Everything you need to run the door smoothly — from check-ins and card sales to QR labels and end-of-night reconciliation.
1. Selecting Your Session
When you open Log Attendance from the sidebar, you’ll see a session dropdown at the top of the page. Pick tonight’s session and hit Go.
The session card shows the title, date, level, and a connectivity dot (🟢 green = online, 🔴 red = connection lost). Below it, you’ll find the attendance form, the attendee register, Quick Sale, Collect Pre-Sold, and the Venue Kitty panel.
Sessions you’ve already locked show with a 🔒 icon in the dropdown. You can still view a locked session, but you can’t make changes to it.
2. Checking In Attendees
The attendance form is your main workspace. The basic flow is:
- Type the student’s name. Autocomplete suggests names from previous sessions. If the name matches exactly, the payment method and amount from their last visit are pre-filled.
- Select the payment method — Cash, Credit Card, Class Card, or Term Pass.
- Enter the amount — the system pre-fills the default class price, but you can change it (e.g. for a combined discount). For Class Card or Term Pass, the amount is what’s attributed to this use (the system tracks this for reporting).
- Add a reference (for cards/passes) — type or select the card reference (e.g.
CC-0042). The system checks credits and validity automatically. - Hit Save and they’re checked in.
Payment Methods at a Glance
| Method | When to use | Reference needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | Student pays cash at the door | No (optional — e.g. a loyalty email) |
| Credit Card | Student pays by card/contactless | No (optional) |
| Class Card | Student has a multi-credit class card | Yes — card reference (e.g. CC-0042) |
| Term Pass | Student has a term/unlimited pass | Yes — pass reference (e.g. TP-0018) |
Checking In with a Class Card
Select Class Card as payment and type the card reference. The system looks it up and shows remaining credits. One credit is deducted per check-in. If the card has no credits left, the system blocks the check-in and tells you.
Checking In with a Term Pass
Same as class cards, but instead of credits, the system checks the date range. If the session date falls outside the pass’s valid period (with a 9-day grace window after expiry), the check-in is blocked.
Checking In via QR Code
If the student has a QR label on their card, tap the 📷 Scan QR button on the attendance page. Point the camera at the label. The system reads the QR code, finds the card or pass record, validates credits/dates, and checks the student in — all in one step. You’ll see a confirmation card with the student’s details and remaining credits.
QR check-in doesn’t decrement physical kitty stock (the card was already collected when it was handed over). It only deducts the digital credit.
Zero-Value Check-Ins
For free or complimentary entries (first class free, guest of staff, promotional offer), set the amount to £0.00 and use the Notes field to explain why — e.g. First class free, Comp — guest of [staff name], Promotion.
3. Combined / Grouped Sessions
On many nights, you’ll run multiple sessions back-to-back at the same venue (e.g. Beginners 7 PM → Improvers 8 PM → Social 9 PM). These are “grouped” sessions. A group can also span different venues — this is by design, allowing a student to attend at one location and retain benefits for a linked session elsewhere.
Switching Between Sessions
Use the session dropdown at the top of Log Attendance to switch. Select the next session and hit Go. All attendance data for each session is kept separate.
“Also Check In To” — Paying for Multiple Sessions at Once
When a group is active, the attendance form shows checkboxes for sibling sessions below the main form. If a student is paying for all sessions up front:
- Fill in their details as normal for the current session.
- Tick the checkboxes for the other sessions they want to attend.
- For each ticked session, choose the payment method (or leave as “Same as above” to inherit) and amount.
- Save — the student is checked into all selected sessions at once.
If paying with a class card or term pass, each ticketed session uses one credit. A note appears automatically when a card/pass is selected to remind you of this.
“Link to Earlier Session” — Student Adds a Session Later
A student attended the first class and now decides to stay for the second. In the second session, you’ll see a “Link to earlier session” search field. Start typing their name or reference — it searches attendance from sibling sessions. Select their earlier record. This links the two check-ins together for reporting and avoids double-counting.
