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Desktop Box Office: Sell Tickets at the Door

Sell tickets from a laptop at the door with the Sell panel on your event's Sangha tab: cash, pay on phone, card reader or typed card.

4 min readUpdated 2026-10-01

The desktop box office lets you sell tickets at the door from a laptop. It is a Sell panel on your event's Sangha tab, for organizers and teammates who are allowed to take sales.

Where to find it

Dashboard → Gatherings → your event → Sangha → Sell. The Sell button sits beside the guest search.

Taking a sale

The panel lists what is on sale at the door, with how many are left. To sell:

  1. 1Click **Sell** on the Sangha tab.
  2. 2Tap a ticket to add one, or use + and − to change the quantity.
  3. 3Check the buyer details. They start as "POS Customer" with your organizer notification email, so the tickets reach you and the buyer takes the QR from the screen. Type the buyer's own email to send it to them.
  4. 4Enter a discount code if the event uses them, then click **Apply**.
  5. 5Check the total, choose how they are paying, and complete the payment.

Four ways to pay

Cash. Enter the cash received or tap a quick amount. The panel shows the change due, then records the sale. A free sale is issued with the same button, with no cash needed. Cash carries no BrightStar fee and no Stripe fee.

Pay on phone. A QR code appears on screen. The buyer scans it and pays on their own phone. You can also email or text them the link.

Card reader. Choose a reader and click the charge button. Your cart shows on the reader screen, and the buyer taps, inserts or swipes. This works with Stripe smart readers connected over Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Bluetooth and USB readers pair only with the BrightStar Organizer app, not with a laptop. The organizer or a manager can add a reader with the pairing code from its settings.

Typed card. You key in the card number on the laptop. It carries a higher risk of chargebacks and fraud, so use it only when the other methods do not work. The organizer or a manager can turn it off.

Card payments need your Stripe account to be connected. Card totals include fees exactly as the door scanner app charges them, and cash totals do not. Who pays the fees depends on the event's fee setting.

What happens after payment

Once payment goes through, BrightStar issues the tickets on its own and the panel shows them. You can check guests in right there, open the order, or start a new sale. The order opens through the existing order page, and refunds are available only to people with financial access, such as managers. Box Office staff can sell but cannot refund.

Choose Door mode in the panel header for a full-screen view with larger buttons. Press Escape or choose Exit door mode to leave it.

Unpaid and unfinished payments

While a buyer pays by phone, card reader or typed card, BrightStar holds the tickets so no one else can buy them. You can cancel an unpaid payment and the hold is released. If a payment is never completed, the hold is released automatically and nothing is charged. A payment that went through but did not issue tickets appears under Unfinished payments in the panel, where you can retry issuing.

Common questions

Can I sell tickets at the door from a laptop with BrightStar?

Yes. In the BrightStar dashboard, open your event, go to the Sangha tab and click Sell. You can take cash, pay on phone, card reader or typed card payments. The tickets are issued as soon as the sale completes.

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The Sell button shows for the event's owner and for teammates whose role includes door sales. Door mode gives a full-screen view with larger buttons for a busy entrance.

Can I use a USB or Bluetooth card reader with BrightStar on a laptop?

No. The BrightStar desktop box office works with Stripe smart readers connected over Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Bluetooth and USB readers pair only with the BrightStar Organizer app on a phone or tablet.

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If you have no smart reader, the buyer can pay on their own phone by scanning the QR code, or you can take cash.

Can I take cash with the BrightStar desktop box office?

Yes. Choose Cash in the BrightStar Sell panel, enter the cash received and the panel shows the change due. Cash sales carry no BrightStar platform fee and no Stripe fee, and the tickets are issued when you record the sale.

What happens if a buyer never finishes paying at the BrightStar box office?

BrightStar holds the tickets while the buyer pays, then releases them if the payment is cancelled or runs out of time. Nothing is charged for an unpaid sale.

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If a buyer pays but the tickets fail to issue, the sale shows under Unfinished payments in the Sell panel so you can retry issuing.

Who can sell tickets in the BrightStar box office?

The event owner and teammates whose role includes door sales can use the BrightStar Sell panel, such as the Box Office role. Only the owner, or a manager with edit access, can add a card reader or turn typed card entry on or off. Refunds need financial access.

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