Booking Modes: Pay Now vs Request & Approve
EventMann offers two distinct booking modes that control how attendees purchase tickets for your event. Each mode is designed for different types of events and gives you varying levels of control over who attends. This guide explains both modes in detail and helps you choose the right one.
Pay Now (Default Mode)
Pay Now is the standard booking mode and is enabled by default for all new events. Attendees select tickets, pay immediately at checkout, and receive instant confirmation.
How Pay Now Works
- Attendee selects tickets and adds them to their cart (reserved for 15 minutes).
- Attendee proceeds to checkout, fills in any required information, and enters payment details.
- Payment is processed immediately via Stripe.
- Booking is confirmed — attendee receives confirmation email with QR code tickets.
Key characteristics:
- Tickets count as sold only after successful payment — no phantom reservations.
- If two attendees compete for the last ticket, the first to complete payment wins.
- Abandoned checkouts are automatically cleaned up after 1 hour.
Tip: Pay Now is best for public events, concerts, festivals, and general-admission events where you want fast, frictionless sales with no manual review required.
Request & Approve (Approval Mode)
Approval Mode gives you full control over who attends your event. Instead of paying immediately, attendees submit a booking request that you review before any payment is taken.
How Approval Mode Works
- Attendee submits a booking request — no payment is taken at this stage.
- You receive a notification about the new request in your event's Orders page.
- You review and approve or reject the request:
- Approve: The attendee receives an email with a payment link and a deadline to pay.
- Reject: The attendee is notified that their request was declined. No tickets are reserved.
- Attendee pays within the payment window using the link in their email.
- Booking is confirmed and tickets with QR codes are issued.
Key characteristics:
- You have full control over attendee selection before any money changes hands.
- Rejected bookings are cancelled immediately — no tickets are reserved.
- If the attendee does not pay within the payment window, the booking automatically expires.
Tip: Approval Mode is ideal for private events, exclusive workshops, limited-capacity gatherings, and events where you want to vet attendees before confirming their spot.
How to Switch Booking Modes
- Go to your event's Manage page.
- Navigate to Advanced Settings (or Event Settings, depending on your view).
- Find "Booking Mode" and select either "Pay Now" or "Request & Approve".
- Save your changes.
Important: Changing the booking mode on a live event affects only new bookings. Existing confirmed bookings are not affected.
Payment Window Configuration (Approval Mode)
When using Approval Mode, you can configure how long attendees have to complete payment after approval:
- The payment window can be set between 0.5 and 72 hours.
- The default is typically 24 hours.
- The attendee sees a countdown timer in their payment email showing the remaining time.
What Happens When the Payment Window Expires
If an approved attendee does not complete payment within the configured window:
- The booking is automatically marked as expired.
- The reserved tickets are released back to the available pool.
- The attendee receives an email notification that their booking has expired.
- No manual action is required from you — the auto-expiry cleanup handles this automatically.
Free Events with Booking Modes
Booking modes also apply to free events, but the payment step is skipped:
- Pay Now + Free: Attendee clicks "Get Tickets" and is confirmed instantly (no checkout page, no payment).
- Approval Mode + Free: Attendee submits a request → you approve → booking is confirmed instantly (no payment link sent since the event is free).