Choosing the Right Point of Sale System for Your Museum: Why HubSpot Outshines Tessitura

Running a museum or arts organization goes beyond curating exhibits or hosting sold-out performances—it’s about delivering seamless experiences for both visitors and your team.

Ticketing, memberships, gift shop sales, event registrations—every transaction must integrate smoothly.

Traditionally, platforms like Tessitura have been the trusted choice for nonprofits, providing ticketing and donor management tools.

But today, the dynamics are evolving. Organizations are gravitating toward more flexible, cost-effective, and integrated solutions—such as HubSpot’s POS tools, powered by CommerceHub, StoreHub, and POS integrations.

HubSpot is no longer just a CRM leader—it’s becoming the essential foundation for museums seeking to modernize and grow.

What Sets HubSpot's POS System Apart?

1. True Integration: Beyond Just Ticketing

HubSpot does more than track donations and ticket sales— it unifies CommerceHub with your entire CRM, marketing, and event ecosystem. That means your POS system speaks directly with your campaigns, visitor data, and even your gift shop inventory.

How this works in practice:

• CommerceHub seamlessly integrates with HubSpot’s membership management, ticketing, and event tools. For example, when a visitor buys a ticket, they’re automatically added to your CRM. From there, you can send tailored email campaigns promoting future events or special exhibit previews.
• StoreHub, HubSpot’s retail-specific integration, ties every gift shop transaction back to the visitor’s CRM profile. You can track purchase behaviors to upsell memberships or promote new items directly tied to their interests.
• With HubSpot’s robust POS integrations, you can connect systems like Stripe, Square, or even purpose-built POS apps in HubSpot’s App Marketplace to streamline both online and on-site transactions.

Operational efficiency is just the start—it’s about building connected, personalized experiences that encourage one-time visitors to become lifelong members.

2. User-Friendly Platform That Works Out of the Box

Tessitura is powerful—but complex. Its steep learning curve can bog down your team and make onboarding a struggle. HubSpot flips the script with intuitive, accessible tools.

Your staff—whether full-time employees or part-time volunteers—can get up to speed quickly without endless hours of training. CommerceHub’s dashboard is designed with simplicity in mind, making it easy to process ticket sales, track memberships, or pull reports with just a few clicks.

Why It Works: HubSpot’s ease of use comes from its intuitive interface and smart onboarding features. Pre-built templates, step-by-step tutorials, and in-app guidance help staff master tasks like managing donor data or automating follow-ups in no time. Plus, centralized tools eliminate the need to juggle multiple platforms, saving time and reducing confusion. Whether it’s processing memberships or pulling donor reports, HubSpot empowers your team to hit the ground running.

3. Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

Nonprofits run on tight budgets, and technology costs add up fast. With Tessitura, high implementation fees, maintenance costs, and ongoing customizations are the norm. 

In contrast, HubSpot delivers enterprise-grade tools without enterprise-grade costs.

So, let’s talk about real-world numbers.

In our work with the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS), we saw firsthand how switching to HubSpot can unlock significant cost savings and operational benefits for museums and arts organizations.

Documented Savings:

• MNHS reduced annual tech costs by $137K–$197K, while saving over $120K in integration fees alone.

• HubSpot’s streamlined implementation delivered a 30% increase in staff productivity, enabling the team to focus more on mission-critical tasks.

• Enhanced community engagement became a reality, thanks to improved automation and personalized outreach—boosting event attendance and membership renewals.

By switching from Tessitura to HubSpot, your organization could save up to $300K annually. Imagine reallocating these savings to create new exhibits, expand visitor programming, or even grow your team to better serve your mission.

4. Dynamic Reporting: Real-Time Insights at Your Fingertips

HubSpot’s reporting tools go far beyond ticket counts. With live dashboards, you can track gift shop revenue, membership renewals, event attendance, and ticket sales in real time—without waiting for end-of-month reports.

Practical Example: During a high-traffic event, your team notices that a specific exhibit guidebook is flying off the shelves. With CommerceHub, they can quickly reorder inventory or promote digital copies via automated follow-up emails sent through HubSpot’s marketing tools.

Real-time insights let you adapt on the fly, maximizing revenue and improving visitor satisfaction.

5. Frictionless Visitor Experiences: From First Click to On-site Check-Out

Today’s visitors expect seamless experiences. HubSpot delivers, whether they’re buying tickets online, registering for an event, or grabbing a memento from your gift shop.

Here’s how HubSpot’s tools elevate visitor interactions:

• Dynamic pricing and member discounts: Automatically apply benefits like free entry or gift shop discounts to members.
• Automated follow-ups: After a ticket purchase, HubSpot can send tailored exhibit recommendations or thank-you emails with links to upcoming events.
• Integrated POS at every touchpoint: Whether it’s an online purchase or a gift shop sale, everything syncs back to their CRM profile.

This level of personalization builds loyalty. Visitors feel valued—and they keep coming back.

Hubspot Goes Beyond POS: Museum Ticketing. Events, and Memberships-HubSpot Helps

Events and Ticketing

Managing events is a breeze with HubSpot’s built-in event registration tools. 

Whether you’re hosting a one-night fundraiser or a recurring family program, you can:

• Set up online registration with ease.
• Track attendance and revenue in real-time.
• Use post-event surveys to gather feedback and improve future programming.

Plus, with CommerceHub’s POS integration, you can process ticket sales both online and at the door without missing a beat.

Membership Management

Membership renewals are where nonprofits can lose major revenue—but HubSpot makes it easy to stay on top of renewals, member benefits, and engagement.
Features like automated renewal reminders, dynamic pricing for members, and personalized marketing campaigns ensure your membership program thrives.

Volunteer Management

Behind every successful museum event or program is a team of dedicated volunteers. HubSpot’s CRM can help you:

• Track volunteer hours and maintain profiles with skills and availability, making it easier to match volunteers with the right opportunities.
• Automate communications, such as onboarding materials or reminders for upcoming shifts.
• Measure impact with real-time reporting on volunteer engagement and contribution, showcasing their invaluable role in your mission.

Whether managing event registrations, nurturing memberships, or engaging volunteers, HubSpot offers a unified platform to streamline your operations and maximize impact.

Why Museums Are Making the Switch

Nonprofit Tech Shop recently helped the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) transition from Tessitura to HubSpot, replacing outdated, siloed systems with a fully integrated solution. 

Their success story is a testament to how HubSpot’s POS and CRM solutions can modernize operations for arts and culture organizations of any size.

Whether you're struggling with outdated software or searching for a more efficient way to manage ticketing, memberships, and sales, HubSpot has the tools to help.

HubSpot’s unified, cost-effective platform not only meets your organization’s needs—it propels you toward long-term growth.

Explore the features and see how we compare to Tessitura on our comparison page. Or, reach out to our team for a personalized demo today!

Curious how HubSpot can transform your museum?
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