Children's Check-In Guide
Check-in helps your volunteers know which children are in each class, what each child needs, and which adult dropped them off.
When parents bring their children to your church, they're trusting you to care for them. Check-in gives your volunteers the information they need to do that well. When a family checks in, Realm:
- Prints a badge for each child, with details you choose, such as allergies or an emergency contact.
- Prints a matching parent badge with the same security code, so volunteers can pair each child with the adult who dropped them off.
- Can prompt families to confirm or addtheir emergency contacts.
- Marks attendance for the event automatically.
Churches use check-in for Sunday school, children's church, nursery, midweek programs, and youth classes. This guide focuses on children's ministry, but the same setup works for any group that meets regularly. For one-time events, such as VBS or camp, see Which Check-In Kiosk Do You Need?.
How you use check-in is up to you. Every church's building, volunteers, and ministry are different, so this guide shares what some churches do, not rules to follow.
Plan Your Check-In Space
Where you put your kiosks shapes how check-in feels for families and volunteers.
Every church building is different, and so is the way each ministry cares for children. There's no single right setup. If you already have check-in running, you can skip this section.
Where to Put Your Kiosks
- Many churches place kiosks near the entrance to the children's area, so families check in on their way to class.
- Some place kiosks near the main entrance or welcome desk, where first-time guests can find them and a volunteer can help.
- If classrooms are spread across a building, some set up a kiosk near each hallway or wing.
Plan for Pickup
Each child's badge and the matching parent badge carry the same security code. Many churches ask volunteers to check that the codes match before a child leaves the classroom. Some also ask parents to pick up at the same door where they dropped off. How you handle pickup, and who can be in your children's area, is up to your church.
Plan for Lines
- Check-in is busiest in the few minutes before a service starts. Think about where lines will form, so they don't block hallways and volunteers can still see the children nearby.
- More kiosks mean shorter lines. As a rough guide, one kiosk checks in about three families a minute when everything runs smoothly. Families with more children take a little longer.
- Families who check in with mobile check-in or a barcode move through faster.
Before You Start
Review the required software, supported printers, barcode scanners, and group and event setup before using check-in.
Equipment and Software Required
- Realm Connect, Multiply, or Office package. The check-in feature is not included with the Inform package.
- A Windows or Mac computer with QZ Tray installed (https://qz.io/download/). Tablets and iPads can be used for check-in, but they can't print badges on their own.
QZ Tray is free, and the latest version includes Java, so it's the only download you need. If you installed Java and QZ Tray separately in the past, remove those first. You can install QZ Tray now, or, if you launch check-in without it, a Realm pop-up window links to the download. For steps, see Set Up Computers to Print Check-in Badges.
Check-In works with both Mac and Windows. On Windows, use a 64-bit version. QZ Tray no longer supports printing from 32-bit Windows.
If you are scanning QR codes from Mobile Check-In, make sure you have a 2D scanner for this to work properly.
Supported Label Printers (for Printing Security Badges)
We only support the printers listed below. You will need the software and drivers installed for the printer. The printer will need to be the default printer on your machine. You may have to alter label sizes — check out this article for more information on printer setup.
Printers we support are:
The Dymo Labelwriter 550 Turbo printer using authentic Dymo 30256-sized labels. Dymo 450 Labelwriter Turbo will also work, but has been discontinued.
The Zebra GK420d Label Printer using 30256-sized labels.
The Brother Wireless Label Printer QL810W, using Brother-Compatible DK-2205 labels.
Barcode Scanner Recommended for Quick Sign-Ins
When setting up kiosks, you'll have the option to turn on a barcode scanner. You can purchase compatible barcode scanners from Amazon or other retailers. For detailed system requirements and links to much of the software listed here, see Set up Printers for Check-In.
Realm Group Setup Required
Realm check-in uses children's names from group rosters already set up. You may already have a group structure for your children's ministry set up. If you don't, you'll need to create a ministry area, Children's Ministry for example, with groups under it: Kindergarten, First Grade, etc. Only children on the group roster will be recognized for check in; however, two of the three check-in modes will let you add others as guests. See Check In a Guest.
