Walk-in Check-in lets customers scan a QR code, choose one or more services and an optional team member, and join the live queue. Venues can accept same-day arrivals and optionally private after-close registration for the next eligible venue day.

Where to find it: Customer URL is your-slug.openchairpro.com/walk-in, and enabled venues also show a walk-in action on their storefront. Operators can open the full Queue workspace from the main navigation or from Schedule on web, phone and iPad. The Schedule panel remains available on web for quick contextual access. Configuration and QR tools are in Settings → Walk-in check-in on web and native.

What the estimate includes

OpenChair checks:

• venue opening hours and the operational pause state;
• staff rosters, overrides, closures, and external calendar events;
• existing bookings, blocks, and active booking holds;
• service duration, processing phases, buffers, and required resources;
• requested staff and customers already waiting.

Customers see Available now, Earliest start around …, or No walk-in availability today. Times are estimates, not appointments. They refresh while the customer waits.

Turn it on

1. Open Settings → Walk-in check-in.
2. Select at least one eligible staff-led service.
3. Turn on Enable walk-in check-in and save.
4. Download or print the customer QR, or open the reception-iPad link for kiosk mode.

You can also configure a public opening time for each weekday, next-day advance registration and activation time, a 1–200 not-started queue capacity (or unlimited), a 2–60 minute return window, and what happens when that window expires: remove, move to the back, or keep first priority while releasing the reserved capacity.

Use Show estimated times to customers to hide estimated waits and start times from every customer-facing check-in, confirmation and status view. This does not change operator estimates, allocation or prices. Use When service is finished to choose whether the queue opens the linked booking checkout or finishes without checkout. The choice is snapshotted when service starts, so a later settings change does not alter an active visit.

Resource-only services are not supported for walk-ins and do not appear in the picker.

Use Show prices during check-in to decide whether the QR and reception-iPad service choices include prices. Turning it off does not hide prices on the storefront and does not change which services are queue eligible.

The permanent setting and the daily operational state are separate. Owners configure the eligible services. Authorised team members can pause or resume new arrivals from the queue without hiding or disrupting customers already waiting.

Customer flow

1. Choose services. Select one or more distinct staff-led services. OpenChair treats them as one consecutive visit in catalogue order.
2. Choose a team member. Next available stays prominent; named people appear only when they can perform every selected service. Any estimate covers the complete visit.
3. Confirm details. Enter a name and choose I'll stay in the shop or I'll wait nearby. Mobile is optional when staying in the shop. Waiting nearby requires a number that can receive OpenChair texts.

Customers without a mobile number must stay in the shop so the team can call their name. A customer with a private status page can use Change where I'm waiting without losing their queue place. Staff can update the waiting choice for someone without a device. This is separate from Leave queue.

After check-in, the customer sees estimated start time and the number of people ahead in the correct lane: next-available customers are compared with the flexible lane, while a requested-person check-in is compared only with work that can delay that provider. Position #1 never means the team is ready; only an acknowledged ready generation is labelled Up next.

On a personal device, Add another person keeps the waiting choice and phone number for the active browser session, asks for the next person's name and service, and creates a separate private status link without replacing earlier links. Done and kiosk timeout clear all customer details and private credentials.

The reception kiosk clears the successful check-in automatically so the next customer cannot see the previous customer's status. A customer's own phone keeps the live status available.

Completed, cancelled, and no-show status pages offer Check in again, which clears the old private link and starts a fresh flow. Refreshing an active status never reports an SMS failure unless delivery is known to have failed; an ambiguous provider hand-off stays pending until the delivery ledger reconciles it.

Operator flow

Open Walk-ins from the main navigation, or use the Walk-ins action in Schedule. The dedicated workspace groups Ready, Waiting and In service in that order. Counts include expired Ready entries once, with a warning on the affected customer. Select a count to jump to its group. Wide workspaces use lanes and can show customer detail alongside the queue. Opening the queue from Schedule does not change the current diary date, view or filters.

Choose who will Start service separately from the customer's preferred team member. Start stays unavailable until a fresh capacity check succeeds for that person and the complete visit. An owner or manager with booking override access can review roster, working-hours, closure, booking, blocked-time or resource conflicts and choose Start anyway. The acknowledgement expires after two minutes and is rejected if the visit, provider or conflicts change. Missing or inactive required resources and unsupported services remain blocked. A reviewed occupied, blocked or outside-hours resource keeps its real assignment and override audit details. Keep place and serve next releases any chair reservation while retaining priority. Move to back gives the customer the last waiting place. Mark no-show asks for confirmation and names the customer.

