Use this link to share with your colleagues:
All About the iOS Ticket Scanning App: https://help.pm.leapevent.tech/a/1891858
Would you like to scan tickets on an Apple device? Now you can! In the December 2024 Release we introduced a brand new iOS ticket scanning app.
Not only can you use the app to scan tickets on an iPhone, it has a ton of exciting new features, from real-time stats about attendance, to a door list to look up and check in patrons by name, to a group scanning mode, and more.
In this article, we'll go over the new app and how to use it. Specifically, we'll cover:
- A quick guide to setting up your device
- How to select events and scan tickets
- Group Scanning Mode
- The Orders tab (aka the door list)
- The Stats page
- We'll also discuss some additional features, including
- Checking tickets out
- The Wrong Instance setting
- The Ticket Validation setting
- Info about working offline
- Reporting tips
- Disconnecting the app from PatronManager
Let's get started!
Looking to scan with an Android device? The shiny new app will be available for Android devices soon, but in the meantime you can use the legacy Android app to scan tickets. Find more information here.
Setting Up the App
The process is quick and easy - you'll create a Device record in PatronManager, download the app, and scan the QR code on the Device record to connect the app to PatronManager.
To use this app, you'll need a Apple device with a camera for scanning, running at least iOS 15.
1. From your PatronManager account, click the App Launcher or waffle
2. Search for and select "Devices"
3. Click "New"
4. Create a new Device record
- Label: Give the device a name you'll recognize, like "Box Office Phone 1" or "Barry's Phone"
- Save
5. Repeat steps 3-4 for any other phones you'll set up with the app
6. On the iOS devices you'll be using, go to the App Store and find the app
Search for "PatronManager" to find it, or use this link to download the app.
7. Open the app on the iOS device
Do this by tapping the app's icon from the home screen.
8. Follow the instructions in the app to connect to PatronManager
8.1. Tap "Set up your device"
8.2. Tap "Scan QR Code"
8.3. If prompted, tap "Allow"
8.4. Scan the QR code from the Device page in PatronManager
Make sure to scan the QR code from your Device page!
You're all set! The device is now connected to your PatronManager account, and you're ready to select events and start scanning!
Selecting events and scanning tickets
Let's start with the basics! First you'll select your event (or events, if you need to scan for more than one event at a given entrance), then you'll scan tickets.
1. Tap "Select Events to Scan for"
2. Select the events you wish to scan tickets for, then tap "Continue with # Events"
3. Tap "Download Tickets"
That's it! When it's time to select new events (for example, when you set up for the next day of scanning), you'll come back and repeat these steps.
View synced events
See the currently synced events from the Setup screen by tapping View Synced Events.
Tap "Launch Scanner" to begin scanning tickets
If you need to double-check which event(s) you've selected to scan for, tap "View Synced Events" at the top of this page.
Scan tickets
Log attendance in PatronManager and get immediate visual confirmation of the ticket's validity, plus optional audio and vibration cues.
For valid tickets, you'll also see key information about the patron and their seating location, right on the scanner - even when the device is ready to scan the next ticket.
Pro-tip: You can get back to the scanner from most pages by tapping the QR code icon in the upper right corner.
Scanner Settings
You can get to Scanner Settings from the gear icon in the upper right corner of the scanner screen.
Once in Scanner Settings, you'll see:
- Check Out Mode: enable if you need a device to only scan tickets out. See more here.
- Flashlight: turns on the device's flashlight; good for scanning paper tickets in low light.
- Vibrate on scan: enable to make the device vibrate when a ticket is scanned.
- Sound on scan: enable to emit a sound from the device when a ticket is scanned.
Group Scanning Mode
With Group Scanning Mode, you can check in any or all of the tickets for selected events within an order just by scanning one ticket!
Toggle on Group Scanning Mode in the app settings to scan one ticket and automatically pull up all the other tickets on that order for your selected event. From there you can quickly check in some or all tickets at once.
In Group Scanning Mode, if there are multiple tickets within the same order for your selected scanning event(s), scanning one ticket pulls up a new screen. The ticket you scanned will be at the top and automatically checked in, and you'll see the other tickets listed below.
From here, you can tap Check In Remaining - this will immediately check in all the tickets for the event(s) in the order and bring you back to the scanner.
Or if you need to check in only specific tickets, you can tap the buttons beside each ticket to Check it in (1), if the ticket isn't checked in yet, or Check it out (2), if the ticket was checked in.
Once you're finished checking in/out the desired ticket(s) on this order, tap the Scanner button (3) to go back to scanning tickets.
Back on the scanner screen, you'll see a summary of the Ticket Order at the bottom, with the buyer name and number of tickets checked in.
You can tap View Order to return to the detail screen and make further changes (check tickets in or out), or move on and scan the next ticket.
The Orders tab (aka the door list)
If a patron lost their ticket or the ticket is too damaged to scan, you can easily search for them by name or order number and check them in from the list.
Pro-tip: this is also a handy tool for your development team! They can look up key constituents to quickly see whether they've arrived and where they're sitting.
Switch over to the door list from the scanning screen
You can reach the Order list very quickly by tapping the magnifying glass on the scanning screen:
Or find it by tapping the Orders tab
View and filter the list
From here, you have a few options.
- Search: Use to search for a specific order (by the patron's name, order number, or item number)
- Hide Checked In Orders: Toggle if you wish to only see orders that aren't completely checked in
- Filter icon: Tap to filter by event if you're scanning for more than one event at a time
- Scanner icon: tap to return to the scanner
Pro-tip: you may not see a full list of individual orders on this page if there are a very large number (thousands) to display, but you can still use the search bar to instantly find matching orders.
If you tap the Filter icon, you'll be able to select which Synced Events you wish to see in the Order list.
