QR codes simplify the check-in on-site (front desk)

We want to use QR codes for our event to simplify the check-in at the on-site registration desk and avoid queues.

What options does ConfTool Pro offer for this purpose?
How do we provide our participants with the QR codes?

(A German version of this article is available.)

The ConfTool system is able to generate QR codes which can be provided to participants in different ways.

QR codes can facilitate the check-in on-site (for the front desk team). A participant of your event arrives at the on-site registration desk with an analog or digital document showing the QR code. The organizing team then scans the QR code with a smartphone or tablet, which must be connected to the Internet. The ConfTool system can then verify the validity of the QR code and that it has been used once only. After scanning, the participant is marked as arrived in the list of all participants and the status "Has Arrived" is set automatically. Any current smartphone or tablet with Android or iOS as operating system can be used for scanning, no special hardware is required.

Participants can currently receive the QR codes for check-in in the following ways:

• Invoice
  QR codes can be shown on the invoice of the participant.
  Please go to the page:
  Overview => Settings => Main Settings for Participant Registration
  ... and scroll down to the section "Ticketing and Check-In Options". Then choose one of the two settings for the option "Show Check-In QR Code on Invoices" (see image 1).
  
• ConfTool User Account
  QR codes can be displayed on the page "Participant Data" when participants log in to their ConfTool user accounts and click on the link "Access Your Participant Registration Details".
  To enable this option, please go to the page:
  Overview => Settings => Main Settings for Participant Registration
  ... and scroll down to the section "Ticketing and Check-In Options". Then choose one of the two settings for the option "Show Check-In QR Code in ConfTool" (see image 1).
  
• Registration Confirmation E-Mail
  QR codes can be included in the automatic registration confirmation e-mail.
  Please go to the page:
  Overview => Settings => E-Mail Settings
  In the section "Participant Registration E-Mails", enable the option "Add QR Code to E-Mail" (see image 2). You can choose to "Add QR code to all registration confirmation mails" or to "Add QR code only to registration confirmation mails when no payment is due".
  
• Payment Confirmation E-Mail
  QR codes can be included in the automatic payment confirmation e-mail.
  Please go to the page:
  Overview => Settings => E-Mail Settings
  In the section "Payment Registration E-Mails", enable the option "Add QR Code to E-Mail" (see image 3). You can choose to "Add QR code to all payment confirmation mails" or to "Add QR code only to payment confirmation mails when no further amount is due".
  
• Bulk E-Mail
  QR codes can be sent to participants as a bulk e-mail.
  Please go to the page:
  Overview => Bulk E-Mails => Send E-Mails to Participants
  In the section "Message Body" compose the message to your participants. The code {qr_code_image} allows you to embed an individual QR code image in the bulk e-mail (see image 4). Please enable the HTML editor for this purpose. In plain text format, the QR code will only be sent as an attachment.
  
• Name Badge
  QR codes can be embedded on the name badge of the participant.
  Please go to the page:
  Overview => Settings => Settings for Name Badges
  Define the parameters for printing the name badges and in the section "Badge Element 2" select the element type "QR Code" (see image 5). Then adjust the settings for positioning and size of the QR code according to your requirements.
  Important: Name badges cannot be printed out by the participants themselves at the moment (this feature is coming soon). QR codes on name badges can currently be helpful for events where the organizing team prepares the name badges for all participants before the event and hands them out to the people at the check-in on-site.
  

Front desk persons can launch the QR code scanner on this page (see image 6):
Overview => Front Desk => QR Code Scanner

The smartphone or tablet of the front desk person must be connected to the Internet.
Select a camera for scanning and hold the device over the participant's QR code. The last found QR code is displayed on the page.
The ConfTool system verifies the validity and uniqueness of the QR code. It also verifies whether the participant has already paid. If there is still an outstanding payment, the QR code will not be accepted and a corresponding notification will appear. Each QR code can only be scanned once and then loses its validity.

After scanning the QR code, the participant is marked as having arrived in the list of all participants (see image 6). The status "Arrival" changes automatically to "Has Arrived" and the QR code cannot be used again afterwards.
Note: The status "Arrival" is only displayed if the participant has no outstanding payments.
To view the list of all participants, go to the page:
Overview => ConfTool Front Desk
... and in the upper right box click on the link "Complete list of all participants".
If necessary, you can reset the status "Has Arrived" by clicking on it. The QR code can then be used again.