Use Mark called in person after calling the name of someone staying in the shop. This records an in-person notification and sends no callback text. Use Text to come back for someone waiting nearby. You can call the next customer while finishing the current service; this creates no chair reservation or return deadline. Submitted, delivered and failed texts remain distinct, and a retry reuses the same notification.

Open Queue tools for compatible-customer suggestions, team capacity and breaks. The workspace suggests the next compatible customer for any team member and for each named team member. It explains when earlier demand belongs to another requested provider or is already in the ready/return flow; suggestions never reorder the queue or notify anyone automatically.

Open a queue entry and choose Adjust to use a 10, 15, 20, 30 or 40 minute visit duration, or adjust in five-minute steps. The service catalogue remains unchanged. Active services show an expected finish, and every override records when and by whom it was changed. Add break creates a normal calendar availability block now, after the current customer, or after a selected queue position. Working now can temporarily remove someone from today's effective capacity without altering their roster.

The live queue header shows whether new arrivals are being accepted, when the queue last changed, and compact Waiting, Ready, and In service counts. When an entry needs resolution, that warning replaces the counts so it cannot be missed. Use Today activity to review outcomes from the current venue-local day: served, no-show, removed, customer-left, booking-cancelled, day-end closure, and ready-window expiry. Today activity is operational history, so it does not include older dates, reporting, or exports.

Early callback does not start a return timer. For an existing reserved-ready entry, provider acceptance remains pending until delivery is confirmed. Punitive expiry requires confirmed delivery or an explicit in-person acknowledgement. Its reminder is available only for windows of at least four minutes, after two minutes and with two minutes remaining, and never extends the window.

Customers who keep their private status page open can leave the queue themselves. Re-entering the same name and mobile detects an existing active check-in instead of adding a duplicate, but it never reveals that queue entry in the browser. For a legacy tokenless entry, OpenChair can send a new private link only to the supported mobile number already stored on that check-in; otherwise the customer is directed to speak with the team in person. Waiting and ready entries left overnight close automatically when the venue next opens its walk-in queue.

• Waiting: shows the live estimate, requested staff, and whether capacity can be reserved now.
• Callback: records an in-person call or submits a text, including while the barber is busy.
• Ready: shows notification status. Older reserved-ready entries also show their hold countdown.
• Ready window passed: applies the configured remove, move-to-back, or keep-first-priority outcome once per readiness generation.
• Advance: remains private, positionless and without an estimate until its target-day activation; operator screens show it separately from the live queue.
• In service: offers Finish service, which completes the linked booking and records actual finish. By default it continues to that booking's checkout; owners can instead configure finish without checkout.

Finishing makes the remaining service time available to the next customer. If an authorised booking correction restores the service, the queue returns it to In service with a new completion generation. Finishing it again does not replay the earlier result.

When checkout is the snapshotted policy, a finished visit with money still due appears under Awaiting payment in Today activity even after the venue day changes. Open it to resume the existing linked booking checkout. A team member without checkout access can see that payment is pending but cannot see the balance or start payment. Paid and genuine zero-balance visits leave this recovery list automatically. Finish without checkout visits are labelled as operationally finished and do not enter the collection list, although an authorised team member may still open the booking later.

On iPad, selecting Walk-ins opens the full queue destination instead of placing the queue beside a reduced calendar. On phone and narrow Split View or Stage Manager windows, the same destination keeps Add and Pause/Resume actions within reach at the bottom. Use Schedule from the queue to return to the diary. Owners can choose Schedule or Queue as the venue's default workspace in Walk-in settings; both destinations remain available. Today activity opens as a separate native screen. After starting a service, the next-customer action stays visible. Finish from the queue, and open the linked booking for payment or any required consent checks. If the device is offline, the last loaded queue remains visible but actions are disabled until connectivity returns.

Customer self check-in through the printed QR code or walk-in link is separate from the dedicated reception-iPad kiosk. Both are also separate from the authenticated operator app used by the team. Today activity labels these sources as Customer self check-in, Reception iPad, and Added by team.

Native queue management currently requires a personal authenticated session. Display and shared workstation modes do not expose the queue; use the secure web Schedule walk-ins panel until signed workstation support is added.

