Adding a First-Time Visitor During Check-In
Capture a new guest's details, including where they live and who invited them, right at the point of check-in.
Where to start
From the Check-in screen, use Add Person to open the First Timer form, this is the fastest way to record a genuinely new guest without navigating away from check-in.
What the form captures
- Basic details, name and contact information
- Location - where the guest lives
- Who invited you? - search for and link an actual existing member as the inviter, rather than only typing a name as free text
Linking a real member as "who invited you" (instead of just typing a name) means that member's invitation later shows up correctly on the visitor's own profile, and can be reported on, a name typed as plain text can't be searched or connected the same way.
Best practice
Encourage your check-in team to always search for the inviter rather than typing a name from memory, even a slightly misspelled free-text name won't link back to the real member and loses that connection for good.
Related Articles
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Checking In a Returning Visitor
How Sermfy finds a visitor who's been to your church before, so you're not re-entering their details every time.
Ending a Service Session
Why formally closing a session matters, beyond just walking away from the check-in screen.
Understanding the Check-In Screen: Unchecked, Checked, and History
What each of the three Check-In tabs shows, and how the floating Save bar works.