4. Quick Sales
Quick Sale lets you sell class cards, term passes, and other kitty items right at the door. Admins and managers may also create sales in advance (for online orders, pre-bookings, etc.) — in that case, the item will appear in Collect Pre-Sold for you to hand over.
The flow is: Select type → Enter reference → Set payment & price → Set credits & dates → Record Sale.
Setting Credits Correctly
| Product | Credits | Date Range |
|---|---|---|
| Class Card (e.g. 10 classes) | 10 (or however many) | Optional — leave blank unless there’s an expiry |
| Term Pass (unlimited for a term) | 0 | Required — set Valid From and Valid To |
| Loyalty Card | 0 | Optional |
Term Pass Date Ranges
A standard term is 10 weeks. If the venue has a week off (e.g. half-term, bank holiday), extend to 11 weeks to cover the gap. The system automatically includes a 9-day grace period after the “Valid To” date, so you don’t need to pad the end date for that.
The Two Checkboxes — Leave Them Unticked
🔲 “Blank card/pass collected from kitty” — Only tick this if you are physically taking a blank card out of the kitty bag right now. If the card was pre-prepared or already set aside, leave it unticked. When in doubt, leave it unticked.
🔲 “Associate with venue in reports” — Do not tick this unless specifically instructed by an admin. This is for special items (like raffle tickets) whose income should count directly against the venue. Normal card/pass sales are attributed via attendance instead.
5. Collecting Pre-Sold Items
When a card or pass has been sold (via Quick Sale, whether by you or an admin in advance) but not yet physically handed to the student, it appears in the Collect Pre-Sold Item panel.
The flow is: Find the item in the list → Write the reference on the physical card → Generate & stick a QR label → Click “Collect” → Hand the card to the student.
The list shows the item type, reference, customer name, credits remaining, and valid dates. Use the search/filter to find the right one. If you don’t see a recent sale, hit ↻ Refresh — the list may not have updated yet.
Collecting an item doesn’t charge anything — the money was taken at the point of sale. This step just marks it as physically handed over.
6. Generating QR Labels
Each card or pass should have a QR code label stuck to it so students can scan in quickly at future sessions.
- Click the 🏷️ Generate QR Label button (above the attendance register).
- Select the Card Type from the dropdown.
- Select or type the Reference — the autocomplete shows all known references for that type.
- Enter the Student Name (auto-fills if the reference is recognised).
- Click Generate QR Code.
- A preview appears showing the label exactly as it will print — type, QR code, reference, and name.
- Click 🖨️ Print Label to send it to the label printer.
After printing, click Generate Another to make the next label without closing the dialog.
Printer Not Working?
If the label printer isn’t responding and you can’t troubleshoot it quickly:
- Below the Print button, you’ll see an email field.
- Type the student’s email address and hit 📧 Send.
- The system emails them the QR code image with their card details. The email address is not stored.
- Write the reference on the card by hand. The student can show the emailed QR code from their phone at the next session until a proper label is printed.
Don’t let the printer hold up the queue. If it’s busy and there’s a line forming, write the reference on the card, email the QR code, and move on. You can print physical labels in a quieter moment or at the next session.
7. Loyalty Cards
If loyalty tracking is enabled, the system counts each student’s paid visits using their loyalty reference (usually their email address). When they hit the threshold (e.g. 8 visits), a banner appears telling you they’ve earned a free class. The system automatically sets the amount to £0 for the reward — just confirm and save. The counter resets and starts building toward the next reward.
For students building toward a reward, you’ll see a progress indicator showing how many visits they’ve made and how many remain.
The loyalty reference field appears when the student pays with cash or a credit card. Typically, they’ll give you their email address. Make sure it’s consistent each time (the autocomplete helps with this) — it’s what tracks their visits across sessions.
8. Venue Kitty
The Venue Kitty panel shows the physical cash and stock situation for tonight’s venue.
Session Balance shows the opening balance (carried from the previous session at this venue), tonight’s activity (top-ups, cash door payments, returns, spends), and the closing balance. Green means you’re at or above the default float; amber means you’re below.