Starting service rechecks the full visit under scheduling locks. A reviewed override changes only that visit and its audit history; it does not edit the provider's working hours or move another booking.

Ready text and return window

Text to come back can be used while a barber is still cutting. It tells the customer that the team is getting ready for them. It reserves no chair and starts no return deadline. Retrying a failed text reuses the same delivery identity; pending delivery is not treated as a confirmed text.

For customers staying in the shop, call their name and use Mark called in person. No callback text is sent. Customers without a number must stay in the shop. NZ SMS is available only when the venue has active funded SMS access and the customer has not opted out.

Customise walk-in texts

Owners and authorised managers can edit the opening wording used for confirmation, callback and reminder texts:

1. Open Settings → Walk-in check-in.
2. Open Walk-in texts. On web, the editor also appears on the walk-in settings page.
3. Choose Confirmation, Callback or Reminder.
4. Keep Default, or choose Custom and enter venue wording. You can insert Customer first name or Venue name.
5. Review the complete preview and SMS segment count, then select Save wording.

OpenChair always adds the current queue instructions, venue identity, private status and text-settings link, and any provider-required footer. Custom wording cannot add links or replace those details. Saving wording affects new messages for the selected venue. It does not send a text or enable SMS delivery. Save or cancel a draft before opening another message type.

Older app versions can still create a reserved-ready window. Those existing entries retain their snapshotted venue policy and confirmed-delivery protection. Keep place and serve next releases the reservation and its deadline while retaining priority. Move to back explicitly gives up that priority.

Pausing walk-ins

Use Pause walk-ins in the operator rail when you need to stop new arrivals. Existing waiting and ready customers remain visible and manageable. Customers scanning the QR see that walk-ins are paused and can book an appointment instead.

Pause is the dominant public state. Otherwise the QR distinguishes before public registration opens, venue closed, queue full for the target date, and open. A full queue provides Check again and Book an appointment without exposing the internal limit.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to check
QR says walk-ins are paused	Resume new walk-ins from the Schedule walk-ins panel when the team is ready. Existing queue entries are unaffected.
Service says no availability today	The full service may not fit around appointments, blocks, roster limits, resources, or people already waiting. Offer the booking link.
Customer did not receive confirmation	Check the phone number and Engage delivery activity. If the status page was closed, repeating check-in detects the duplicate; a legacy tokenless entry receives a private recovery link only at its already-stored supported number. Otherwise, help the customer in person.
Ready text failed	Use Retry text message while the current ready hold is active. Use Notify again only after the window expires and capacity can be reserved again. If delivery is unsupported, notify the customer in person.
Start is blocked	Capacity changed after the estimate or ready notification. Use the alternative staff/time shown, or have an authorised owner or manager review a supported operational conflict. Missing or inactive required resources and unsupported services cannot be forced.
Customer did not return	Check the configured expiry outcome. OpenChair applies it once after acknowledged expiry; an unacknowledged punitive notification releases its provisional hold after six minutes for manual recovery without punishing the customer.

Current boundaries

• One or more distinct consecutive staff-led services with one provider; party size one. Repeated quantities and multi-provider visits are deferred.
• Staff-led services only; resource-only walk-ins are deferred.
• Same-day estimates and optional next-eligible-day private advance registration in the venue timezone; advance entries receive no position or estimate until activation.
• Operator queue management is available natively and on web. An operator-added walk-in requires a saved client with a mobile number or a new name and mobile number; scheduled name-only bookings remain separate and do not join the queue. Customer self check-in remains responsive web.
• NZ SMS delivery requires active funded access and consent. The private status page and explicit in-person acknowledgement remain authoritative.

Related articles

• Using the Calendar
• Creating a Booking
• Counter sale

Storefront and queue links

When online appointments are off, the storefront can remain public and use the walk-in queue as its primary action. Visible queue-eligible service cards link to walk-in check-in with that service preselected. The server validates the service before preselection, so removed or ineligible links safely return to normal service selection.

Customer phone pages can return to services or contact details when check-in is paused, closed, full, or unavailable. Reception iPad kiosk pages stay in the check-in experience and tell the customer to retry or ask the team.

Reception check-in update (release candidate)

The reception screen returns to the start eight seconds after confirmation. Tap Done to finish sooner, or Add another person to keep the mobile number for another family member. Start over clears the active entry. An abandoned form warns after two minutes and allows another 30 seconds to continue. A check-in still being submitted or reconciled is not cleared by the timer. This update is awaiting release verification.