Event check-in software for events smaller than a conference.
BadgeBird is an event check-in system built for 50 to 150 person events: industry fairs, open houses, partner days and customer events. Print a QR badge for every attendee, scan them in at the door and in each session, and let your vendor partners capture leads — all from the phones everyone already carries.
What it does, in one paragraph.
An event check-in system replaces the paper sign-in sheet with a scan. Each attendee gets a badge carrying a unique QR code. Your team opens the scanner on a phone, reads the code, and that attendee is marked as arrived with a timestamp. Do the same at the door of each session and you have attendance records, not just a headcount.
BadgeBird adds what usually sits in three separate tools: badge printing, session check-in and vendor lead capture, plus the reporting that ties them together. There is no hardware to rent and nothing for attendees to install.
Numbers from TechFair 2026 at The Knotts Company.
The check-in process, start to finish.
Three steps, and only one of them happens on event day.
Before the event
Your registration list comes in from your sign-up form or a CSV. Every attendee gets a QR-coded badge, and I send you print-ready badges on standard sheets. Staff and vendor partners get a personal login code.
On event day
Staff scan badges at the door with their own phones, and again as people enter each session. Partners scan badges at their booth, rate each lead and add notes. Late sign-ups are handled with a same-day print batch.
After the event
Attendance, session turnout and show rate are already recorded. Each partner's lead list is a download or an email sent from the app, and attendee data is deleted on your timeline.
What to look for in an event check-in system.
Whether you pick BadgeBird or something else, these are the questions worth asking before you commit.
- Check-in that runs on the phones your team already owns, with no scanner hardware to rent, charge or return.
- A printed badge with a QR code, because the badge is what gets scanned at the door, in each session and at every booth.
- Session-level attendance, not just a door count, so continuing-education credits and room capacity are easy to report.
- Vendor access without accounts and passwords. Most booth staff will not create a login for a one-day event.
- A real export: attendance and lead data as CSV, email or a download, not a report locked inside a dashboard.
- A written answer on what happens to attendee data, agreed before the event rather than buried in a policy page.
- Setup done for you, or at minimum a walkthrough for your team that happens before event morning.
How it compares to the other two options.
Most organizers end up choosing between a free check-in app that grows into paid tiers, and a conference platform built for thousands of people. Here is what each one usually gets you.
| BadgeBird | Free check-in apps | Big conference platforms | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Per event, setup work included | Free tier, then per-scanner or per-attendee upgrades | Annual contract, usually quoted per thousand attendees |
| What attendees need | A printed badge with a QR code | Usually an app, ticket wallet or email login | A ticketing account, often an attendee app |
| Badge printing | Built in, print-ready, standard badge sheets | Basic, or added on separately | An add-on or a paid partner |
| Session attendance | Included, one scan per room | Limited or single-room only | Included, at enterprise pricing |
| Vendor lead capture | Included, with notes and ratings | Rarely offered | A separate module or license |
| Hardware | The phones your team already carries | Phones, sometimes rented scanners | Rented scanners, charged per device |
| Who sets it up | I do, before your event | You do, in a self-serve dashboard | An onboarding project over several weeks |
Comparisons reflect what these tool types typically include, not one specific product.
Want to see it on your event?
Tell me your event date and how many people you expect, and I'll show you the check-in flow end to end.