What's new in Elevent

Elevent for Salesforce v2.8 is out. It brings in all of a customer's addresses from Elevent, not just one, and gives you real control over where Elevent data lands in Salesforce: when you send an Elevent field to a field of your choosing, it now replaces the default instead of writing to both. The Field Mappings screen has been rebuilt to make all of that easier to see.

If you're upgrading and you've set up custom field mappings, read Before you upgrade below first.

Multiple Customer Addresses

Elevent customers can have a Billing address, a Mailing address and a Seasonal address. Until now, only one of them made it into Salesforce.

Now all three sync:

• Billing goes where it always has: the contact's (or person account's) Other Address, unless you've mapped it elsewhere.
• Mailing and Seasonal go to new Elevent Mailing and Elevent Seasonal fields. Your standard Salesforce Mailing Address is left alone, because the addresses your team has carefully collected in Salesforce are often the ones you trust most.

Add the new fields to your contact or person account page layouts to see them.


When a customer removes an address in Elevent, its fields are cleared in Salesforce. Existing customers' Mailing and Seasonal addresses fill in the next time that customer changes in Elevent; reprocessing older Elevent Updates won't fill them in.

Custom Field Mappings Now Replace the Default

The Field Mapping tool lets you send an Elevent field to a Salesforce field of your choosing. Before v2.8, Elevent kept updating the default field too, so you couldn't really stop Elevent from writing to it.

Now a custom mapping replaces the default. The default field keeps whatever value it already has, but Elevent stops updating it.

A few fields can't be remapped, because the app relies on them to match customers, create records and calculate totals: a contact's Elevent ID, Email, Last Name and Last Updated in Elevent, for example. These show a lock icon.


A Redesigned Field Mappings Screen

In Salesforce, switch to the Elevent app and open Field Mappings.


Each Elevent field now has one row with a single picker, a note of the default it replaces, search, and filters:

• Remapped: fields you've sent somewhere else. The default shown under each one is no longer updated.
• Needs attention: mappings the app can't apply, such as two Elevent fields sent to the same Salesforce field, or a field that's been deleted. Until you fix one, that Elevent value isn't saved anywhere, so fix these first. When a custom mapping collides with an active default, the default mapping wins. These problems are also recorded in Error Logs.
• Fixed: fields that can't be remapped.


Every change is checked before it's saved, and a change that would cause a problem is blocked with an explanation.

Before You Upgrade

If you use custom field mappings:

1. In Elevent Settings, turn off Enable Processing of Imported Data. Leave imports on so new data waits in line.
2. Upgrade.
3. Open Field Mappings and check Remapped and Needs attention on each object mapping. Update any flows, validation rules, reports or integrations that read a default field that's no longer updated.
4. Turn processing back on.

Upgrades can't be undone, so try it in a sandbox first if you have one. Full steps are in the Admin Guide under Updating the App.

Also in This Release

v2.8 includes the v2.7 changes:

• Payment details on Elevent Orders and their opportunities: payment method, last 4 digits and card expiration date. Full card numbers are never stored.
• SKU on merchandise products.

Bug Fixes:

• Number and Checkbox fields can now be chosen as custom mapping destinations.
• Choosing a different record type in the Field Mapping tool now saves, and custom objects now show their record types.

As we continuously make major quality-of-life improvements to the Back Office, today we introduce one of the biggest and most impactful upgrades--all Search pages throughout the Back Office have been reimagined, redesigned, and powered up with new features and capabilities.

Opt-in to Explore; Opt Out to Return to What's Familiar

When you first reach a search page, you'll be presented with a 7-step walkthrough. Check it out

Return to Classic View at any time; or press the ? button to return to the new version.

Where to Find Search Pages

Search pages are all of the listings of events and items, sprinkled throughout the Back Office. Including:

• Events
• Tickets
• Packages
• Passes
• Memberships
• Extras
• Merchandise
• Concessions
• Donations
• Brands (If you have this module)
• Venues
• Sales Channels

Fewer Clicks and Less Hunting Around

There's a lot in the Elevent menus--we're moving more common actions into the pages where they make sense--like creating new events or items right from the search page.

Instantaneous, seamless search for whatever you're looking for right here. Type a few characters and watch the list dwindle.

Click anywhere in the row to dig into all of the fields and details for one event or item.

Improved pagination lets you flip through longer lists with ease.

Create Your Own Custom Views

Have a set of columns and groupings you like to view all at once? Now with custom views, groupings, and an expanded list of fields you can view en masse, you can create your own saved views of your config.

