Convert WooCommerce Orders Into Event Tickets

In this post, we’ll go through the steps to convert WooCommerce orders into event tickets that can be scanned and managed using FooEvents. We’ll show you how to export your orders, format them as a CSV, and import them into FooEvents to generate tickets linked to the original orders. Let’s get started!

So, you created a WooCommerce product and used it to sell tickets for your event, but you’re missing one crucial element: the actual tickets. The good news is that with FooEvents, you can easily turn those existing orders into tickets that include attendee information and a QR code. The tickets can then be scanned with the free FooEvents Check-ins app to manage access at your event.

Why Convert WooCommerce Orders Into Event Tickets?

Converting WooCommerce orders into event tickets using FooEvents will make managing your event easier and provide a more streamlined experience for your attendees.

• Streamline Check-ins: Convert orders to scannable tickets for fast, easy event entry.
• Send Ticket Emails: Once tickets have been generated, they can be sent to attendees as HTML and PDF ticket emails.
• Centralise Attendee Info: Centralise attendee names, emails, and details for better event management.
• Prevent Fraud: Unique tickets ensure secure, one-time managed access to your event or venue.
• Boost Branding: Customize tickets with your branding and event details.

Exporting Old Orders

First, you’ll need to export the original order information from your WooCommerce store. There are a number of plugins that can help you do this; we are going to use the free Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce plugin. Once installed, use their export wizard to generate a CSV file that includes the attendee’s first name, last name, email address, product ID, and order ID.

Start the wizard and select the Advanced export method, as this will allow you to filter which orders you would like to include in your CSV export.

Using the provided filters, you can set the export to include orders for specific products, order statuses, and during specific time periods.

Next, proceed to the Map and reorder export columns step. Here you can choose which fields to include in your export. Make sure to include the ID, Billing first name, Billing last name, and Customer email address. You can then proceed to export the order data as a CSV file. Save this file somewhere easy to find—we’ll be using it in a moment!

Install FooEvents and Create Your Event

Before importing your tickets, you will need to install and activate the FooEvents for WooCommerce plugin on your site. Once installed, head over to your existing WooCommerce product, and navigate to the Product Data tabs and select the FooEvents Settings tab. Enable the product as an event and complete the various FooEvents Settings as needed.

Under the Attendee section, be sure to check Capture attendee full name and Capture attendee email address.

That’s all that is needed in terms of importing tickets for your orders, but I recommend you also head over to the Ticket Settings section and configure how you want your tickets to look and what information should be included in the ticket emails.

💡Tip: Make sure to note the event’s ID (you can view it in the URL, e.g., post=12) as you’ll need to include it in your CSV file.

Prepare Your CSV for Import

You now have all the information you need to prepare your CSV file. Open/import the CSV file in a spreadsheet app where you will prepare it further (I’ll be using Google Docs).

If it was not already included in your export data, add a column labeled event_id and input the ID of the product that you modified earlier. This step ensures that FooEvents knows which product to link the tickets to. Remove any unnecessary column names other than the attendee’s first name, last name, order ID, and product ID.

💡Tip: You can also import custom fields such as dietary preferences, t-shirt size, language preference, etc. For more information on how to do so, please refer to this help guide.

Make sure your CSV file is formatted correctly and includes all necessary data. Remember, garbage in, garbage out. When ready, export the spreadsheet as a CSV file and save it to your desktop.

Import WooCommerce orders to event tickets

It’s now time to import your CSV and generate tickets for your order.

💡 Tip: FooEvents will import the tickets in batches of 100 tickets; however, you can increase this up to 5000 in the FooEvents Settings (FooEvents > Settings > General).

In your WordPress admin area, navigate to FooEvents > Ticket Import. Upload your CSV file using the importer.

Next, you will need to map each column in the CSV to the corresponding ticket field as indicated below. Once done, Run the importer!

The next screen will validate the data and inform you if there are any issues with your data, such as invalid event IDs, missing data, unsupported characters, etc.

If everything looks good, press the Confirm Import button. If the number of tickets you are importing exceeds the batch size, you will need to repeat the process until all tickets have been imported.

And that’s it! Your tickets are created and linked to your original orders. 🎉

Exploring Your New FooEvents Tickets

You can view the tickets by navigating to FooEvents > Tickets. Here you can bulk resend the tickets to your attendees. We recommend doing so in smaller batches.

When editing a ticket, you can modify the attendee’s details, change the ticket status, and resend an individual ticket.

You can also navigate to the original order where you will now see an additional Attendee Details section that includes all relevant attendee/ticket information.

After you have sent the tickets to your attendees, you can scan the tickets using the free FooEvents Check-ins apps.

Wrapping Up

Migrating to FooEvents opens up a world of possibilities. With full WooCommerce integration, you get control over your ticketing process and a wealth of features to manage your events efficiently. The Ticket Importer makes moving your data quick and painless, whether you’re coming from a different ticketing system or an existing WooCommerce setup.