A check-in system has one job: to tell the front desk, in a second, whether the person walking in is in order. If that answer depends on a website, it disappears with the connection, at exactly the moment there is a queue at the door.
In Studio the check-in is part of the offline gym management software itself. Memberships, entry passes and medical certificates live in the same local database, so each pass is checked against them on the spot, without asking any server. The result is green or red, a red result says why on the front-desk screen, and the pass is recorded anyway: the decision stays with your staff.
There is nothing to buy beyond the program, which costs €199 once. A USB QR scanner and an entrance tablet are optional: you can start by typing names at the desk.
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QR card and PIN
created automatically for every member; print the card or send it by WhatsApp or email.
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USB scanner, no setup
a QR scanner plugged into the PC types into the check-in field like a keyboard.
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Tablet on the local network
an Android tablet or iPad at the entrance, connected to the PC over Wi-Fi, no internet.
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A queue when the PC is off
with the Studio certificate installed, the tablet stores passes and sends them later with the right time.
Three ways to check in
Every member gets a QR code and a six-digit PIN, created automatically. You find them in the member record, where you can print a card with name, QR and PIN, save the QR as an image, or open WhatsApp or your mail program with a ready-made message. If a card is lost or copied, you regenerate the QR and the old one stops working immediately.
- At the front desk, by hand: type part of the name, the phone number or the PIN and press Enter.
- At the front desk, with a scanner: a USB QR scanner works like a keyboard, so with the cursor in the search field you just scan the card.
- At the entrance, on a tablet: members show their QR to the tablet’s camera or type their PIN on the keypad.
How the entrance tablet works without internet
Any Android tablet or iPad with a front camera will do. It must be on the same network as the front-desk PC, the same Wi-Fi or the same wired network, and the PC must be on with Studio open. You switch on Tablet at the entrance in the settings, show a pairing QR on the PC, scan it with the tablet and give the device a name, such as “Main entrance”. There is no account to create and nothing to install from an app store.
When everything is in order the tablet greets the member by first name, in green. When something is wrong it shows “Please see the front desk” in red, without giving the reason in front of other people: the reason appears on the front-desk screen. After five wrong PINs in a minute the keypad pauses for a minute.
If the PC is switched off or the network drops, a tablet with the Studio certificate installed keeps going: it queues the passes, shows how many are pending and sends them, with the right time, as soon as the PC is reachable again. Installing the certificate is a one-off step, described in the check-in and tablet chapter of the manual.
What a check-in checks
Each pass is compared with what the program already knows about the member:
- a valid membership or entry pass: with a 10-entry pass, every check-in uses one entry and the record shows how many are left, such as “7 of 10”
- a medical certificate that is present and in date
- check-in or check-out: the first pass of the day is a check-in, the next one a check-out, and two passes less than a minute apart count as one
What you get from check-ins
Inside now lists who has checked in and not yet checked out. Today’s passes lists every pass with its source, front desk, QR, PIN or tablet, and a pass recorded by mistake can be undone.
With Class attendance from check-ins switched on, a member who checks in from 30 minutes before a class they booked until its end is marked present, so nobody has to tick a register. A finished class with a booking but no check-in counts as a no-show.
The monthly report counts check-ins and the average stay, and check-ins feed the list of members at risk of leaving: someone who comes in half as often as in the previous weeks, or has not been in for 14 days with nothing booked, shows up there before their membership runs out.
What it does not do
Studio flags; it does not lock. It does not control turnstiles, door locks or gates, and members identify themselves with a QR code or a PIN, not with key fobs or RFID cards. Entrance tablets connect only to the gym’s main PC, on its own network. If you need unstaffed 24-hour access, you need an access control system, which Studio does not replace.
What you need
The check-in is included in Studio; the rest is optional:
- cronowiz Studio on a PC with Windows 10 or 11 or 64-bit Linux
- optional: a USB QR scanner for the front desk
- optional: an Android tablet or iPad with a front camera, on the same network as the PC
- on Windows, network access for Studio allowed on Private networks when you switch on the tablet
Your gym in one program. Your data in your gym.
Windows and Linux · €199 once, no subscription
The questions people usually ask
Does the check-in tablet need an internet connection?
No. It connects to the front-desk PC over the gym’s local network, Wi-Fi or cable. The internet is not involved.
What happens if the PC is switched off?
A tablet with the Studio certificate installed queues the passes and sends them with the right time when the PC is back. Without the certificate, the tablet needs the PC to be on.
Which QR scanner do I need?
A USB QR scanner that works as a keyboard, which is how most of them work out of the box. With the cursor in the check-in field, scanning a card is the same as typing.
Can the tablet open a door or a turnstile?
No. Studio records passes and flags who is not in order; it does not control turnstiles, locks or gates.
Does check-in work with entry passes?
Yes. Every check-in during the pass period uses one entry. When the entries run out the pass is used up, and the next check-in is flagged.
Is the check-in system sold separately?
No. It is part of cronowiz Studio, which costs €199 once with no subscription.