First Visits

Welcome links let first-time families check themselves in on their phone. They scan a QR code, fill out a short form and they're added to CCB and placed in the right CCB group, so your CCB check-in kiosk finds them by phone number.

Ministry Toolkit doesn't print name tags. Your CCB check-in does that as usual.

You need to be an Administrator, or a Ministry Leader of the ministry you're in.

Before you start

• CCB is connected and the API user has individual_search, create_individual and add_individual_to_group turned on.
• You know which CCB group each age or grade should go into (the rooms your kiosk checks people into).

Create a welcome link

1. Go to Attendance > First Visits and click Create your welcome link (or the New link icon if you already have one).
2. On Setup:
   • Name and Ministry.
   • CCB campus, if your CCB has more than one.
   • Who fills it out: Family (a parent adds themselves and their kids) or Single (a student adds themselves plus a parent contact).
   • What happens when they finish: Straight to CCB, or I approve first if you want to check each one before it reaches CCB.
   • Icon, Color and Light or Dark.
3. On Form, choose the questions to ask and which are required. Name and a parent's cell phone are always asked. You can add a School list, limit Grades offered and add your own Custom questions (answers stay in Ministry Toolkit).
4. On Placement, add a rule for each room: pick the CCB group, the room name families see and the grades that go there. The first rule that matches a child's grade wins. A rule with no grades catches everyone else.
5. On Copy, change the welcome and confirmation wording if you like. Use {first name} to greet people by name.
6. Save the link.

The phone preview on the right shows what families will see as you go.

Without a placement rule, people are created in CCB but not put in a group, so the kiosk won't list them.

Share it

On the link's card:

• Download QR to print on signs or the welcome table.
• Copy link to text or put on your website.
• The Active / Off switch turns the link on and off without deleting it.

The New token icon gives the link a new address. Old printed QR codes stop working, so only use it if the link got shared somewhere it shouldn't have.

What families see

1. "Hey, welcome to..." and Let's go.
2. Their own details. Once they type a phone number we already have, it says "Looks like we already know you" so they don't create a duplicate.
3. Each child (or for Single links, a parent to contact).
4. Finish, then a confirmation with what to do next and which room each child goes to.

Review before it reaches CCB

For links set to I approve first, new visits wait under Waiting for review.

1. Click Review.
2. If they're already in CCB, you'll see who they matched by phone or email.
3. Fix any typos.
4. Click Approve and send to CCB, or Delete if it's not a real visit.

The welcome desk

Put a tablet at your welcome desk so a volunteer can approve families without signing in.

1. On the link's card, click Create desk link.
2. Copy the desk link and open it on the tablet.
3. New arrivals show up within seconds. Tap Review, then Approve.

Click Turn off the desk link to stop it working immediately.

Recent first visits

Recent first visits shows each submission as In CCB or Needs retry. If CCB was unreachable, the family still sees a friendly message and you get a First visit needs attention notification. Click Retry once CCB is back.

Common questions

The kiosk can't find a family. Check Recent first visits for Needs retry. Then check the child's grade matches a placement rule.

Grade and school aren't in CCB. Those only reach CCB when the newer ChMS API connection is set up with grade and school mapping. Otherwise they're saved in Ministry Toolkit only.

A family saw "Too many requests. Please see a greeter." Too many forms were sent from the same Wi-Fi in an hour. Help them at the desk.

Someone already in CCB filled it out. They're matched by phone or email and added to their existing record, not duplicated.