Why choose an online attendance register as opposed to a ‘normal’ one?

Many of the problems associated with normal attendance registers simply go away when you use an attendance register online. Whether it’s an attendance register app, attendance register software or an online attendance register, they all offer the same functionality of more traditional register formats and a lot more besides.

Using printed of computer-based templates such as Word, Excel or PDF can only do a fraction of the things that digital registers can. Why? Well these traditional attendance registers (use this as anchor text and link to the first article) are effectively just simple forms. That is to say that, in most cases, all you do is fill them in and save out copies of them.

In most cases, you can’t use them to get useful data like attendance levels, class or session popularity or performance data. They are difficult to link to other aspects of your admin or people management too. Things like people’s medical information, detailed next of kin info, money and payments, or maybe even emails or text message you may have sent to people.

What’s in it for me if I use an online attendance register?

With online attendance registers and register software you will get:

• Easy to fill in and file away registers
• Tighter security of the data and personal information you collect
• Better GDPR compliance
• Improved safeguarding of children
• happier helpers and staff
• completely away from paper registers and manual filing

... and most importantly, reduced time, hassle and stress with your admin!

Are there bad apps or attendance register software out there?

Yes, very much so, so please be careful! If you’re putting an app on to your mobile device, whatever you do make sure you download it from your official app store (Apple App Store or Google Play). Never download any kind of attendance app directly from a company’s website – or any other type of app for that matter.

With SaaS it’s usually safe to sign up from the company’s website, but again be careful and make sure they have a good reputation and are legitimate. At the very least, make sure their sales website is secure by looking for and then clicking on the padlock in the web address bar. You should see a ‘connection secure’ message like the below:

Aside from security, not all apps and software are created equally. With a lot of free apps there are many downside or trade-offs to be mindful of. These include:

• data security and breaching GDRP – where is the data stored? Who has access to it? How safe is it?
• Often complex and misleading small print giving the people that make it access to things you may not want them to have, such as all of the contacts and messages on your phone
• Usually full of advertising – not only annoying for you, but especially annoying for any attendees that you have that may use the app also
• Poor maintenance or irregularly updated which ties into the app or software’s security
• Usually a very poor design and a hard to use interface

7 signs of a good attendance register app, register software or digital registers

A good attendance register app should be:

1. First and foremost, very easy to set up and use!
2. Reliable, secure and user friendly (for you, your staff and your attendees)
3. Have useful stats that show attendance levels for both individuals and classes, sessions or events
4. Highlight who your ‘star’ people are (and allow you to see those that could do with extra encouragement)
5. Tie into other areas of your admin such as your attendees payments (or often lack of) for instance so that you can you see at any point in time who is all paid up and who isn’t
6. Have notices that people can see when they login and different notices for different users (for example staff, or attendees themselves)
7. Show the events or sessions you have in your timetable and be something attendees can book on to there and then

How does pulling attendance info together help me?

Pulling together stats like this means that you can easily see how well your organisation is doing at any point in time so there won’t be any hidden or sudden surprises. If there any problems (low attendance levels, people not paying, and possible safeguarding issues to name but a few) you can spot them early and deal with them.

Just think how useful it would be to see that a Tuesday night works better than a Friday night? Or as a result of poor attendance or people simply not paying you if you’re actually losing money without even knowing it!

How can I get more from an attendance register app / software?

Using a decent attendance register app / software should be more than just a ‘ticking a box’ in terms of admin and compliance. The benefits of taking digital registers are truly amazing.

In addition to the points mentioned above, there’s such a lot of information that you can get from an app / software that you simply can’t get from the old-fashioned printed versions or Word, Excel or PDF templates. Way much more!

Wouldn’t you like to see meaningful stats that will help you see where your organisation is succeeding and growing and maybe even where you’re falling little short? Whilst it’s great to see the sessions and attendees that are performing well, it can also be useful to see those classes or events that aren’t that well attended or those attendees you may need a bit of a push or extra attention to get the best out of them.

Can I record safeguarding concerns in digital registers or class register software?

In an ideal world this would be built into all attendance registers, apps and software.

Unfortunately, though, it isn’t. One thing to be mindful of here when looking at different platforms is how the personal data is accessed by parents / guardians. Under GDPR, people can make a ‘data access request’ and as a result you have to give them a copy of the personal data you have on that individual. So, you need to make sure any app or attendance register software you use has this ability.

Here’s a good example of what this should look like:

https://www.coacha.co.uk/More/GDPR-in-Sport/Compliance-Club-Management-Software#Question05

How about if it’s the parent / guardian that we think is the abuser?

Any safeguarding concerns you record next to an individual need to be excluded from the personal data you pass on to a parent / guardian if you suspect they or someone they are associated with, such as their partner, are the abuser.

Under GDPR this is advised because if the abuser sees the comments (ie a parent / guardian) you could be putting them in greater danger. It may be that the parent / guardian may stop them from attending your sessions or classes and the abuse will go on undetected.

In the better apps and software out there, these notes will be timestamped so you can keep track of any concerns. You can then use this safeguarding feature to act as a trigger for your organisations safeguarding polices and protocols to kick in and also evidence should it be needed by the authorities.

If I switch to a digital easy register, it will be complicated and time consuming won’t it?

Not at all. Not if you choose the right easy attendance register in the first place.

The better apps and software out there have easy registers that can be put together in a matter of minutes. Make sure you use something that automatically generates registers for you, and also one that has a ‘recurring classes’ feature so that you can set it up once and then leave it to do its thing.

What if I don’t have all of the info I need on my current system?

You could send out emails and try and pull the missing info together manually, but this is very time consuming. In addition, you know what people are like with replying to emails – it usually falls to the bottom of their to dos list quite quickly.

So, a good feature to keep an eye out for in any software or app for attendance register is a sign-up form. We cover these in this ‘sign up form’ article as they can save you so much time in getting up and running it’s unbelievable.

If you don’t have all of the info you need on your current database / spreadsheet (or if you’re starting from scratch), you should be able to send your people a link to your sign up form. Once received, they can then add their missing data in for you. All you will need is the most basic info (ie names and email address) and you’ll be well on your way to getting everyone onboard.

Once they have filled in their info, you then only need to approve them and accept them into your organisation. With a good quality attendance register app/software, you should then be able to add people to your digital registers in a matter of just a few clicks or taps on your screen.

Attendance Register Software FREE Download

Whether you’re looking for a club, society, association or school attendance register software free download then we have you covered. You can get completely free registers using Coacha’s Free for Life Lite Version. What’s more you can download our free attendance register app too which is available for both iOS and Android, again, totally free for life.

All you need to do is sign up for a trial of Coaha (we don’t ask for any card details or anything like that) and just use the classes and registers functionality. As part of the free trial period, you get unlimited access to all of Coacha, but you don’t have to use it. Just use the classes and registers feature – it’s as easy as that!

You can find out more if you << click here >> (link to lite / free for life page – make a button or better feature if you want – doesn’t have to just be a hyperlink).

People who read this article also found these articles useful:

· Attendance registers