Example workflow Events

How an Event Organizer Can Check In Attendees by Scanning Tickets

Load the registration list onto each phone, scan every ticket or badge at the door and see the attendee's name. After the event you export a check-in list with all registration details.

This page shows how DataScan can be set up for this task. It is an illustration, not a report about a specific customer. All codes and values on it are examples.

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Event organizer scanning attendee badge for check-in at trade show entrance

The problem

At the opening rush, staff with printed lists search for names, cross them off with a pen and try to read handwriting at the same time. The queue grows, and afterwards nobody knows exactly who came, because the crossed-off lists are hard to count and harder to type up.

Most registration tools can already put a unique QR code on every ticket or badge and export the attendee list as CSV. What is missing at many small and mid-size events is a simple way to scan those codes at the door without renting dedicated check-in hardware.

The setup

Continuous Scan records every ticket with a timestamp. The registration list is imported in Lookup Scan, so each scan shows the attendee's name and the export carries all registration details.

Scan mode Continuous Scan
Barcode Column Header Ticket
Lookup data Registration export as a comma-separated CSV: ticket code first, then Name, Company, Ticket Type
Lookup import From a URL with daily refresh, so late registrations reach the phones before each event day
Enable Cross-Reference On: after each scan a pop-up shows the attendee's name
Cross-reference with Lookup Data On, so Name, Company and Ticket Type are added to the export
Prevent Duplicate Scans On, so a ticket held in front of the camera twice in a row is recorded once
Barcode Types QR, so other codes on badges or posters are ignored

Step by step

  1. Export the registration list Export attendees from your registration tool as CSV with the ticket code in the first column and the name in the second.
  2. Load it on every check-in phone Import the file in Lookup Scan on each device, or import it from a URL with daily refresh so late registrations arrive on their own each day.
  3. Scan at the door Open Continuous Scan and scan each ticket or badge, on paper or on the attendee's phone screen. The pop-up shows the attendee's name.
  4. Export after the event Send each device's session as CSV or Excel by email, to Files or by SFTP.
  5. Combine and count Paste the files from all doors into one sheet. The rows are your attendance list; comparing it with the registration export shows the no-shows.

What you get out

Each scanned ticket becomes one row, with the registration details appended:

Column Example value What it holds
Ticket EVT-2026-00417 The code on the ticket or badge
Timestamp 2026-11-12 08:47 Time of the scan at the door
Name Example Attendee From your registration list
Company Example Ltd Further columns from your CSV, in the same order
Ticket Type Two-day pass Any other column you included in the import

Lookup columns carry the header names of your CSV, so the check-in list reads exactly like your registration export.

Fits well if…

  • Your tickets or badges carry a QR code or barcode with a unique ID.
  • Your registration tool can export the attendee list as CSV.
  • You want a clean list of who came through each door, with names and ticket types.
  • The venue has weak Wi-Fi or mobile signal at the entrance.

Test It Before Your Next Event

Import a sample attendee list, scan three test tickets and check the export. The free trial includes every feature.

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