Check attendees into a session

Session check-in records who attended a specific session, separately from checking into the event itself.

Worth doing for workshops with limited places, for CPD or certification requirements, and for finding out which sessions actually filled.

Turn it on

Enable check-in on the sessions that need it — individually, or with bulk actions across several.

Do not enable it everywhere. Someone has to stand at each door, and an unmanned session with check-in enabled just produces a misleading zero.

Check people in

1. Open Program, go to Agenda, and open the session's check-in panel.
2. Scan an attendee's QR code, or enter it by hand.

   

3. Watch the running stats and the attendee list.

The same badge QR code works here as at the main door.

Running it in practice

• One person per door, with a phone. Sessions start together, so you need one per room.
• Scan on the way in, not out. People leave in a rush.
• Do not block the door. If a queue forms, let people in and scan whoever you can — partial data beats a bottleneck.
• Enable it only where you need it. Three tracked workshops is manageable; twenty parallel sessions is not.

What happens next

Attendance is recorded per session and appears in the Session check-in report — see The reports.

Session check-in is independent of event check-in. Someone can be checked into a session without being checked in at the door, which is worth knowing when the numbers disagree.

Common problems

A code will not scan. The attendee is not registered for the event, or their badge encodes a custom URL rather than the check-in token — see Add text, QR codes, images and shapes.

The session shows zero attendance. Nobody scanned. Check the door was actually staffed.

Numbers are lower than the room. Normal — people arrive late, and staff let a queue through unscanned.

Capacity is exceeded. Capacity is displayed, not enforced. Managing the door is a human job.

You want attendees to check themselves in. Not supported. Someone has to scan them.