On the event day you are not configuring anything — you are making sure that what you prepared is running. In the morning, do a test scan, open the web Check-in tool at the entrance, and verify that your event staff have the right mode and place selected. During the day, watch mainly the queue and the check-in progress; the rest is routine that your event staff can handle themselves.
Arrive before the first attendees do — at least an hour for a larger event, half an hour for a small one. Spend the first ten minutes checking rather than talking.
Test scan. Scan a test QR code on every device that will be checking people in. That verifies the connection, the sign-in, and printing all at once.
Mode and place. On every device, check that the right mode is selected and, above all, the right check-in place — a scan is counted against whichever place is selected. The wrong place means your numbers will not add up afterwards.
Printer and labels. Print one badge and keep a spare roll within reach.
Check-in tool open. Keep the web tool open on a laptop at the entrance. It is the only place where you can resend a ticket by e-mail, show the QR code on screen, and generate a one-time password for the attendee app — the Service app cannot do any of those.
The morning campaign. If you scheduled an e-mail with the QR ticket for the morning, verify that the mailing actually went out.
The queue. When one starts forming, open a second station before it grows. Two devices handle more than twice as much as one, because the waiting and the tension drop too.
Attendees without a QR code. Always expect some. You will handle most of them in the Service app — find them in the list by name and check them in, or create a walk-in with Add attendee.
Progress. The Check-in tool shows how many people have been checked in. If the number differs markedly from what you expected, deal with it now rather than in the report.
In-app notifications. Send agenda changes, room moves, or an invitation to the evening part as notifications in the attendee app — they land faster than e-mail.
Checks at other places. If you use places of type One-time check or Recurring check (hall entry, gift handout, boarding a bus), verify that staff have the right place selected.
The last call for people who have not registered. A campaign for people who still have not registered is worth sending in the morning, not in the afternoon.
Check-out scanning. If you use a Check-out place, verify that it is actually being scanned — without it your data will show arrivals only.
Write your notes down. What went wrong, what people asked about most at the entrance, what was missing. Tomorrow you will not recall it precisely, and it is the most valuable input for the next event.
The quietest failure of the day — everything works, people are checked in, but the scans are counted against a different place. You find out after the event, when the total matches but the per-place breakdown makes no sense. The check takes ten seconds per device and belongs in the morning.
The Service app can find, add, and check in an attendee, but it cannot resend a ticket, show a QR code on screen, or generate a one-time password. Without a laptop running the web Check-in tool, those cases get handled over the phone and hold up the queue.
A second station opened ten minutes earlier saves half an hour of waiting. React to the first sign, not to the first complaint.
During an event people do not read e-mail. A notification in the attendee app arrives as a push notification and the attendee will see it. Keep e-mail for things that need to stay findable afterwards.
