkout with no separate booking fee line item.

---

Need more help?

If you need help creating your event, contact our support team.