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PocketSuite’s Check-In Workflow turns today’s single-tap check-in into a guided, multi-step process that makes sure nothing gets missed before a client’s appointment starts. Instead of just recording that a client arrived, Check-In now walks you through anything still outstanding on the booking, missing fields, incomplete forms, unsigned contracts, expired documents, no card on file, or an unpaid check-in payment, so every requirement is resolved (or knowingly overridden) before service begins. If nothing’s outstanding, check-in still works exactly like it always has: one tap.

This is especially valuable for boarding, daycare, grooming, and training businesses that need vaccine records, waivers, or other paperwork on file before they can accept a client, but it works for any Pro who wants a consistent, auditable check-in process.

You’ll find the setting that controls Check-In Workflow at Settings > Scheduling > Check-in Status. This setting is visible to SuperAdmins only.

Setting up Check-In on your account

Check-In Workflow is controlled by the Check-in Status setting, found at Settings > Scheduling, directly below Confirmation Status. There are three options:

• Already checked in (default for existing accounts): The Check-In flow is turned off. Check-in behaves exactly as it does today, a single tap that records arrival with no enforcement.
• Only if requirements: The Check-In button opens the multi-step flow only when a booking actually has something outstanding. If there’s nothing to resolve, tapping Check-In completes it in a single step.
• Always: The Check-In flow opens every time, even when nothing is outstanding, so you get a consistent step-by-step record on every booking.

Two-tier required fields

Client fields now support two levels of “required,” so you can collect information without forcing every field to block a booking.

Go to Settings > Client Fields to set the required behavior when you create or edit a field. For fields that have Booking selected in Show field on record, the old Required toggle is replaced with a Required dropdown that has three options:

• Not Required: The field is optional.
• Required at Booking: Blocks checkout until the client answers. This matches today’s existing Required behavior exactly.
• Required Before Check-In: Lets checkout complete with the field left blank, but tracks it as outstanding. The client can finish booking, and you (or the client, remotely) resolve the field before or during Check-In.

What happens during Check-In

When you tap Check-In on a booking with outstanding items, the flow walks through them one step at a time, in this order:

1. Required Fields: Text, select, and other input fields set to Required Before Check-In (and any Required at Booking fields still unanswered).
2. Forms: Any attached form that isn’t completed, or has expired per its Always Require setting.
3. Documents: File upload fields with expiration, like vaccine records or waivers.
4. Card on File: Only if the booking requires one and the client doesn’t already have a card saved.
5. Contracts: Any attached contract the client hasn’t signed.
6. Payment: Only if a check-in payment amount is configured on the item.

A step with nothing outstanding is skipped automatically. If nothing at all is outstanding on the booking, Check-In stays a single tap, exactly as it works today. You can back out of the flow at any point without losing progress; reopening Check-In on the same booking picks up where you left off.

Documents step

Documents with expiration dates, like vaccine records, show their expiration date directly on the field:

• Yellow when the document is expiring within 30 days.
• Red when the document has already expired.

You can resolve an outstanding document by:

• Uploading in person from your own device, with an expiration date if applicable.
• Sending the client a link so they upload it themselves.
• Marking it Manually Reviewed, if your account has that permission.
• Overriding and proceeding, if your role allows it.

Manual Review is a per-field setting available only on file upload fields. When a field has the Manual Review flag turned on, a document uploaded to that field isn’t considered resolved until a team member marks it reviewed. Only team members with the Allow Manual Review permission can do that; a SuperAdmin grants this permission on individual team member accounts.

Check-In Payment

Check-In Payment Amount is an item-level field available on reservation items and service items (it’s not available on classes). It sits directly below the existing Deposit Amount field wherever you configure an item.

A few things to know:

• The check-in payment is charged during the Payment step of the Check-In flow, using the client’s card on file.
• The amount is fixed. There’s no keypad and no tip collected at this step; the amount charged is whatever you configured on the item.
• Tapping Charge processes the payment, but it does NOT automatically check the client out. Check-Out (typically Complete and Charge) is a separate action you take later, and it doesn’t automatically collect the check-in payment either. These are two intentionally separate actions.

Sending the client a link

At any step in the Check-In flow, you can send the client a link instead of resolving something in person. Tap Send client a link, and the client gets a message through their preferred notification channel with a link to a screen on the booking widget where they complete everything still outstanding.

One link covers everything, if a client has an unanswered field, an unsigned form, and no card on file, a single link steps them through all three in sequence. They don’t need a separate link for each item.

Override and the audit trail

Sometimes you need to move forward without resolving every requirement. Overrides are available, but every one is tracked.

• Admins and SuperAdmins can always override any requirement, with no permission needed.
• Staff team members can override only if a SuperAdmin has turned on Allow Override at Check-In for their account. This is off by default.
• Limited team members can never override a requirement, under any circumstances. There’s no setting that changes this.
•  Every override is logged on the booking with the team member’s name and a timestamp.
•  The booking record shows an Overridden indicator so anyone looking at the booking later can see something was skipped.
•  The account’s SuperAdmin gets an in-app notification whenever an override happens, naming the team member, the client, and what was overridden.

Completing Check-In

When every step is resolved (or overridden), the booking is marked Checked In with a timestamp. The booking record shows “Checked in by [team member name]” on both desktop and mobile.

The client and any team members assigned to the booking get a notification confirming check-in is complete, sent through the client’s preferred channel.

Known limitations

• No in-person contract signing. Contracts can only be signed by the client through a sent link. Letting a Pro hand their device to the client to sign in person is planned for a future release.
• No cash or Mark Paid at Check-In Payment. The check-in payment must be charged to a card on file. Cash and Mark Paid support is waiting on broader cleanup to the Mark Paid flow.
• No way to undo a completed Check-In. Once a booking is marked Checked In, there’s currently no way to reverse it. This is planned for a future release.
• No automated document review. Manual Review requires a team member to check each document by hand. AI or OCR-based automated review is planned for a future release.
• No Run Card printing from Check-In. Today’s existing Print Run Card button on the booking record still works, but automatically printing a run card as part of the Check-In flow is planned for a future release.

Related resources

• Check-In Workflow PRD (internal)
• Client Fields
• Forms
• Contracts
• Card on File

If you have questions, reach out to our support team at support@pocketsuite.io.