Getting Started with Before The Booth
Get up and running in under 5 minutes. Here's everything you need to know to start tracking your festival season.
Create Your Account
Sign up for free with your email address. No credit card required. You'll get instant access to track unlimited festivals.
Add Your First Festival
Click “Add Festival” from the Festivals page. Enter the festival name, dates, and location. Before The Booth will auto-fill the address using our built-in search. Set the status to “Researching” if you're still exploring, or “Applied” if you've already submitted.
Track Your Expenses
Under the Fees tab when adding or editing a festival, enter your application fee, booth fee, and any custom expenses like electricity or hotel costs. Mark expenses as paid to track your payment progress.
Update Statuses as You Go
As you hear back from festivals, update their status directly from the detail panel — just click the status badge. Move festivals through Researching → Applied → Waitlisted → Accepted → Completed as your season progresses.
Record Your Sales (Pro)
After each festival, add your daily sales from the Sales tab in the festival editor. Before The Booth calculates your profit/loss automatically so you know exactly which festivals are worth returning to.
Pro Tips
Use the Calendar
The calendar view shows all your festival dates and deadlines at a glance. Click any event to see details.
Set Deadline Reminders
Enable email reminders in Settings → Notifications so you never miss an application deadline.
Upload Documents
Attach acceptance letters and contracts to each festival. Before The Booth can auto-extract key details.
Track Hotel Bookings
Toggle 'Requires Hotel' when adding a festival to track your lodging details alongside expenses.
Ready to get started?
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