Overview
Instant access orders allow customers who choose to pay by invoice to receive their tickets and downloadable items the moment they complete their order, without waiting for payment to be received. The invoice is generated and sent separately, and the customer can download and use their items right away.
This is useful for organisations that:
- Trust their invoice customers to pay after the event or within a payment window
- Want to remove friction for corporate or institutional buyers who routinely pay by invoice
- Need customers to have tickets in hand before an invoice clears (e.g. events happening before a typical payment cycle)
Instant access orders build on top of the invoice payments feature. Invoice payments must be fully configured before instant access can be enabled.
How It Works
When a customer places an order and selects Pay by Invoice at checkout, the system checks whether the order qualifies for instant access. If it does, the customer receives their tickets and downloadable items immediately rather than waiting for payment.
Order Flow
Customer selects Pay by Invoice
└── System checks instant access eligibility
└── Eligible: order created with immediate access
└── Status: Awaiting Invoice
└── Tickets and downloads available immediately
└── Invoice sent in a separate email
└── Payment received → order marked as Completed
What the Customer Sees
After completing checkout, the customer lands on a success page that confirms their items are available immediately:
- A download button appears on the success page
- A message explains: “Your items have been reserved and you can access them immediately… Your invoice will be sent in a separate email.”
- The order appears in My Orders with an Awaiting Invoice status
- The customer can download their tickets at any time from their account
Once the company receives payment and marks the order as completed, the invoice becomes a receipt.
Enabling Instant Access Orders
Instant access requires three things to be in place: invoice payments enabled, the feature flag activated, and the instant access setting turned on.
1. Enable Invoice Payments
Invoice payments must be enabled at the company level before instant access becomes available. Navigate to your company payment settings and ensure Enable manual payments is turned on. For full setup details, see Invoice Payments.
2. Activate the Feature Flag
The Instant access orders feature flag must be activated for your company. This is managed through the partner hub. If you do not see the instant access setting after enabling invoice payments, contact your partner to enable this feature flag.
3. Turn On Instant Access
Once the prerequisites are in place:
- Navigate to your company payment settings
- Find the Enable instant access setting
- Enable the toggle
The setting description reads: “Allow customers to access tickets & other downloadable items the moment that they complete their reservation, before paying their invoice.”
Instant access can also be controlled at the event level. An event-level setting can override the company-level default in either direction --- enabling instant access for a specific event even if it is disabled company-wide, or disabling it for a specific event even if it is enabled company-wide.
Configuring Invoice Settings
When using instant access orders, several related invoice settings control the customer experience. These are configured in your company payment settings:
| Setting | Purpose |
|---|
| Enable in Shop | Allow invoice payments in the public ticket shop (not just box office) |
| Minimum order value | Set a minimum order amount required to unlock the invoice payment option |
| Valid for (days) | The number of days customers have to pay the invoice |
| Unpaid invoice title | The label shown on the invoice before payment (max 40 characters) |
| Paid invoice title | The label shown once the invoice has been paid (max 40 characters) |
| Payment instructions | Instructions shown to the customer explaining how to pay --- this field supports rich text and can be translated |
- Show customer billing address on the invoice
- Show customer name and email on the invoice
- Data capture question responses can be included on invoices if configured
Eligibility Requirements
Not all invoice orders qualify for instant access. The system evaluates several conditions when a customer checks out:
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|
| Invoice payments enabled | The company must have manual payments turned on |
| Feature flag active | The instant access orders feature flag must be enabled for the company |
| Instant access enabled | The Enable instant access setting must be on (at company or event level) |
| Single-event order | The order must contain items for a single event only |
| Not a deposit payment | Orders using deposit payments do not qualify |
| Standard invoice eligibility | All other invoice payment eligibility rules must also pass (e.g. minimum order value) |
Multi-event orders --- where a customer buys items for more than one event in a single checkout --- are not eligible for instant access. The customer would need to place separate orders for each event to use instant access.
Managing Instant Access Orders
Filtering Orders
The admin order list includes a filter specifically for instant access orders:
| Filter option | What it shows |
|---|
| All (default) | All orders, including instant access |
| Hide | Hides instant access orders, showing only completed orders |
| Only | Shows only incomplete instant access orders |
Identifying Instant Access Orders
In the admin panel, instant access orders display an Instant access order badge. The badge includes a note explaining that the customer has already been given access to their tickets, so you know items have been delivered before payment.
Completing an Order
When payment is received for an instant access order:
- Open the order in the admin panel
- Mark the order as paid
- The order status changes from Awaiting Invoice to Completed
- The invoice document becomes a receipt
Restrictions
- Single-event orders only --- instant access is not available for orders containing items from multiple events
- No deposit payments --- orders using deposit payment plans cannot use instant access
- Invoice eligibility still applies --- all standard invoice payment rules (minimum order value, etc.) must be met in addition to the instant access requirements
