Bulk Orders Import

Required Role

Administrator or Box Office can run bulk order imports.

Navigation: Options > Imports > Bulk Orders Import

Purpose

This import creates complete ticket orders with customer information, seating assignments, and payment processing. It supports both reserved seating and general admission productions and can automatically process orders or hold them for manual review.

Use this import when you need to load a large number of ticket orders at once -- for example, migrating orders from another system, processing group sales, or entering season seating assignments in bulk.

User Options

Option	Required	Description
Theater Association	Yes	Select the theater for all imported orders
Payment Type	No	Select a payment method to process orders immediately, or leave blank to place on hold
Add to Email List	No	Check to automatically add customers to email marketing lists (disabled for season seating)
File Upload	Yes	CSV file containing order data

Required CSV Headers

Header	Description
ExternalId	External system identifier (optional -- creates "External ID" tag)
Id	Existing customer address ID (takes precedence over ExternalId if provided)
ProductionCode	Production identifier for the theater
PerformanceCode	Specific performance identifier for seating
Seating	Comma-delimited list of seat locations, e.g., A1,A2,A3 (optional for general admission)
NumberOfTickets	Number of tickets (required for general admission; overridden by Seating count for reserved seating)
TicketClass	Ticket class code (pricing tier)
FirstName	Customer's first name
MiddleName	Customer's middle name
LastName	Customer's last name
FullName	Complete name (overrides individual name fields if provided)
EmailAddress	Customer's email address
Phone	Contact phone number
Address	Street address line 1
Address2	Street address line 2
City	City name
State	State abbreviation
ZipCode	ZIP code
Tag1	Custom tag label
TagValue1	Value for custom tag 1
Tag2	Second custom tag label
TagValue2	Value for custom tag 2

How It Works

Customer Matching

The import identifies customers in this priority order:

1. Id field -- If an existing Stagemgr address ID is provided, that record is used directly.
2. ExternalId field -- If provided, the system searches for a customer tagged with that external ID.
3. New record creation -- If neither ID matches, a new customer record is created from the name, email, address, and phone fields.

Reserved Seating vs. General Admission

Scenario	Behavior
Seating column populated	The system assigns the listed seats. The number of tickets equals the number of seats listed, regardless of NumberOfTickets.
Seating column empty	The system creates a general admission order using the NumberOfTickets value.

The import validates seat availability and prevents double-booking. If a requested seat is already assigned, the row will fail and appear in the result file with the conflict described in its Error column.

Order Processing Logic

The import handles orders differently depending on whether the production uses season seating:

Season Seating Productions

Season Seating Override

All orders for season seating productions are automatically placed on HOLD status, regardless of the payment type selected or email list settings. This ensures season seating orders receive manual review before processing.

• Orders are placed on HOLD
• Customers are not added to email lists
• No immediate email notifications are sent

Regular Productions

Payment Type Selected?	Result
Yes	Orders are processed immediately. Customers receive email confirmations. Added to email lists if the checkbox is checked.
No (left blank)	Orders are placed on HOLD for manual processing.

Error Handling

Rows that cannot be processed are rolled back completely — no partial order is saved — and listed in the result file with a per-row description in the Error column. Common failure reasons include:

• Invalid ProductionCode or PerformanceCode
• Requested seat already assigned to another order
• Invalid or unrecognized TicketClass code
• Missing required fields
• Selling more tickets than remain for the performance

The result file is produced as order_import_results_<your-file-name>.csv and emailed to you when one or more rows fail. See Result File for the full naming rules and retry workflow.

Expected Outcome

Order Type	Status	Email Notifications	Email List
Season seating (any payment type)	HOLD	None	Not added
Regular with payment type	Processed	Confirmation sent	Added if checked
Regular without payment type	HOLD	None	Not added

A result file (order_import_results_<your-file-name>.csv) listing every row, with an Error column populated for any that failed, is emailed to you when one or more rows could not be processed.

Example CSV

ExternalId,Id,ProductionCode,PerformanceCode,Seating,NumberOfTickets,TicketClass,FirstName,MiddleName,LastName,FullName,EmailAddress,Phone,Address,Address2,City,State,ZipCode,Tag1,TagValue1,Tag2,TagValue2
,,ALLY,ALLY-0315,"A1,A2",2,GA,Jane,,Smith,,jane@example.com,312-555-0100,123 Main St,,Chicago,IL,60614,,,,
,,ALLY,ALLY-0315,,4,GA,Michael,,Chen,,mchen@example.com,773-555-0200,456 Oak Ave,Apt 3,Evanston,IL,60201,Group,SpringGala,,

Best Practices

1. Validate seat names. For reserved seating imports, make sure seat identifiers in the Seating column match the seat names in the production's seat map exactly.

2. Test with a small batch first. Before importing hundreds of orders, import 3--5 rows to verify everything maps correctly.

3. Use HOLD for review. When importing orders that need manual verification, leave the payment type blank so orders are placed on HOLD. Process them individually after review.