Overview
The ticket scanner validates e-tickets at the door: scan a QR code or type a ticket number, and it confirms the ticket is genuine, belongs to the right event, and hasn't already been used. It's a paid add-on (the Ticket Scanner feature) with its own permission, so you can hand it to door staff without giving them access to your full ticket list.
Key concepts
Scanner entitlement
The paid feature that turns scanning on for your organization. Without it, the scanner API returns “upgrade required” for everyone, regardless of permissions.
Scanner access
A separate permission from ticket management. Someone can hold just this permission and nothing else — they can scan, but can't edit or void tickets.
Scan modes
Point the camera at a ticket's QR code, or use manual entry to type the code by hand if a screen is cracked or the code won't focus.
Give a staff member scanner access
Four steps, and only the first one needs an admin.
Confirm the entitlement is active
Check Billing → Plans, or ask an admin — the Ticket Scanner feature needs to be on for your organization before anyone can use it, regardless of their permissions.
Add them to your team
If they don't already have access to your organization, add them first — see Team management below.
Create a scanner-only role
Team → Roles → create a new role and grant it only the “Access ticket scanner” permission. This keeps them from also getting full ticket management access, which the default Staff role includes.
Assign the role to them
Team → Members → select the person → Roles → assign the scanner role you just created. Remove the default Staff role if they shouldn't have its broader access.
Scan tickets at the door
Open the ticket scanner
Tap Scan on the event under Events, or Scan tickets in the Tonight banner: the scanner opens straight on that event. You can also choose Scanner in the menu. This requires the scanner permission from the steps above. Searching, checking in and exporting tickets are under Ticket management.
Select the event
If you opened the scanner from the menu, pick the event; the ones under way or starting soon are listed first. The scanner remembers the choice, even offline, and only accepts tickets for the selected event.
Scan or enter the code
Point the camera at the ticket's QR code, or tap manual entry and type the code if the screen is damaged or won't scan.
Read the result
Green means admitted. Yellow means already used — someone else already got in on this ticket. Red covers invalid codes, the wrong event, or a refunded ticket.
Use bulk check-in for guest lists
Checking in a block of comped or reserved tickets at once (e.g. a guest list at the door) is faster with bulk check-in than scanning one at a time.
Scan window
Every event has a window around each performance. Inside it the event shows in the Tonight banner and first in the scanner's list, and tickets are admitted. Outside it the scanner says it is too early or the event has ended.
- Default: the window opens 12 hours before the start and closes 2 hours after the end (after the start if the performance has no end time). A performance at 00:30 therefore shows from 12:30 the day before.
- Your organisation's default: under Settings → Ticketing → Scan window you set your own times before and after, for example 12 (hours), 1:30 or 90 min. Leave empty for the platform default.
- A single event: the event's Door scanning section can set its own times the same way. They take precedence over the organisation's.
- Refuse tickets outside the window is on to begin with. Turn it off and the door admits valid tickets at any time; the event is still only shown within the window. The re-entry rule applies as usual.
Admit, exit and pause
At the top of the scanner you choose what a scan does at this door. The choice is saved on the device, so a phone standing at the exit stays an exit phone. Admit is the default, and a device that never switches works exactly as before.
Admit
Lets the ticket in. A ticket that went out and comes back is let in again if the event's re-entry rule allows it, and the scanner shows “Welcome back”. The re-entry window counts from the first admission, not from when the person left.
Exit
Lets a ticket that is inside out, so it can come back. “Not admitted” means the ticket never came in, and “Already let out” that it is already outside. Neither changes anything. If the ticket has a party still inside, the scanner offers to let the rest out together.
Pause
Only checks that the ticket is valid, for example at a closed door during a break. Nobody is let in or out, and nothing about the ticket changes.
The stats bar shows Inside now next to Checked in: how many are admitted and have not left since. Exit and pause need a connection. Offline the scanner shows Needs a connection, and only Admit works offline.
The scanned-in counter
Under the camera the scanner shows Scanned in (advisory): how many tickets have been scanned in, plus or minus what door staff have counted by hand. It updates live on every scanner at the event and on the scanner dashboard.
- Use + and − to count someone who came in without a scan, such as a guest-list name, staff or a re-entry, or to correct the figure. Each tap counts one person.
- Pick a reason first if you like: Guest list, Staff or crew, Re-entry or Correction. The figure under the number shows how many were scanned and how many were added or removed by hand.
- The count cannot go below zero. Every manual change is recorded with who made it and when; undo a wrong tap with the opposite button.
- The counter is a guide only. It is not the official fire-safety count: use your venue's own count for safety decisions.
The counter needs a connection; it is not shown while the scanner is offline. Owners, admins and staff can change it.
Frequently asked questions
Which plan includes the ticket scanner?
It's a paid add-on — check Billing → Plans to see which plan includes it, or upgrade directly from there. Anyone trying to scan before it's active sees an upgrade prompt instead of the scanner.
Can I limit someone to only scanning, not managing tickets?
Yes — that's exactly what a custom scanner-only role is for. Create a role with just the “Access ticket scanner” permission and assign it instead of (or alongside, then remove) the default Staff role.
Does the scanner work without an internet connection?
Yes. Install the scanner on the device and open it once while online with the event selected — after that it keeps admitting people with no network at all, deciding on the device and sending the admissions when the connection returns. See Scanner offline & install for the setup.
What if a ticket's QR code won't scan?
Use manual entry — tap the manual-entry option in the scanner and type the ticket code. It's validated exactly the same way as a camera scan.