Printing registers and badges for manual child attendance recording

The ChurchSuite Check-In system is designed to automatically record group attendance as children are checked in and out of their groups during an active session. However, you can also produce printed registers, child badges and other group-related reports to run a manual child check-in/check-out process if you wish.

In this article, we'll show you how to print group registers and name badges for children and youth groups ahead of time, ready to use at the next group session. We also show you how to add the attendance data from printed registers to the Children module Attendance section, enabling you to use the module's comprehensive attendance reporting for children and youth ministry.

Top Tip!

In this article, we discuss producing registers, summaries, badges and full details for children in age-based Groups...

But did you know that you can also produce these for children in Tags?

Printing registers

Navigate into the Groups section of the Children module and click on a Group Setup of interest for which you wish to print registers:

From the Group Setup, and for each Group in turn, select Print register from the group Actions.

The Print register page opens, and the PDF register is previewed. The register comprises three sections: The first lists group member names, another provides a space for visitor details, and the final page has space for team member attendance and incident reporting. Depending on your browser, PDF Download and Print tools are shown. Safari browser users will need to either right-click to "Open with Preview" or left-click on the PDF and print via the browser File menu actions. The group register can be filtered by Tags and include the Medical Short data for each child, and you can order by the child's first name or last name. The next session Date is suggested, but you can produce a register for other sessions if you wish. From here, you can switch to another Group to produce registers without needing to return to the Group Setup each time. Remember to click Generate to apply the filter changes and render the updated PDF register:

Printing group summaries

In addition to printed registers, group leaders will find the group Summary report helpful. It contains pertinent information about each group member, including their sex, date of birth, parent/carer details, address, medical short, additional needs, and doctor fields.

Working from the Group Setup and the list of Groups, select Print summary from the group Actions.

The Print summary page opens, and the PDF summary is previewed. Depending on your browser, PDF Download and Print tools are shown. Safari browser users will need to either right-click to "Open with Preview" or left-click on the PDF and print via the browser File menu actions. The group summary can be filtered by Tags, and you can order it by the child's first name or last name. From here, you can switch to another Group to produce summaries without needing to return to the Group Setup each time. Remember to click Generate to apply the filter changes and render the updated PDF group summary:

Printing child name badges

Working from the Group Setup and the list of Groups, select Print badges from the group Actions.

The Print badges page opens, and the PDF list of badges is previewed. Depending on your browser, PDF Download and Print tools are shown. Safari browser users will need to either right-click to "Open with Preview" or left-click on the PDF and print via the browser File menu actions. The list of children can be optionally filtered by Tags. You can also customise the Badge Title and Badge Caption to show additional information, such as the Account/Church/Organisation name, Group name, Medical Short, Age or Custom Fields. Only one selection is possible for the badge title (which prints above the child's name) and one selection for the badge caption (which prints beneath the child's name). Optionally, untick Show Last Name to show first names only. From here, you can switch to another Group to produce badges without needing to return to the Group Setup each time. Remember to click Generate to apply the filter changes and render the updated PDF badges:

Printing full details of children

As with printing group summaries, you can also print a Full Details report for each child in a group. Working from the Group Setup and the list of Groups, select Print full details from the group Actions.

The Full Details report is shown for each group member. You can customise the report content by choosing which Fields to include or exclude from the output. You can also filter further for only children in selected Tags. From here, you can switch to another Group to the full details report without needing to return to the Group Setup each time. Remember to click Generate to apply the filter changes and see updated report results. The report can be printed using your browser's Print action, typically accessed from the browser File menu or using a CMD+P or CTRL+P keyboard shortcut.

Adding group attendance from printed registers

For churches and other organisations producing printed group registers, it's really easy to add that attendance to the Children module. This will be helpful if you're not using the Check-In system. As we'll see in this section, you can add attendance for group members and team members, but you can also record attendance for visitors or record that a group didn't meet.

Working within the Attendance section of the Children module, click Add attendance:

On the Add attendance pop-up, begin by selecting the Group you are adding attendance for. Select the Session - or type a new session name. For example, where you have multiple services, you might distinguish each session as "9:30 am Service" and "11.30 am Service". It's not necessary to include the session date in the session name - the attendance entry has a Date. Aim to use the same session names each time you're recording attendance, which will help with session attendance reporting for your various in-person events, gatherings and services. Next, use the date picker to select the attendance Date or click Didn't Meet. Optionally, add any pertinent Notes, perhaps the session theme or something that arose during the session that needs follow-up.

Next, proceed with ticking the Children present in the group based on the printed group register. The list of children shown is derived from the group known member list. Further information about adding children to groups can be found in the related support article. You will be able to add attendance for other children and visitors in a moment.

Finally, tick the Team members who were present in the group. The list of team members shown is derived from the group's recent team member attendance in the last three months, so it may initially show empty when you first begin recording attendance. You'll be able to add attendance for other team members in a moment. Click Save to add the attendance record.

The attendance View shows all the details you've just entered. From here, you can search for and add additional children, visitors, and team members.

When adding a child/visitor, use the Search and select a child. The list of matching results filters as you type. If no matching result is found - and having typed the child's full name (first name and last name), select the newly-typed name from the top of the list to add them as a Visitor.

Children visitors are distinguished in the list of attendees with a V. See the related support article for further information on Managing details of visiting children, including how to add other visitor contact details to a newly added visitor name.

If necessary, you can choose to Remove children, visitors, or team members or Move them to a different group using the attendance Actions next to a person's name—perhaps if a child or team member has been incorrectly added.

Selecting View changes shows a full audit trail of attendance changes:

Returning to the Attendance list, you can Add attendance for other groups that met. Note the available attendance Actions to View, Edit or Delete and the Search and Advanced Search options.

Any attendance Notes added for a group are distinguished with a "note" icon. Hovering your cursor over the icon reveals the added note - ideal for identifying things that need follow-up after a group session.

Finally, you can use bulk Actions to Delete multiple selected attendance entries, perhaps if attendance has been entered in error:

Note that deleting attendance is a destructive action that cannot be reversed. Careful consideration should be given to any safeguarding or child protection implications that may require you to keep attendance data. Note that you can use the Attendance Date report (in the Children module's Reports section) to generate an attendance data report for a selected date before permanent deletion. A log of deleted attendance is maintained in the module's Reports section.