Check-In Instructions
BEFORE your Event (for event organizers):
Consider what type of hardware your check-in staff or volunteers will be using at the check-in or registration table to get guests into the event, preauthorize credit cards, text their guest link and assign paddle numbers. You can refer to the help article Here for further details.
For Check-In Staff/Volunteers
From your organization’s home page, click on Events -> locate your event and click Manage. Locate the Action Center on the Manage Event Dashboard and click Check-in Guests.
You are now on a page that looks like this:
This is “home base” for you during check-in. You see the number of tickets sold and how many have been checked in.
GETTING STARTED
AS GUESTS ARRIVE…
“Welcome! Good evening! Etc.”
“What is your name?”
Locate the Guest
Enter guest name – last, first, partial.
Drop down list will appear.
Find and click on the correct name (i.e. confirm “Alice?” if they only gave their last name).
NOTES:
1. The Checked In number will not adjust unless you refresh the page in your browser. DO NOT do this too often as it can potentially slow down the page which is optimized to be very fast (no long check-in lines!).
2. The warning you may see will generally tell you that someone was either assigned a bidder number without preauthorizing a card or vice versa. This is good to review from time to time, but don’t let it slow you down while checking in guests.
3. Expand All will expand the guest names under the purchaser names.
4. If your event is in-person but some have Attended Online, that means those guests have already seen their guest page (to preauthorize a card or look at the silent auction, etc.).
GETTING STARTED
AS GUESTS ARRIVE…
“Welcome! Good evening! Etc.”
“What is your name?”
Locate the Guest
Enter guest name – last, first, partial.
Drop down list will appear.
Find and click on the correct name (i.e. confirm “Alice?” if they only gave their last name).
The first field, Guests, is the actual guest, the second line, Purchaser, is whomever purchased the ticket. The system will pull up every guest and purchaser that is associated with the name or part of name that you searched.
Click on the Guest name.
A blue screen appears.
OR
If the name isn’t found when you Search,
“Could it be under someone else’s name?” or “Are you a guest of one of our sponsors?” or “Were you invited by someone else?”
Ask for and look up the Purchaser’s ticket.
Click the Purchaser’s ticket to expand all of the associated Guests.
Click in row below name with “Open Guest Slot“.
The blue screen appears
Type a few letters into the white box.
EITHER: Click on “New Contact? Click Here to Add” at the bottom of the dropdown list.
A white screen appears.
Enter First Name, Last Name, and Email and Cell Phone (All Required).
Note: No need to log a phone number on this field, as you will have to again on the Check-in page, so that the system knows to send a text to the correct number (it will then save to the contact card).
Click Save Contact (upper Right).
OR: Just enter the name fully in the field, click Confirm Name > then click Confirm Name again. You will be prompted to add an email address IF you are preauthorizing a credit card.
Check-In the Guest
- Text Guest Experience Page link to guest
Validate that the phone number already entered is the correct one, then click Re-send Invite.
“Are you at 512-555-5555? Great, I’ve just sent a text with your guest link to you – please click through that link to participate in the auction and see your table name and number.”
OR
If there is no phone number or you just added the guest, ask for the number, click ENTER and the text will be automatically sent to the guest.
“Can I please get a mobile number for you? I will send your guest link to you now and you can click through that link to participate in the auction and view other important event information.”
- Enter the “Bidder #”, if you are working from a stack of numbers or paddles next to your registration station.
Tab or Enter to Save.
OR
Read the already entered Bidder Number to guest & provide paddle. (This number will also be provided on the guest experience link you just sent).
- Preauthorize guest credit card
NOTE: No charges are made when a card is preauthorized or registered. They are simply providing a credit card to be used in case the guest makes a donation or purchase or wins an auction through the guest experience link.
Ask your guest to preauthorize their card by clicking through the link that you just texted them.
“Please preauthorize your card in the link that I just sent to you, so that you can bid on auction items and make donations. You’ll see a pink bar at the top of your page that asks you to do so.”
OR
If you are swiping or entering card numbers or the guest wants you to do so,
“What card would you like to use for your giving tonight?”
Click the red Authorize Card. The Pre-Authorization screen appears.
If it prompts you for an email, ask the guest for their email address. The system MUST have an email address associated with any preauthorized credit card.
Enter the requested information (each field is required).
OR
Swipe card in external card swiper (card info will auto-fill, you will have to enter CVV and zip code). **Only available with Stripe Bluetooth card readers. Please use App to authorize via camera scanner.**
Your organization may want to ask guests to cover service fees.
“Would you consider covering payment processing fees associated with any charges tonight? If not, our organization can cover them for you.”
If the guest says YES, click the box. If NO, do not click the box.
Click Authorize Card (again, that just verifies the card info – no charges are made).
- Click Check-In
Give the credit card, bidder number, program and any other check-in items to the guest.
5. Combine Guest Experience to Link Guest to their Partner, Spouse, Date...
If your guest is checking in with a partner who is on the same ticket (under Others In Group), you can Combine the Guest Experiences of the two guests (Read More on Linked Guests HERE).
"Would you like to share the guest experience with your [partner, spouse, friend...]?"
If the answer is NO, move on to check-in the person separately by clicking on their name under Others in Group.
If the answer is YES, click the drop down menu to select the second guest under Combined Guest Experience.
Once you select the second person the system will ask you to confirm this selection. Click OK.
Enter the Combined Guests phone number (if it's not already there)> click SEND. Then click Check In.
6. Look up the next guest in line
If the next guest is with your previous guest, stay on the blue screen and look to Check in others in the same group.
If not, click the white X at the top to bring you back to the Name Search screen.
The system will remind you if you swiped a card, but didn’t enter a Paddle #/bidder number, or vice versa. Enter the missing info now, making sure the paddle # corresponds to the paddle number they actually have.
Please see attached printable pdf for Check-In Instructions.
Thank you for reading! Let's go do some good.