The Check-In Process

This article walks through every method families can use to check in, whether they are at the self-service kiosk or being assisted by an admin at the Check-In Station.

Starting a Check-In Session

Before anyone can check in, a session must be active.

1. Open Check-In from the sidebar in the admin panel.
2. Click Start Session.
3. In the Start Check-In Session window, optionally choose an event or class from the Link to Event/Class dropdown (or leave it on "No event - standalone session") and give the session a custom name (or leave blank for the default).
4. Click Start Session to activate it.

A session can also be created automatically when you open Check-In from an event in the Events module, which passes the event along so the new session is linked to it.

Note: You can run multiple sessions at the same time for different events or classes. Each session tracks its own roster independently.

Method 1: Phone Number Lookup (Recommended)

This is the fastest method for families who are already in the system.

At the Kiosk

1. The family enters their phone number using the on-screen number pad. Only the last 4 or more digits are needed.
2. They tap Find My Family.
3. The system searches mobile, home, and work phone numbers across all people in the church database.
4. Matching families appear, grouped by household. Each family member is listed with their name, age, photo, allergy information, and enrolled class.
5. The family taps each person who is checking in today. A green checkmark appears next to selected members.
6. They tap Check In to complete the process.
7. Security codes are displayed, and labels can be printed.

At the Admin Dashboard

1. Select the Phone Number tab on the Check-In Station page. It is the tab that is already selected when you open the station, so you can usually start typing straight away.
2. Type the phone number in the search field (placeholder "Enter phone (last 4+ digits)...").
3. Family results appear on their own. Click each person to select them.
4. Click Check In [N] Person(s).

Tip: Enrolled class information is auto-populated. If a child is enrolled in "Kindergarten," that class will be pre-selected -- no need for the parent to choose it manually.

Type or Scan the Phone Number

The phone box on the Phone Number tab is a standard phone-entry field, and it accepts a number two ways:

• Type the digits on your keyboard or the on-screen number pad, or
• Scan the number in with a USB or Bluetooth barcode/badge scanner. A scanner simply "types" the characters into whatever field is focused, so there is no separate scanner mode to turn on -- click into the phone box and scan.

There is no separate "Search" button on the admin station. As you enter digits, the search runs automatically after a brief pause (about a third of a second), and the results narrow as you add more digits.

Note: You only need the last 4 or more digits. Fewer than 4 digits returns no results. The search looks at mobile, home, and work numbers for the active people in your church.

Tip: The match ignores punctuation completely. Parentheses, spaces, dashes, dots, and slashes are all stripped from both what you type and what is stored before the numbers are compared -- so a number saved as (360) 903-5828 is found whether you type 3609035828, 903-5828, or just 5828. (This used to trip churches up: numbers stored with brackets or slashes could quietly never match. That is now fixed.)

(Screenshot to follow.)

Method 2: Name Search

Useful when a family's phone number is not on file or the family does not remember which number they registered.

At the Kiosk

1. On the phone entry screen, tap Search by name.
2. Type the person's first or last name.
3. Matching results appear with photos, ages, and allergy alerts.
4. Select the person and proceed to check-in.

At the Admin Dashboard

1. Select the Name Search tab.
2. Type at least 2 characters. Results appear immediately.
3. Click Check In next to the person.
4. Optionally assign a class from the dropdown.
5. Click Complete Check-In.

Method 3: QR Code / Pre-Check-In Code

For families who pre-registered from the member portal (see the Pre-Check-In article).

At the Kiosk

1. On the phone entry screen, tap Have a pre-check code? or Scan QR Code with Camera.
2. Scan the QR code from the family's phone, or type the 8-character code manually using the on-screen keypad.
3. The system validates the code, checks that it is for today and has not been used already, and automatically checks in all pre-selected family members.
4. Security codes and labels are generated instantly.

A Bluetooth or USB barcode scanner can also read the QR code at any time without navigating to a specific screen.

Method 4: Visitor Walk-In Registration

For first-time visitors who are not yet in the system.

At the Kiosk

1. Tap Add Visitor in the kiosk header bar.
2. Enter the first name, last name, and optionally a phone number for each family member.
3. Mark whether each person is a child or adult.
4. For children, optionally enter their grade level and allergy information.
5. Submit the form. A single shared security code is generated for the entire family.
6. The system creates new Person records and, if multiple people are entered, a new Family record linking them together.

At the Admin Dashboard

Visitor registration is also available from the kiosk header. The visitor modal accepts up to 7 family members at once.

Method 5: Volunteer Check-In

Volunteers (teachers, helpers, greeters) check in separately from the children they serve. This makes it easy to know who is on duty for a given service and to enforce volunteer-to-child ratios in each room.

From the Admin Check-In Station

1. Open Check-In in the admin panel.
2. Find the volunteer in the search panel (phone or name lookup).
3. Choose the class/group they are serving for the day.
4. Tap Check In as Volunteer.

The volunteer is added to the session with a volunteer check-in type. They appear in the room view and on the volunteer panel of the session report.

Volunteer Checkout

Volunteers do not require a security code at checkout. Tap the Out button next to their name in the roster -- the system records the checkout time and reduces the live volunteer count for that room.

Tip: Volunteer check-in records also feed your serving stats. The system tracks how often each person serves, which helps with year-end recognition and serving rotation reports.