Name it and include only the data you want to see; it'll be saved for you to use again and again, making it easier to troubleshoot and review what you've set up.

Each search page has some different fields, groups, and switches for the kinds of items or concepts you're working with. For instance, on the Tickets page, you can check a box to show or exclude assigned tickets from packages and passes.

Inline Editing

With increased transparency comes increased power--without visiting each item or event's details page, make quick changes to several items right here from the same screen.

Press the Edit button from your useful view.

Quick-click and update any items that need changing and save all of your changes at once.

What's Next

This update contains a lot of usefulness and utility. We have more planned and welcome your feedback as we reimagine the Back Office and how we can get you some of those hours back when you need them the most.

Today we pre-release months of work as we work to upgrade all of Elevent to newer, modern frameworks. While never easy, it's necessary to adjust to the rapidly-changing world of software and technology to avoid becoming yet another legacy application. With this major update, we're set up to release a set of major usability and efficiency updates in the coming months. We'll be making it more efficient, intuitive, and transparent for all Elevent users.

We're starting with the Back Office.

New Dashboard

Right away, seasoned Back Office users will start to see some changes. You'll see right away your landing page has changed. We're launching with a new dashboard that you can personalize to show the charts, graphs, and KPIs that you want to see. A little tour will greet you on your first login to show you around.

Click the cog wheel to see what tiles exist today--try out the new Upcoming Showtimes chart to help you plan for the day. What you place on your dashboard will save for you as a user on future logins.

Improved Submenus

We've grouped up the choices on submenus to make it easier to visually scan and find what you are looking for.

We have more dramatic plans for the main menu in the near future. As Elevent has grown, so have all of the tools and options. We're going to consolidate the first options in this main menu and improve the way screens flow together based on your common work patterns.

Making a major framework update like this is a big undertaking; it's also likely to result in some new, unpredictable behaviors. If you find yourself unable to login, first clear your cookies and do a hard browser refresh to clear out your local browser cache.

We want your feedback--if you are struggling with something, please let us know with screenshots and steps to replicate. If, for some reason, you find you are having issues logging in, contact us here and we'll help you through.

We've added some small tweaks and improvements to some reports. Little helpers along the way for you:

• You can now see showtimes with zero sales in the Showtime by Reporting Date report.
• Fixed a bug in the Showtime Entry Report--now it will show tickets that were refunded but not canceled (e.g., when you return the money but allow the tickets to still be used at the door).
• Performance improvements

Throughout the Back Office, we show you an interactive, visual seat map of all the different ways you cut, chop, and dice up every seat into allocations. The effect is like various overlays on the physical venue, showing you which seats are available to which segments of people at different prices.

Useful. But for showtimes already on sale, that's not the whole story of 'right now'.

Seeing Held Seats

We've added the ability to see "held" seats alongside allocated seats. This helps a ton as you make changes and adjust ticket availability and pricing.

In the Back Office, as you browse the showtimes on your calendar, you'll see a fuller picture on the details page for any showtime.

Similarly, the Seat Manifest also shows held seats alongside sold seats--so you can prepare for whatever may come on the day of the show.

Seats in a reservation can be associated with a customer or just saved anonymously. If the seats are saved for a specific person or group, you'll see them if you click on the seats.

Explore updating reserved seating showtimes and the seat manifest.

If you are saving reservations for specific seat assignments using Saved Orders, we've made it easier to see exactly which seats are in a saved order.

First, make the reservation as you normally would--pull up or create a customer (or not), select a show, seats, and tickets, then save the order to be paid later.

Later, when you look at that saved order, you'll see the assigned seat details as you browse saved orders.

Revisit saved/group reservations here.

For the ultimate in price control, we've reintroduced the most specific ticketing price setting to reserved seating showtimes. This is some super-specific pricing control, so let's back up a bit and give it some context.

Basic Ticket Price Controls Already In Play

Before we even talk about showtime-specific price overrides, you have a set of tickets and they all have a starting, regular price that customers pay. For instance, a $50 Regular Adult ticket has, hey, a $50 price. That's what a customer will pay. It might report out a bit differently on some reports (e.g. Fair Market Value) but it's a $50 ticket.

Discounts can reduce the price of a ticket in all manner of ways. Taxes and service charges can also seem to affect the ticket price, especially when using all-in pricing, but that's not really part of that ticket price.

As you probably know, each showtime can have multiple tickets for sale. And each of those tickets can have different prices. It's common to see a regular price ticket, a student ticket that's less expensive, and maybe a members-only ticket.

Okay, so that's the basics. Let's get fancy.

