Skip to content

Runtime Operations

When an Event moves from planning into execution, the work shifts. Instead of setting up Activities, importing Groups, and configuring registration, you are now checking people in, handling walk-ons, adjusting attendance, and coordinating across staff.

The Mobile App is the primary runtime surface. Most of what's described here happens there.

Setup vs Runtime

Setup (Web App) Runtime (Mobile App)
Build the Program, Activities, and registration Check in attendees
Reference Groups, configure Subgroups Handle walk-ons
Define attendance settings Adjust attendance state
Schedule communications Scan badges (check-in, leads, points)
Set up payments Monitor Messaging Center activity
Pre-print physical badges (if needed) Coordinate across staff devices

Setup work stabilizes before the Event begins. Runtime work happens live and benefits from a mobile surface that every staff member can carry.

Walk-ons: people who arrive without pre-registering

Walk-on is the runtime term for a participant who shows up without prior registration. There are two cases to recognize:

Case 1: They exist in the Main Group but haven't responded yet

Common scenario — they were invited but never registered.

In the Mobile App:

  1. Open the Event
  2. Go to the Attendees tab
  3. Search by name
  4. Open their profile
  5. Use Change Attendance to set them to Attending (for the overall Event and/or the relevant Activity)
  6. Check them in if attendance tracking is in use

Case 2: They are not in the Main Group at all

The person needs to be added to the Group before they can be checked in.

  • For Public Events with Open Registration, they can register themselves via the Event's public link
  • For Invite-only Events, an organizer adds them to the Main Group from the Web App
  • If your Event allows Guest Registration, a registered participant can add them as a Guest on their own account

Once they exist in the Main Group, follow Case 1.

Changing attendance during the Event

Organizers and Event Staff can change a participant's attendance at any time. In the Mobile App:

  1. Open the Attendees tab on the relevant Activity
  2. Find the participant by scrolling or searching
  3. Tap to open their profile
  4. Use Change Attendance to select Attending, Waitlisted, Not Attending, or Undecided

If the Activity has Attendance set to Link (the default), changing the participant's Event-level attendance also changes their attendance for that Activity. If the Activity uses Ask independently, the two are separate.

See How Attendance Works.

Check-in by name vs by QR code

Both modes coexist; use whichever is faster for your team.

  • By QR code — open the scanner (typically from the Floating Action Button) and scan the badge. Best for high throughput.
  • By name — search for the person in the Attendees tab, tap their row, and select Check In. Best when a participant can't present a QR.

You can also enter Multi-select check-in mode (long-press a name to enter selection mode, then tap additional names) to check in several participants together.

Check-in filters

When the Attendees list is long, filters help you focus:

  • The Checked-In filter (toggled blue) shows only people already checked in
  • Toggled to red, the same filter inverts to show only people not yet checked in
  • The same applies to Checked-Out

Use the red mode to find who still needs attention.

Multi-organizer coordination

Several organizers and Event Staff can run check-in simultaneously. Each works in the Mobile App independently. If devices come back online (after offline use) or two organizers race each other, the system reconciles based on the latest action's timestamp.

To refresh the Attendees list with the latest state across devices, pull down on the list with your finger.

Handling missing badges

If a participant can't show a QR code (no phone, no email handy, no app):

  1. Search for them by name in the Attendees tab
  2. Open their profile
  3. Check them in manually

Pre-printed physical badges are a useful backup for Events that expect connectivity or device problems. Organizers can export QR codes from Track for use in badge-printing services. See QR Codes & Scanning in Eventene.

Searching participants

The Search bar on the Attendees and Assignments tabs returns matches across First Name, Last Name, and Custom Fields. Use it to:

  • Find a walk-on participant
  • Locate someone for a quick attendance update
  • Pull up a profile to text or contact them (long-press values to copy)

Day-of communications

For announcements that need to reach everyone in real time, use the Event Feed in the Messaging Center. For scheduled or formal messages, send via email from the Web App's Send menu.

See Messaging & Communications.

See Also