You will need the Check-In permission to perform these actions.
Setting up a check-in station is a one-time process. The check-in app walks you through it the first time you open it, and the next time you open the app it goes straight to check-in.
Check-In is an installed app, not a website. There are two versions: the desktop app for Windows and Mac, and the mobile app for Android and iOS. Everything a guest sees works the same way in both. The differences are in the hardware — which printers each one supports, and how the printer is set up.
Download the One Church Check-In app
The first step is to install the check-in app on your device. Choose the download below that matches the operating system your device is running.
Set up the station
Open the app. Because the station does not have a theme yet, the setup screens are plain white.
Tip: This same setup runs whether the station will use the new check-in experience or classic check-in. Every station is set up here first.
1. Enter your subdomain
The Welcome to Check-in! screen asks for one thing: your church's subdomain. The field is wrapped in a fixed https:// prefix and a fixed .onechurchsoftware.com suffix, so you only type the middle part.
Your subdomain is the unique part of the web address you use to log in to One Church.
Example:
If your church's address is https://mychurch.onechurchsoftware.com/, your subdomain is mychurch.
Two messages can appear here:
We couldn't find that subdomain. Check the spelling and try again. - the subdomain does not match a One Church account.
Enter your subdomain to continue. - the field was left empty.
A Learn more… link on this screen opens this article.
2. Authorize the station
The station now shows a QR code, a short station code, and a live Waiting for authorization… message. There are two ways to finish, and both end in the same place.
Log in on this device
Log in on this device
Log in on this device skips the phone entirely and is usually the fastest route. Continue to step 3 below.
Authorize from a phone or another computer
Authorize from a phone or another computer
Scan the QR code with a phone. It opens your church's check-in stations page with the station code already filled in.
Fill in the station's details and authorize it.
You can also type the code in manually. Log in to One Church in a browser, go to Events > Check-In > Stations, click + Add Station, enter the code, and click Authorize.
The station is listening the whole time and finishes by itself the moment it is authorized. It also re-checks every 10 seconds, so a missed signal will not leave it stranded. Back returns to step 1 and abandons the pending code.
3. Sign in and enter the station's details
After you tap Log in on this device, the station fetches your church's name and logo and asks for a username or email address and a password.
Signing in on the device requires the Check-In permission. An account without it is refused with Unauthorized.
Once you are signed in, the station asks for its own details:
Name - what this station is called everywhere else in One Church: the station footer, the rooms report, and the Prints To list. Required. Pick something recognizable, such as "Jason's iPad" or "Kids Laptop".
Search Type - which home screen this station gets. Text Search lets guests search by name, email, phone number, or barcode. Phone Pad matches a complete phone number or a barcode only. Roster Station shows the whole event guest list on screen and suits smaller lists such as a class. An info line under the field explains the current choice. Defaults to Text Search.
Prints To - which station prints this one's labels. This Station means it prints locally. Choose another station when this device cannot reach a printer itself. Defaults to This Station.
Theme - the check-in theme built in Events > Check-In > Themes. Defaults to Default.
Show Keyboard? - puts an on-screen keyboard on the search screen. Turn this on for touch kiosks with no physical keyboard. Off by default.
New Experience? - which check-in app this station launches into. On by default, which means the station uses the new check-in experience.
Tap Authorize to finish.
4. Set up a Brother printer (phone and tablet only)
On Android and iOS, we have added a fourth step that sets up the station's Brother label printer. The same guided flow lives in Settings > Printer on the station, placed in the set up so a new tablet is ready to print before anyone uses it.
The guided flow has five parts:
Find your printer.
Scanning starts on its own and runs for about 15 seconds, listing Wi-Fi and paired Bluetooth printers as it finds them. Scan again restarts it at any time.
Tap the printer.
Each row shows the printer's name, model, connection type, and address. Tapping one goes straight to the check.
Check the printer.
The station opens a connection and reports back whether the model is supported, the roll is right, and the printer's own status is clean, along with the battery level if the printer has one.
Print a test label.
This prints a sample through the real print path, so it proves the connection and the printing mechanics together. Skip test print moves on without it.
Printer ready.
A summary of what is about to be saved. Use this printer saves it to this device and finishes setup.
Tip: If a printer will not appear in the list, use Connect by IP address. It is always available, not only when the scan comes back empty. The most common cause of an empty list is the printer and the tablet being on different Wi-Fi networks. For the full walkthrough, see How do I install a Brother printer?
Set up later at the bottom of the step finishes setup without a printer if desired.
Finishing setup
When setup succeeds the station shows Successfully set up station!
A freshly set-up station lands on Event Selection screen, because it does not know what it is checking into yet. Pick the event and then a session, if the event has more than one, and the station remembers it from then on.
If the station asks to be set up again
The station only shows the setup screens when it genuinely has no station stored, or when the server says the station has been deleted or is no longer authorized.
A network problem never triggers setup. When the station cannot reach the server and has nothing cached, it shows a Connecting… screen instead and continues on its own once the network comes back. There is nothing to restart and nothing to re-pair.
So if a station really is back at the setup screen, check Events > Check-In > Stations in your browser. If the station is gone from that list, it was deleted and the device needs to be set up again.
Install the printer
If your check-in station does not need to print labels, you can skip this section. Otherwise, choose your printer manufacturer below for setup instructions.
Windows/MacOS printers
iOS/Android printers
Tip: A phone or tablet station can only print to a Brother printer directly. To use a Dymo or a Zebra with a tablet, set the tablet's Prints To to a Windows or Mac station that owns the printer.
Barcode Scanner
On iOS and Android devices you can use the built-in camera to scan barcodes. No external scanner is needed.
On the Windows and MacOS app you can use an attached webcam as a scanner. When that is not practical, use an external scanner instead.
If the station will use an external scanner, make sure the scanner sends a CR suffix. Check the scanner's owner's manual for how to set that. To test it, open Notepad or a similar app, put the cursor on a line, and scan a barcode. If the barcode text appears and the cursor moves to the next line, the scanner is set up correctly.
If you plan to scan QR codes as part of pre check-in from our mobile app, you will need a 2D scanner. Here is a link to one on Amazon. The camera on the iOS and Android app supports QR codes, and so does the webcam option on Windows and MacOS.
Note: For Tera scanners, we recommend setting the Transmission Speed to High. See your owner's manual for instructions.
A badge scanner needs nothing switched on in the app to work — the station listens for it on every screen, all the time. The Badge scanner attached setting on the station only changes the wording of the on-screen hints.
Tips
If you plan on printing labels at your event, we highly recommend testing every check-in station beforehand to confirm it is set up correctly and that labels print as expected.
The check-in app updates itself. The desktop app reloads to pick up the newest version, and the mobile app downloads the update over the air. Updates are only applied when the station is idle, so a station in the middle of a check-in is never interrupted.