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Attendance Tracking

Overview​

The Attendance module lets you track who shows up to every service — Sunday mornings, midweek Bible study, prayer meetings, or any other gathering. Shepherd supports multiple check-in methods so your team can use whatever works best for your church.

Screenshot

📸 [Screenshot: Attendance screen showing live check-in list and service selector]

Setting Up Services​

Before you can record attendance, you need to create your Services (the recurring gatherings you want to track).

  1. Go to Settings → Attendance
  2. Under Services, click + Add Service
  3. Fill in:
    • Service Name — e.g. "Sunday Morning Service", "Wednesday Bible Study"
    • Service Type — Sunday Service, Midweek, Prayer Meeting, etc.
    • Day of Week — which day it occurs
    • Start Time — e.g. 09:00
    • Branch (optional) — for multi-branch churches
  4. Click Save

Recording Attendance​

Go to Attendance in the sidebar. You'll see:

  • A service selector at the top — pick the service you're recording
  • A date picker — defaults to today
  • A live check-in list — everyone checked in so far

Method 1: Manual Search & Check-In​

The most common method for front-desk staff:

  1. Go to Attendance
  2. Select the service from the dropdown
  3. In the search box, type a member's name, phone, or Member ID
  4. Click their name in the results
  5. They're instantly checked in ✅

Shepherd prevents double check-ins — if someone is already checked in, they'll be marked with a ✅ in the search results.

Screenshot

📸 [Screenshot: Manual check-in search showing name results and the check-in button]

Method 2: QR Code / WhatsApp Self Check-In (Growing plan and above)​

Shepherd generates a 4-digit rotating code for each service. Members check themselves in via WhatsApp.

For the church admin:

  1. Go to Attendance → select the service
  2. Click Show Check-In Code — a 4-digit code appears (e.g. 4829)
  3. Display this code on a screen at the entrance
  4. The code rotates automatically every few minutes

For the member:

  1. On service day, send the 4-digit code to your church's WhatsApp number
  2. Shepherd replies: "✅ Checked in to Sunday Morning Service! You're #47 today. God bless!"

💡 Code rotation period is configurable in Settings → Attendance.

Method 3: Quick Add (Bulk Check-In)​

For when you have a paper register and want to check in multiple people at once:

  1. Go to Attendance → click Quick Add
  2. Search and select multiple members
  3. Click Check In All

Method 4: Walk-In / First-Timer​

If someone is attending for the first time:

  1. Click + Add New Member from the attendance screen
  2. Fill in their basic details (name + phone minimum)
  3. They're added to the database with Visitor status and checked in immediately

Viewing Today's Attendance​

InfoDescription
Total checked inLive count of people at today's service
First-timersCount of members with Visitor status
Check-in listNames, check-in time, and method
Remove buttonUndo a check-in if it was a mistake

Past Attendance​

  1. Go to Attendance
  2. Use the date picker to select any past date
  3. Select a service — records for that date load automatically

Member Attendance History​

  1. Go to Members → open a member's profile
  2. Click the Attendance tab
  3. See every service they've attended with dates and check-in method

Plan Requirements​

FeatureMinimum Plan
Manual check-inAll plans (including Free)
QR code / WhatsApp self check-inGrowing plan and above
Attendance exportAll plans
Past attendance viewAll plans

Tips​

  • ✅ Train your front-desk team on manual search — it's the fastest method for most churches
  • ✅ Display the check-in code prominently at the entrance for self check-in
  • ✅ Check in first-timers immediately — their visitor status triggers Journey notifications automatically