Who should set up events when I use an Agency or Branded Supplier?

If your Agency (e.g. music/dj agency or Branded Supplier or (e.g. Karaoke, Trivia/Quiz, etc.) is set up with an ‘Agency’ account on Surreal, you have two options to create events:

Option 1: You (the venue account) creates the event & performances and “assigns” the agency to that event.This option is great for situations where

1. the venue has different set times from week to week, or month to month
2. uses multiple agencies/branded suppliers and schedules may change
3. the venue needs to assign different agencies to different performances within the same event

Option 2: The Agency/Branded Supplier (agency account) sets up the event, and in doing so, are automatically assignedThis option is great for situations where:

1. the bookings and details are the same format each week/month (time, day, booked by same agent)
2. you work with the same agents/branded suppliers frequently

We suggest Option 2 because in most cases, the format is the same, AND it:

1. reduces work for the venue
2. reduces work for the agency
3. provides a much quicker workflow for the agency
4. reduces confusion b/w venue and agency (who’s creating the events, when are they added?)
5. reduce errors of assignment/management of the event to the agency
6. Note: be sure to ‘Assign’ the agency, not ‘Provide Access’ (more below)
7. reduces delays - your agency is normally ready to add the event right away, so the task can be completed immediately rather than waiting for access
8. reduces complexity
9. if you create the event - you must assign **each performance in that event to the agency you want to manage that booking
10. if it’s the same agency for each performance inside the event - this results in more clicks, so it’s best that the agency makes the event
11. Remember - ‘Providing Access’ is not the same as ‘Assigning’ - if you only provide access, they will only be able to view/see the gig, but will not be able to manage it.

Agencies - what to do if I’m not assigned to the gig

If your agency account is meant to be associated to a event/performances or series of events/performances, simply contact your venue to “assign” you to the relevant performances you are meant to manage. If you see the purple tiles on your Schedule View, it means they’ve clicked ‘provide access’ instead of ‘assign’. You need to be assigned to be able to manage the performance.

At the end of the day it’s up to you - but we find it works best when the Agency Account manages the events like they do in the real world - having to make changes where required and communicating to you.

Reminder: In order for you to do either of these, you need to make sure you’ve added the agency to your venue via your venue settings, under ‘Agencies’. (See here) link this to the setting Help article