Overview

For events with assigned seating, table arrangements, or sectioned general admission areas, the platform includes a floor plan system. This article covers how to create venues, build floor plans, and assign tickets to specific seats or sections.

For basic ticket setup, see Creating Tickets and Settings. For a broader overview, see Tickets, Pricing, and Promos.

How Venues Work

A Venue in the Evvnt system is a saved version of a physical location with its layout and default tickets — the ticket categories already linked to that layout so you don't have to set them up again every time. New events now start with just a Google Maps pinpoint instead of a venue pick, but your saved venues are still in our database. To use one, create the event as a draft, then edit the Event Basics and choose the venue from your list. This is also how you reuse a floor plan you've already built.

Building a Floor Plan

Floor plans live at the venue level. To start one, go to your Venues list, open the venue, and under Floor Plans click + Add Floor Plan. Name the plan and choose the venue size to enter the editor.

Key Tools in the Editor

• Select (v) — pick rows and objects to move, alter, or label them
• Row (r) — place individual rows or rectangular grids of rows and seats
• General Admission (g) — define GA areas as a circle, rectangle, or any polygon
• Tables and Booths — place reservable table or booth objects
• Focal Point (f) — sets the visual reference (typically the stage). The focal point is required if you want buyers to use the "best available" seat selection at checkout.
• Shapes, icons, images, text — non-reservable visual objects to add context (exits, restrooms, bars, etc.)
• Undo (Ctrl-Z / ⌘-Z) — reverts your last action

Sections, Rows, and Seats

You can add:

• Sections — general admission areas with a set capacity
• Rows and seats — individually numbered reserved seats
• Tables and booths — table seating with a set number of seats per table

You can mix section types in a single floor plan — for example, reserved seating in front with general admission standing room in back.

Labeling Rows and Seats

Select a row or set of rows and the information pane shows label options. Both rows and seats support different sequence types (numbers, letters, custom), an adjustable starting value, and a direction toggle. For rows, you can also reposition where the row label is displayed.

Unlabeled seats appear with a red question mark and a yellow alert in the information pane. Click the magnifying glass on the alert to jump directly to the seats that need attention.

Duplicating and Flipping Sections

To save time on mirror-image sections, select a section, click Duplicate, then drag the copy to a new location. Use Flip horizontally or Flip vertically to mirror it. Arrow keys nudge for fine-tuning. The editor also offers Straighten, Space evenly, and Align to keep selections tidy.

Floor Plans Are Templates

The floor plan you create at the venue is a template. When you assign that plan to an event, the system pulls in a copy of the template. Changes you make inside an event only affect that event. Changes you make to the venue-level template do not propagate to events that already have the plan attached.

The "Uncategorized Objects" warning at the venue level is expected — categories and ticket prices are assigned in the event, not in the venue template.

Assigning Tickets to a Floor Plan

Once a floor plan is attached to an event, you assign ticket categories to seats, rows, tables, or sections. Each ticket category maps to a location on the plan, and pricing can vary by location — front-row seats can be priced differently than balcony seats.

To assign a category: select the seats, then choose the appropriate ticket category from the bottom of the information pane. The seat color updates to reflect the category. The colors and price levels for each category come from the Ticket Settings on the event's edit page.

If your event has a General Admission ticket category, you must place at least one GA section on the plan and assign that category to it. Use the GA section tool to draw the area.

Holding and Releasing Seats

Sometimes you need to set seats aside — for sponsors, comps, ADA accessibility, or last-minute holds. There are two methods, each suited to a different situation.

Method 1: Offline-Only Tickets (Permanent or Pre-Planned Holds)

Use this when you know which seats to hold ahead of time and you'll process those orders manually from the back office. Setup takes a few extra steps but the held seats are easy to sell from staff Add Order whenever you need them.

1. Create a separate ticket category specifically for the held seats
2. Add ticket types to that category and turn off Sell Online for each
3. In the floor plan, assign the held seats to this offline category

The seats won't appear on the public ticket page, but staff can still sell them through Add Order. See Orders and Processing for the staff sale flow.

Method 2: Seat Statuses (On-Demand Holds)

Use this when you need to hold seats temporarily during an active sale and may release them later. Setup is minimal but you have to update the status each time you hold or release a seat.

1. Open Seat Statuses for the event and go to the Manage tab
2. Click the seats you want to hold and apply the change — they're marked unavailable on both the public and staff pages
3. When ready to sell those seats, mark them available again — they become purchasable everywhere instantly

Marking a seat unavailable through Seat Statuses removes it from both public and staff views, so it's not the right tool if you want staff to still be able to sell it. Use Method 1 for that case.

Why Won't My Event Publish?

An event with a floor plan won't publish until every seat is labeled and assigned to a ticket category. Seats with errors are highlighted in red and the information pane describes the issue (missing label, duplicate label, or no category assigned). Click the search icon next to any error to jump to the affected seats.

Selling Reserved Tickets at Your Event

The Mobile Box Office app will NOT be able to process ticket sales if your event has a floor plan. Even if there is a General Admission section, the sale of any ticket from an event with a floor plan is currently not enabled in the Evvnt box office app.

With a floor plan event, you can still use the app for check-in and scanning. If you're selling reserved tickets in person, staff can pull up the floor plan and assign available seats during the transaction.

Known Limitations

A few things to be aware of when working with floor plans:

• Organizations that are not the venue owner may have limited ability to manage default tickets — coordinate with your site partner if you encounter restrictions
• When general admission sections on a floor plan sell out, the section is marked as sold out on the visual layout
• Table seating may display as "Rows" on printed tickets in some configurations — this is a known display issue