The door is the first thing your guests experience and the last thing you think about. Ten minutes before the start, thirty people arrive at once, someone can’t find the ticket, someone else shows a screenshot a friend sent, and the list is on a clipboard.
With QR tickets and a phone, the door can be the calmest part of the evening. Here’s how to set it up.
What you need
- Every ticket with its own QR code. Not one code for the whole event: one per person.
- A phone or tablet with a camera and the scan page open. A web page is enough, no app.
- Power. A charger or power bank. Scanning keeps the screen and camera on.
- A connection. The venue’s wifi, or a phone hotspot as backup.
How a good scan works
- 1The guest shows the QRfrom LINE, an email or the My tickets page
- 2Staff scan it with the camerahold steady, a hand's length away
- 3Green: welcomewith the guest's name and ticket type
- 4Red: a reasonalready used (with the time), not paid, or for another event
Show the name on screen and say it out loud: “Welcome, Anna.” It costs nothing and the line feels personal.
The three problems every door has
1. “I can’t find my ticket”
It happens every time. Have the scan page search by name, phone or email, find the guest, and check in by hand. Put one person on this job so the main line keeps moving.
2. A forwarded screenshot
Friends share tickets. A ticket that can only be used once handles it without an argument: the first scan is green, the second is red with the time it was used. Even two phones scanning the same code at the same moment can only let it in once.
3. A mistake
Someone taps the wrong guest in the search. Make sure a check-in can be undone, so the real guest isn’t turned away later.
How many phones?
A rough guide: one scanning phone for each 100 guests arriving in the same half hour, and one extra for lost tickets. For a 30-person workshop, one phone is plenty.
Who scans
Door staff only need the door. Give them a login that sees only the scan page for today’s event, not your customers, takings or settings. For small events, the owner or a team member can scan with their own phone.
After the door closes
The check-ins tell you who actually came, at what time. Compare it with tickets sold to see your no-show rate, and export the list to follow up.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a barcode scanner?
No. Phone and tablet cameras read QR codes well. A hardware scanner is only worth it for very large doors.
Can guests show a printed ticket?
Yes. A QR code scans the same on paper as on a screen.
What if the venue’s wifi is bad?
Test it before the doors open, and keep a phone hotspot ready as backup.
The door with Tellfox
Tellfox Ticketing comes with a scan page for any phone or iPad:
- Green with the name and ticket type, red with the reason
- A ticket gets in once, even with two phones scanning at once
- Search by name, phone or email for lost tickets, and undo a mistake
- The count checked in against tickets sold, at the top
- Front desk logins that see only the scan page for today’s events
Free events post free on every plan, with the same door.