If you haven't set up groups yet, see Groups.
Group Events Required
Realm check-in also uses events already set up. You'll need to create events for each of your check-in service times in the appropriate groups. If you do this from the Ministry Area level, it will be quicker than creating the same event in each individual group. This will allow families to check-in their children to the correct service time.
If you've never set up group events, see Group and Ministry Area Events for details. In an ideal situation, the classes you want to secure with a single kiosk location will have their corresponding Realm groups in the same ministry area, and their class event times will coincide because they were created at the ministry area level. If they do not, you can still include them all in one Realm kiosk (explained below) and, therefore, one physical kiosk. Just add the groups to the kiosk one at a time, adjust event times, or rearrange your Realm group structure to accommodate the physical space. If you have additional classroom areas, be sure to secure them similarly.
Checklist
Plan the four weeks before your first check-in, from setting up groups and kiosks to training volunteers and letting families know.
| 4 Weeks Out | 3 Weeks Out | 2 Weeks Out | 1 Week Out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Read this guide | If it doesn't exist, create your children's ministry group structure, along with the group events you'll use on check-in day | Install and test kiosk hardware: printer drivers and QZ Tray | Verify the dates and times Realm lists for check-in events for all groups |
| Order all kiosk hardware, including a supported label printer | Create badge templates and configure your kiosks, including emergency contacts | Create a test group event and try checking in some people | Conduct dress rehearsal with representative sample of families |
| Announce transition to ministry staff and volunteers | Train staff and volunteers on test event | Send reminder communication to parents | |
| Invite staff and volunteers to appropriate groups and assign leader roles | Send reminder communication to parents | Post signs in the children's ministry area and hand out fliers to parents | |
| Announce transition to parents | Post signs in the children's ministry area and hand out fliers to parents | ||
| Post signs in the children's ministry area and hand out fliers to parents |
Tips for Your Test Run
- If none of the kiosk's groups has an event scheduled, create a temporary one for the current day and time. Note one or two names from the group's roster to check in.
- To link a family's barcode while you test, turn on Add New Barcodes for the kiosk first. See Assign Barcodes to Attendees.
- Set up at least one kiosk in Assisted Check-In & Dashboard mode, so families who have trouble at a self-check-in kiosk can get help. A volunteer there can also check in guests.
Tips for Check-In Day
- Attach the child badge to the child, and give the parent badge to the parent or guardian. When adults arrive for pickup, match the security codes on the two badges.
- Some children's ministries also keep a list of every child in a class, and check off each child as they leave with an adult who has a matching badge.
- Put badges on children's backs, where they can't easily remove them. For older children, badge holders with lanyards work well.
- If something doesn't work, see Troubleshooting.
Troubleshooting
Resolve common issues that occur when checking people in and printing badges.
| Problem | Possible Causes/Things to Try |
|---|---|
| Can't check in attendee: "You are not scheduled for an event right now" or similar error message. |
|
| Just upgraded my version of Windows and can no longer print to Dymo LabelWriter. |
|
| Information printing on the extreme edge, or over the edge, of the label. Only observed on Windows computers. | Your printer settings have a paper size and quality other than "Custom". Open your printer settings. Then open the printing preferences for your label printer (often by right-clicking). Specify "Custom" for paper size and quality. |
| Brother printer won't work. | On a Windows machine, the Brother printer's name must contain the word "brother". To change a printer's name, in Devices and Printers, right-click the printer and select Printer Properties. |
| When printing check-in badges from a Mac, 30256 is not listed as an option under paper size. | Set up Printers for Check-In. |
| Can't advance the labels one at a time. | If the labels are not inserted properly, the machine might push out several blank labels. Try re-inserting the labels. |
| Other badge printing issues. |
|
| Barcodes won't scan correctly. |
|
For problems that aren't about badges, such as messages about setting up QZ Tray, see Troubleshoot Check-In.