Stock Inventory shows how many of each item type (class cards, term passes, etc.) should be in the kitty bag. This updates when Quick Sales or collections happen.
Logging Kitty Transactions — if you need to log a kitty top-up, return, or purchase (e.g. buying gaffer tape), use the form at the bottom. Select the transaction type, the staff member handling it, the amount, and add a note. Normally, cash sales automatically update the kitty balance. Only use the transaction form when an admin tells you to top up the float, withdraw excess, or log a purchase.
9. End-of-Night Reconciliation
At the end of the night, all the physical items and cash in the kitty bag need to be counted and verified against what the system expects. This is done from the Sessions page.
- Go to Sessions in the sidebar.
- Scroll down past the sessions table to the End-of-Night Reconciliation section.
- Find tonight’s venue-night group and click Reconcile.
The reconciliation page shows a Session Summary (every session that ran tonight with attendee counts, cash, card, and kitty movements), a Stock Count section (enter the actual number of each item type you physically count in the bag), a Cash Count section (showing expected cash with a breakdown, and a field for the actual amount you’ve counted), and a Notes field for anything worth recording.
You have two save options. 💾 Save Draft saves your counts without finalising — useful if you’re mid-count or waiting for someone to verify. ✅ Sign Off Reconciliation confirms everything is counted and correct, records who signed off and when, and the group is automatically archived after 9 days.
The system warns you if not all sessions are locked. Lock every session first (via the 🔒 Lock Session button on the attendance page) before signing off. This prevents any accidental changes to attendance data after the count.
Always enter honest counts. If there’s a discrepancy, note it, save as a draft, and flag it with the admin before signing off. Never adjust numbers to match the expected count.
10. Locking Sessions
When all attendees are in and you’re done taking door payments for a session, lock it. On the attendance page, click 🔒 Lock Session in the session header. This prevents accidental edits. If you need to unlock a session to make a correction, click 🔓 Unlock Session. Both actions are logged in the audit trail.
11. The Full Night — Step by Step
- Open Log Attendance → select tonight’s first session.
- Check students in as they arrive (cash / card / class card / term pass / QR scan).
- Handle collections — find pre-sold items in Collect Pre-Sold, write refs on blank cards, print QR labels, stick them on, click Collect, hand over.
- Handle door sales — Quick Sale for walk-up card/pass purchases.
- When the session ends → switch to next session in the dropdown → repeat.
- Lock each session as it finishes (🔒 Lock Session).
- Go to Sessions → scroll to End-of-Night Reconciliation → click Reconcile.
- Count stock and cash → save draft → verify → Sign Off.
12. Common Scenarios
The student bought a card online, arriving for the first time
Quick Sale was already done by the admin or the sale was recorded online. Find the card in Collect Pre-Sold → generate QR label and stick it on → click Collect → hand it over. Then check them in using the class card reference. One credit is used for tonight.
A walk-up student wants to buy a 10-class card with cash
Do a Quick Sale (type: Class Card, credits: 10, payment: Cash, enter the price). Then find it in Collect Pre-Sold, prepare the physical card with reference and QR label, click Collect, and hand it over. Check them in to tonight’s session using the reference.
The student wants a term pass for a 10-week term with one week off
Quick Sale with credits set to 0, Valid From = first day of term, Valid To = 11 weeks later (to cover the break week). The system’s 9-day grace period handles the end date — don’t pad it manually.
The student did Beginners, and now wants to stay for Improvers
Switch to the Improvers session in the dropdown. Check them in normally with tonight’s payment. Use “Link to earlier session” to search for and select their Beginners record. This links the two for clean reporting.
Student paying cash for all three sessions up front
Check them into the current session. Tick the “Also check in to” boxes for the other two sessions. Leave payment as “Same as above” or set individually. Save — they’re checked into all three at once.
Label printer is down, and there’s a queue
Write the reference on the card by hand. Use the email field in the QR label dialog to send the QR code to the student. They can show it from their phone next time. Print proper labels when the printer is back.
Sugar Hill Hop Manager — Door Staff Guide v1.0