Self-service Check-in Stations
Register and configure a shared tablet for parent self-service child check-in, checkout, new-family registration, and label printing.
A Check-in Station is a shared tablet—such as an iPad—running a focused parent check-in experience in the Lightpost mobile app. It stays registered to your Lightpost account without leaving a staff or member signed in.
Parents can identify their family, see each child's current check-in state, complete the available action, and print approved labels. The station does not show the staff list of currently checked-in children or other administrative child details.
Create a station
In the Lightpost web app, open Account Settings > Check-in Stations.
Select Create Station.
Enter a name that identifies the device or its location.
Create and confirm the station's six-digit Options PIN.
Select a compatible registered printer if this station will print labels.
Configure the station's lookup, checkout, registration, printing, and privacy options.
Save the station and copy its four-digit registration code.
The registration code can be used once and expires after four hours. It only connects the device to the station you created; parents do not use this code during check-in.
A registered station cannot be paired to a different device or registered again. To replace or move the device, delete the station in Account Settings and create a new one.
Register the tablet
You do not need to sign in to the Lightpost app before registering the station.
Open the Lightpost app to the sign-in screen.
Tap the lower-left corner three times to open Device Options.
Select Register Check-in Station.
Enter the four-digit registration code from Account Settings.
After registration, the app opens the station and remembers it on that device. If you later return to the regular sign-in screen, open Device Options again and select Return to Check-in Station.
Update the app before signing in
Device Options also includes Check for Updates. This lets you download an available Lightpost app update and restart the app without signing in. The same update option is available from the station's locked options screen.
Choose what parents can use
Each station is configured independently in Account Settings > Check-in Stations.
Enabled
Whether this registered device may operate as a Check-in Station. A disabled station tells the user it is disabled.
Station open
Temporarily opens or closes parent check-in without deleting or unpairing the station.
QR code scanning
Shows the always-active scanner for current Lightpost fast check-in and pickup codes.
Phone lookup
Lets a parent enter the ten-digit phone number stored for a member or a previously entered guardian. No text-message verification is sent.
Username lookup
Lets a parent enter an exact Lightpost username.
Allow “I'm new” registration
Lets a new family create a guardian and one or more child check-in profiles.
Checkout policy
Disables checkout or allows it by pickup QR code, an authorized phone/username lookup, or either method.
Scanner instructions
Adds a custom note near the scanner, such as “The camera is behind the device.”
Labels parents may print
Chooses which labels are offered after a family is found.
Print automatically after check-in
Starts label printing after a successful check-in.
Labels printed automatically
Chooses the labels included in automatic printing. This selection is separate from the labels parents may choose themselves.
Require printer for check-in
Prevents check-in when the configured printer is known to be unavailable.
Privacy reset
Returns the station to its starting screen after the selected number of idle seconds.
You can enable QR scanning, phone lookup, username lookup, and new-family registration in any combination that fits the location. Email lookup is not available.
Parent check-in and checkout
The starting screen keeps the QR scanner active when scanning is enabled and shows the other identification choices configured for the station.
After a QR scan, phone lookup, or username lookup, the station displays the family's children and their current state:
A child who is not checked in can be checked in.
A child who is already checked in can be checked out when the station's checkout policy allows it.
A family with children in different states can check one child in and another out from the same result.
Available labels can be printed again without creating another check-in.
The station prevents a second check-in when a child is already checked in. If a phone number or username matches more than one record, the station asks the family to get help rather than choosing a record automatically.
Phone lookup
Parents enter the ten-digit phone number associated with their family. No formatting or country code is needed. Lookup is limited to eligible member and guardian phone records within the station's Lightpost account.
New families
When Allow “I'm new” registration is enabled, a parent can enter guardian information and add one or more children. The guardian is not opted into text messages automatically. Pickup authorization starts turned off, but the person registering can choose to allow that guardian to pick up the children.
If the phone number already belongs to a family in the account, the station does not create a duplicate. The parent can return and use phone lookup instead. New-family registration does not send a text-message verification code.
Printing labels
The station supports three label choices:
Child label for the child to wear. The child's label does not contain the pickup QR code.
Parent label for matching the parent or guardian at pickup.
Fast check-in card for future family check-ins.
Labels parents may print and Labels printed automatically are intentionally separate. For example, a station can automatically print child and parent labels after check-in while still offering a fast check-in card on request. If automatic printing is enabled, select at least one automatic label.
When printing fails after check-in, the check-in remains complete and the station reports the printing problem so the labels can be tried again. Enable Require printer for check-in if the station should stop before check-in whenever the printer is known to be unavailable.
See Lightpost Print for registering printers and choosing between local and Internet Printing.
Open Station Options on the tablet
Station Options are intentionally hidden from the parent workflow.
From the station's main screen, tap the lower-left corner three times.
Enter the station's six-digit Options PIN.
The PIN allows a trusted attendant to:
Select a compatible printer registered to the same account.
Change Labels parents may print.
Turn automatic printing on or off.
Change Labels printed automatically.
Return to the regular Lightpost sign-in screen without unregistering the station.
The PIN does not allow someone at the tablet to change identification methods, checkout policy, new-family registration, printer requirements, or the other risk-bearing settings. Those remain in Account Settings.
Refresh station settings
After changing a station in the web app, tap the hidden upper-right corner of the station screen once. A notification confirms whether the latest station configuration was refreshed or could not be loaded.
The station also clears family results after its configured idle timeout and whenever the app moves to the background.
Troubleshooting
The registration code does not work
Confirm that all four digits were entered before the code's four-hour expiration. A code cannot be reused after it registers a device. If the registered device must be replaced, delete the station and create a new one.
A web setting is not showing on the tablet
Tap the hidden upper-right corner of the main station screen once to refresh the configuration. The app displays a success or failure notification.
A family cannot be found
Confirm that the lookup method is enabled and that the phone number or exact username belongs to the same Lightpost account. A duplicate phone number or username cannot be selected automatically and requires help from an attendant.
Check-in worked, but labels did not print
Use Print Labels from the family results to try again. Then unlock Station Options to confirm the selected printer, or review the registered printer's connection in Account Settings. If printing must succeed before check-in, enable Require printer for check-in.
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