Check-in rules: when a ticket may be scanned

Check-in rules decide, per ticket type, when a ticket may be scanned, how many times it gets in and when it stops working. The same rules apply at every door: the phone check-in page, Shopify POS and Manage check-in on the Shopify order page.

Where to set them

Open the event, then Event settings > Check-in. Each ticket type has its own card with four controls:

• When is check-in allowed?
• Entrance limit
• Ticket expires after (days), shown only with some choices
• Allow undo check-in

Change the fields, then save with the page's save bar. The Allow undo check-in switch saves the moment you flip it.

A new ticket type starts with Any time, an entrance limit of 1, no expiry and undo allowed. On a recurring event, set the rules on the series. Saving copies them to every date.

When a ticket may be scanned

Pick one of these under When is check-in allowed?

Any time

There is no time check. The ticket scans on any day, before, during or after the event.

From 2 hours before the start

Check-in opens two hours before the event's start time, in your shop's local time. Before that, the ticket is refused with the message "Check-in is not yet open". From then on it scans at any time.

• An event with a date but no start time opens at 10 PM the evening before, two hours before midnight.
• On a recurring event, each ticket uses its own date and time. A ticket for a later time slot on the same day is refused until two hours before its own slot, so slots less than two hours apart overlap at the door. A ticket for a later date cannot get in early.

Custom start / end times

Fill in Check-in starts and Check-in ends. Outside that window, the ticket is refused with "Check-in is not allowed at this time".

• Fill in both boxes. With only one filled, no window applies.
• The times are read in the time zone of the computer you saved them on. Save them from a computer set to the event's time zone.

Multi-day events

The list also has Only during scheduled event time. For a multi-day event, the safe setting is Any time or Custom start / end times. Then set the entrance limit for the pass, as below.

A multi-day event is a one-time event with the Multi-day event switch on. See Creating an event.

Entrance limit and re-entry

Each check-in uses one entry. When a ticket has used all its entries, the next scan answers "Check-in limit reached" with the count, for example "Check-in limit reached (1/1)".

• A limit of 1, the default, lets each ticket in once.
• A higher limit allows re-entry. A limit of 3 lets the same ticket in three times.
• For a three-day pass that should get in once a day, set the limit to 3.

The limit counts entries and ignores the calendar. A 3-entry pass can be used three times on the first day. There is no per-day count and no check-out.

The lowest limit is 1. A blank box or 0 saves as 1.

Tickets that expire

Ticket expires after (days) stops a ticket from checking in once it is that many days old. Leave it empty for tickets that never expire.

• The days count from when the ticket was created, meaning bought or added by hand. The event date plays no part.
• The field appears only with Any time or From 2 hours before the start. Switching to another choice clears it.
• An expired ticket answers "This ticket has expired".
• The expiry is not printed on the ticket, the PDF or the emails, and nobody is emailed when a ticket expires.

Allow undo check-in

With this switch on, staff can take back a check-in. It is Undo on the phone check-in page and at Shopify POS, and Undo check-in on the Shopify order page. Undo removes the ticket's latest entry and gives that entry back.

With the switch off, undo is refused. The phone check-in page answers "Cannot undo".

Turn check-in off for an event

The Check-in tab starts with the Enable check-in switch. It saves the moment you flip it, and it is on for new events.

With check-in off:

• The phone check-in page shows "Check-in is off" on every phone, even phones already signed in.
• Scans answer "Check-in is disabled for this event."
• Manage check-in on the order page shows "Check-in disabled". A POS scan is refused with "Check-in is disabled for this event."
• Email me the check-in link is refused.
• The PIN, the link and the ticket type rules are hidden on the tab until you turn it back on.

Check-ins already recorded stay. Turning check-in on again keeps the same PIN, link and rules. On a recurring event, the series switch applies to every date.

The switch has no schedule, and there is no on or off per ticket type. To hold back one ticket type, use its rules.

Class packs

A class booked with a class pass is an ordinary ticket on that date. It follows the rules of its ticket type. See class packs and class passes.

See also

• Check in with any phone
• Shopify POS: sell tickets and check in at the till