The Gate app for gate volunteers, working without signal
SmartMy Events Gate is the gate alone, for phones you hand to volunteers: scan, find a ticket, check in by hand and see the count. It keeps scanning when the signal drops and sends the scans when it is back. Nothing else is in it.
PLANSEvery plan
Built and in testing, not in the app stores yet.
The problem it solves
- The school ground has no signal at the gate, and the scanner app stops.
- A volunteer's phone with the full staff app opens the counter and the sales figures.
- Scans made offline are lost when the phone is switched off.
How it works
- The volunteer signs in with the organisation's address, login and password, or a passkey. The app opens on the scanner.
- Under Events they see only the events they may scan for, with the session, their gate and the count. Tapping a session downloads its tickets: the line says On the phone for offline.
- They scan. With signal the server answers. If it does not answer within 6 seconds, the phone decides from its list and says Checked on the phone (no signal).
- Offline shows Offline mode and how many scans wait. The phone retries every 20 seconds and sends them by itself; Send now sends at once.
- Someone who is gate staff of no event gets one page saying so, and nothing else.
Everything it does
What the Gate app has
- Gate: the scanner, Find a ticket, Check in by hand with a reason, Coming in and Going out when re-entry is on, the count
- Events: the events the person may scan for, the session, The gate I am at, and Count by ticket type and gate
- Offline: Download for offline, Refresh, Send now, Remove, and what waits to be sent
- No buying, no counter, no add-ons, no figures, nothing of the organiser
Working without signal
- The session's tickets are downloaded when the session is picked; Refresh fetches only what changed
- Without signal every scan, accepted or refused, is decided on the phone and queued with its own id, so the server takes it once
- Search without signal looks only in the list on the phone
- Scans are timed with the server's clock, taken at the download
- Not sent in red means scans are on the phone only: do not sign out or remove the app
- Started again without signal, the app asks to sign in, which needs signal: keep it open during the event
When two phones are offline
- Two phones without signal can each let the same ticket in; this is not stopped
- It is shown afterwards as a duplicate on the Offline page and to the organiser
- Some scans a phone accepted the server would have refused, such as a ticket cancelled after the last refresh. These are marked Let in against the Rules (offline)
What the phone keeps
- Each ticket's code as a hash, number, type, seat, holder and buyer name, order number and the last four digits of the mobile
- Kept per server, database and user, also after signing out; Remove on Offline takes an old session's list off
Who uses it
Gate volunteerScans at one gate on a phone handed to them.
Event organiserNames the gate staff and reads duplicates and offline conflicts in Events > Check-ins.
Event managerCan also use the Gate app for any event of the Entity.
Where you use it
- The SmartMy Events Gate app on Android and iOS, phone and tablet (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- The same gate is in the SmartMy Events app for staff who also sell or organise
- Not in the Gate app: handing over add-ons, and My approvals
What you control
Settings
- Gate staff and gates: per event, on the web
- Re-entry: per event, off to start with
Questions
What happens when the signal drops?
Scanning goes on against the list on the phone. Scans wait on the phone and are sent by themselves when the signal is back.Can the same ticket get in twice?
Only when two phones are both without signal. It is not stopped, but it is shown afterwards as a duplicate. Refresh the list while you have signal.Why a separate app?
So that a phone handed to a volunteer has only the gate. Nobody can open the counter, the figures or the buyers' details from it.Is it in the app stores?
Not yet. It is built and in testing, not in the app stores yet.Related features
AT THE GATEQR tickets checked in at the gateEvery paid or complimentary ticket carries a QR code. Gate staff scan it with a phone; the screen turns green with the name and seat, or red with the reason. Each ticket lets one person in, once.AT THE GATENamed gates, re-entry, check-in by hand and a live countName your gates and choose whether people may go out and come back. Let someone in by name when their phone is dead. Watch how many have come in, by ticket type and by gate, while the event runs.PHONE APPSThe SmartMy Events app for buyers and staffOne app for both sides. Buyers find events, buy with the seat map and keep their tickets on the phone. Staff check tickets in, sell at the counter, hand over add-ons, give complimentary tickets and decide stall applications, each as their role allows.AT THE GATEOrganisers and gate staff named per eventEach event names its organisers, gate staff and counter sellers. Each person sees only the events they are named on, and only what their job needs. Gate staff see tickets but no money, and sellers see only their own sales.
See your next event on it.
Tell us what you are running, how many people come and how you sell today. We will set up the event with you on SmartMy Events.