Arsom Pass · Start your own
A discovery pass is a digital pass, sold to the public, that gives access to offers at several partner businesses (most of them one-time) so people have a reason to try them. If you know the good places in your town, or people follow you for exactly that, you can launch your own: you sign the businesses and sell the pass. Arsom Pass puts it in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet and handles everything technical.
You
Arsom
Put down thirty names to sign twenty. Begin with the places where you are already a customer: the conversation is easier when they recognize you.
Either you pay businesses a share of each pass, or they take part for the exposure and the new customers. Decide before your first visit, because they will ask.
Add up the value of the offers a Pass Holder will realistically use in a year, which is less than the value of every offer on the pass. The buyer should see the pass paying for itself within a few outings.
The list of businesses, their offers, the illustration, the expiry date. Arsom configures the program and creates a redemption login for each business.
Online first, then at the businesses’ counters with their promotional QR codes. The printed card can come later, if you want an object to give as a gift or sell in shops.
The dashboard shows sales per business and which offers were used. The export is what you use to pay the commissions you promised.
You make money when a pass sells: its price times the number of passes sold. The number sold is what takes the most work. It depends on the list of businesses, on your audience if you have one, and on how many counters agree to sell the pass.
Depending on what you agreed, each sale then pays a share to the participating businesses and a commission to resellers, plus the platform and payment fees. With Arsom, the platform costs an annual subscription plus a small commission per paid pass sold, quoted per project.
What’s left pays for the illustration, printing, promotion, professional advice and your time. Because the subscription is a fixed yearly cost, it takes a bigger bite out of each pass when sales are low. Base your estimates on a conservative sales volume before you promise the businesses anything.
The cost lines are covered in Discovery pass costs and revenue.
Before you sell the first pass
Expiry, refunds, taxes and Pass Holders’ personal data are all regulated, and the rules depend on where you sell and what the pass includes. The platform applies the expiry date you choose and calculates taxes at checkout, but it is no substitute for advice. See a legal or tax advisor before you start selling, even for a small launch.
Tell us your city, the businesses you are aiming for and how you plan to sell. We’ll go over your numbers with you and send a quote. No obligation.
roman@arsom.quebec · Canada, United States, France · Dedicated account manager · Pricing by quote
On the technical side, yes, because Arsom runs it. Your time goes into signing businesses and promoting the pass. Count those hours honestly before you set a launch date.
No. The pass lives in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, sales happen online and businesses redeem offers on their own phones. You have nothing to install or maintain.
For a first discovery pass, aim for about twenty businesses. That is a rule of thumb for giving buyers enough choice for the price. You can add more later from the dashboard.
It isn’t required. You can pay them a share of each pass, or offer them exposure and new customers. Either way, you can also pay a commission to the businesses that sell the pass.
Yes. Sales then go through Arsom’s Stripe account and the funds are paid out to you. If you would rather collect the money yourself, you connect your own account.
An annual subscription that covers the platform, maintenance and support, plus a small commission on each paid pass sold. Pricing is by quote. Budget separately for the illustration, card printing and your promotion.