How to sell event tickets online in India: a step-by-step guide for organisers

Step 1: Decide three things before you share anything

• Price: add up your fixed costs (venue, food, travel, artist) and divide by the number of people you realistically expect, not the number you hope for.
• Capacity: how many people can you actually handle? Selling one ticket more than you can host is worse than selling one less.
• Your refund rule: write it in one line — for example “No refunds after 48 hours before the event; you can transfer your pass to a friend.” Saying it up front prevents most arguments.

Step 2: Make a booking page

Your booking page is the one link you’ll share everywhere. On Yano you add the name, date and time, place (or keep the exact address private until someone books), a poster, a short description and your tickets. It takes a few minutes on your phone, and nothing goes live until you publish.

• Write the description for someone who has never heard of you: what happens, what’s included, who it’s for, entry time and rules.
• Add a Google Maps location so every pass has a directions button.
• Book your own event as a guest first with “Try booking” — nothing is charged, saved or emailed — so you see exactly what guests see.

Step 3: Set up your tickets

• One price is fine for most events. Add types only when they mean something: Early bird (limited number), Couple, Group of 4, Student.
• Limit early birds by quantity, not by a fake deadline — when they’re gone, they’re gone. That’s real urgency, and people trust it.
• Set a maximum per booking if you don’t want one person buying half the seats.
• Need details from guests? Add questions: Instagram handle, T-shirt size, food preference, college. Ask only what you’ll use.

Step 4: Choose how you get paid

This is the decision most guides skip. In India you have two good options, and with Yano both send the money straight to you.

• Your UPI ID: free, no gateway charges. Guests pay you in their UPI app and tap “I have paid”; you check your UPI app and tap Approve, and their QR pass goes out by email. Best for small and medium events where you can check payments yourself.
• Your own Razorpay or Cashfree account: guests pay by UPI, card or netbanking and get their pass instantly, with no approving on your side. The gateway charges its usual processing fee. Best when many people book at once.

Step 5: Share the link where your people already are

• Instagram: put your organiser page link in your bio — it always shows all your upcoming events — and use the link in stories.
• WhatsApp: share the event link in your groups and status. The link shows a preview with your poster.
• Ask people who booked to share it — a friend’s message works better than any ad.
• Running ads or working with influencers? Give each one a promo code with its own link and see who actually brought bookings.

Step 6: Guests get a QR pass

Every confirmed booking gets a QR pass by email with the date, place, directions and your WhatsApp and Call buttons. If one person books for a group, each person gets their own pass, and each pass can be sent to its person on WhatsApp in one tap. Lost the email? Guests find all their passes at yano.club/my-tickets with their phone number and email.

Step 7: Check people in at the entrance

Send the scanner link to whoever is at the gate. It opens on any phone — no app, no login, and no access to your money or settings. Each pass works once, so a forwarded screenshot shows as already used. Someone arrives without a booking? Sell them a walk-in pass for cash or UPI right there; they’re counted like everyone else.

Step 8: After the event

• Download your guest list for Excel: names, phone numbers, answers, what each person paid.
• Running it again? “Repeat this event” copies everything, and you only change the date.
• Guests who loved it can follow you in the Yano Android app and get one quiet notification when you announce the next one.

What does it cost to sell tickets this way?

Many ticketing platforms take a percentage of every ticket you sell. Yano doesn’t: free events cost nothing, each paid pass uses one credit (₹6–₹10), and new organisers start with 50 free credits. There’s no monthly fee, and the ticket money is always yours. For GST and invoicing, ask your CA — it depends on your situation.