Using Enterprise Barcode Tracking Software to Track Conference Attendance & Certification
More and more organizations today are implementing barcode tracking software to replace their outdated and inefficient conference tracking methods. One outdated method requires conference staff to carry clipboards with checklists and pencils to admit and track attendees to the conference and to each course. That data is usually entered by staffers into a spreadsheet after the conference to track attendance, run reports and to create course completion certificates.
The clipboard method usually works fine for conferences with under 50 attendees and a handful of courses. However, as a conference grows in attendance and in the number of courses offered, a manual tracking method requires consolidation of attendance and completion data from several sheets of paper into a spreadsheet – which can require significant data-entry time and can be prone to errors.
A better method uses barcode tracking software running on mobile computers. With this method, conference attendee badges (each with a unique barcode) are scanned and matched to a database pre-loaded with conference registrants to ensure each attendee has paid upon entrance to the conference center. Then as attendees enter each room/course, their badge is scanned to ensure they are attending the correct course for which they signed up. Their badge is also scanned when they leave the room/course (time and date stamps are associated with each scan) to ensure they attended the course for the time required to receive certification.
After the conference is over, reports are easily generated via a reporting tool to tabulate total attendance in the conference and each course (including a variety of other statistics).