Last updated by Kasey Murphy on 03/13/2021

Volunteer management and time tracking should work precisely in the ways that your organization does. Track It Forward aims to customize our software to fit your organization’s workflow perfectly. 

So - if your volunteers don’t want to log their own hours or sign up for events, the check in kiosk is the check in system for you!

The Check in Kiosk is a mobile kiosk that your volunteers can check in and out of at the event. No sign up is necessary. They can just check in on arrival and check out when they leave. The best part is, the hours will get automatically logged into a backend for volunteer managers and admins to use in statistical reports.

The mobile kiosk is supported by a Track It Forward kiosk app that works on desktops, tablets, Ipads, and mobile devices! 

Your check-in system can be streamlined and made efficient with the check-in kiosk. A mobile kiosk system to check in your volunteers, new volunteers, and group volunteers, and log their hours is an excellent way for some organizations to organize their volunteers.

Track It Forward’s mobile check in kiosk app is entirely customizable to work in different ways for the most efficient volunteer data collection depending on each organization’s workflow. 

How the Check In Kiosk Works 

When you sign up for Track It Forward, you gain a Track It Forward site, which gives you access to a multitude of features and tools to help you track your volunteers’ hours and manage your volunteers. 

The Check In Kiosk is a kiosk app that can be accessed on mobile devices. A volunteer coordinator or manager can set up the kiosk to work and organize data in a few different ways, which are explained below. 

• In Track It Forward, all volunteers have their own dashboard and log in. For Kiosk use, volunteers can sign up and register when they do their first volunteer shift using the mobile kiosk, or if they have registered previously, they can easily find their name in the drop-down list when prompted to sign in. If you choose to enable it, volunteers can also pick an activity from a drop-down list that the admin creates. This helps organize the data in the check-in system. 
• While the volunteer activity is in place, a volunteer coordinator or manager can view the kiosk app which volunteers have signed in a list view. 
• Then, on their way out of the volunteer activity, volunteers make their way to the mobile kiosk and find their name in the list. They press sign out, confirm the time, and get notified of how long they were checked in. 
• That’s all the volunteer has to do! The system does the rest. After volunteers sign out, their hours can be automatically logged in the organization’s Track It Forward site. If the activity feature has been enabled, these hours will be sorted into the activity picked in the kiosk app. 
• If the volunteer manager would like to set up an approval process to monitor and approve the hours that a volunteer logs during the mobile check in process, they can arrange this! This just means that after a volunteer checks out on the mobile kiosk app, their hour log will be moved to an approval queue, instead of automatically logged. 
• After the volunteer coordinator or admin approves the hours, they will be logged accordingly! 

To view a video on this straightforward check in system process, go here! 

Once hours are logged, an organization’s Track It Forward site will hold all of the data. The admin can create downloadable reports from the data at any point in time! 

Customize Your Volunteer Check In System

The Check in Kiosk allows you to customize your settings to make it the most efficient for your organization. The mobile kiosk is available to be used in multiple locations and in numerous different ways. 

1. How the Hours From The Check In Kiosk App are Logged

Track It Forward is a volunteer time tracking software that makes volunteer hour logging extremely easy and efficient. The check in kiosk by Track It Forward has the same premises in mind! 

To make your check in system complete, we have added ways to log your volunteer’s hours after they use the check in system. 

In your Track It Forward site, you are able to set up an approval process. For every hour log that comes in, an admin on the site can approve the hour, or edit it before approving it. Once it is approved it goes into the hour log. 

With the kiosk app, the hours can either be set up to go into the approval queue or be automatically logged as-is. 

Hour approval information can be found here, and kiosk settings can be found here. 

2. What Type of Volunteers Can Log Into the Mobile Kiosk

Track It Forward’s check in system allows different types of volunteers to use the mobile kiosk. In the kiosk settings, admins and managers can configure what type of volunteers are allowed to use the mobile kiosk. 

The different types are: 

• One-time volunteers

• Recurring volunteers

• Group volunteers 

If your organization often has one-time or irregular volunteers, the check in kiosk allows new volunteers to be added and checked in to the kiosk app. 

Your organization can also configure the settings to allow recurring volunteers only check in to the kiosk app. This may be helpful if you would like to meet new volunteers, or manually set up a volunteer’s profile yourself when they check in to an event. 

Lastly, if your organization offers group volunteering for a business or for groups of volunteers, the check in kiosk allows groups to check themselves into the mobile kiosk. 

3. Where and How The Data is Stored in the Check In System 

The check in kiosk can organize the data into different groups or activities if the admin would like! 

During the site set up, the volunteer coordinator or admin can create different activity fields that they may want to categorize their volunteer’s hour logs or the volunteer events. This can also be done in the check in system! 

The check in kiosk can give the option of selecting an activity, so when the volunteer checks out, their hour log data is placed in the category in the reporting system.

Benefits of Track It Forward’s Check In Kiosk App 

The mobile kiosk may fit best into your workflow for many reasons, but we are outlining the benefits and advantages of the check in kiosk specifically so you can see how it can benefit your check in system! 

Using a check in system like Track It Forward’s check in kiosk makes it convenient for volunteers and volunteer managers to check in to events and manage volunteers. 

