Guide · WooCommerce

How to check in WooCommerce pickup orders with a QR code

If customers collect orders in person, or you sell tickets to a class or event, you need a fast way to find the right order at the counter and mark it done. Here's how to set that up for free.

The problem with doing it by hand

Out of the box, WooCommerce makes staff search for an order by name or number in the Orders screen, open it, change the status, and save. That's fine for five orders a day. At a busy pickup window or a door with a queue, it's slow, and it's easy to hand over the wrong bag or let the same ticket in twice.

What a good pickup flow looks like

1. The customer gets a QR code with their order: in the confirmation email and on their order page.
2. At pickup they show the code on their phone (or a printout).
3. Staff scan it with any phone, tablet or USB barcode scanner.
4. The order appears with the items and the customer's name, and staff mark it completed or checked in with one tap.
5. If someone scans the same code again, the screen warns them it's already been collected.

Option 1: no plugin (manual)

You can get part of the way with WooCommerce alone. Ask customers to show their order number, then search it in WooCommerce → Orders and set the status to Completed. There's no QR code and no repeat-scan warning, but it costs nothing and works today.

Tip: add a note to your "Processing order" email (WooCommerce → Settings → Emails) telling customers to bring their order number to pickup.

Option 2: a free scanner plugin

We built Wrenlatch Order Scanner for exactly this. It's free, with no paid upgrade needed for any of the steps below. (It's in review at WordPress.org right now; this page will link straight to it once it's approved.)

1. Install and activate the plugin. It needs WooCommerce and works with High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS).
2. Check the settings under WooCommerce → Settings → Advanced → Order Scanner. QR codes in customer emails and on the order page are on by default. Turn on "Auto-complete on check-in" if a check-in should also complete the order.
3. Open the scanner at WooCommerce → Scan Orders on the device you'll use at the counter. Tap "Start camera" and allow camera access, or click the input box if you use a USB scanner.
4. Scan the customer's code. The order shows its status, items, total and whether it's been checked in.
5. Tap "Mark completed" or "Check in". The order gets a note recording when and by whom.

Good to know

• Each QR code includes the order's secret key, so someone can't make a working code by guessing order numbers.
• Only logged-in staff who can edit orders (Shop Manager, Administrator) can use the scanner.
• The QR image has a solid white background so it still scans when a customer's email app is in dark mode.
• A phone camera needs your site on HTTPS to open. Almost all hosts give you this for free.

Using it for events and classes

Sell each ticket as a WooCommerce product. At the door, scan and tap "Check in". If a code is scanned twice, staff see the original check-in time and who did it, which stops shared screenshots from getting two people in.

Questions? Email [email protected].