Getting started with the Check-In system

Introduction to the Check-In System

The Check-In system is designed to help churches and charities register and check children into their groups quickly and securely, and then just as easily check them out again at the end of the session. Group attendance for each session is automatically added to the Children module.

The system is designed for use at in-person gatherings and events and handles check-in for known regular children, serving team members and visiting families. It's incredibly versatile. You can run a Check-In session on a mobile device running the Check-In app (which has built-in drivers for easy printer connectivity) or in a browser environment.

• ChurchSuite Check-In app: iOS and Android
• CharitySuite Check-In app: iOS and Android

We've designed the system to be used in a range of configurations - perhaps as a Register at a central registration point, or "in-room" by your friendly welcome team or group leaders, or unstaffed in Kiosk mode, where parents and carers can self-check their children into groups.

When used with a compatible Brother label printer, the System can produce printed badges for the gathering or session or in quantities set on a group-by-group basis. The system can produce child name badges, parent pick-up badges, room badges, attendee and team badges, or you can disable badge printing if it is not required for a session or gathering. For example, for a creche group, you might set the child badge quantity to two - one for the child and one for their snack box or changing bag.

A secure leader Admin area provides a helpful summary of check-in progress for the active session and gives children's group leaders access to all the information they need to manage their groups and the children in their care effectively.

If your team members also check into groups, the Admin summary can help you manage each group's adult-to-child ratio. The Check-In summary shows adult-to-child progress, with the progress indicator colour alerting you to groups that are nearing capacity or approaching the maximum group ratio.

Your group leaders also have at-a-glance access to children's pertinent medical and allergy details, photo/video consent, additional child information, and emergency parent/carer contact details - all essential before serving snacks or before the website photographer begins taking pictures.

The leader Admin area is also where in-room check-in is managed and where children are checked out at the end of the session. Leaders can match the secure check-in code on a parent's pick-up badge to the check-in list and the child's badge to ensure each child is returned to the correct responsible adult.

Importantly, the Check-In System is easy to set up and use. It's one of our most popular features, used by hundreds of churches every week. Leaders, parents, carers, and visiting families often comment on what a great system it is. We think you will, too!

Check-In features at a glance

• Securely and quickly register and check children, attendees, visitors and your team into their groups and check them out just as easily.
• Produce printed child badges, parent/carer pick-up badges, room badges, adult attendees badges, and team badges using inexpensive hardware and stationery.
• Simple configuration for iOS and Android mobile devices or access on a desktop device using any browser.
• Check-In supports a "Register first, Check in later" configuration for children, where children remain with parents/carers for the start of a meeting, and a "Register and Check in" configuration, where children go into their groups immediately.
• Choice of Register mode (for child check-in only) and Kiosk mode for use in staffed and unstaffed configurations at a central Check-In registration point or in-the-room for each group.
• A Comprehensive Admin area for group leaders contains everything they need to manage the children in their care. This area provides easy and secure access to emergency contact details, pertinent medical information, additional needs, photo/video consent, and other useful information.
• Give guests and visitors a great first-time check-in experience by collecting just the important information needed to register their children and assign them to groups quickly.
• Check-In session attendance data for children's groups is automatically added to your Children module, which includes a range of powerful attendance reports that give engagement insights into your Children's ministry.
• Check-In gathering attendance data for contacts is automatically added to your Attendance module, which includes a range of powerful attendance reports that give engagement insights into your gathering attendance.
• Printed children's badges display a code that group leaders can cross-match between the parent/carer pick-up badge and the child badge, ensuring that younger children are always returned to the correct responsible adult.
• QR-code support for quick check-in of children by your regular parents/carers with member-facing My ChurchSuite access.

Next steps

If you're new to the Check-In system, you will find it helpful to first work methodically through the following steps using the related article links at the end of this article:

1

Grant user permissions for use of the Check-In system

2

Add a Group Setup for each gathering where attendance will be recorded

3

Customise the Check-In options in the Children module settings

4

Download the Check-In app and, where badge printing is required, optionally connect to a printer

5

Start your first session and explore the device settings

6

Check in some children and then explore the leader's Admin area

Got a question?

You'll find the answers to most questions in our support articles, available through the Support menu. Select Get help and search by topic, phrase or keyword.