Tzu Chi USA
Volunteer Portal

Checking volunteers in with QR codes

Scan each volunteer's QR code as they arrive to check them in or out of their shift.

Who can use this
  • QR Check-in
On this page
  1. Getting to QR Code Check-in
  2. Checking people in
  3. Checking people out
  4. Volunteers who aren’t on a shift
  5. Good to know
  6. If something goes wrong

QR Code Check-in records volunteers’ hours as they arrive and leave an event. Each volunteer has a card or sticker with their own QR code. You scan it, and they’re checked in. They don’t need to sign in or use the website themselves.

Getting to QR Code Check-in

With the QR Check-in, QR Admin or Admin level, choose QR Code Check-in at the top of any page. On a phone, it’s in the menu. A phone or tablet with a camera works well at the door.

The header, with the QR Code Check-in tab highlighted between My Hours and Help.

Checking people in

Choose the camera button and hold the volunteer’s code up to it. You can also type the code, or use a handheld scanner, and choose Submit.

The first scan: the volunteer's shift appears, and Check In records it.

The first scan shows the volunteer’s shift. Check it’s the right event, then choose Check In.

Wei-Ming Tsai's shift at White Center Distribution, General Volunteer, 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM, with Check In highlighted.

After that, each scan checks the next volunteer in by itself, and the page goes straight back to scanning. The banner shows who was just checked in, and Recent Check-ins lists everyone so far.

Check-in successful for Hannah Lindqvist, and Recent Check-ins listing Hannah Lindqvist, Rosa Delgado-Herrera and Wei-Ming Tsai.

The page doesn’t beep, so glance at the banner after each scan. Anything other than a success flashes.

Checking people out

Choose Check Out at the top, then scan each volunteer as they leave.

Check Out selected, Check-out successful for Wei-Ming Tsai, and Recent Check-ins showing his check-in and check-out.

Volunteers who aren’t on a shift

If someone registered for the event but isn’t on a shift, the page adds them to one and checks them in. This is Auto-Add to Shift, and it’s on at first.

Added to shift and checked-in successful for Kenji Morita, also listed in Recent Check-ins.

They’re added to the first of today’s shifts. To choose another, or to turn Auto-Add off, open Settings after the first check-in.

Settings open: Camera Mode, Auto-Add to Shift turned on, and Shift for Auto-Add set to General Volunteer.

Good to know

  • The first scan always shows the shift, so you can check it’s the right event. The page also asks when a volunteer has more than one shift today.
  • One event at a time. After the first check-in, the page is set up for that event. To check people in for a different event, reload the page and start again: on a computer, choose the round arrow next to the web address; on a phone, pull the page down from the top. Reloading empties Recent Check-ins, but everyone stays checked in.
  • Manual mode shows every volunteer’s shift and waits for you to choose, if you’d rather confirm each one.

If something goes wrong

When a scan can’t be recorded, the page says why and waits for you to choose Back.

Error occurred: QR code not found in our records. Please scan a valid code or contact staff. A Back button below.
  • The code isn’t found: check it’s the volunteer’s own card. A QR Admin can see whose code it is.
  • The volunteer isn’t signed up, or has nothing today: ask the event’s coordinator.
  • It says to try again: scan again.
  • It says to contact someone: the message names who.

Open QR Code Check-in

Related guides

Screenshots and clips show sample data, not real volunteers.