Advanced Ticket Price Controls That Already Exist

When you get into multiple-section seat plans, those same tickets may or may not be for sale in each section. For instance, you might have a balcony and orchestra, with different tickets sold in each section.

Getting really advanced, which tickets (and pricing) are available to each segment of buyer is controlled by allocations. For instance, in each section, some tickets and/or seats might be available at a lower cost to board members and VIPs. Whereas the general public only sees tickets and pricing for them. When we're talking about reserved seating, the ability to choose and at what price(s) is a per-seat thing.

You can even use a few allocations to create pricing tiers--one set of prices for early buyers, a Tier II as prices go up, and Tier III with higher prices as that show has limited seats left.

Showtime Ticket Overrides

We've added one final level of price control - per-showtime overrides on a ticket. This already exists in general admission and used to exist in our older version of reserved seating--so we've brought it back.

If you have one scheduled showtime of an event--and later on, you decide you need to change the price for just that one showtime--you don't need to add more tickets to sell. In the Back Office, navigate to that show from your calendar and peek at your tickets.

In General Admission, you'll see a little blue edit icon--press that and you can quickly and easily change the price of one type of ticket for just that one showtime.

When we're looking at Reserved Seating or multi-section seat plans, the price can be tweaked for each section for just one showtime. Super-specific, but surprisingly easy.

Visit the Showtime Details page in the Back Office, but this time, open up each section. Then change the ticket price for a ticket in that section (higher or lower, your call).

Yes, for you larger venues, this is what's happening underneath during dynamic pricing.

When you change prices, it doesn't affect tickets that have already been purchased or tickets in carts already--it'll only affect future buyers.

This was a bit of a deep dive. If that was overwhelming, it's ok. Most likely, this isn't your day-to-day experience. If you find yourself spending too much time adding tickets and pricing, make sure you have allocation templates you can use for your frequent pricing schemes.

Changing Ticket Prices is documented much more succinctly here.

If you are using reserved seating, you have a couple of new seat types to choose from.

Seat icons are set on each venue's seat plan(s). In the main menu, go to , choose a venue and seat plan, then press Edit to go into Edit mode.

Vroom on into any seat and right-click/two-finger press a seat to fine-tune it. Choose any seat icon you want.

Become a reserved seat plan wizard here.

With WordPress Version 1.6.0, we introduce some very welcome functionality--creating multi-part events gets a lot easier and they show more accurate timing and location info. We also add a long-awaited feature: the ability to sync html and formatted content from Elevent events into WordPress.

We also squashed some bugs, including a huge one that'll help guard against breaking your events if you find yourself fiddling with events and showtimes and the way they depend on each other.

Multi-part Events Truth Serum

Multi-part events are events that are composed of multiple, separate events like short films, one-act plays, individual comics, DJs, or opening acts. Tickets are sold to the block/line-up/program, but each individual work or performer has their own searchable landing page as well.

Because each 'sub-event' gets a full landing page and all of the images and info to feature them on your website, you still create events and schedule some sort of showtime to make them automatically sync into your website. That could cause some confusing display language around when and where each sub-event really happens--since it's really just a part of the multi-part event--that full program where tickets are sold.

Now, whenever a sub-event is part of a multi-event, each sub-event automatically inherit all the correct info from the multi-part event. They keep the info about the actual artists and the work, but the when and where all come from the multi-part event, like the venue, date, and start time.

Now, you don't have to care about when and how you schedule those sub-events. As long as they are in the near-future, they'll look and work like you want them to without another thought.

Revisit multi-part events here.

Import Custom HTML on Events

One of the few informational fields about Events that couldn't automatically sync into the website is this Custom HTML field.

Now, even formatted custom HTML from this field can securely sync into your website--a great option for those extended descriptions, summaries, bios, or programmer's notes.

Note: only text formatting is supported in this field--no images or embedded videos).

To actually see this field on your event landing pages, be sure to add this new field to your event page template(s).

Learn about customizing your event landing page templates here.

Special Bug Fix - Events Don't Need Showtimes

The #1 way we saw people causing ugly page errors was manually deleting either an event or a showtime without deleting both. An event or showtime without a partner would fail, well, ungracefully. Now, even if you manually delete one, you won't accidentally cause larger issues.

You may have noticed not too long ago, the main menu in the Back Office got a bit of a reshuffle.

Searching for Customers of all sorts is such a common activity--and there are several ways to find that person you're searching for--as people to import, as members, voucher & gift card users, gift givers and receivers, etc.

We consolidated all of that customer searching and bubbled it up towards the top of the main menu.

This equates to less searching around to find your people.