The Advance section in Master Tour makes it easy to prepare your events by organizing and updating key logistical details in one place. Think of it as a customizable checklist that helps you gather all necessary information for a tour date - quickly and consistently.
How It Works
On any Tour Date where you've added an Event, you'll see the Advance section in the left-hand menu.
There are two main ways to work with your event information:
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The Events Tab
Here, you create or edit your event record for a tour date. This creates a local event record with details like dimensions, contacts, and production info. -
The Advance Tab
In this section, you can create a custom Advance template using the same fields from the Events tab. You can choose which fields to include and organize them however you'd like.
Any information you enter in the Advance will automatically sync with the same fields in the Events tab - and vice versa.
Creating an Advance
On any Tour Date that you have an Event, you'll see an Advance section on the left side:
You can start a blank Advance by clicking on the Add Blank Advance button on the left sidebar; or by clicking on the Add Advance dropdown in the top right corner, then selecting Blank Advance:
Note that Advances are added on a per-Event basis - if you have multiple Events on a Tour Date, then you can create and fill out different Advances for each of the Events on your Tour Date.
Once you create a Blank Advance, you can enter a title for your Advance on this Event:
Adding a blank Advance will automatically put you in Design Mode, which allows you to add fields to your Event's Advance. Advance Mode is used for entering info into your fields after you have your layout created in Design Mode. You can switch between Advance Mode and Design Mode using the toggle in the top right corner of your Advance:
To add more fields to your Advance in Design Mode, just click the + button to the right of a field, and it will add the next available field in the Field dropdown. All Fields will currently connect to the Venue info for your Event, and the Schedule info for your Tour Date:
You can also select a different field in the Field dropdown or search to quickly find a Field:
If there's an entire section of Fields that you wish to add, you can add them all at the same time by clicking the Add All option in the Field dropdown:
You can also add Titles with Descriptions to help with organizing your Advance's layout:
If you need to delete a Field, you can do that by clicking the trash icon on the right side of a Field, then clicking the Delete option:
Once you have your Advance set up the way you want it, you can save it as an Advance Template to use on any other Events you want. Just click the Save As Template button in the top right corner, then enter a Title for your Advance Template:
Check out our article on Advance Templates for more info on managing and applying Advance Templates.
Filling Out Your Advance
Once you’ve designed your Advance, you can begin filling it out in Advance Mode. Simply type into a field and press Tab or click to move to the next one - it's fast and intuitive.
Important: Any field that already has information saved in your Event (via the Venue or Schedule sections) will automatically populate in your Advance. Likewise, any changes made here will instantly update those same fields in your Event record.
This ensures you're always working with the most current, connected data—no need to re-enter information in multiple places.
You can also search for existing Contacts, or Add Contacts from scratch:
As you begin entering information in an Advance, you’ll see status indicators update in two key places:
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Left Advance Sidebar: Shows the status of all Advances for the selected Event at a glance.
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Right Tour Dates Sidebar: Displays the status of all Advances for the entire Tour Date.
These visual cues help you quickly track which Advances are in progress, completed, or still need attention.
Changing Advance Status
You can update the status of an Advance at any time by clicking the Advance Status dropdown in the top-right corner of the Advance. Choose from:
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Not Started
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In Progress
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Done
How Status Icons Work
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If no Advances are marked as In Progress or Done, no status icon will appear in either the left Advance sidebar or the right Tour Dates sidebar.
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If any Advances are In Progress, or if some (but not all) Advances on the Tour Date are In Progress or Done, a blue "In Progress" pie chart icon will appear on the right Tour Dates sidebar.
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If all Advances for a Tour Date are marked Done, the right Tour Dates sidebar will display a green "Done" checkmark icon.
These icons give you a quick visual summary of how far along your advancing is for each day.
Deleting an Advance
To delete an Advance, simply click the trash can icon next to it, then confirm by clicking Delete.