Ticket and Invoice Addon

The Ticket and Invoice Addon automatically generates PDF invoices and tickets for your event attendees. It includes QR code check-in, Apple Wallet passes (one per attendee), and real-time attendee tracking.

Initial Setup

Before you begin, make sure you have the following:

• MEC Pro: This addon requires the Pro version of Modern Events Calendar. Read also: How to install MEC and Addons?
• Booking Module: Go to MEC Settings > Booking and enable the Booking Module. Save the changes and refresh the page so the addon options appear. Read also: How to add a booking system?

Accessing Settings: All options are in MEC Settings > Invoice Options. The page uses the same layout as the other MEC settings pages: a sidebar with the sections listed below, a search box at the top, and one Save Changes button for the whole page.

Configuring Your Invoices

Invoice Title

This setting controls the main heading of the invoice or ticket. You can use these placeholders, which are replaced with the booking data:

• {invoice_id}: the internal ID.
• {invoice_number}: the number generated for that sale.
• {event_title}: the name of the booked event.

Pro Tip: A common template is Invoice #{invoice_number} for {event_title}.

Company Information

Your business details are shown on every ticket and invoice.

• Company URL / Name / Email / Phone: Your official business contact information.
• VAT Number: Your tax identification number, required for legal invoices.
• Description and Address: A short description of your company and your physical address.
• Logo and Logo Width: Upload your logo and, optionally, set its width in pixels so it fits the page.

Invoice Number Generation

Choose how invoice numbers are generated.

• Invoice Number Start Point: The number the first invoice starts with, for example 1 or 100.
• Invoice Number Length: How many digits the number has. With a length of 8, the number 1 becomes 00000001. A length of 0 adds no padding.
• Invoice Number Pattern: Add text around the number. For example, INV-{number} gives INV-00000001.

Invoice Rendering

This section controls the look and content of the ticket or invoice.

• Invoice Type: Select the template: Classic Ticket, Classic Invoice, Standard, or Modern Ticket Type 1 to 4. Every template is responsive and also prints correctly.
• Display Buyer Info Section: Shows the purchaser details (name and contact information) on the ticket.
• Buyer Info Custom Fields: Appears when the buyer info section is on. Choose which booking custom fields are shown in it.
• Attendees Custom Fields: Choose which attendee custom fields are shown for each attendee.
• Display Ticket Name (Type) in Tickets: Shows the ticket type name, such as VIP or Early Bird.
• Display Ticket Time: Shows the ticket time.
• Show Tax Detail on invoice types: Shows the tax breakdown. Tickets also show a price breakdown (subtotal, fees and tax) below the price.
• Show Location Address: Shows the venue address.
• Hide The Invoice Download Button in The Email: Removes the invoice download button from the email.
• Hide QrCode: Hides the QR code on tickets.
• Date Format (Tickets), Time Format (Tickets), Default Date Format, Event Date Format: Use standard PHP date formats, for example M j, Y or h:i A. Read also: Date Formats in MEC plugin.
• Invoice Descriptions: Text shown on every invoice, such as arrival instructions or terms. You can use formatting and media.

Tickets also show the Ticket ID and, when you use the Seat addon, the seat number.

PDF Generation

To let users download tickets as PDF files, connect a rendering service.

• html2pdf API Key / Selectpdf API Key: Sign up with html2pdf or Selectpdf and paste the key here.
• Selectpdf Margins: The white space around the PDF edge (top, right, bottom, left). The default is 5 5 5 5. Do not add units such as px or %.
• Display Invoice Description in Print and PDF Mode: Includes the Invoice Descriptions text in printed and PDF versions.

Live Attendees

Enable Use Pusher API For Live Actions to see new registrations as they happen. Enter your Pusher App ID, Key, Secret and Cluster, which you get from pusher.com. Then go to MEC > Report, select your event and date, and watch the registrations.

Check-in & Notifications

This section controls how tickets are verified, how emails are sent, and who can check attendees in.

• Disable Invoice Email Notifications: Stops the addon from emailing the invoice after a booking.
• Limit QR Code Check-in to Event Dates: Tickets cannot be scanned before or after the event days. This is on automatically when multiple-date booking is active.
• Pre-event Check-in (Minutes): How many minutes before the start time staff can begin scanning. With 0, check-in opens at the start time.
• Send Separate Tickets & Invoices for Each Attendee: When one booking has several attendees, each one gets their own ticket with their own QR code.
• Display Invoice Number in Check-in page: Shows the invoice number on the check-in screen.
• Disable MEC Booking Notifications: Turns off MEC’s own booking confirmation email so customers do not get two. The addon’s email is sent either way.
• Checkin Roles: The user roles allowed to check attendees in and out. Administrators always have access.

Apple Wallet Pass

Let attendees on iPhone, iPad or Mac add their ticket to Apple Wallet. Every attendee in a booking gets their own pass.

What you need: An Apple Developer account with a Pass Type ID and its certificates.

1. Tick Enable Apple Wallet Pass.
2. Under Apple Developer Account, enter the Pass Type Identifier (for example pass.com.example.events) and your 10-character Team Identifier. Both must match your Apple Developer account exactly.
3. Place the certificate files Certificates.p12 and pass.cer (Apple WWDR) in the addon’s core/walletpass/ folder. Advanced users can instead define MECINVOICE_WALLETPASS_CERT, MECINVOICE_WALLETPASS_CERT_PASSPHRASE and MECINVOICE_WALLETPASS_WWDR_CERT in wp-config.php.
4. Save the changes. After saving, a status line shows Ready or lists exactly what is still missing. Until everything is in place, the Add to Apple Wallet button stays hidden.