Tap an order to view details and check in (or out) individual tickets
Tap on an order to pull up the details:
From here, you can see where the patron is sitting, and tap to check in/out individual tickets (1).
When you're finished, tap Back to Orders (2) to return to the list.
Or swipe to check an entire order in (or out)
Swipe toward the right to check in all tickets on an order (only for your synced events - other tickets on the same order won't appear).
Swipe toward the left to check out all tickets on an order, e.g. if you made a mistake and checked in the wrong person. Again, this only affects tickets for your synced events - other tickets on the same order won't appear.
The Stats page
Need to decide whether or not to hold the show for latecomers? See how many tickets are outstanding, both as a total number and as a percentage of tickets sold.
Additional Features
Checking Tickets Out
The app gives you the ability to check tickets out if needed. This voids a check-in, as if the ticket were never scanned.
There are a few different ways to do this, individually or en masse (for example, you can set up a scanner in Check Out Mode to scan at an exit door for re-entry).
You can check out all the tickets for your synced event(s) on a given order by swiping left on the whole order from the Orders list:
Or you can check out individual tickets from the order details screen, by tapping on the order in the list to pull up the details.
From the scanner, you can also opt to check individual tickets out when you scan a ticket from an order with multiple tickets with Group Scanning Mode enabled.
Finally, if you need a device to only scan tickets out, such as from an exit door during intermission if you want to scan for re-entry, you can enable "Check Out Mode" in scanner settings.
Putting the scanner into Check Out Mode will scan to check tickets out, not in.
Wrong Instance setting
The Wrong Instance setting lets you decide whether you want to always reject tickets that are for the wrong event (i.e. an event that you didn't select for scanning), or allow users to choose whether to accept or reject a ticket for the wrong event.
Find this option in the Settings tab:
If you sometimes admit patrons or visitors to an event even if they have tickets to a different event, for example if you have loose timed admission or if you allow certain patrons to enter with a ticket for any event (e.g. press, board members, VIPs), then you can use Wrong Instance to prompt the user to select whether or not to accept the ticket, even if it's for the wrong event.
If you want to maintain stricter entry, set the app to reject tickets for the wrong event.
While the app will recognize PatronManager tickets, it cannot validate whether a ticket to an unsynced event is still valid (or if it has been refunded or exchanged), and will always mark the ticket as Attended in PatronManager.
Ticket Validation setting
If the internet is spotty or unavailable at your venue and you have a high volume of walk-up sales, your devices may not be able to sync the newly-sold tickets.
With Ticket Validation, you can decide whether you want to automatically admit tickets for the correct event even if the ticket has not synced to the device, or if you'd like to give your users a prompt to accept or reject the ticket so you can make that decision case-by-case.
Find this option in the Settings tab:
If you want to keep lines moving and you know the internet is unreliable, opt to accept tickets, even if they aren't found.
If you'd like to have tighter control over entry, and perhaps direct a patron to the box office to make sure their ticket is valid, prompt users to accept or reject the ticket they just scanned, if it wasn't found on the device.
When the app syncs with PatronManager, it retrieves data about all tickets that were sold to the event, including those that were subsequently refunded or exchanged, so it can identify tickets that were sold but invalidated prior to the sync.
If a ticket was sold after the app last synced with PatronManager, the app will recognize whether the ticket is for the correct event, but it cannot tell whether the ticket is still valid (has been refunded or exchanged).
If you don't typically refund or exchange tickets after you sync the device and begin scanning for an event, it's likely that these tickets will be valid.
Offline Scanning
Under normal circumstances, the app syncs with PatronManager constantly (about every 10 seconds) to send new scanning data back and to update any new or changed ticket information on the device.
If wifi isn't available or isn't strong enough to reliably connect your device, the app can be used offline. If the app isn't connected to the internet or communicating with PatronManager, it will:
- Not receive new ticket information from PatronManager: This means that any new or changed tickets, like walk-up sales and last-minute refunds or exchanges, will not be updated in the app until it reconnects to the internet
- Not upload scanning information to PatronManager: This means that the box office (and other scanning apps) won't be able to see scanning data from the device.
- Not display current stats: Stats will only be updated as of the Last Synced Date, so stats may be inaccurate if any of your devices are scanning offline.
As soon as the device reconnects to the internet, data and stats will be updated.
If you're working offline, we recommend setting the Ticket Validation option to Prompt, so that the app will allow your team members to admit newly-sold tickets even if they haven't yet synced to the device.
Reporting Tips in PatronManager
You can report on scanning activity from within PatronManager! Using a report based on the Ticket Order Item object, you can report on which device scanned in which tickets for an event, when the ticket was scanned, what kind of ticket it was, and even see how a ticket was admitted (scanned or checked in from the list or PMBO).
Look for these fields:
- Attended (a checkbox that is TRUE if the ticket was admitted - useful for grouping reports)
- Entry Date (the date/time the ticket was admitted)
- Entry Device Label (the device that scanned or admitted the ticket)
- Entry Ticket Type (the kind of ticket that was scanned, or "Door List" if it was checked in from the order list in the app, or "PMBO" if it was marked as attended from PatronManager Box Office)
Additionally, you can create an event stats report or dashboard if your box office would like to see admission stats for an event on a desktop or laptop.
Note that the Entry Method field, despite the name, is not related to scanning or admitting tickets and should not be added to your scanning reports.
Disconnecting Devices
If you allow staff members to use their personal devices for scanning, for security they can disconnect their device from PatronManager once their duties are complete.
To do this, go to the Settings tab in the app and tap Reset Configuration.
We generally discourage the use of personal devices, since it can be difficult to ensure that the user disconnects their device from PatronManager after use.
Note that the device must have an internet connection in order to complete a final sync before it can be disconnected.