How to run the door at a drop-in class
Run the door of a drop-in class with one list of names and one question per person: how did you pay? Tap the name, tap cash, card, pass or IOU, and that tap is both the check-in and the payment record. The price is already on the button, so nobody does maths in the queue. New people scan a QR code and sign up on their own phone; a regular who forgot their pass card gets an IOU and settles it next visit; and at the end of the night the cash in the tin is checked against what the list says it should hold.
Before the first person arrives
- Open tonight's class on the phone, with today's date already chosen. If the hall runs two classes back to back, have both rolls one tap apart, in start-time order.
- Record who is teaching (and who is on the desk, if you pay for that). It takes five seconds now and saves an argument at pay time. If nobody records it, the class's cost has to be estimated.
- Put the sign-up QR code on the desk, printed or on a second phone. New people can be filling in the form while you check regulars in.
- Know tonight's prices. Normal night: the usual drop-in price and the pass. Band night or a social: a different price, and maybe "no passes tonight". Set it once on the class, not in your head.
The queue: one tap for who, one tap for how
Regulars at this venue should be at the top of the list, everyone else a tab away, and a search box for the rest. Tap the name. The screen shows how that person can pay tonight, with the price on each button:
| They say | The door does |
|---|---|
| Cash | Takes the money, puts it in the tin, taps Cash. The tin's expected total goes up by that amount. |
| Card | Runs it through your own terminal, taps Card. The night's card total is later checked against the terminal. |
| Pass | Shows the pass as a punch card, one circle per class. Tap the next empty circle. If a couple shares one pass, the door picks the partner's pass from the list. A staff comp pass can only be used by its owner. |
| IOU | For a regular who forgot their pass card. The class counts tonight; the pass is punched next visit. |
| Discount or deal | If a rule applies ("came to Beginner tonight, so Intermediate is half price"), the discounted price is a button too, with the reason written under it so the door can say why. |
| Free trial, comp, volunteer | Zero-price buttons, so the person is counted and the reason recorded. |
That second tap is the whole transaction. There is no "confirm", no second screen and no total to type. If the door tapped the wrong person, cancel leaves them unmarked; if someone is marked by mistake, un-marking them gives a few seconds of undo instead of an "are you sure?".
The people who make the queue slow
- The new person. Point at the QR code. Their form (name, mobile, emergency contact, the waiver, the code of conduct) is done on their phone, and they appear at the top of the roll with the waiver signed. If they have no phone with them, open the same form on yours and hand it over. If they refuse both, add them by name, read the agreements out, and record that they agreed out loud.
- The regular who forgot their card. IOU. Don't take cash from someone who has already paid.
- The couple with one pass. One pass, two people, two punches. The pass belongs to one of them; the other uses it from the list of passes of people present tonight.
- "I've already had a free trial." The roll should show a badge for someone whose only visits were free trials, so the door can make the call without looking anything up. It is a badge, not a block: the door decides.
- "Don't film me." A badge on the name, visible to the teacher before the phone comes out.
After the last person
- Count the tin if cash was taken, and compare with what it should hold: last count, plus cash taken tonight (including pass sales), minus any cash paid out. "Exact", "short $5" or "over $10", written down the same night. See cash tin counts.
- Add any one-off cost to the night: the band, the hired PA.
- Check the teacher count. "Teachers 2 of 2" means the night will cost what you expect. "1 of 2" means someone will be unpaid or the report will estimate.
Paper, spreadsheet or app
A paper sheet is fast at the door and useless afterwards: nobody adds it up, pass balances live on the cards, and the month's profit is a guess. A spreadsheet is accurate afterwards and slow at the door: someone is scrolling and typing while the queue waits, and it can't tell the door that this person's pass is used up. An app built for the door does both, if it is built for the door: names first, one tap per payment, prices on the buttons, no maths. The comparison is in ClassMetrix vs a paper sign-in sheet and vs a spreadsheet.
Run a class night in the demo
Open the demo studio and check someone in: a name, then how they paid. Try a shared pass and an IOU. No sign-up.
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Questions
What is the fastest way to take the door at a drop-in class?
One list of names, and one question per person: how did you pay? Tap the name, tap cash, card, pass or IOU, done. Anything that needs a second screen, a search in a spreadsheet, or maths in someone's head slows the queue. The door person should never have to work out a price.
How do I handle someone who forgot their pass card?
Let them in and write down that they owe one class on their pass. Don't take cash from a regular who has already paid for the class, and don't hold up the queue hunting for the card. Settle it next visit by taking the class off the pass then. ClassMetrix calls this an IOU and prompts the door to settle it the next time the person is checked in.
Do I need a card terminal?
If you want to take card payments, yes, your own. Most studios use a Square, Zettle, Tyro or bank terminal. ClassMetrix records that someone paid by card so the night's card total can be checked against the terminal; it does not process the payment itself.
How do new people sign up without holding up the line?
A QR code on the desk that opens a short form on their own phone: name, mobile, emergency contact, and the waiver and code of conduct to agree to. They appear at the top of the roll with the waiver signed, and the door just checks them in.