The Kiosk App Works on Many Devices

• Desktop computers, mobile devices, tablets, and iPads can all use Track It Forward and the kiosk app. This means that you most likely will not need to provide or purchase more equipment! Using any devices you have around, it is a simple way for volunteers to log themselves into a volunteer shift, or a receptionist to do it for them! 

Volunteers Check In and Out on The Day Of

• Some volunteer tracking or digital volunteer management systems force volunteers to log their hours after an event or sign up for an event in advance in order to log hours. This mobile kiosk does not do that! 

• Eliminate the reminders for volunteers to sign up or log hours! They just have to check in on the kiosk app at the volunteer location the day of the event. 

Hours are Logged Automatically 

• Using the check in kiosk system allows for the data collected to be synchronized and logged into a backend system. 

• If you are just using the kiosk as a check in system and to see who is there at the time, you can still have the data logged in case you need to go back and check it at any time!

COVID-19 Cautious

• The Check in Kiosk can be used to limit exposure and germs that volunteers may be cautious of due to COVID-19. The mobile kiosk can be operated by a protected individual who checks volunteers in and out. This will eliminate exposure of multiple people touching a piece of equipment or paper and pencil. 

• In addition, with the volunteer list view in the kiosk app, all volunteers can be accounted for in a small space. If your organization only wants a certain amount of people in the building at once, or there are capacity laws due to the pandemic, managers can easily view how many volunteers are in one location at one time with the kiosk app.

Register Volunteers On The Spot

• For organizations that may have volunteers pop in or volunteers who do not wish to register on their own time - the check in kiosk system is great! Volunteers do not have to do anything besides give some information on the day of the event to pop up in the kiosk app. 

• The flexibility of the mobile kiosk allows one-time volunteers, first-time volunteers, and technology-fearing volunteers to be added to one check in system quickly and simply, on the day of an event.

Data Backup in One Location 

• With the mobile kiosk, you have access to all of Track It Forward’s database features. All of the data from the check in system will be stored in the organization’s Track It Forward site. 

• The Track It Forward admin site will have the option for admins to run reports or export the data any way they would like.

No More Paper Hassle

• The mobile kiosk allows for an environmentally friendly impact to be made in the organization. No more paper! This means no more losing the check in papers or having to manage and organize a binder full of paper sign-in sheets. 

Option to Approve and Easily Edit Entries 

• Some mobile kiosks and kiosk apps do not allow for easy edit or approval access. With Track It Forward’s kiosk app, there is a simple way to approve the hours, organize them, and edit them if there were a mistake! 

Used At Multiple Locations 

• Multiple administrators can log in to the kiosk app from different locations at the same time. So, there can be multiple kiosks available in the same location, or if there are coexisting events, the mobile kiosks can be used at all locations.

What Organizations Will Benefit from The Check In Kiosk 

If you are an organization who identifies with any of the following categories, we highly suggest looking into our check in kiosk for your organization! 

Looking to Move On From Paper 

If your organization is fed up with their paper forms, paper check in systems, losing the papers, or managing and organizing paper sheets. The check in kiosk could be a lifesaver for you. The check in system operated by a mobile kiosk app completely eliminates the need for paper check in sheets, and the app does the managing and organization for you!

Does Not Do Event Sign-Ups

Some organizations do not need to know how many people are coming to an event, or they like to make sure their volunteers do not feel tied down and can be spontaneous with their volunteering. 

The check in kiosk does not work off of an event calendar or an RSVP system. It simply allows volunteers to come as they want and sign in to an event. They don’t even need to have volunteered with you before! 

Receptionists Sign People In

If your organization has receptionists or people who already do the check in process for your organization, the check in kiosk can be a great tool for them. This kiosk app is very user-friendly and allows you to run reports and keep track of volunteer data all in one location.

Volunteers Without Motivation to Log Their Own Hours 

You may want to keep track of volunteer hours for grant writing purposes, or just to report the totals to a certain department. But, your volunteers may not need to have their own hour totals or keep track of their hours for any reason. If this is the case, your volunteers will not be motivated to log their own hours. 

So, the best of both worlds would be to log volunteer hours without asking your volunteers to do it themselves. And that is precisely what the check in kiosk does!

Specifically Have Check-In Volunteers

Some organizations have volunteers who enjoy checking people in. That is what they want to do at events! Manning and being in charge of the check in kiosk is a great role for volunteers. Especially during the pandemic! 

A specific volunteer can easily take on the role of checking people in with the mobile kiosk. It is so user friendly, anyone can do it and be helping the organization with keeping data. 

Has Frequent One-Time or Irregular Volunteers 

If your organization gets a lot of one-time or irregular volunteers, the check in kiosk system is great for you. Due to the easy application of adding new volunteers to the system, you will not have to worry about managing them or giving them access to a site, they can simply give their details just to show up in the kiosk app and in the system after hour logging! 

The check-in kiosk is a great feature that Track It Forward offers. If you enjoy the check in kiosk, but don’t plan to use hour logging or any other Track It Forward features, that is completely okay! Track It Forward is designed to help organizations with their workflow, no matter how you want to use it. 

FAQs

1. Do you need a tablet for a mobile kiosk system?
   No! You can use a desktop or any electronic device for the check-in kiosk.

2. Do check in kiosks track volunteer events?
   The check in kiosk does not have to be synced up with an event calendar or with events to work. It can just be turned on right before the event and then volunteers can be checked in. When the check in kiosk is turned on, it can be linked with an activity to help organize and track the event activity or category!