✨ Please note: Passes are available on the Standard plan or above.
Passes let customers buy access to multiple events or sessions under a single ticket. They make it easy to offer packages or recurring access. This article explains how to set up passes, manage ticket access, and configure pricing options.
What is a pass?
A pass allows customers to purchase a block of classes upfront and redeem them against future ticket bookings. When purchasing the pass, customers must select a ticket, which is then linked to their email address for later use.
They are a great way to encourage commitment, often offering better value than individual drop-in tickets.
You have full control over the pricing, the number of tickets redeemable per pass, and its validity period.
You can also set limits on which tickets or events the pass can be used for.
Setting up your pass offers
To set up a pass offer:
Select Packages & Discounts from the left-hand menu, then Passes.
Select Create a new pass in the top right-hand corner:
Start adding the details of your pass in the Display section. For example, add a pass name and relevant details about the pass:
Add how much you would like each pass to cost in the Price field:
Select the Pass type:
Fixed number of uses: Restrict how many times a customer can use the pass to purchase tickets.
Unlimited number of uses: Allow unlimited uses. This setting also requires a timeframe.
Restrict the number of uses per event:
Single use only: The customer can only use the pass once per event, either for themselves or someone else.
Valid for additional attendees: Customers can use their pass for multiple attendees for the same event, either via multiple single tickets or group tickets.
Choose which entries and tickets are available to book using the pass by selecting Add usage restriction:
We recommend that you create a specific pass ticket, and then select a "ticket" usage restriction, adding the pass tickets that you have created. If you have multiple entries or tickets with the same name, you must choose all that are applicable. The next upcoming date and time are shown next to each entry to help identify the separate entries:
💡 The drop-down will only show entries with at least one upcoming date, so entries with only past dates cannot be added.When you select a date and time, the restriction applies to all dates and times within that entry, not just the one you selected.
Add a Timeframe for Use: You can set when customers can use their pass:
No restriction: No time limit for using the pass.
Fixed period: The pass is valid for events within a set time period.
Fixed period from first use: The pass is valid for a set number of days, starting from the first ticket booked with it.
💡 This means the pass becomes valid from the date of the first event booked with it, not before. That event date marks the start of the usage period.
Set how many passes are available for purchase, and when they will be available in the Availability section:
Total passes available: This is good if you offer a limited offer (or leave it blank for no limit).
When will the pass be available for purchase?: This is when the pass appears on your public pages for your customers to purchase (or leave it blank for no restriction).
✨ Best practices for usage restrictions and tagging entries.
When finished, slide the Published toggle so it appears to the right to publish the pass and make it available for purchase:
Select Save changes when finished.
Customers can then select the Pass from your public booking page alongside a valid standard drop-in ticket.
💡 Please note: You cannot currently limit the number of passes a customer can buy. Any available passes will be accessible to all customers unless you hide or remove them.
Common setup issue
A common mistake to avoid
Don't create a regular ticket that is labelled or priced like a pass (for example, "Pass – 5 uses" for £50). This doesn't create a pass and can confuse customers about how their pass credits work.
The correct setup
Create a Pass on the Passes page, including the number of uses and price.
Create a Pass Ticket for the relevant events or sessions . Customers can then select this ticket option when redeeming a use from their pass.
You can still offer regular tickets if you want to allow customers to book without a pass, but we recommend creating a Pass Ticket for customers using a pass.
Add the pass ticket to the pass you created earlier
This keeps your pass and ticket setup separate: the Pass controls the customer's credits, while the Pass Ticket is the booking option used to redeem those credits.
How passes affect ticket pricing
The system will not prompt customers to pay for a ticket when they redeem a use from their pass.
Customers always need to select a ticket at checkout. We recommend using a Pass Ticket for customers booking with a pass. You can also allow passes to be redeemed against regular tickets if you’ve configured them that way.
When a customer uses their pass, the pass covers the ticket price at checkout, so they won't be charged for that ticket.
A pass applies based on its usage allowance, not the ticket price. Changing the price of a ticket won't affect how customers use their pass, as long as the ticket remains available for that pass.
Timeframe settings for "unlimited" passes
The Unlimited setting requires a timeframe to be set, either as a Fixed period or Fixed period from first use. If you select the No restriction timeframe, an error will appear:
Fixed period from first use
The pass will be valid for the selected number of days starting from the first ticket booked, including the full duration of the final day.
For example, if you set the pass to be valid for 7 days, a customer who books a class on Monday at 7 p.m. can still book the following Monday's class at the same time.
When setting up a Monday to Sunday pass, for example, please keep this in mind to avoid confusion.
Adding new or duplicated events to a pass
The system treats each event entry separately, even if it’s a duplicate. This means that if you have a restricted pass, you’ll need to manually add any new or duplicate entries to the pass so it works as expected.
How to do this:
Select Packages & Discounts, then Passes from the left-hand menu on your account.
Locate your pass, then select Edit next to the relevant pass to open the settings.
Select Add usage restriction within the pass settings to review/add new or duplicated entries/tickets:
💡 To note:
The drop-down shows entries by the next upcoming date, but all future dates in that entry will be covered. For example:
If you’ve duplicated an entry, make sure to include the new version in your restrictions too.
Restrictions
A pass can’t be redeemed against free tickets or tickets with no cost. Unless you have selected the "pass only" option when creating a ticket.
Group tickets don’t currently appear in the ticket restriction list.
Restrictions you set under Usage restrictions don’t apply to exclusive tickets.- If a ticket price is set to zero or no cost, no uses will be deducted from the pass. To ensure a pass deducts uses, the ticket must have a price greater than zero or have "pass only" selected as the pricing option.
Pass redemption rules
A pass doesn’t check the ticket price and can be redeemed for any ticket that costs more than £0.
If a customer has multiple passes, the system will always redeem the oldest pass first (not the one that expires soonest).
In the customer record, passes are listed from newest to oldest, with the newest at the top.
If a booking spans more than one pass because the first pass doesn’t have enough remaining balance, the system automatically uses the next available pass to cover the rest.
For overlapping passes, this can make some bookings appear as though they have partially used an older pass. This happens because the system allocates usage in the most efficient order to complete the booking.- If a booking is deducted from an older pass rather than a new one, the new pass will still show all uses available. Do not reduce the total uses on the new pass unless necessary.- When a ticket booked with a pass is canceled, the pass uses are automatically returned to the customer’s account, provided your Booking Preferences are configured to allow this.
Booking requirements
Customers must book at least one ticket when using a pass.
Passes and memberships
If a customer has both a pass and an active membership, passes are always used first.
For example, if there’s only one ticket option available, the system will redeem it from the pass before using the membership.
FAQ: What are the differences between passes and course tickets?
Passes: Allow customers to purchase a block of sessions and redeem them flexibly. They do not automatically book customers onto specific dates.
Course Tickets: Enable customers to book all dates in a series of events with a single ticket. Attendees’ names are automatically added to the attendee list for all course dates. This is useful for tracking numbers and avoiding overbooking.
FAQ: Can passes be limited to one per customer?
Passes let you offer multiple session credits in one purchase, but you can’t limit a pass, so each customer can only buy it once.
If you’d like to allow just one purchase per customer, you can use a discount code instead and add usage restrictions to limit how many times it’s used.
💡 Avoid single-use passes. Single-use passes work similarly to tickets but add an extra step for customers during booking. If customers only need to book a single event, we recommend setting the correct ticket price on the event instead. You can then remove or unpublish any single-use passes.
📹 Check out our video walkthrough
Tags: classpass, class, classpasses, pass, passes