Pass Appearance: Set the Organization Name shown on the pass, a Logo (defaults to the Company Information logo), the Text Color and the Background Color.

Where It Appears: After a booking, the confirmation page shows an Add to Apple Wallet button, one per attendee. Tick Show Apple Wallet links in invoice emails to also include the links in invoice emails. Links work on iPhone, iPad and Mac with Safari.

Thank You Page: If you use a MEC Thank You Page (MEC Settings > Booking), add one of these shortcodes to it:

• [MEC_apple_wallet_link]: shows only the Add to Apple Wallet button.
• [MEC_booking_download_links]: shows the Download Invoice and Add to Apple Wallet buttons.

Use only one shortcode per page. The shortcodes read the booking from the ?transaction= value in the page URL.

Accessibility Control

Administrators can control who can open an invoice and use check-in for it.

• Enabled: The invoice is visible to the user and check-in (including QR scanning) works.
• Disabled: The invoice is hidden from the user and check-in is blocked, even for someone who has the direct link. Administrators can still open it in the WordPress backend.
• Bulk Actions: Use Enable Accessibility or Disable Accessibility in the invoice list to change several invoices at once.

Pro Tip: Use Disabled to pause ticket validation for an event, or while you check an attendee’s payment.

Custom CSS

Invoice Custom Styles: Add your own CSS for tickets and invoices. It is applied to the PDF file and to the email sent to the user. Read also: Inspect Element.

Generate Invoice

If you had bookings before installing the addon, open the Generate Invoice section and click Import. Invoices and QR codes are created for all previous bookings.

Managing MEC Invoices

All generated invoices are listed under MEC Invoices > Invoices, similar to the MEC Bookings list. The list shows the event, attendees, transaction ID, total price, check-in status, accessibility and date.

• View and audit: Open any invoice to see the full details, including the invoice number and QR code.
• Export as PDF: Select invoices and choose Export as PDF from Bulk actions to download them for accounting.
• Export Invoice (XML): Use the submenu item under MEC Invoices to export invoice data.

Manual Invoice Creation: To issue a ticket for an offline sale or a VIP guest:

1. Click Add New Invoice.
2. Select the Event to load its ticket types.
3. Click Add Attendee and fill in the guest’s details.
4. Click Publish. This creates the invoice number and QR code, so the ticket is valid only after publishing.

The Check-in Process

1. Attendees show their QR code, printed or on a phone.
2. Staff scan the code with a smartphone or the MEC Utility app.
3. The system verifies the ticket. If it is valid, the status in the dashboard changes to Checked in. Check-in status and time are also included in the booking export files (MEC > Import/Export).

Use Cases

• Online ticket sales and registration management: Sell tickets online and keep attendee details.
• Automatic PDF invoices: Professional invoices for attendees.
• On-site check-in with QR codes: Fast and accurate entry.
• Real-time attendee tracking: Live registrations through the Pusher API.
• Individual tickets per attendee: Useful for groups and multi-ticket orders, including a separate Apple Wallet pass for each attendee.
• Branded tickets: Match your brand with templates, company information and custom CSS.

Limitations

• Requires MEC Pro. It does not work with MEC Lite.
• Not designed for multi-step payments such as deposits, or for multi-currency setups.
• Free tickets can be issued, but management features for them are limited.
• Works only with WordPress and Modern Events Calendar.

Troubleshooting

• PDF does not download: Check that the API key is correct, then go to Settings > Permalinks and click Save Changes to refresh the links.
• Custom CSS changes do not show: Clear your website cache.
• The Add to Apple Wallet button is missing: Open MEC Settings > Invoice Options > Apple Wallet Pass. The status line lists what is still missing (Pass Type Identifier, Team Identifier or certificate files). The button also appears only for confirmed invoices.
• Customers receive two booking emails: Enable Disable MEC Booking Notifications in Check-in & Notifications.

FAQ

How to offer tickets for events?

You need MEC Pro and the Ticket and Invoice addon.

1. Go to MEC Settings > Booking, enable the Booking Module and reload the page.
2. Go to MEC Settings > Booking > Payment Gateway and configure a gateway.
3. On the Add/Edit Event page, open the Booking section and click Add Ticket in the Tickets tab. Enter a name, a price and the other fields.
4. Install and activate the Ticket and Invoice addon, then go to MEC Settings > Invoice Options and choose an Invoice Type template.

After that, every booking sends the user a ticket or invoice they can print or show on their phone.

Is it possible to sell tickets via PayPal or Stripe?

Yes. PayPal and Stripe are built into MEC Pro. Connect your account under MEC Settings > Booking > Payment Gateway.

Is it possible to customize the tickets?

Yes. Fill out Company Information in MEC Settings > Invoice Options, pick an Invoice Type, choose which details are shown in Invoice Rendering, and change the styles in Custom CSS.

How to export a list of attendees?

Go to MEC > Bookings and filter by event. You can also filter one occurrence of a repeating event. Select the bookings and export them from the Bulk Edit menu as CSV or MS Excel. The export includes the check-in status and time.

How does the check-in process work?

After a booking, users receive a ticket or invoice with a QR code. Scan it at the event to check the attendee in. You can scan with the MEC Utility app, which connects to your website with an API key and needs no login on the phone. You can also scan with your phone’s camera if you are logged in to your website in its browser, with a role listed in Checkin Roles.

After scanning, a message tells you whether the check-in worked, and the status in the backend changes to Checked in. If the attendee was already checked in, you see Already Checked In.