Getting Started with Volunteer Check-in

BetterUnite's volunteer check-in system tracks when volunteers arrive and leave, automatically calculating their credited hours. This article covers how the system works behind the scenes and helps you choose the right check-in method for your organization.

How check-in works

When a volunteer checks in — whether through the portal, a QR code, a kiosk, or an admin action — the system creates a time entry that records:

The check-in timestamp
The shift they're checking into
The job (role) they signed up for

When they check out, the system records the checkout timestamp and calculates the total hours served. These hours are credited to the volunteer's record and appear on reports, the volunteer portal, and service transcripts.

The hours lifecycle

Every time entry follows a simple lifecycle:

Check-in — The volunteer checks in, creating a time entry with a start time.
Check-out — The volunteer checks out (or the system handles it automatically — see below), recording the end time.
Review — Depending on how the entry was created, it may land in the Pending review queue for admin approval, or be auto-approved.
Approved — Once approved, the hours count toward the volunteer's lifetime total, appear on reports, and are included in service transcripts.

What happens if a volunteer forgets to check out?

It happens — a volunteer checks in but never checks out. The system handles this automatically:

When the shift's scheduled end time passes and the volunteer is still checked in, the system closes the entry using the shift's scheduled end time as the checkout time.
These auto-closed entries are flagged as Pending so you can review them and adjust the time if needed.

This means you'll never have open-ended time entries cluttering your reports.

Credited-time clamping

To prevent inflated hours from early check-ins or late checkouts, credited time is clamped to the shift's scheduled duration. If a volunteer checks in 30 minutes early and checks out on time, they're credited for the shift length — not the extra 30 minutes.

Choosing a check-in method

BetterUnite offers four ways for volunteers to check in. You can use one or combine several depending on your event:

Method	Best for	Requires
Volunteer Portal	Recurring programs where volunteers log in regularly	Volunteer has a BetterUnite account
QR Code	Events with multiple entry points or unmanned stations	Printed QR poster; volunteer has a smartphone
Kiosk Mode	High-traffic check-in desks, day-of-service events	A shared tablet or laptop at the entrance
Walk-in Quick-Add	Unregistered volunteers showing up day-of	An admin or kiosk operator

You can also check volunteers in manually from the Manage Participants screen at any time.