Time-based guest lists: how to set one up and charge at the door without chaos
· 3 min read
Every organizer has lived this one: 12:20 a.m., a line at the door, someone swears they got there "before midnight", the door person doesn't know whether to charge R$ 20 or R$ 40, and the line stops while the argument plays out. By the end of the night, nobody really knows how much came in.
A time-based guest list is one of the most powerful tools in nightlife, but it only works if the rule is clear and the charging is automatic. Here's how to set yours up.
What a time-based list is
It's a guest list where the price depends on when each person arrives. Arrive early and you pay less (or get in free); arrive late and you pay more. A simple example:
| Arrival time | Price |
|---|---|
| Until midnight | Free |
| Midnight to 1:30 a.m. | R$ 20 |
| After 1:30 a.m. | R$ 35 |
Why it works
It fills the room early. An empty party at 11:30 p.m. puts off everyone who comes later. A lower price early on creates buzz, and buzz draws people in.
It spreads out the line. Instead of everyone showing up at 1 a.m., arrivals are spread across the night. Your door team will thank you.
It raises revenue without raising the full price. Late arrivals who don't mind paying more, pay more. Price-sensitive guests come early. Everyone finds their spot.
How to set the bands
1. Start from the time you want the room full. If the dance floor needs to be packed by 12:30 a.m., the cheapest band should end around then.
2. Keep it to a few bands. Three is usually enough. Any more and people forget the rule and the door gets confused.
3. Make the price jump worth it. If the gap between bands is R$ 5, nobody changes plans over it. The step has to influence when people leave the house.
4. Decide what happens to people who aren't on the list. Do walk-ins pay the door price? Is there a cut-off time for list entry? Write it down before you promote.
5. Communicate the rule the same way everywhere. The flyer, stories, promoter messages and event page all need to show the same bands. Mismatches turn into arguments at the door.
The mistakes that cause the most trouble
Charging by eye. If the door person decides "almost midnight, go ahead", every night has a different rule, and your crowd learns it's negotiable.
Everyone's own clock. The door person's phone, the guest's and the promoter's never show the same time. The rule needs a single clock.
Lists on paper or spreadsheets. Duplicate names, misspelled names, three promoters' lists that don't talk to each other. Add the rush of the line and mistakes are guaranteed.
Not knowing what's coming in. Without a record of who came in during each band, you only find out what the door made the next day, with no way to check it.
How to do it without the headache
The trick is to take the decision out of the door person's hands. When someone arrives, their entry is recorded with the exact time, and the system shows how much to charge for that band. No arguments, nobody's personal clock.
On PartyOS, the organizer sets up as many bands as they want, each with a time and a price, and can mark bands as free or "decided at the door". On the night, the door staff scan the guest's QR code and, with the scanner online, the system records the arrival time and shows the exact amount for that band on screen. And in the event report, the organizer sees an estimate of what the door brought in, based on when each guest on the list actually arrived.
Frequently asked questions
- How many price bands should I use?
- Three works for most parties: one to fill the room early, one for peak time and one for late arrivals.
- Does a time-based list work alongside advance tickets?
- Yes. Advance tickets lock in revenue before the party; the list fills the venue and brings in money at the door. Many organizers use both.
- What if someone arrives right on the minute the band changes?
- That's exactly why the time has to be recorded by a system, not by the door staff. The rule is the same for everyone.