Volunteer-to-Child Ratio

For every class with checked-in children, TimelyChurch calculates a live ratio of volunteers on duty to children present. The ratio is:

• Volunteers -- Count of volunteer check-ins for that group, not yet checked out, for today.
• Children -- Count of child check-ins for that same group, not yet checked out, for today.
• Ratio -- Children divided by volunteers (rounded to one decimal). Displayed only when at least one volunteer is checked in.

For example, if 3 volunteers and 12 children are checked in to "Kindergarten," the ratio is 4.0 (one volunteer per four children).

You can use this number for:

• Compliance -- Many child-safety policies require a minimum adult-to-child ratio (commonly 1:5 for ages 3-5, 1:8 for ages 6-12). The dashboard makes the current ratio visible at a glance.
• Coverage -- Spot rooms that are short-staffed and reassign a volunteer before children arrive.
• Reporting -- Post-service reviews use the same data.

See Volunteer Check-In for the full workflow.

What Happens at Check-In

When a person is successfully checked in, the following occurs:

1. A check-in record is created with the person's name, allergies, special notes, and a unique security code.
2. That same check-in record doubles as the person's attendance for the day, marked "present." If the person is assigned to a class, the attendance is recorded against that class. (Check-In and Attendance are one unified system -- there is no separate attendance step to complete.)
3. The check-in appears in the live roster on the admin Check-In Station, visible in both list view and room view.
4. If auto-print is enabled, labels are sent to the printer immediately.

Checking In Multiple People (Family Check-In)

When using phone lookup, you can select multiple family members and check them all in with one action. Each person receives their own security code. The success modal displays all codes and provides a Print Labels button to print all labels at once.

Checking Out

Checkout requires a security code to protect child safety.

Code-Verified Checkout

1. On the admin Check-In Station, find the Verify & Check Out panel (on desktop, this is in the right sidebar; on mobile, tap the expandable "Verify & Check Out" section).
2. Enter the 6-character security code.
3. Click Verify Code.
4. The system displays the person's name, check-in time, and any allergy notes.
5. For a child: a "Who is picking up?" list of the family's authorized pickup adults appears. Select the person collecting the child. The Confirm Check Out button stays disabled until a pickup person is chosen.
6. Click Confirm Check Out to complete the checkout.

Admin override: If you are signed in as an administrator and the right adult is not on the authorized-pickup list, tick Override pickup authorization (admin only) on the panel. This lets you complete the checkout, and the override is recorded in the check-in's notes for your records.

Quick Checkout (the "Out" button)

The Out button next to each checked-in person in the roster checks them out without typing the security code -- handy when the parent has lost their receipt.

• For adults and volunteers, the Out button checks them out in one tap.
• For a child, the Out button opens a "Who is picking up?" window listing the family's authorized pickup adults. You must select one before the checkout can complete. If no authorized adults are on file, use Verify & Check Out with the admin override instead.

Child Safety: A child can never be released without naming an authorized pickup adult (or an administrator overriding it on the Verify & Check Out panel). Quick checkout for children still enforces this safeguard -- it only skips the security-code step, not the pickup check.

Who Is Picking Up? (the pickup picker)

Whenever you check a child out -- through Verify & Check Out or the quick Out button -- a "Who is picking up?" list appears. It shows the child's family members who are marked as authorized pickups, each with a photo (or their initial) and, where it applies, a Guardian badge for legal guardians.

Choose the person who is actually collecting the child, then press Confirm Check Out (or Check Out). The button stays greyed out until you select someone. Whoever you pick is recorded on the check-in and shown on the roster as "Picked up by …", so you have a clear record of who left with each child. The server re-checks your choice against the child's authorized-pickup list before releasing.

A few things worth knowing:

• The photo is there to verify a face, not just a code. Each authorized pickup shows with their profile photo beside their name (falling back to an initials avatar when no photo is on file), so the volunteer releasing the child can match the person in front of them, not only trust that the right security code was handed over. The same pickup photo appears everywhere checkout happens -- the Quick Checkout window, the Check-In index, the classroom Roster, and the Kiosk.
• The list comes from the "Can pick up" flag. A family member appears here only when Can pick up is ticked on their record. Set this under People → Families: open the family and tick Can pick up for each parent or guardian who is allowed to collect the children.
• The Guardian badge does not grant pickup. It is there to help you recognise a legal guardian, but it does not by itself authorise a release. Authorisation comes solely from the Can pick up flag. This means you can bar a specific guardian from collecting a child (for example, a custody restriction) simply by leaving Can pick up unticked for them.
• The person must be on the child's list. If you name someone who is not an authorized pickup, the release is blocked with "This person is not authorized to pick up [name]." An administrator can still override this on the Verify & Check Out panel (see above); the quick Out button has no override.
• No one set up yet? If the child has no authorized pickups on file, the picker shows an amber note -- "No one is set as an authorized pickup for this child yet." -- with a reminder to open People → Families and tick Can pick up for the parent or guardian.

(Screenshot to follow.)

Custody Notes

If a child has a custody note on their family record (a court order or a pickup restriction), it is surfaced as a red "Custody note:" alert at the top of the quick checkout window -- shown before you release the child, so the volunteer at the door sees it in time to act on it. If the child belongs to more than one family, the notes are combined so nothing is missed.

Note: The custody alert appears in the quick Check Out Child window (the mobile / session-page path). The desktop Verify & Check Out sidebar shows the pickup picker but does not repeat the custody note, so for children with custody restrictions the quick Out button is the safer place to release from.

Duplicate Check-In Prevention

The system prevents a person from being checked in twice to the same session. If someone is already checked in, the system will display an error message and skip that person during a family check-in.