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One QR code for every service: how self check-in works

Churchday gives your whole church a single check-in code. People scan it, tap their name, and Churchday records who showed up. You never make a separate code for each service and you never reprint.

Before you begin

  • You need an admin role that can open your church's settings.
  • The events you want people to check in to must have check-in turned on.

Find your check-in code

  1. Open the Check-in page. It lives in the Events area of your dashboard. The quickest way in is the Set up check-in card on your dashboard home. The page is titled Check-in, with the note "A QR code your congregation scans to mark themselves present."
  2. Look at Your check-in QR code. The big square in the middle is the one code for your entire church. Below it you'll see "Scan to check in at" followed by your church's name.
  3. Note the link. Under Or share the link directly, the page shows your check-in web address. It always looks like https://churchday.co/c/ followed by your church's custom web address.

Share the code with your congregation

  • Click Download QR. This saves the code as an image file (PNG) to your computer, ready to print on a foam board, drop into your slides, or hand to a volunteer.
  • Click Copy to grab the link. This copies the check-in web address so you can paste it into a text, an email, or your church's app. The button briefly changes to Copied to confirm.

Because it's one fixed code and one fixed link, whatever you print or post keeps working week after week. There's nothing to swap out for next Sunday.

How one code knows which service to open

When someone scans the code, the page reads the current time and shows the service whose check-in window is open right now. They tap to mark themselves present for that service, and it's recorded against the right date automatically.

  • The window opens 45 minutes before the service starts. That's the default, so early arrivers can check in as they walk in.
  • The window stays open until 60 minutes after the service ends. Check-in follows the event all the way through, so a long service isn't cut off partway. If a service has no end time set, the window closes 60 minutes after its start time instead.
  • Back-to-back services show as a choice. If two services overlap (say a 9am and an 11am), the person sees both listed and taps the one they came for.

What people see outside the window

If someone scans when no service is open, they don't hit a dead end. The page shows No check-in available right now, then lists the next few services with a Check-in opens at time for each one. They can plan around it and scan again closer to the start.

Good to know

  • 45 and 60 minutes are the defaults. Individual events can use different windows if you've adjusted them, but most churches leave the defaults alone.
  • Only published events with check-in turned on appear. Drafts and invite-only events stay off the shared code.
  • The same link works on NFC stickers. If you'd rather people tap their phone than open a camera, you can write this same web address onto stickers.

What's next?

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